eBay Seller Central - Sales, Marketing, Selling Tips for PowerSellers

The Obvious "Secret" All World-Class eBay Sellers Obey

2008-05-14T15:39:00.000-07:00

Home-based eBay sellers are constantly assaulted by temptations, distractions and diversions. The Tivo is full of your favorite recorded shows. Your children need some sort of assistance. The fridge beckons. A new article (or blog post!) grabs your attention. All these things take you away from your most profitable activities – which include listing, site design, promotion, PR, branding, direct mail and so forth.

Everyone talks about how “ACTION” is so important. But, beneath that little secret is the real one – “The START.” The start is crucial to action. Starting something -- anything -- is often the eBay seller’s biggest challenge. There are so many reasons not to start. But the accumulation of false starts, and start denials eventually adds up to poor performance and results. The mind that doesn’t start is the bad mind at work. It’s the same one that doesn't want to get up at 5AM. The one that goes for chocolate rather than broccoli.

If you start something.. anything.. however.. it eventually produces good stuff. A plan, process or outline that’s in place helps guarantee good stuff. Because, everyone knows that some do’ers do the wrong thing. That can be very dangerous.

There’s a science that studies “bad actions,” and it’s covered quite well in a book called Deep Survival. This is where people make rapid, “blink” decisions in survival situations and fail miserably (usually resulting in death). Fortunately eBay is a more forgiving environment. If you fail, you get tons of data that shows you where you went wrong. And you can always fix things and try again. That’s not so when you’re climbing Everest.

Now.. in the interest of starting something, I’ll clam up and let you launch that next critical action.

Fear, eBay and Jack Canfield

2008-05-13T06:49:00.000-07:00

I read the following Jack Canfield article this morning. It’s a good general piece, but it’s also particularly useful for new eBay sellers or even eBay veterans that need new ways to make money, test products, open new markets and innovate. Part of your job as an eBay seller is to be creative. Creativity requires boldness and a healthy approach to fears. The article offers useful strategies for moving past fear and/or using it to guide your decisions and creations. I especially like the “taking a 2-year-old to the market” analogy.

Putting Fear in Its Place
by Jack Canfield

As you move forward on your journey from where you are to where you want to be, you are going to have to confront some of your fears. Fear is a just a natural part of living.

Whenever you start a new project, take on a new venture, or put yourself out there, there's usually some fear involved. Unfortunately, most people let fear stop them from taking the necessary steps to achieve their dreams.

Confronting your fears is a very necessary step in achieving success.

There is simply no other way.

Fear can be a helpful emotion, as it tells you when you need to be extra careful, keenly aware, and cautious. Fear is not an emotion that is telling you to stop. In fact, it's telling you just the opposite!

Acknowledging your feelings of fear helps you know when you are stepping out of your comfort zone. It points your awareness to areas where you could improve and grow.

Successful people also feel fear. Yet they don't let it get in the way of anything they want to do--or have to do. They understand that fear is something to be acknowledged, experienced, and taken along for the ride. They have learned, as author Susan Jeffers suggests in her must-read book, to "Feel the Fear and Do it Anyway®."

(Susan Jeffers has been a friend of mine for twenty years now, and her work, which is very powerful and transformational, has helped millions of people overcome their fears and move forward to create success in their lives. I highly recommend her as a resource.)

You see, fear is more of a signal that we should stay alert and cautious. We can feel fear, but we can still move forward anyway.

Think of fear as a 2-year-old child who doesn't want to go grocery shopping with you. Because you must buy groceries, you'll just have to take the two year old with you. Fear is no different. In other words, acknowledge that fear exists but don't let it keep you from doing important tasks.

Also realize that so many of our fears are self-created. We might frighten ourselves by fantasizing negative outcomes to any activity we might peruse or experience. Luckily, because we are the ones doing the fantasizing, we are also the ones who can stop the fear and bring ourselves into a state of clarity and peace by facing the actual facts, rather than giving in to our imaginations.

If a fear is too great for you to overcome, try breaking it down into smaller challenges.

Try starting out doing the parts of the project that don't scare you so much. You need to give a speech in front of a large group? Try giving your speech in front of a small group of people who care for you. Work your way up until you are able to feel the fear but still move forward. As you do, you will build your confidence and eventually you won't feel fear surrounding those issues because you'll have done them enough to count it as a skill.

As you move toward your goal, don't attach yourself so much to the outcomes.

Keep moving toward your dream doing everything you can to create what you want, then let it go and see what shows up. Sometimes the universe will have a better idea in mind for you and present a better opportunity when you were expecting something completely different. Don't let fear keep you from moving forward. Even if the horrible outcome that you imagined happens, the universe will always provide for you another way to succeed. So be on the look out!

Trust that no matter what occurs, you are smart enough and strong enough to keep looking for, and attracting, opportunities.

If you are willing to try new experiences in spite of your fears, then more new experiences will present themselves for you to try. And the more you try, the more you are likely to succeed!

For even MORE inspiration about overcoming your fears, you can learn from this Video Clip of Me on YouTube discussing some tactics you can use right away!

Jack Canfield, America's Success Coach, is the founder and co-creator of the billion-dollar book brand Chicken Soup for the Soul and a leading authority on Peak Performance. If you're ready to jump-start your life, make more money, and have more fun and joy in all that you do, get your FREE success tips from Jack Canfield now at: www.FreeSuccessStrategies.com

What All eBay Sellers Should Know About Blog Post Timing

2008-05-06T14:25:00.000-07:00

Most progressive eBay sellers are now blogging to sell products, educate customers, manage public relations, and provide customer service. Most simply post when they can.

A new study discovered that there are advantageous and disadvantageous times during the day and week to blog.

Ah data analysis. I love it.

In a nutshell (hey, I’m in a nutshell get me out of here)… here’s what they found:

After lunch, between 1:00 PM and 3:00 PM (PST – Pacific Standard Time) is the best time to post on any given week day. Between 5:00 PM and 7:00 PM is also good (after work). Thursday is the best day.

What’s the worst time to post? Between 3:00 PM and 5:00 PM PST on the weekends. Everybody’s out doing something else. That makes weekends a good time to get posts together and then schedule them for posting on weekdays in the optimal time slots.

Now get out there and post.

eBay Sourcing Resource - How to Reliably, Quickly Find Good Products

2008-03-14T14:29:00.000-07:00

Online auctions are still a great way to make money online, but you have to be very careful about your pricing and you need to have reliable, genuine sources. One of the toughest challenges is finding a steady supply of high-quality, genuine goods at a cost low enough for you to turn a decent profit (after you subtract all your expenses and fees). While many sites claim to offer listings of wholesalers for eBay sellers, in reality, most of the information you will find is either out of date or untested.

It helps to have a community of peers and expert power sellers to sort through all the supplier information out there, so you can get feedback about what suppliers are reliable and who will work with small home based businesses and individual auction sellers. While you can find wholesalers in every part of the world, even just by looking in the phone book, most of them probably won't fit the bill for your average eBayer.

One option to find product sources is SaleHoo. SaleHoo describes itself as a global product sourcing community. Its updated directory has over 5,000 wholsalers and dropshippers for almost every type of goods. More than just a simple supplier list, SaleHoo has some advanced functionality. It gives you the information you want and it never makes you jump through any hoops to get the details, unlike other directories. You can organize and save favorites, and you can instantly search the SaleHoo forum database for community entries about a particular supplier. The supplier page also allows you to go straight to the whois database for more information, and it also allows you to register a complaint or leave feedback.

SaleHoo's forums are very active (over 40,000 registered members) and there is a lot of good information that is shared and posted by experienced sellers. The forums focus heavily on auction selling, so if you're just looking to get products for your own online store or shopping cart - there's not quite as much value. But overall, SaleHoo is probably worth checking out, particularly for people new to eBay selling.

Conversational Writing and eBay Descriptions - Marketing Mojo

2008-01-24T10:17:00.000-08:00

We talk a lot about conversational voice and tone in these pages. Conversational style engages and persuades people. That's the gist of it.

A lot of businesses still shy away from this type of writing in their Web sites, eBay listings and marketing collateral.

I came across validation for the conversational approach in another book (which is great, by the way). It's called Presentation Zen: Simple Ideas On Presentation Design and Delivery.

Here's a quote from the book (p. 83):

"When you are in a conversation with someone you are naturally more engaged because you have an obligation to participate. You are involved. Formal speech and formal writing devoid of any emotion whatsoever is extremely difficult to stay with for more than a few minutes. Your conscious mind has to remind you to "stay away, this is important!" But someone who speaks in a natural, human, conversational style is far easier to stay engaged with."

I urge you, as always, to write with conversational tone and style. That means speaking as if in a one-on-one conversation, adding emotion, using imagery, and communicating as you would with a friend.

Me Blogging About RSS Photo Feeds -- Are You Blogging about Your Products?

2008-01-12T10:00:00.001-08:00

If you’re interested in technology trends, I wrote an article for D-Link about RSS photo feeds. This kind of application is simple, like ring tones – hence the title of the article. Yet it’s so much more clever and elaborate.

I write blog posts for D-Link from time to time, and this is the latest one. Which reminds me… are you blogging about your products and services? It’s a great way to communicate with consumers, explore new ideas and uses for your products, and learn from your user/consumer community.

Downright Fascinating Social Media and Web Commerce Trends

2008-01-10T14:20:00.000-08:00

The following is important fodder for eBay sellers, ecommerce sites, and general Web commerce audiences. It’s even fascinating to the lay person. That said,…

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee wrote a great article on Web trends in the November 26, 2007 issue of InformationWeek. There is so much going on in this market.. the mind reels. Here’s a taste from the lead:

“The old days of companies tightly controlling a marketing message are gone…The interactive forces of the Internet - including social networking sites, online discussion boards, and blogs - are arming consumers with tools that can quickly and exponentially spread the word to other would-be customers if a product stinks or a company blunders... Companies such as Charles Schwab and OnStar are creating Internet platforms to literally read the minds of consumers, seeking out insights that directly drive their new product strategies.” [my emphasis]

This reminded me of AdWords, of course. AdWords is great for driving business or clicks to your site via general advertising techniques. However, what a lot of people don’t realize is that AdWords is a great tool for testing promos, floating new ideas, and reading the minds of consumers. And it’s cheap!.. given the right niched-out keywords.

The article details various ways companies like FedEx, eBay, Schwab and others are using the social connectivity of Web 2.0 (I hate saying Web 2.0, but I did, shame) to their advantage. FedEx’s CIO Rob Carter says, (paraphrased from the article) “The explosive growth of this connectivity has been ‘completely underestimated’ in how it will affect society and markets.” I concur.

The article also talks about some fascinating new trends, like having your Second Life avatar or character purchase things for you or book reservations for you online. I know, that sounds crazy. But think about it. Why the heck not? If you build the right character, with all your tastes, desires, wish lists and so forth, why not set him free on a shopping spree? I’ve never played Second Life, but I assume there are vendors in there, like Amazon.com. (If you know how this works, please comment below and enlighten us.) FedEx’s Carter comments in the article, “Second Life has enough momentum to make us wonder: What if this identity I’ve built could spill over into my daily life and get things done for me?” Your avatar would be like an information robot – tuned to all your preferences and guided by “business rules” that determine decisions.

Carter extends the concepts further, saying, “The greatest opportunities lie in socially networking corporations together – horizontally, across business processes, which don’t necessarily live within your four walls anymore.” Great example = Gaming like Second Life supporting commerce like FedEx and Amazon.com.

The article describes how some companies like OnStar use Nielsen BuzzMetrics to analyze how they’re performing in “consumer-generated media.” This is another hot topic, worthy of another post, probably.

There’s a cool story about Dell’s celebrity advertising campaigns, too. I’ll blog more on that later, too.

In the mean time, read the article. It’s a mind bender.

Online Advertising Trends Toward Social Media

2008-01-08T09:56:00.001-08:00

Andrew Chen remarks on increasing CPMs for online advertising. Traffic and advertising is moving toward User Generated Content (UGC) sites like Facebook, MySpace and Flickr this year. Costs are low, and targeting is very granular. Are you advertising in social media? Comment to share your experiences.

clipped from andrewchen.typepad.com

The quick summary in terms of the pros and cons for CPMs increasing:

Pro: Technology and optimization is improving

Pro: More ad dollars are moving online

Con: The amount of available inventory is increasing

My quick take: the problem is not just that the amount of available inventory is increasing - more importantly, this inventory is concentrated in social media, UGC, and all that fun stuff.

Product Reviews, Social Media and New Online Buying Trends

2008-01-04T11:17:00.000-08:00

The following comes from the Online Marketer Blog:

“Not only are 1 in 4 internet users consulting reviews before purchasing offline, but they are willing to pay more if the service is ranked as excellent. It seem that after the year of exuberance that was all about Facebook and twitter, business is finally getting around to answering the question of how social media effects ROI.

“..Users that [sic] sort the list of products by customer ratings spend 41% more than users who search with other methods like popularity or price… Emails that feature customer review content receive 50% higher clickthrough rates.”

Here’s the main article, titled Good For Consumers (And Businesses): Social Media Gets A Glimpse Of Measurable ROI.

So.. for online marketers, it’s now more critical than ever to be building review/social functions into your Web sites and product pages. Customer service performance counts bigtime, too, of course.

And, as consumers, we have to make sure we maintain clear, critical thinking when checking product reviews. I’d like to see some some numbers about the veracity and integrity of online reviews. How much of it is “bro” reviews? How much of it is genuine? Are really nasty reviews the result of competitor campaigns? That would be interesting, yet difficult to quantify.

Leveraging Paid Search and Organic Search

2008-01-02T06:22:00.001-08:00

The information you gather from paid (PPC) search advertising campaigns complements organic search .. and vice versa.

clipped from searchengineland.com

Commit to integrating your organic and paid search efforts by leveraging data from each. Maximizing the value of integrating your paid and organic efforts requires leveraging data between the two. To start, review keyword data between campaigns to understand which terms are performing best. Most likely you will find that it takes more time and effort for certain terms to rank organically. During that time, be sure to leverage paid search to purchase your laggard terms.

Facebook-MySpace Advertising

2008-01-02T06:12:00.001-08:00

Well-designed ads based on granular interests seem like a natural on FB. I've seen some success in my own profile. Spam, too, though.

clipped from clickz.com

The year was littered with major ad-related initiatives from dominant players MySpace and Facebook, mostly met with industry acclaim. Yet despite advances, most social marketing budgets going into 2008 remain small, and most campaigns small-minded.

Target Niche Audiences with Facebook Advertising

2008-01-02T06:04:00.000-08:00

If you haven't tried advertising in Facebook yet, it might be worth a shot. Facebook is the social network site that brings friends together according to interests, existing connections, networks and groups.

You can place ads and display them to anyone on Facebook based on demographics, interests, hobbies and so forth. It's a good way to reach very targeted audiences. User information is current, updated often, and accurate.. unlike a lot of direct mail lists, which can be outdated, inaccurate and expensive.

Since Facebook doesn't tie results to exact searches, your ads are not as granularly exact as something like Google AdWords. However, you can reach really targeted audiences for very little money. If you're selling archery gear on eBay, for example, you can run ads that only display to people who list archery in their profiles.

Barbara Boser writes more about Facebook advertising pros and cons here.

Driving eBay Traffic with Link Tagging and Urchin Tracker Scripts in Google Analytics

2007-12-18T06:36:00.000-08:00

This is an advanced tip that concerns Google Analytics and link tracking. If you don't know what those are, I'd suggest taking some time exploring Mark McLaren's site, McBuzz.com (you can ask him questions, too, of course). McBuzz has a good mix of resources concerning SEO, SEM and Google Analytics. He offers video tutorials, articles and so on.

Ok - so link tracking.. or more specifically, Urchin Tracker scripts for Google Analytics. First the why: As an eBay seller, you want to figure out exactly where your traffic is coming from and which links on your pages are getting clicked. You can do these kinds of things with regular Web pages and Google Analytics. This is especially useful in situations where you educate customers and prospects about your particular products and industry on a "normal"/outside-eBay Web site and then drive them to your listings in eBay.

There are several ways analyze traffic. This post covers just a couple (and links to an article that shows you exactly how). Google Analytics is very robust and does more than what's covered here. With GA, you can set up goal pages, track conversion success, and figure out exactly what's working on your sites.

Let's say you want to figure out who's clicking on what links in your site. Google Analytics works if you set up pages within your site as conversion goals/targets. However, if the links are external, you can't place the Urchin Tracker code into someone else's page. If that's something you'd like to track (which is often the case with eBay listings), then take a look at the following link for the solution. This is from Sulli's Google Analytics Tips and Tricks by SkiSulli. He shows you the right script to place into your pages and recommends some ways to set it up. As you'll see, he also shows you how to make this work for email or "mailto:" links. If you want to figure out how many people are clicking on your email address link (and when, how fast, etc), then this is a great solution.

You can then track all of this activity automatically from within Google Analytics. As you get a better sense for what's driving traffic to your listings, you can then tweak your pages to get better conversion rates and more business to your eBay listings and stores.

Good eBay Marketing Starts with One Little Thing

2007-12-13T08:36:00.000-08:00

This may seem like a strange thing to say - coming from a guy who wrote a book on eBay marketing, advertising and sales. Yet, I'm going to say it anyway.

1) Put down the eBay books and articles.

2) Open up TurboLister (or whatever other listing interface you use).

3) Start listing.

Do it.

All the preparation in the world can't make up for the things you learn and the skills you develop by doing.

If you can't think of anything specific to do right now, start with something small. Go through some of the previous posts here and pick *one* thing to do. Tweak a listing, write an AdWords ad, take a better photo... get that first thing off your list and then move on to the next. Do, do (dah, dah, dah).

I should add another entreaty: try it. Trying new things helps you grow, and you often stumble on better ways of "doing it." Discovery is serendipitous. Meander, test, think, re-jigger, and evaluate. This is the way to innovation and improvement.

Happy selling - and happy holidays to you, too!

Good things,

Phil

Simple, Timeless eBay Marketing Techniques

2007-12-12T06:40:00.000-08:00

Whether you're writing for eBay listings or writing SEO copy for your Web site or writing SEM copy for a Google AdWords landing page, there are always some very simple, timeless things you need to do. Here they are in stripped down, bare bones bullets:

* Write strong headlines

* Describe benefits before features

* Use specific subheads

* Write about the reader (not about yourself or your company)

This is simple marketing copywriting 101, but sometimes we need to remind ourselves what the basic techniques are.

Strong headlines contain delicious offers, benefits and intrigue. Benefits sell the dream before the hardware that produces the dream (and the relationship between the two). Specific subheads are key because many readers scan the page and follow subhead stories before diving into specific sections of your body text. Finally, when you use the word "you" and talk directly to and about the reader, you make better connections and sell more effectively. Nobody wants to hear about the genius behind the product. They want to know how it's going to help them specifically.

eBay Address and Billing Glitches

2007-12-03T05:18:00.000-08:00

I recently received a question about eBay shipping charge and address glitches:

The ebay system seems to have a glitch in it. I had a buyer insist that the invoice did not show my mailing address. I checked all my settings and it should show up on every invoice. I figured she just made a mistake, but then I sent her an invoice and copy to myself and the address did not show. Also, I have sent invoices where the shipping charges changed on discounted shipping. Once again, I thought there was some error on the other person part, until I purchased multiple items from two different ebayers and found that once I clicked on Pay Now, the shipping charged either defaulted to the charge for one item or added all shipping charges w/o the discount. I ended in all cases having to pay thru Paypal directly instead of thru ebay.

Have you heard of this happening to other sellers?

The following link addresses the issue: http://www.auctionbytes.com/cab/abn/y07/m09/i11/s02

Apparently eBay and PayPal have fixed the issue. See: http://www.ebaychatter.com/the_chatter/2007/09/paypal-ship-to-.html

Does anyone else have experience with the shipping charge issue in the 2^nd part of the question?

Thanks,

Phil

Driving eBay Sales with Google AdWords Tactics - Post #1

2007-11-28T17:09:00.000-08:00

If you've ever tested Google AdWords campaigns to any extent, you've probably noticed some interesting things. One of them is that ad titles that include the keywords that were searched for typically outperform all other ads when it comes to CTR (click-through rates). WARNING: Remember, CTR is not your goal – conversion is. However, increasing CTR is one way to boost conversions… if the complete AdWords strategy and content approach is correct.

Ok – so let’s say you’d like to increase CTR. There’s a way to automatically insert the keywords searched for into your AdWords ad title. It’s generally referred to as Dynamic Keyword Insertion. The recipe follows.

First you need to group your AdWords keywords into appropriate ad groups. If you sell music CDs, for example, you might group by classical, pop, country, mod, punk and so forth. Once those groups are set up, you’re ready to design your Dynamic headline.

Use the right and left squiggly brackets on your keyboard {} to do this. It’s shift-bracket on most keyboards. The headline you type in for classical CDs should look like so:

{KeyWord: Classical CDs}

In this case, “Classical CDs” is considered alternate text. If one of your AdWords keywords is “Beethoven CDs”, the searcher will see the title “Beethoven CDs” come up as the title of your ad. Classical CDs is alternate text, because if the person searches for a classical CD phrase that’s longer than 25 characters (the Google limit), then they get the generic alternate text. For everything that’s under 25, however, they get titles that mimic exactly what they searched for.

WARNING #2: Don’t make your keywords that are inserted highly popular or “hot topics.” You can rack up a huge AdWords bill this way.

For some types of selling, this strategy isn't necessarily a good thing. If you have a long sales cycle that depends on some information exchange or a phone consultation, for example, your approach would be different. But for many B2C and B2B goods that are sold on eBay, it’s a great idea, because you don’t have to make unique titles and ads for every possible combination of keyword you’re bidding on.

What the Best eBay Sellers Realize

2007-09-20T06:40:00.000-07:00

"[The best marketers] realize that whatever is being sold (a religion, a candidate, a widget, a service) is being purchased because it creates an emotional want, not because it fills a simple need."

This from Seth Godin's "All Marketers are Liars."

I ran through a few examples in my head to make sure this concept holds up. It certainly works with sneakers, vacation homes, and sports cars. But with something like toner cartridges it doesn't seem so insightful. (I love the toner example, because it's such an unappealing, unemotional, commodity purchase. It's just one of those things you have to buy. And you buy it grudgingly.)

With toner, you don't have much of an emotional stake. However, if you consider the context of this particular quote -- it's about how people pick up the particular data they need from ads, eBay listings, commercials and so forth, and then "fill in the blanks" -- you'll see another kind of emotional angle to the purchasing decision.

People create stories out of the information given, but those stories spring not so much from raw, reliable facts, but from a story they've been telling themselves for a while (a worldview, Godin calls it). When I search eBay for toner cartridges, for example, I realize that I'm not really going to find the cheapest deal out there -- even though that's what I'm looking for. Sure, I want to know that it's the right toner for my printer, it's reliably manufactured and so forth. What I'm really looking for, though, is some reassurance that my decision will be 80 to 90 percent solid. I get that emotional support by looking at the keyword titles, making a snap judgment about the listing page (the way it's laid out, presented, etc.) , reading the description copy, and checking the seller's feedback.

My decision will be based on how much trust I have in the particular company or individual listing the toner. I may even revisit a previous seller who has kept in touch with me via emails, promotions and so forth (this is another topic however).

So if my internal story about what a competent, reliable, trusted seller is matches up with what I see on the listing. I'll probably buy from that seller. Especially when I see that all variables (like price) are equal.

Trust is the emotion I'm connecting with. I need some low-level facts, but I'm taking a small leap of faith by placing my order.

The purchase fills "a simple need" but the mechanism by which I convince myself is something more akin to a psychological response. If you think about it, I’m also telling myself a story about how I think eBay is a good place to buy ^2nd party toner cartridges. (Printer manufacturers tell another story – making consumers fear purchasing non-manufacturer cartridges.)

Think about how your own listings are communicating with browsers and shoppers. Are you conveying the right messages and "feel?" What kinds of snap judgments do your customers come to? Analyze this process, and then come up with some new description templates. With just a few words, you can move your listings from bland and cold to connective and motivating. You can even experiment with a short benefit keyword in the titles (if you have space).

Phil Dunn is a marketing consultant and co-author of The 7 Essential Steps to Successful eBay Marketing (McGraw-Hill, 2005). His eBay blog, http://ebay-marketing.blogspot.com offers tips, tricks and strategies that help people generate eBay sales now.

eBay vs Real World

2007-09-19T04:49:00.000-07:00

Selling on eBay is a lot like selling in the physical world, except you're confined to this little browser window. It doesn't have depth like a real window display. Your salesperson can't emote with her arms or kick the tires to show the customer durability. The right marketing and presentation approach, however, can help you achieve the same persuasive and emotional results.

Lots of photos coupled with an ironclad guarantee is as good as kicking the tires, for example. By writing clear, strong benefit statements you can connect directly with customer desires. That's a form of emoting. If you describe your product and make the effort to close throughout the description, that's better than most retail sales staff efforts. Think about it. You have to train sales staff and then keep on them to make sure they're presenting merchandise properly. With an eBay description, you write it once and then the same presentation is viewed by multitudes (hopefully). You can even tweak it and improve upon it and measure the performance of your changes in terms of bids and purchases.

There are a lot of upsides to selling on eBay. You can build relationships via the Web and eBay that you might not otherwise been able to develop. You can easily cross-promote, getting varied merchandise in front of the customer immediately. That's not something that always possible in the physical world. As Martha Stewart would say, it's a good thing (as she curses her probation tracking bracelet).

P.S. Amazon.com knocked 32% off the cover price of "The 7 Essential Steps to Successful eBay Marketing" (McGraw-Hill, 2005). Walmart.com sells if for 36% off!

ebay, selling, sales, seller, marketing, writing, writer, book, books,
advertising, copywriting, journalism, media, news

How to Write a Better Headline than This One - eBay Sales Rely on Title Hooks

2007-09-18T09:10:00.000-07:00

When selling on eBay, your keyword description isn't the only chance you have at creating a title. You can also create benefit-oriented titles that emphasize keywords much less in the body of your description. Just use HTML to create larger fonts and dark colors if you insist on using color in the title.

Why do this? Because titles draw in readers and buyers. As David Ogilvy is famous for putting it, "Your headline is the ticket on the meat." (paraphrased) The headline draws in those who would be interested, compelled, in need, etc. It's the first test that filters out those who are hungry for meat and those who are not.

The headline needs to include benefits that pertain directly to the needs of the reader and the features of the product, of course. That's the practical side of the process. The creative side involves catching the attention of passers by.

I read a headline in the newspaper this morning that stopped me in my tracks. It was very creative and it got me to read an article that I wouldn't have read in a million years given another less interesting headline. Here it is: "Women Get Shot at Hunting." Clever, ay? The article was about how a national program gives females a chance to learn about the sport.

You might say that the title isn't selling anything... but I'd say otherwise. Newspapers sell entertainment and information to curious readers. If they don't make the reader curious, they fail. They succeeded in this instance.

So.. I urge you to get creative, test out headlines and track your eBay sales to figure out which headlines draw in your meat buyers. Do simple A-B testing to test headlines against non-headline descriptions. Or test distinctly different titles head-to-head. Even the smallest insights will offer tremendous value and move you toward more sales and profits.

eBay Selling Webcast Turns Some Heads (and ears)

2007-09-18T04:38:00.000-07:00

If any of the posts on this blog tickle your fancy (surf around for a bit, surely you’ll find something you dig – and stop calling me shirley), you’ll want to check out StartUpNation’s Webcast on eBay marketing.

You can hear me in person and get some quick insights into eBay.

Tune in here.

P.S. Amazon.com and Walmart.com have the lowest prices for "The 7 Essential Steps to Successful eBay Marketing" (McGraw-Hill, 2005)

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eBay Seller Words of Wisdom from Thelonius Monk

2007-09-17T05:22:00.000-07:00

"The only cats worth anything are the cats that take chances.”

-- Thelonius Monk

Half the celebrated marketing coups you hear about originated with individuals that stepped outside the lines and took some risks. They didn’t sit tight and produce pedestrian advertising campaigns. They didn’t check their personalities at the front door and produce bland marketing campaigns.

Think about Starbucks, MTV, Tivo, Miller Lite, Google, Tazo Teas, and Fox Broadcasting. They didn’t stick with conventional wisdom and invent products that toed the line.

Are you taking chances? Are you adding creativity and originality to your listings? Do you care about how people feel when they enter your eBay store? Do you look for newer, better, more interesting products to sell?

The person that answers “yes” to these questions is pulling ahead of the pack, getting higher bids, and charging a little bit more for their products.

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Big News for eBay Sellers (and buyers)

2007-09-07T04:43:00.000-07:00

eBay Launches Data Mining Tool

The Motley Fool investment site posted an article about eBay’s new buyer and seller database mining features. If you haven’t heard about this, it’s worth your while to check it out.

“..the twist here is that instead of marketing its information to data-hungry corporations, eBay's new service is aimed at the same growing community that it is drawing the data from in the first place.”

That means you, sellers! Some buyers will use this, but it’s the sellers that have the most to gain. The opportunities are endless. And this may put some pressure on 3^rd party software parties like DeepAnalysis and SmartCollector. eBay is encroaching on their existing tools.

Any thoughts? Excitement? Enthusiasm? Let us know what you think of this development, and tell us how you intend to use it (if at all).

P.S. Amazon.com knocked 32% off the cover price of "The 7 Essential Steps to Successful eBay Marketing" (McGraw-Hill). Walmart.com sells if for 36% off!

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eBay Description Writing Lessons from Home Depot’s Catalog

2007-09-06T07:23:00.000-07:00

The following are some descriptions written about Home Depot’s storage baskets and boxes. As an eBay seller, it’s useful to look at these professionally written pieces from time to time.

Keep a few things in mind while you read them. 1) The same function could be accomplished with some cardboard boxes or shoe boxes, 2) Chances are, no one but the owners of these boxes will ever see them, and 3) They cost $35 to $50 each.

Description 1: “Woven antique black finish baskets offer creative and stylish storage solutions for everything from sweaters and laundry to office supplies and refuse. All liners are washable natural-colored cotton canvas.”

Description 2: “Soften the look of your work space with these casual, yet highly functional basket pieces.”

Description 3: “These canvas ‘drawers,’ complete with handles, are cleverly designed with an inner covered-wire frame that keeps the lining taut.”

Now – let’s think about these descriptions and what kinds of things, other than practicality, are going on.

The first one injects the concepts of creativity and style – both important emotionally-driven motives. In a world where we can all get enough food, water and shelter (usually), creativity and style come into play. Even if no one sees these boxes but the owner, the owner will feel creative and stylish. The person might even tell someone about their cool new baskets.

The second description gives a nod to functionality but not before talking about softening the work space. That sounds like a benefit. Who wouldn’t want to work in a soft, un-harsh work place? They also give the reader an idea about where to use these things – in the workplace, of course (an area, by the way, that can be Spartan and unappealing). Functionality comes into play. This is a benefit, but not something that could stand on its own. It’s better to add the emotional adjective casual and sell the “softening” idea.

The third description introduces the words “cleverly designed.” The adjective clever could certainly be transferred to the user/buyer. A buyer might subconsciously say, “If I buy these things, I’m clever, too. The way I create my office or closet is clever. I have an eye for these sorts of clever products.” The description writer wants to associate a positive and smart adjective with the products and does a good job.

These descriptions are short. They are to the point. Some specs follow, but the emotionally connective prose comes first. That’s important. You should be doing the same things with your eBay listings. Use these descriptions as models, and check out the descriptions in the other mail you receive.

The writers of these catalogs are the professionals. They get paid big bucks to create images and emotional connections. It may seem simple and pedestrian at first glance, but there’s a real art to it. It’s not difficult, but you have to pay attention to the emotions you want to convey and choose the best words for the task.

eBay Cha-Ching: Why Titles Are So Important for Marketing

2007-09-04T04:54:00.000-07:00

There’s something I don’t like about my book The 7 Essential Steps to Successful eBay Marketing. It’s the title. I’ll tell you why and what it has to do with eBay listings in a second.

I was involved in creating the title little, but the publisher deferred to its in-house experts and came up with the final version.

Technically the full title of the book is The 7 Essential Steps to Successful eBay Marketing: Creative Strategies to Boost Profits Now. I like the 2^nd half of the title better than the first. Why? Because it offers a picture or a feeling about what the reader or buyer is going to get from the book. It’s tangible and specific – profits, boost, now. But that’s immaterial. The main title is the real issue.

First, let me tell what you what elements I like about the main title. I like the 7 Essential Steps part. That concept works for me, and I’d encourage you to use similar formats when informing your eBay audiences. Visually, numbers are interesting in titles, and taking a few steps in order to achieve a goal sounds pretty easy and organized. People like that. “If I do x, I’ll get y.”

I don’t know if Essential is absolutely necessary, though. I’m on the fence about that one. I also like the word Marketing in the main title. It sets the book apart from all the other noise that’s out there and focuses the target audience onto a fairly specific topic.

Now, what do I not like? I don’t like the word Successful. To me, it’s very vague and general. If I’m reading a book title, I want to know exactly what’s in it for me… immediately. Especially with a business book. Otherwise, I’m moving on. I also need to be attracted by something unusual or interesting. There’s nothing interesting about “Successful eBay Marketing.” It’s just bland.

So what should a title do? If you’re selling a book or a lunch box or a cell phone, what do you want your title to do? First you want it to attract eyeballs. Then you want it to convert the eyeballs’ brain into a buyer.. or a potential prospect at least.

This concept of attraction and conversion is discussed in much greater detail by Sean D’Souza in his PsychoTactics newsletter. It’s a good resource with lots of insider marketing information. And it works.

First you attract, with a unique or unusual title. Then you convert with the big benefit. My title might have been better with one of the following treatments, for example:

eBay Seller Smarts: How to Increase Profits and Save Time Listing with Proven Marketing Techniques (unique main title, two specific benefits)

eBay Cha-Ching: Ring the Online Cash Register with Proven Marketing Tactics (unique title, benefits implicit, clear images)

How does this relate to eBay listings? Well, you have two opportunities to use titles like these. Once in the keyword title, and again within the text of your listing. I’ll warn you against using this title attraction/conversion technique in the keyword title however. If you have room for it, give it a shot. (Testing will show the truth of the situation.) But you’re better off using the keyword title for just that – keywords. Those are gold, and you need to make sure everything is there and accounted for – this is where you cast a wide net.

However, you can use the technique on the listing page itself. Place a big title at the beginning of your description. Use one that sticks with the customer and gets them thinking about how your product is better, faster, sexier, etc. Translate that to what specific benefit they’ll reap.

If you do this effectively, your listings will instantly attract more interest and be set off from all the other returns that the prospect has looked at. It’s about differentiation. eBay is a competitive marketplace, but it’s not that difficult to stand out. With a little care and planning, you can get a distinct edge.

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