The Savvy Seller

It's Time for the 2010 Bonanzle Up!

noreply@blogger.com (Marlene) — Mon, 3 May 2010 18:26:00 -0400

When? August 7, 2010

Where? Kansas City, MO (at the Four Points Sheraton)

More info: Registration fee is $25.00 on a pre-sale basis. After July 7th, the price goes up to $35.00.

Rooms are available at $70.00 per night at the Four Points Sheraton for attendees. You can even come 3 days early and/or stay 3 days after the event and still get that rate!

You can find more information on the speakers as well as register now on the Bonanzle Boardroom site.

We're Moving!

noreply@blogger.com (Marlene) — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 21:12:00 -0400

Image by Peregrino Will Reign via Flickr

This blog had its first post in December of 2007!

We started with Blogger because it's a wonderful platform - simple to understand and easy to use.

Over the past few years, we've learned lots and we've grown. Today it's time to introduce you to our new blog which is located on our website - built on the wordpress.org platform.

If you've enjoyed reading this blog, we hope you'll stop by The Savvy Seller's new blog and subscribe to it.

Saying good-bye is hard to do so on occasion you'll find new posts here.

You know how it goes .... "make new friends but keep the old."

Lessons From eBay On Location Atlanta

noreply@blogger.com (Marlene) — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 00:24:00 -0400

eBay's first 'On Location' event was held in Atlanta this past weekend. A Networking Reception was held Fri evening and the training portion took place on Saturday.

The first session, 'Strategies to Grow Your Business' was presented by Sarah Brubacher, eBay's Director of Top Seller Development. The key growth strategies listed were:

leverage the new fee option
maximize search visibility and sales
delight your customers
optimize effectiveness with tools & resources

Leveraging the new fee option included information on eBay stores and how to determine the right subscription level. Maximizing search visibility included information on choosing the right listing format, optimizing item prices, earning/maintaining Top Seller status, writing great listing titles and offering free shipping. Various ways to use 'Best Offer' was an interesting part of the discussion.

The next talk was called 'The Art of (Customer) Attraction.' Mike Michalowicz, The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur, gave a lively and informative talk about finding and keeping repeat customers. He discussed loyalty programs, email marketing and how to create great buyer experiences.

Next was the 'Top-Rated Seller Secrets' portion of the day. This was a panel discussion moderated by Griff. Panelists Cindy Shebley, Jordan Insley and Lynn Dralle were quite candid in answering a wide range of questions that had been submitted by the audience.

After lunch Sarah Brubacher returned to the stage to present 'The Power of Productivity' - talking about how to reduce costs and grow sales volume. This is what was covered:

Next up was a presentation by Rieva Lesonsky, former editorial director for Entrepreneur magazine. Unfortunately I did not attend this session as I was in a break-out session with Griff called 'Know Your Numbers.'

Griff's talk was all about the numbers that are important in running a business on eBay. To quote him "you can't manage what you do not measure." He went over Gross Merchandise Volume (GMV), Costs, Net Profit, Average Selling Price (ASP), Conversion or Sell Through Rate (STR) and Sales Velocity and Price Balancing Act. An interesting part of the discussion was about 'Who Sets the Price' and how frequently you might want to check up on your competition.

The final presentation was 'I Just Tweetered on FaceSpace' by John Jantsch of Duct Tape Marketing. He defined social media and reminded us that eBay pioneered social networking. After describing the pillars of a social media system as listening, optimizing your assets, using content for lead generation and managing it all, he showed examples from various social sites as well as a variety of useful tools. This talk ended with a list of action steps: Set up Google Alerts, Create a Content Hub, Grab 2-3 Profiles and Create 1 Outpost.

There were additional Break-Out sessions during the day. They included 'eBay Seller Tool Demos,' 'New to eBay Stores' and 'Shipping Q&A.' These sessions had limited seating and tickets to attend were distributed in the early morning on a first-come, first-served basis.

Sponsors of this event included the USPS, endicia, PitneyBowes, eBay Giving Works, ProStores, eBay AdCommerce and eBay Green Team. All had space in the exhibition part of the venue.

eBay On Location in Atlanta & The Aftermath

noreply@blogger.com (Marlene) — Mon, 8 Mar 2010 11:06:00 -0500

'eBay On Location' is a series of local events sponsored by eBay to provide practical information to help eBay sellers take their business to the next level.

The 1st 'On Location' event will be held in Atlanta (at the Omni Hotel) in less than 2 weeks - on March 19-20. 'On Location' will then travel to other cities including Dallas & Chicago & end up in San Jose in time to celebrate eBay's 15th anniversary.

Some of the speakers who will be in Atlanta iinclude:

John Jantsch (Duct Tape Marketing) - I Just Tweetered on FaceSpace
Mike Michalowicz (The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur) - The Art of Customer Attraction
Rieva Lesonsky (GrowBiz Media) - 10 Steps to Entrepreneurial Success

On Fri evening (March 19) eBay will be sponsoring a networking opportunity at a Welcome Reception from 5-7pm.

After the Welcome Reception is the VIP event of the weekend -
'The Aftermath: eCommerce After Party'
hosted by John "colderICE" Lawson.

This is THE place to 'meet & greet' the Rock Stars of eCommerce including:

Be sure to register asap for this opportunity to get up close and personal with these Rock Stars! Featuring a VIP lounge and prizes and giveaways, you won't want to miss this!

Buyer Persona: The Importance of Knowing Your Buyer in the Web 2.0 World

noreply@blogger.com (Marlene) — Thu, 4 Mar 2010 21:25:00 -0500

Image by nicolasnova via Flickr

This past Sunday I had the honor of presenting a webinar as part of the New Life Event. In case you missed it 'live' - here is the webinar recording:

The Importance of Knowing Your Buyer in the Web 2.0 World - Marlene Gavens, The Savvy Seller

A Weekend of Wisdom: 30 Webinars in 3 Days!

noreply@blogger.com (Marlene) — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 17:38:00 -0500

If you follow The Savvy Seller you know that we're focused on education. The quality kind that you can use right away to make your business more successful.

This coming weekend (Fri Feb 26 - Sun Feb 28), tune in to an education bonanza by attending the 'New Life Event' - 30 FREE webinars over the course of 3 days. Each 30-minute webinar will be full of great information followed by a 10-minute Q&A session. The speakers are experts in their field and you're sure to come away with some valuable information, insights and tools.

Topics include:

Analytics for eCommerce
Keyword Research
Longtail SEO
Viral Marketing
The Secret of Writing Unique Content
How To Succeed on Google Shopping
The Best Ways to Use DropShipping
and so much more!

Shawna Fennell, the New Life Event host, has invited me to present so I invite you to join me Sunday morning at 10am ET for "The Importance of Knowing Your Buyer in the Web 2.0 World."

All you have to do to attend any of the 30 FREE webinars is register!

Be sure to follow the New Life Event on Twitter or on Facebook for updates and tell your friends!

See you there!

The Impact of Social Media

noreply@blogger.com (Marlene) — Mon, 8 Feb 2010 09:25:00 -0500

If you need to explain the importance or impact of social media, this 4 minute YouTube video will do it for you with style.

eBay Changes Announced This Morning

noreply@blogger.com (Marlene) — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 11:13:00 -0500

Image via Wikipedia

The 2010 Spring Seller Update was announced by eBay this morning.

Looks like this round will be good for sellers!

Use this Seller Checklist to be sure you stay in compliance with the changes.

2010: What's In Your Future?

noreply@blogger.com (Marlene) — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 21:56:00 -0500

Image via Wikipedia

On Wed Dec 23 at 8:00pm ET, I'm going to be one of the guests featured on 'The River, The Ranch & The Bay' (RRB) podcast!

Won't you join us? We'll cover a number of things to jump start your success in the coming year:

Customer Service
Getting Out of Your Own Head
Behavior Patterns
Goal Setting
Holiday Networking
Keywords
and more!

Of course we'll also discuss social media for eCommerce and, for the Education Specialists in the audience, we'll talk about social media strategies to promote your classes.

There are going to be some exciting announcements on the show before I go on so be sure to tune in at the very beginning. RRB - 8:00pm ET. The Chat Room will be open so join us and participate in the discussion!

Developing a Social Media Strategy That Rings the Register

noreply@blogger.com (Marlene) — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 21:44:00 -0500

Image via Wikipedia

Join our 'Tips From the Top' podcast this Wed, Dec 16 (3pm ET/noon PT) when our guest will be Bernie Borges, Founder and CEO of Find and Convert and author of "Marketing 2.0: Bridging the Gap Between Seller and Buyer through Social Media Marketing."

During the podcast Bernie will discuss the steps to take to develop a successful social media strategy for your business. He'll talk about the 4 stages of interaction, content marketing, how to measure results and much more!

In addition, Bernie has generously offered to give away a copy of his book to one of our listeners. The recipient will be chosen based on their level of engagement with him on social media channels. Bernie invites you to connect with him on Twitter (http://twitter.com/berniebay), by joining his Facebook Fan Page, leaving a comment on this blog post and/or adding "Marketing 2.0" to your Amazon Reading List on LinkedIn. The person who has demonstrated the most engagement will win a signed copy of the book.

Our Podcast Chat Room will be open during the call (Wed Dec 16 / 3pm ET/ noon PT) and we welcome your questions and comments!

Be sure to connect with Bernie NOW for the opportunity to win a signed copy of his book, Marketing 2.0: Bridging the Gap between Seller and Buyer through Social Media Marketing.

Learn How To Sell on eBay - The Basics & Beyond

noreply@blogger.com (Marlene) — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 13:46:00 -0500

Are you looking for someone to teach you how to sell on eBay? Do you want to learn how to turn your selling 'hobby' into a business? Or how to set up an eBay Store?

Education Specialists Trained by eBay are independent contractors in your local area who can meet with you for one-on-one or group trainings. They can provide the answers to your questions and they're the only instructors who have access to the 'official' eBay training materials.

To find an Education Specialist, go to the Education Specialist Directory and type in your zip code. This will provide a list of instructors and classes that are available in your area.

If you're on Twitter, you can follow @ebayuniversity to be notified as classes come up.

And if you're looking for a unique gift this holiday season, consider giving a gift certificate for an eBay class!

5 Online Selling Problems & How to Handle Them

noreply@blogger.com (Marlene) — Mon, 7 Dec 2009 09:18:00 -0500

Image by harold.lloyd (won't somebody think of the bokeh?) via Flickr

Holiday sales are in full swing and as an ecommerce seller you may be encountering some sticky situations that you haven't dealt with before.

What to do?

Join us our Tips From the Top podcast this Wed (Dec 9) at noon ET/9am PT when Charlene Anderson - experienced ecommerce seller - joins us to talk about how to handle 5 of the major/most common online selling problems.

Charlene currently sells on her own website as well as on eBay, Amazon, etsy and a couple of the smaller sites. With 10+ years experience in online selling, Charlene has run across all types of buyers and all kinds of problems that can occur. Make your life easier and learn from her experiences!

While I can't reveal all the selling problems Charlene will cover, I can say that it's not the end of the world if you ship the wrong item! :-)

The podcast Chat Room will be open during the call (Thu Dec 9 at noon ET/9am PT). We welcome you to join us 'live' so you can contribute to the discussion &/or ask questions about any 'problem situations' you've encountered.

We have also started a related 'Discussion' on The Savvy Seller Facebook page so please join in there - post a problem, offer a suggestion to someone else or just commiserate!

iabol for eBay: Multi-Carrier Shipping Solution

noreply@blogger.com (Marlene) — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 20:31:00 -0500

Image by sean dreilinger via Flickr

Mark Your Calendars!

What: 'Tips From the Top' Podcast

When: Tuesday, December 1 - 2:00pm ET/11:00am PT

Your are invited to join our 'Tips From the Top' podcast to learn about iabol for eBay - an easy-to-use multi-carrier shipping solution currently certified with UPS and USPS via Endicia.

This new eBay app gives eBay sellers more choices for domestic and international shipping. Designed with powersellers in mind, this solution is fully integrated with Selling Manager and Selling Manager Pro.

Marty Stamps, Director of Marketing at ABOL Software, will be our podcast guest on Tue Dec 1 (2pm ET/11am PT). He'll discuss the features and benefits of iabol for eBay and will be happy to answer your all your questions about this service.

Holiday Trends and Bing's Shopping & Cash Back Programs

noreply@blogger.com (Marlene) — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 08:50:00 -0500

Image by bpedro via Flickr

Mark your Calendars!

Today our 'Tips From the Top' podcast guest will be Kelly Scott, Product Manager on the Bing Shopping/Cashback team.

Kelly is joining us to answer questions about Bing's shopping and cashback programs and how they hold value for merchants.

In addition, Kelly's position at Bing gives her a unique view of the holiday trends that are already appearing. Listen in - something you hear might help you take advantage of them and increase your holiday sales!

Please join us for an information-filled 30 minutes - all about Bing!

The podcast is TODAY - 3:00pm ET/noon PT. The chat room will be open and we welcome your questions!

A ReCap of The 'Presenters Series' Master Mind Roundtable

noreply@blogger.com (Marlene) — Mon, 9 Nov 2009 23:23:00 -0500

Image by Dimdim Web Conferencing via Flickr

The 'Presenters' Series' explores the techniques and tools that are essential for a successful presentation, whether it's an online webinar or an in-person class.

A Master-Mind Round-Table discussion held on Mon Nov 2nd served as the introduction to the 8-part series. Janelle Elms, Phaedra Stockstill and yours truly, Marlene Gavens, shared tips for those who want to master the art of public speaking or teaching.

As part of the series, co-hosts Cindy Shebley and Dany Byrne will be trying out a variety of tools in the individual sessions.

In this first session, they used FreeConferencePro.com What did they discover about the service?

First, although there is a lot to recommend the service, during the peak evening hours, Free Conference Pro has a reputation for dropping calls. Sadly, the call re-inforced this reputation - it was dropped half way through. They were unable to continue, and so missed a presentation by the fourth speaker, Sheryl Schuff, as well as the anticipated Question & Answer Session.

Second, the audio quality was spotty. Each speaker's phone had a different sound - some clear and crisp, some with a low hum.

So on a technical front, this call receives a C+

But the content was stellar. Each speaker addressed a different aspect of interviewing, from preparation through helping guests to relax. In addition, the discussion touched on the many ways internet conferencing tools could be used to grow an online business.

I invite you to listen to the replay on The Web Sellers' Circle and to sign up for the remaining 7 sessions!

10 Ways Small eCommerce Sellers Can Compete with the Big Guys

noreply@blogger.com (Marlene) — Sat, 7 Nov 2009 09:02:00 -0500

Image via Wikipedia

The following tips come to you courtesy of

Paul O’Brien.

Paul is VP of Sales & Marketing for Outright.com, the free online financial management platform that tracks business performance, income and expenses so sole proprietors and small business owners can put their taxes, bookkeeping, and back-office on autopilot.

1. Track Your Best Customers: Offer special deals for those customers who order the most volume. Not only will you further your relationship as a vendor, but you’ll be able to maintain your margins and secure future business. Best way to do this? Bookkeeping. Be sure to record every sale and associated expenses clearly and consistently and you can review a report of who bought what, when, and with what impact to your bottom line. Outright.com does this all automatically with a handy report of your best customers.

2. Offer Special Discounts: Timing is everything. I know, we all hate hearing holiday music and seeing the decorations in stores BEFORE Thanksgiving but the fact is, the holiday shopping season has started. Learn from the brick & mortar stores: promote the bargains, offer packages or discounts for bulk purchases and recognize that people want to get in and done. Offer short term promotions to entice them to wrap up their purchases by buying everything from you.

3. Don’t Miss Tax Deductions: If you sell online, you’re very likely work from home. Don’t be afraid to plan on taking the home office deduction, especially if you have your inventory in your house. What else can you write off? eBay sellers, do you hop garage sales on the weekend looking for steals? Are you keeping track of that mileage?

4. Check out Comparison Shopping Sites: To divert customers from mass retailers, many small businesses are looking into online comparison shopping sites to reach a larger audience and attract sales. Check out free shopping sites like Google Base to get started. Use SingleFeed to distribute your products to multiple CSEs (comparison shopping engines), optimize performance, and do it all at the right price.

5. Simplify Checkout: Believe it or not, 3 steps to checkout has a higher conversion rate than making it easy for customers to check out with just one step. Don’t put everything on a long form; walk them through the process. Order Review > Shipping Info > Payment.

6. Organize Sales and Manage Inventory – Work with manufacturers, vendors, and drop shippers now to ensure inventory is available and shipping is on time. Their ability to fulfill your needs can make or break your store during the holiday.

7. Effectively Market Your Promotions: The best form of marketing is retention; you’ve identified your best customers and converted hundreds more through the holiday season, keep them around in 2010 by creating e-newsletters them know what’s hot with your store.

8. Be Up Front and Clear about your Shipping and Handling – 72% of customers who abandon an online shopping cart do so because shipping charges are higher than they expected.

9. Offer Free Shipping - 61% online shoppers prefer to shop with a retailer that offers free shipping, 60% claim free shipping is a reason they are more likely to shop online, and 90% believe free shipping offers would entice them to spend more online. According to a Wharton study, free shipping offers that save customers $7 is more appealing to most shoppers than a discount that cuts the price of a purchase by $10!

10. Don’t Worry About Others’ Conversion Rates: Benchmarking your own store against everyone else will only give you headaches. Spend a couple hours with Google Optimizer and learn how to do basic A/B and Multivariate testing. The best thing you can do for your business is focus on improvement. A 10% increase in conversion rates (say from 5% to 5.5%) puts 10% more sales in your pocket and improves your ROI on EVERY marketing campaign.

About Outright.com: The Outright.com platform is fast-becoming the go-to resource for e-commerce sellers, as their newest integrations with PayPal and eBay allow millions of merchants to automatically record their sales and track their growth across multiple ecommerce channels, including etsy, eBay, Amazon and the Yahoo! Store. Business owners no longer have to manually record each sale they've made in multiple marketplaces or even in their own store; online merchants managing their checkout with PayPal, have sales automatically recorded and reported with Outright.com

A Master Mind Call, A Call To Action & How To Terapeak

noreply@blogger.com (Marlene) — Mon, 2 Nov 2009 09:11:00 -0500

Image via Wikipedia

November starts out in full swing with 3 powerful podcasts! Be sure to mark your calendars so you don't miss a single one!

'Presenters Series' Mastermind Round Table
Tue Nov 3
8:00pm eastern / 5:00pm Pacific

Online education is a new way to reach students, clients and promote your business. It's a growing field and an abundance of new technology makes it easy and inexpensive to reach more people.

Webinars and Podcasts are becoming a common way to communicate and build a community, yet most educators don't know where to start, what tools work the best or a host of other details.

The Web Sellers Circle is proud to introduce the new "Presenter Series" which will be a valuable resource for those interested in learning how to participate in online trainings. As a way to introduce the series, The Web Sellers' Circle is hosting an exciting, free Master Mind Round table conference call with industry experts:

Cindy Shebley - Web Sellers' Circle
Dany Byrne - The Web Sellers' Circle
Janelle Elms - OSI Rock Stars
Phaedra Stockstill - Learn To Sell on Bonanzle
Sheryl Schuff - No More Bookkeeping Headaches
Marlene Gavens - The Savvy Seller's 'Tips From the Top.'

Be sure to save time on Tue Nov 3 at 8:00pm eastern and join us. You can register for the program by using this link: http://www.websellerscircle.com/public/331.cfm

Social Media and More for eCommerce Sellers
Wed Nov 4
Noon eastern / 9:00am Pacific

Join Michael Stelzner, author of the Social Media Marketing Industry Report, organizer of the Social Media Success Summit & founder of the Social Media Examiner as we talk about

using social media in your business
how a white paper can help your business
the importance of a call to action & why you must have one
and more!

Michael Stelzner is known as the "Grandfather of White Papers." He has written over 130 white papers for companies including Microsoft, Dow Jones, FedEx, Motorola & Hewlett Packard. He is a sought after speaker who has presented at national business and marketing conferences such as MarketingSherpa and MarketingProfs.

This past month he launched the Social Media Examiner - a free online, weekly magazine that features how-to articles, case studies, video interviews and tips from experts in the field.

Michael has written numerous blog posts and articles including: Six Deadly Marketing Mistakes and a New Approach, How To Use Twitter To Grow Your Business & How To Use LinkedIn to Create Authoritative Content.

Join our Tips From the Top podcast on Wed Nov 4 at 12:00 noon (eastern) for an information-filled, fast-paced conversation with Michael Stelzner. The Chat Room will be open and we welcome your questions.

How To Research with Terapeak
Thu Nov 5
2:00pm eastern / 11am Pacific

Today our podcast guest is the dynamic Denise Hogue, Terapeak Product Manager. We'll discuss Terapeak's new, free eBay Keyword application and then cover some of the other, perhaps less well-known or less-used features of this research tool that can improve your selling strategies.

Join our Tips From the Top podcast on Thu Nov 5 at 2:00pm eastern to learn about Terapeak! Our Chat Room will be open and we welcome your questions!

Watch a Terapeak eBay Research Demo

New Terapeak Keywords App!

noreply@blogger.com (Marlene) — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 14:19:00 -0400

Image via CrunchBase

Today is the official release of the Terapeak Keyword Application for eBay sellers and best of all, it's FREE!

If you've ever sold on eBay, you know the first step to creating a great listing is coming up with a great title.

Terapeak Keywords is a free tool that helps eBay sellers optimize their listing titles.

Type in an item's name/description into the search field. Terapeak's tool will then sample 100 recent eBay listings that have also included the specified search term(s) and automatically produces a list of related keywords accompanied by average prices and other metrics.

By clicking the most valuable relevant keywords and adding then to your listing, you can continue to build your title until you've used up all 55 characters!

Here's the summary of its features:

20 suggested keywords related to your search
average, maximum & minimum prices for each suggested keyword
a self-refreshing suggestions list as you select additional keywords
the ability to build your title until you've exhausted all 55 characters
all data based on 100 recently closed eBay listings.

It's free!! Available on eBay's Selling Manager Applications platform Try it out!!

DeClutter Discoveries and A Yankee Auctioneer

noreply@blogger.com (Marlene) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 10:00:00 -0400

Image by mercurialn via Flickr

Please join us for this week's Tips From the Top podcasts featuring a decluttering adventure and a Yankee Auctioneer!

Tue Oct 27 - 1:00pm eastern/10:00am pacific
DeClutter Discoveries with Joyce Banbury

Joyce has been an eBay seller since 1998 and is currently an eBay Certified Education Specialist & Owner at AuctionBBS (Auction Better Business Solutions).

Joyce has owned and successfully operated home-based businesses for over 27 years. Now she is on a journey to declutter her own home. Bravely baring her clutter chaos to the world, she's invited us to share this adventure with her on her blog!

Tune in to the podcast to hear Joyce's motivation for embarking on this journey and the tips she's learning from this real-life experience!

Wed Oct 28 - 3:00pm eastern/noon pacific
Meet The Yankee Auctioneer

Walt Kolenda, aka Auction Wally, is a licensed auctioneer with 25+ years in the antiques and collectible business.

However, auctioneer is only one of the many hats this Yankee wears!! Appraiser, podcaster, author and eCommerce seller also describe this multi-tasker. And there is even more....

So be sure to tune in to the podcast to meet Auction Wally - on the other side of the microphone!!

The Chat Room will be open during both podcasts and we welcome your questions!

How Your Facebook Fan Page Is Affected By Yesterday's Changes

noreply@blogger.com (Marlene) — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 10:40:00 -0400

Image via Wikipedia

Yesterday Facebook rolled out some changes to the News Feed / Status Updates.

In the new version of the News Feed you'll now see the top stories that Facebook feels has the most relevant information for you.

By clicking on the 'Live Feed' tab you'll still be able to see stories as they appear in real time.

From Facebook:

Two important points to note about the Top News stream:

1. Stories will be chosen for Top News based on a variety of undisclosed factors, including but not limited to “how many people comment and like” on stories, “who you’re close with,” and “who you interact with frequently.”

2. Facebook is adding user activity stories back to the News Feed – like friend acceptances, relationship updates, event RSVPs, group memberships, and becoming a fan of a Page. In the real time stream, only explicitly “shared” content appeared in the stream.

So what does this have to do with Fan Pages? Plenty!!

Many people have jumped on the Facebook Fan Page bandwagon without any real thought on how to make them work for their business.

With the new changes, Fan Page stories will now be subject to the same algorithm as the News Feed. This means that Fan Page updates won't necessarily show up in your fans' News Feeds in real time as they have been doing.

It's going to take more creativity and work for a Fan Page to be effective.

What and How?

In this redesign, Fan Page posts will show up based on how much response they get, how many people comment on them and how much fans interact with the page.

Business owners using Fan Pages now need to think about what they can do to their updates so they'll show up in the News Feed.

How you can make your stories interesting enough to be 'liked' and commented upon by others? Determine what it will take for your clients or customers to stay engaged and keep returning.

Some ideas:

create a poll
ask thought-provoking questions
start discussions that will get people talking
offer incentives or discounts
send people on a 'treasure hunt'

Be creative, work it and your Fan Pages will work for you!

If you like this post, please sign up for The Savvy Seller Fan Page where we already have some discussion going and features available only to fans!

Make Shipping Easy & Cost-Effective This Holiday Season

noreply@blogger.com (Marlene) — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 09:19:00 -0400

Image via Wikipedia

If you're an eCommerce seller, you know that shipping costs can make or break a sale.

An internet based postage service can help you reduce costs and even save you time.

Join The Savvy Seller's 'Tips From the Top' podcast this Wed Oct 21 at noon eastern / 9am Pacific as we talk with Eric Nash, Director of Online Marketing at Stamps.com.

Stamps.com is software that allows you to buy and print official USPS postage right from your computer without any special hardware. The software gives you postage discounts that you can't get at the post office or with a postage meter.

Imagine having your own post office that's open 24/7! Stamps.com allows you to retrieve order data from eBay, Yahoo!, Amazon.com, Google Checkout and PayPal Shops.

Join our podcast on Wed 10/21 at noon EDT and find out how Stamps.com can make your life easier this holiday season and beyond!

The Chat Room will be open and we welcome your questions.

What a Hoot! My Bra Is For Sale on eBay!

noreply@blogger.com (Marlene) — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 20:55:00 -0400

As you probably know, October is Breast Cancer Awareness month. So many of us have been touched by this disease. It's time to band together, raise funds for research and make breast cancer a thing of the past.

In an effort to reach this goal, a network of eBay, Bonanzle and Internet sellers have organized a "BLING MY BRA" campaign that is running all month long to raise money for breast cancer research.

Each day during October there will be an eBay auction of one or more 'fantasy art bras' - creative confections with themes that are beautiful, funny & inventive. 100% of the money raised by these auctions goes to the Susan G. Komen For The Cure.

Somehow, one of my bras has become a 'fantasy art bra.' Not quite sure how it happened but I think a savvy little owl was involved.

Here's the link to the auction. Please place a bid!!

You can follow the action on Twitter using #BlingMyBra or by following @BlingMyBra.

Huge thanks to eBay seller WOADIELAND, Beth Cherkowsky and eBay seller GalleriaGifts, Melinda Jackson for coordinating this.

42 Rules of Social Media for Small Business

noreply@blogger.com (Marlene) — Tue, 6 Oct 2009 17:29:00 -0400

You own a small business and know you should be doing 'something' with Social Media. But what is that 'something?'

If you're wondering how Social Media fits your business or how to get the most out of your online presence, be sure to join us tomorrow, Wed Oct 7 at noon EDT/9am PDT on our Tips From the Top podcast, when our guest will be Jennifer L. Jacobson, author of '42 Rules of Social Media for Small Business.'

Jennifer L. Jacobson is a communicator specializing in Public Relations, Brand Identity and Strategic Sales. As a Public Relations Professional, Jennifer creates powerful campaigns that have had her clients featured on Oprah & Friends, DisneyFamily.com, The Huffington Post and The American Marketing Association’s Marketing News. As a strategic sales professional, Jennifer has the unique ability to grow a sales campaign from the ground up and turn cold leads into clients almost overnight.

Join the podcast 'live' (Wed Oct 7 at noon EDT) as we talk about the 'rules,' how they fit your business & how you can make the most of your social media presence!

The Chat Room will be open and we welcome your questions!

LinkedIN: Are You Part of the 90%?

noreply@blogger.com (Marlene) — Mon, 5 Oct 2009 09:17:00 -0400

I recently read that 90% of individuals who signed up on Linkedin have no idea how to use the site!

Are you in that 90%?

If you'd like to learn more about this business networking site, please join me tonight, Mon Oct 5, at 8:00pm EDT (5:00pm PDT) on the Selling Circus Podcast for 'LinkedIn Basics & Beyond!'

I'm honored that the Yankee Auctioneer (Walt Kolenda aka Auction Wally) and his co-host, the Southern Belle (aka Phaedra aka @attheboutique) have invited me to be a guest on their show.

LinkedIn is best categorized as a business-oriented social networking site.

It has a different 'feel' than some of the other popular sites such as Facebook or Twitter. Many people set up a LinkedIn profile but quickly lose interest in the site because they don't know what to do next.

Tonight on the Selling Circus podcast we'll talk about how to get started on LinkedIn, how to create a powerful, optimized profile, the various features of the site and some strategies for success.

Linkedin also has a specific vocabulary. To give you a head start, here are a few of the terms you'll want to know:

Connection: A connection is the relationship between two LinkedIn members. A member who has accepted an invitation from you to connect is considered to be a 1st degree connection.

Contact: A contact is someone you know and can reach through a working email address.

Network: A network is defined as a group of LinkedIn users that can contact you through connections up to three degrees away. You are at the center of your network with the following degrees of connections:

Direct connections make up the 1st degree of your network
Connections to each of your direct connections make up your 2nd degree
Connections to those in your 2nd degree make up your 3rd degree.

Invitation: An Invitation is sent by an existing LinkedIn user who wants to connect to another person who may (or may not) be a LinkedIn user. For two people to become connections, one must send an 'Invitation' and the other member must accept it.

Introduction: Introductions are LinkedIn messages that allow LinkedIn members to contact or to be contacted through shared or mutual connections.

Please join us for tonight's podcast at 8pm EDT as we discuss Linkedin: features, best practices and how-to's.

The 3 C's of Social Media Marketing

noreply@blogger.com (Marlene) — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 11:17:00 -0400

I'm often asked to explain social media and how it can work for a business.

I haven't yet figured out how to do it as concisely as a 30-second elevator speech, but here are 3 key elements (condensed) that convey the concepts. I call them the 3C's of Social Media Marketing.

The 3 C's are: Connect, Communicate and Convert.

Connect: The 1st step involves connecting with others and expanding your network of contacts. Whether they are other professionals in your field, your competitors, your customers or clients, it's important to expand your network. Depending on your business and your goals, Twitter, Facebook and Linkedin offer excellent platforms on which to connect. Keep in mind they are not 'one size fits all.' First try to determine which site(s) your customers or clients are using. Each site has a different 'feel' and set of accepted practices so it's important to determine will one(s) serve you best.

Communicate: This is the 2nd step. Having a network of contacts doesn't accomplish anything if you don't communicate with the goal of developing relationships. Developing relationships is key since your contacts aren't going to be interested in hearing from you if your only interactions are about your product or service. Engage your contacts by consistently providing them with something they perceive to be of value. Consistency works to keep the relationship on-going and if you can involve your connections in a community, that will engage them even more.

Convert: This is the 3rd step. Connecting and Communicating pave the way for you to 'close the deal.' Each business has its own goals for social media marketing so they'll have their own way to measure conversion success.

If steps 1 & 2 don't lead to conversion, then it's time to re-examine the goals and the process - keeping in mind that building a network and relationships takes time and consistency.

Do you agree? disagree? Please share your thoughts.