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Auction Strategists Newsletter
Brought to you by Jenni Hunt
www.jennihunt.com
In this newsletter:
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1. eBay’s link policy changes – and how it can help you IF you are in a niche
2. Heads Up:
– Listing Tips from Seller Sourcebook
– Are you still manually answering customer emails?
3. How to subscribe or Change your subscription status
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Please feel free to pass this newsletter on to a friend!
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1. eBay’s Link Policy Changes – How It Can Help You IF You Are In a Niche
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Previously we have discussed some of the value in selling (and/or) marketing to a niche. [Archived newsletters are available at: www.jennihunt.com/blog if you want to catch some of those discussions.] Simply put, selling to a niche is really just focusing on a very specific group of (prospective) customers.
There is an incredible amount of value to selling to a niche…
1. You can cross-promote other items you are selling. If your customer is interested in one particular item… and your entire product line focuses on a specific niche, there is a good chance that your customer will be interested in other products you are offering.
For example: Let’s say you sell products for small dog owners. If your customer has purchased a dog collar for their pet from you, you can assume that they might also be interested in buying a leash, food dish, carrying bag, etc.
2. You can easily drive traffic to your auctions from other sources if you are in a specific niche…
Sticking with the example above… one way to drive traffic is to visit small dog blogs or forums and get involved in the communities there. As you comment and participate in discussions, you will be driving traffic to your auctions. You can do this if you are not selling to a specific niche; however, you are spreading yourself so thin if you do and not establishing yourself as a provider of small dog products if you do.
3. It is MUCH easier to sell to your existing customer than to go out and find a new customer… which means it is much easier to sell in a niche than across the board of multiple markets.
It goes back to our example with the small dog products. If your customer has bought a carrying bag for their pet from you… then, they are more likely to come back to you for other items.
Okay, I’ve really simplified this ‘niche’ topic; however, the point I want to make is how eBay’s link policy changes can be a good thing for you if you are marketing to a specific niche.
You may already know that eBay is implementing a policy this month that restricts link usage on your About Me page. I have always encouraged sellers to use their About Me page to drive eBay traffic to their own website and build a list… but, it looks like eBay is taking this option away.
I know with all the recent changes eBay is making to their policies that it is easy to quickly get frustrated with even more changes… however, as with any other business, it is important to stay focused and creatively look for the silver lining. Your competition may just get frustrated and leave eBay all together – but, I have to say that I don’t think the buyers are going anywhere. eBay is marketing to YOUR customers by trying to improve the buyers experience.
What, then, is the silver lining in the link policy changes?
eBay is now allowing you to link to ANY page that is an eBay page.
Think about this…
Think about this in the context of selling to a specific niche.
eBay just made it MUCH easier for you to cross promote your items.
Now you can…
1. Link to other specific listings directly from an auction listing! This means if you are selling an outfit in one listing and have shoes and a cardigan to match – you can link directly to those other listings! Combine this with a shipping special (ie., Win 3 and Shipping is on Me) and you have just increased the traffic (and potential sales) to your listings and you have likely just increased the number of buyers that win multiple auctions from you.
2. Link to eBay classified ads from inside your auctions. Use your classified ads to give away a free report that is related to your niche and start building a list!
This second suggestion may be a little bit to get your mind around… but, it is very powerful. We live in the information age – and if you can get your hands on a report that you can give your potential customers… more than half the battle is won on creating an entirely new revenue stream. You are now on your way to USING eBay rather than DEPENDING on it for income.
I’m already working on the next newsletter – and the topic is a perfect follow up to this. We will be discussing more about these special reports and the value of using them to build your business with eBay.
In the mean time, if you want to learn more about ‘Niche Marketing’, I have just completed a report called ‘Niche Factors’ that discusses a series of strategies for benefiting from focusing on a niche for your business. This 48 page report is going to be selling for $27, however, for the next week (through Monday the 14th), you can get it for $15 here:
http://www.jennihunt.com/nichefactors.htm
Enjoy!
Jenni Hunt
http://www.jennihunt.com
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2. Heads Up
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***HEADS**UP***
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Seller Sourcebook has provided me with some quick tips for listing auctions successfully… I’ll be running a series of them over the summer.
TIP #1: Your Title is the Door to your Auction:
I am sure you have heard the phrase “don’t judge a book by it’s cover”. While that saying is very true most buyers aren’t thinking that while scanning through auction listings. They see a mediocre title and in the back of their mind figure it is a mediocre auction. They will just continue moving on down the list of auctions and the opportunity to sell them your item is gone. You have to have an eyecatching and accurate title so the buyer can find your listing and takes notice.
First, let’s go over some things you DO NOT want to do.
1) DO NOT keyword spam!
Keyword spamming is where a seller uses a popular keyword in their auction title but it has nothing to do with the item being sold. Still confused? Let me give you an example. You have a lovely navy blue sweater with a thin red and white stripe across the chest. The design reminds you of a Tommy Hilfiger sweater you saw in the department store and you decide to title your auction listing “Gorgeous Tommy Hilfiger type Sweater Sz 9”. Congratulations, you are now guilty of keyword spamming. Besides being annoying to those buyers looking for real Tommy Hilfiger clothing the practice of keyword spamming is against eBay’s policy. As soon as eBay finds your auction or someone reports you for keyword spamming (and they will) your auction will be shut down faster than ice melts on a hot summer day.
2) DO NOT waste space!
You have a limited number of characters you can use in your auction title so you do not want to waste them on garbage. Here is a list of what I consider to be garbage, if you currently do any of these in your auction titles let me apologize in advance if I offend you.
Garbage #1: Unnecessary characters like #### @@@@ ^^^^ or anything similar that you may think will grab a buyers attention. Sure, your ad may stand out a little but no one does searches on the # symbol and you have wasted space where you could have put important item information. Also, do not waste space using a ton of exclamation points.
Garbage #2: Use of words or phrases that tell the buyer nothing about the item. Example: LOOK, WOW, HOT, BID NOW, MUST SEE. These words don’t tell your buyer anything pertinent about what you are selling!
Garbage #3: The worst offenders are the combination of both Garbage #1 and Garbage #2 – L@@K!, W@W!, H@T!, C@@L!…ad nauseum.
Ok, enough of that. Let’s go over what you SHOULD do with your auction title. If it has a brand and/or line name state it, if it has a size say it, if it fits into a certain genre or category say so. Which auction title sounds more interesting to you:
TOMMY HILFIGER 100% Wool Sweater Size Large
or
****Awesome Red Sweater L@@K******
While the second option might catch a few eyes because of the odd characters you will lose out on a lot of potential buyers. The first auction title contains words that people search on and/or scan auction listings for; the brand, the size and the content (wool).
Does your item fall into a certain genre? Then include that in the title as well if you have the space. Certain genres people search on for clothing are Goth, Hippy, Hippie, Boutique, Emo, Custom, Handmade, Handcrafted, etc.
Is your item a collectible, limited edition, retired, out of production, or something that gets knocked off a lot? If you have the space say so in the Title, use common abbreviations if necessary. Examples of these are: AUTH of Authentic, LE for Limited Edition, RET for Retired, OOP for Out of Production.
To learn more about Seller Sourcebook AND get 10% off any service, visit: http://www.jennihunt.com/recommends/ssb.htm
use coupon code to save 10%: 5CCBC
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***HEADS**UP***
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Are you still answering customer support emails manually?
I’m all for that personal communication – but, there is a way to implement technology and still have that personal touch with your customers.
No matter how clearly you state it in your listings… or on your About Me page – the same questions still get asked. People tend to be lazy and don’t read every word to understand how you run your business… and many don’t think twice about sending an email to the seller asking a simple question that is already answered. The questions may be different from seller to seller – or from business to business… but, we have all experienced what I’m talking about.
You know – when you state measurements of an item in your listing… but, you get 10 emails asking how big the item is. Or… you clearly state payment terms – but, there are always a bunch of bidders who still don’t get it.
Rather than answer each email individually – I recommend putting together an FAQ on your About Me page and then set up an autoresponder email to use for your customer service email. An autoresponder allows emails to automatically be sent out… it looks something like this.
Potential Bidder likes what they see with your item – but, wants to know if you will take a money order. Your terms clearly state the payment options and that you only accept paypal – but, they send an email anyhow.
The email address they send their question to is hooked up to an autoresponder that you have set up ahead of time. You have prewritten an email that mentions the FAQ you have put together for frequently asked questions and encourage the bidder to take a peek. You can also state that in the mean time, if their question isn’t addressed in the FAQ, you will get back to them within a specified amount of time.
Even though your bidder emailed you at 2 in the morning, they will automatically get that email sent to them… they are happy and you can enjoy your sleep! 😉
There are so many options for autoresponders… and your email service may even have one built in. But, the best of the best is aweber. You can learn more here:
www.jennihunt.com/recommends/aweber.htm
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Copyright 2008 Jenni Hunt, www.jennihunt.com
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