Guest Blogging?
Becoming a guest blogger for a related website or blog can increase your own website traffic and improve your reach. The key is to provide a valuable and interesting perspective for the readers of the surrogate blog site. Your message should be just a little bit outside the normal flow of the readers expectations but not so far out that they will dismiss your post to wait for the next "regular" issue to return to normal. Intrigue don't insult... make new friends and possibly new subscribers in the process. Recently I have been working closely with Jay Berkowitz of the Ten Golden Rules Podcast, Ten Golden Rules Blog and website. TenGoldenRules.com. (Everyone should be familiar with Jay by now as I have been including a great deal of information about him and our interrelated speaking engagements etc... on this blog and in the Trading Assistant Journal.
Jay has a perspective that is exciting and refreshing when viewed from an eBay guy's vantage point. The entire world of Internet marketing is so vast and yet eBay people, myself included, can get so wrapped up with the day to day activities and grind of eBay that we sometimes let the entire outside world go by without even noticing. Jay brings into focus some aspects of that vast world, or at least the social networking and new Internet marketing portion of the it for me when I listen to his podcast. This is not a podcast which is designed to sell you a box of DVD's , Guides, e-Books or Courses - Jay has no DVD's for sale.
I appreciate his genuine awe struck and outgoing way of bringing his listeners sound bytes from some of the most powerful and cutting edge Internet marketers and pioneers in our World today. Jay rubs shoulders with and interviews the likes of Seth Godin and Jason Calacanis on a weekly basis. If you don't know who those people are, it's OK because Jay will share the highlights of the careers of these .com and Internet moguls with you when he reports on the Ten Golden Rules podcast. I say Awe Struck, not because I think Jay does not belong in the same room with these mega-tycoons of our industry but because he has a way of approaching these interviews with the kind of exuberance and giddiness of someone who may not belong, but is happy to be there, would bring. Jay belongs - one only needs to read his resume on the Ten Golden Rules website to know he has been playing in this sandbox for some time now. He simply has a style which brings the listener into the room as if we were flies on the wall and Jay is the only person who knows we are there.
Jay uses a small digital recording device to get his sound bytes and interviews. He approaches people at opportune times, usually after a cocktail hour or a dinner at the end of a long day or after a conference. His interviews are not stiff but his subjects just might be. The format is simple and to the point and he repeats similar questions to all of his guests but this only makes the listener more comfortable with the process. The answers are not canned or spammed and they seem to come from the heart with most of his best guests. So I applaud Jay for his honest and forthright efforts to bring a tiny glimpse of the vast and ever changing world of the Internet and how cutting edge pioneers use it for their own personal enjoyment as well as how they market for personal gain.
Jay has been more than happy to communicate and share with me outside the world of his podcast. I helped Jay and Debbie Levitt arrange for Jay to be the Keynote speaker at RocketPlace.com and now that has become a connection which will serve all of us well into the future. With Jay speaking at eBay live in Chicago (As noted in our previous post).
Jay has allowed me the honor of guest posting with an eBay perspective on his Ten Golden Rules Blog. I hope to contribute as often as he and his staff have a need for my content. But if no more than the post I have repeated below is included in the Ten Golden Rules blog, I think I will have been successful.
Guest posting is a sign that you have good content and that people want to hear what you have to say. I respect the trust and I honor the privilege whenever another blogger has room for one of my posts within their publication. If you reach the point where another blog property will have your content inserted with your own byline, as a guest blogger the opportunity should not be allowed to slip away. Guest Blog whenever possible and do it with integrity. Make sure your host is aware of your sincere gratitude for the opportunity to address his or her readers.
Thanks again Jay and the Team at Ten Golden Rules!
The following is my first guest post on the Ten Golden Rules Blog:
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Guest Post - Top 10 eBay Stores Tips for Small Business Owners
Here is a guest post from our friend Scott Pooler at All Business Auctions, an eBay stores expert.
Top 10 eBay Stores Tips for Small Business Owners
1) OPEN an eBay store and stock it with merchandise - This is the first step! Once you make this initial step, your business will be on its way towards gaining worldwide exposure for your brand plus a robust and lively new customer base. Question: Are you aware that more searches are initiated for products on eBay each day than on Google? In fact there are more searches completed each day on eBay than on Google’s entire system and every search within eBay is initiated by a consumer looking for a product to buy.
2) Build up your positive feedback number - By building the eBay account feedback through purchases and the sales of your store merchandise new and exciting features of your eBay account will become available. Once your feedback rating exceeds 100 all of your fixed price and store listings will be gaining even more Internet exposure on eBay express and your eBay store merchandise will qualify for many other programs within eBay. When sales exceed $1000.00 per month, the eBay stores business you established will be listed as a PowerSeller. Powerseller status indicates to the consumer that you are a steady and reliable resource and they can have confidence buying from you. Additionally, when your sales surpass $3000.00 per month, your business will qualify for a reduction in PayPal fees. The best sellers rise to the top both in the new Best Match Search and with quality DSR's or "Detailed Seller Ratings" on eBay. Being a great merchant now results in a bottom line discount on fees for Powersellers.
3) Research and Test - Use existing tools provided by companies like Terapeak and Hammertap to research your niche and products on eBay. Study the competition and learn your strengths and weaknesses as a seller on eBay. The world of eBay retailing is dynamic and different from even cutting edge eCommerce marketing. You must have relevant and accurate information at hand to really know the marketplace. Without research and testing (via your eBay store and auctions listings), no real eBay marketing plan can be developed. Use these easy to understand tools to learn the trends, price points, and methods your competition uses to dominate the marketplace for your niche. Research is king on eBay!
4) Design Your eBay Store to fit your brand - An eBay store is a marvelous tool to attract traffic to your merchandise but once a potential customer lands on your site you want them to stick around and see all that you have to offer. A standard eBay store design is very basic and will appear as one of a thousand similar eBay stores in the world. To stand out and be recognized, you need to invest in a professionally designed eBay store. A store designed with your company look and feel and your branding will perform much better than the stock eBay store packages with dated graphics and cookie cutter design.
5) Complete your eBay Store “About Me” Page - This is possibly the single most important step to succeed as an eBay seller! The About Me page is the only place where, within the eBay rules and guidelines it is possible to re-direct eBay traffic to your own website. If you want a portion of the 225 million eBay users to see your company website, this is where you get it done! A professional eBay store design should include a “me” page designed to funnel traffic to your off eBay website.
6) Write an eBay guide, review, or blog - Give your muse a try and write a review or a guide to how to buy a product you feature. What should a consumer look for in products similar to what your store features? How would a consumer go about finding an honest dealer like you? What kind of treasures can be found in the marketplace and how does a consumer tell the good from the fake in your field? This is not a place for blatant merchandising but more of a place to write a common sense guide about how to buy your specific category of widgets. These guides and reviews and/or blog posts are all ways to gain worldwide exposure for your company and your brand and identify yourself as an expert - eBay provides these tools to you for free!
7) Import your eBay listings into your own website - Create excitement on your website and offer ever changing content to the search engines by importing your own eBay store listings into your off eBay traditional website. The advantages of this strategy are vast and the investment is minimal. If you sign up as an affiliate of eBay (also free) your company can even realize revenue from any click through to eBay from your website.
8) Sell Internationally - With an eBay store your company becomes an international exporter overnight. Make your products available to the world and offer them on all of eBay's international websites. You will gain new customers, additional traffic and valuable bidders for any auction listings you post. Bring the world to you with the click of a mouse!
9) Set up a Trade - In / Trade - Up Program for new equipment sales - . Example: Your business sells new and valuable products or merchandise and has a loyal customer base. You are always working toward selling your customers the latest and greatest piece of equipment or new model of your merchandise. As a business owner you hesitate to directly accept trade in equipment and then sell same used equipment for warranty and financial reasons etc… With an established eBay based Trade up program an opportunity becomes available to offer your customers a way to convert used merchandise into trade in cash on eBay if the customer will commit to buying a new stock item from you. In an eBay consignment arrangement, you never take ownership of the item and therefore you never invest in the item nor are you liable for the item. The item is sold as is to a new customer and your loyal customer applies the value towards the sale of your new inventory. Win Win - Everyone is happy. You sell new equipment by eliminating a financial objection from your present customer. - Smart Business!
10) Stick with it! - There are many tools available to your company which will automate the process of listing and re-listing merchandise which reduces labor costs and the possibility of tedium causing you to abandon an eBay store plan. When you set up your eBay store, have an eBay plan in place with goals and milestones in mind and on paper. Stick with your plan, adjust your goals, and learn your marketplace. Each sale will propel your business along the pathway to success and each sale will be a learning experience. Your company and you can do it and you can do it now!
Bonus Tip - eBay is more than a sales channel - eBay is a worlds most highly trafficked intersection of buyers and sellers. Location is everything in the world of retail and if your store is on a busy corner you will be touted as a genius for your selection of a location. Think of eBay more as an advertising opportunity and a brand building marketplace with the added benefit of producing real sales. eBay has spent as much as 4 Billion dollars per year on PPC advertising targeted for goods listed within eBay Stores, do you want a piece of that ad buy? An eBay store can have a long lasting positive impact on brand awareness and new customer acquisition all while providing actual revenue. Top tier retailers including Sears and Circuit City have invested in the eBay marketplace because it is much more than a place for collectibles. Open up to the possibilities of eBay, no other venue provides so much traffic with such a small overall investment.
Scott Pooler is an eZine Articles Expert Author and the Publisher of the "Trading Assistant Journal" . His company - AllBusinessAuctions.com provides eBay stores design, eCommerce development, Internet & eBay solutions & software to small and mid sized businesses worldwide.
727-596-6900
Posted by Jay Berkowitz at 10:45 AM 0 comments
Labels: All Business Auctions, eBay, Hammertap, Scott Pooler, terapeak
