There are a thousand ways you can promote your eBay business but we cannot list them all here! Here are 5 highly effective eBay tips for promoting your online store.
Link it: Most email clients allow you to set an automatic signature that is placed on all outgoing email messages, easily allowing you to promote your store. A large number of forums and message boards allow users to include buttons and links in their signature lines. Make sure to read the posted forum rules to ensure compliance with site requirements. You should always include a link to your store when running an auction, a buyer may not have a need for the item listed at auction, but might want to see what other products you have available.
Blog about it: eBay is much more than just an auction and store site, one of the many new features to the site is blogging. Any member can set up a blog and write about whatever topics they choose. As new products are added to your store, you can write a post about them, in order to get the more recognition. Reading and following other bloggers can also help with networking on the site. If you have friends and frequent buyers on the site leave comments on their blogs, often they will return the favor. If you have blogs in other places be sure to link to your store, custom buttons can be added to your site or HTML links. Your eBay store listing can also be added onto any sites offering a profile or about me page.
Develop a logo: Businesses looking to get a little extra attention often use logos to create brand identity; a logo on your storefront also helps it look more professional.
Promote offline: Your eBay store promotion can take place offline as well. Print business logos and the Web site address for your eBay store on low cost buttons, pens, key chains and business cards, then pass them out to friends, family and co-workers.
Writing for your audience: If you are a good writer or can afford to higher the services of a professional, create a newsletter that relates to your interest and items you sale. For example, a seller who exclusively offers computer parts for purchase could write a brief weekly or monthly newsletter discussing how to customize your own computer system. Then before sending it out, a link to a sellers store and a specific item mentioned in the newsletter and listed on their store can also be linked too.
Besides a newsletter, a autoresponder series can be used. Autoresponders offer buyers tips or information about a product, they are usually designed to get the buyer to take action and buy a product. Most autoresponder series are set to run for a week. Sellers can also self promote through article directories, a number of sites allow a business to create an article and get it listed for free. These pages are indexed by the search engines, and once an article goes live it can provide a constant source of promotion.
Used as another marketing tool, eBay sellers can appeal to a wide variety of customers using a blog. This creative marketing method not only allows for a convenient way to reach new and existing customers but also assists sellers with saving fees using referral reimbursement credits.
To begin, sign up for a free blog and list information about your online eBay store. Give some information on your background, interests and store’s history. Not creating something looking like a sales pitch, write relevant information pertaining to the products found in your store. For example, jewelry sellers could create posts about proper jewelry care, jewelry cleaning, birthstones, popular jewelry designers and other relevant information. Between posts could be a link to your seller’s online store. However, if looking to save a lot of money, consider using each item listed to earn a referral fee.
When a buyer clicks on the link to your item outside of the eBay seller store, buyers may be eligible to receive a referral fee. This is basically a reimbursement of 75% of the item’s Final Value Selling Fee. Links must contain the referral code in them and the URL with referral code can then be inserted into your seller blog. Check after each post is published to ensure the referral link appears when clicked. Referral links will have either “?refid=store” or “&refid=store” in them; depending on which page of your store is chosen.
After the blog is created, now it is time to market it. But, who do you send it to? eBay sellers with Basic, Premium or Anchor Stores are allowed to send monthly emails with 2,500 emails for Basic Store subscribers, 7,500 emails for Premium Store subscribers and 10,000 emails for Anchor Store subscribers. Take advantage of this paid, included store benefit and market your seller blog to previous customers. Customers, mainly those who had a positive experience with the seller are more likely to purchase from the same seller again; especially if an item is listed that sparks their interest. When choosing this option, send a link to your blog and from your blog; link directly to the item. Referral fees must come from a link outside of the eBay.com website; so it is important to first direct customers to your seller blog.
To expand your seller blog, visit forums and target your blog to that specific audience. The goal is not to appear as spam; so mentioning of the blog must be kept to the signature line. Lure forum participants to your blog by maintaining participation and use the information discussed to generate ideas for new blog posts. To find forums, perform a search using the type of item being sold: “ceramics”, “children’s clothing”, “shoes” (as examples) and the word “forum”. You should be taken to a forum where you can begin marketing to a new audience.
Be sure to update your blog regularly, and if selling different items, consider having multiple blogs. When done correctly, the Store Referral Credit can help eBay sellers reduce the amount taken on Final Value Fees and successfully grow their online business.
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