How is your summer going? The slow
selling months are a great time to review your inventory and start planning your
fall sales.
Part of my growth strategy this fall
will include a larger Amazon presence. Over the last twelve months I've seen my
sales on eBay slowing while my sale on Amazon explode. The problem I have with Amazon.com
is navigating the site. As a seller I'm confused by the options; What is allowed and what's
not and what is the best type of selling platform for my business. So, I'm off
to the Amazon sponsored Independent
Online Sellers' Conference this weekend. Not to worry, I'm bringing my
trusty Flip
Video Camera and will bring back tips and techniques to share.
I have some exciting news for you if you live
in the Kansas or the central states. The first Regional eBay Conference and Education
Days will be held October 3, 4th & 5th - 2008. Called a
"Jubilee" by creator Joyce Banbury it is sponsored by Yabie. Joyce has founded the Yabie Association as a non-profit group
dedicated to Education, Community, Networking and Fun for eBay sellers and
buyers. Joyce has lined up speakers, educators, vendors and even PayPal and eBay
to join the conference. For more information or to register go to the Yabie
Website. I'll see you in October!
On the eBay Front: The new linking policy
was put on hold while management reviews it. They did listen to the community
on this one and are going to tweak the policy some. Until then, eBay management
has given sellers & buyers another month before they start enforcement.
In this newsletter I have a couple of
new marketing videos I'd like to share with you, so let's get started!
A Quick Update On
Current Court Cases on Counterfeit Goods
You may recall from my
last newsletter the court case eBay lost to LVMH. Tiffany had a similar
case in the United States federal court. The outcome was different
however. A district judge rejected Tiffany’s attempts to hold eBay responsible for counterfeit sales of “Tiffany” silver jewelry.
So, it seems Americans view their right to sell goods as well as
how responsible eBay is about controlling bad sellers very
differently than the Europeans. Which makes this whole issue
amazingly complex and is going to add a whole new layer to selling
goods Internationally.
Join me on Twitter! I've
just discovered a new way to stay in touch: Twitter. I've heard of
the site, but never bothered checking it out. Now that I have, I
can't believe how easy it is and how little time it takes to be
'social.'
By the way, I'd like to
hear what sorts of Tweets you'd like me to post? Would you like to
hear about new videos I've uploaded? Would you prefer to hear
about blog updates or classes? Or would you prefer to hear about
my dogs? Let me know by sending me an email.
During eBay Live, I
asked as many sellers as possible to give me their favorite
marketing tip. Over the next several weeks I'll let them tell you,
in their words, their favorite eBay marketing tip. Watch my blog,
YouTube, TwitterFacebook
or your email inbox for the latest video.
This weeks guest
is Lyndia Lerner from Expertbenefits LLC. Lyndia creates authentic
designer and artisan jewelry. She has a unique tip on
improving your DSR Feedback ratings.
How would you like to
have your product or service be the first thing your customer sees
when they come to the Internet? According to Google there are
'tens of millions' of active users on iGoogle.
IGoogle allows users to
set up their own content on their own unique landing page. Google
allows anyone to create that content, using the Google Gadget
templates.
They're simple to set up and an easy way to stay in the front of your customers
mind.
Wednesday, 8/13, at Lake Forest Park (9:30 - 11:30
am)
Lake Forest Park food commons meeting room (Third Place Commons)
If you have any specific suggestions for discussion topics, or
need more information please email Carol
Hearn.
Summer Classes:
I'm wrapping up the
summer classes, none are scheduled in August. My Basic Digital Camera Class just
finished their photowalk. We had a great time while the students learned
more about their cameras. Here's a photo of my group at North
Seattle Community College.
While I'm not giving any
local classes in August we have a few webinar's lined for you. I'd
like to introduce you to a couple of new services that can help you build your
business.
Yodio.com
is a free service that allows you to upload still photographs and
add audio/voice to them via a telephone. You mash it together
into a slide show you can share with clients and customers. This
simple to use tool can be easily put into (embeded) a blog or
website. You could use it to feature products, or talk about your
service.
Vzaar.com
is a eBay certified compliant tool for easily uploading your
product videos into eBay listings. No need to embed the code into
your eBay Listings - Vzaar will do it for you. You only need to
upload them to their site.
Get To Know Your Flip is
another August webinar Dany Byrne and I will be hosting. This
webinar is going to cover best practices using a Flip camera and
how to produce a video that will help sell your product. Watch this
newsletter, my blog or twitter account for more details.
Help Me Decide My New
Theme
I've decided it's time
to update the look and feel of my site. To make sure I get maximum
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) I'm going to use a Wordpress Blog
platform.
I've hired Dany
Byrne to install the template for me. She wants to get started
ASAP so we can have it done this fall. The problem is; she gave me
some really great looking themes to choose from. I can't decide
which one to use. Please help! I've narrowed my choices down to
three 'Revolution' Themes, shown below. If you'd please look them
over and vote on which one you think I should use, I'd really
appreciate it. The colors can be changed, but first I need to
decide on the template.
More about the Wordpress Revolution
Themes can be found
here. If you're interested Dany
can help you decide on the best theme from your business and has
them available for use in your website design.
Stand Out In A
Sea Of Free With Profitable Gallery Photos
A New CD Tutorial
With everyone’s gallery images now free, how will YOURS standout among the crowd? Join photography expert Cindy Shebley
and OSI Trainer
Janelle Elms as they give you some brilliant ideas on doing just that! Time 1 hour 15 minutes
What's a good gallery
photo
Why it will become
your most valuable real estate on eBay
Simple steps to
improve your photos
Cindy's best lighting
tips
Basic equipment that
will make a difference
Step-by-step on how
to use Bling! It
How to add photos to
your listing
And, how to add
photos without paying extra in fees
