Cindy Shebley CloverCity November 2007 Newsletter

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November 2007 VideoZine

It's been such a busy month, I almost missed getting this newsletter out! Hope everyone had a block buster black Friday!

In This Issue:

Video Tip: Bling! It
Do You Want My Money? - guest written by Dany Byrne
Monday Night eBay Education Series
Our four part 'Adding Video to you eBay Listings' series is now available
Free Snag it and Camtasia Software

You may have read or heard this month about a new software program launch called 'Bling! It'. If not, it's a new program that makes removing unwanted backgrounds from your photographs simple. I had so many people write me and ask about it I decided to do my video tip on it.

Bling! It:

This seven minute video is a quick tour of this new software tool.

Click on the player above or use the URL below to cut and paste into your browser:

http://www.clovercitysells.com/blingit/blingit.html

Bling It! is available now for $49.95 in Windows and Mac versions. Boost Sales With Bling! It

Do You Want My Money or Not? by Dany Byrne

Do you subscribe to Janelle’s newsletter? If not, why not? There is no better tool for growing your business than The Online Success Institute. Do yourself a favor – if you don’t already subscribe, click on the link below that will allow you to sign up. As I read Janelle Elms’ newsletter this week, I was reminded of something I learned as a bricks and mortar store owner – disgruntled customers may be the best resource you have.

Janelle was at a local trade show, and she was trying her best to buy from some of the merchants. But at every turn, it seemed that the sellers were erecting obstacles that made it impossible to complete the transaction. She was so frustrated, she devoted a large part of her newsletter to an article called “Do You Want My Money Or Not?”

Not every cranky customer can give you the sort of top notch business advice that Janelle offered to the store owners who operated the impossible to find or navigate websites that made her want to scream – but every disappointed buyer or lost sale can point to a weakness in your business that you need to correct. Don’t let your emotions get in the way of correcting mistakes! No one likes to be criticized and no one wants to hear, after the countless hours of hard work you put into your business, that the design is confusing or the colors are hard to read or that the shopping cart is unusable – and you should junk them and try again.

The only thing worse than hearing those sorts of complaints -- is not hearing them. Because if one person is frustrated enough to tell you everything you’ve done wrong, you can bet another ten potential buyers have just clicked off your site or abandoned their cart or quietly walked out of your store without spending a penny. How can you make your business the very best it can be without customer feedback? No matter how good it is – it still isn’t perfect. That isn’t a reflection on you. That’s just reality. Everything can be improved. Listen to the folks who tell you what’s wrong – and then make it right.

It can be very difficult to see your web site through a stranger’s eyes. Navigation links that seem obvious to you – because you’ve spent so much time thinking about them – can be baffling to others. Your friends have listened to your plans and understand your ideas. They may also see your store or auctions through your eyes! Loyal customers may have gotten used to the horrible shopping cart software and the broken links. But the brand new buyer, with money in hand, turns away.

Don’t expect your buyers to do your work for you. It is not the customer’s job to track down the shipping prices or ferret out the broken links. If they are kind enough to do it anyway – thank them and then thank your lucky stars for every hard-to-please shopper you see!

Remember - your goal should always be to make it easy to buy. In fact, you can never make it too simple or too easy. But you can turn complaints into sales if you first listen and then act. You never know – that cranky customer may just be a $1,000.00 an hour consultant whose free advice can turn your mistakes into gold.

SIGN UP FOR JANELLE’S NEWSLETTER HERE

Monday Is Education Specialist Night
Forget Football - watch your computer!

Janelle Elms from OSI Rockstars has invited me to be her regular Monday night educator.

Every Monday at 6:00 p.m. Pacific (eBay Time) till 7:00 pm.

To see the line-up of amazing stars in the education world I have coming on the show please check out success with cindy

Using Video In Your eBay Auctions
four part video series

Using Video on eBay is the amazing, information packed, four part web workshop that gives you the tools you need to market your business and entice new customers by adding video to your eBay listings, your blog, your web site, and even Amazon reviews!

Volume 1: Tools of the Trade
Volume 2: Tell A Story
Volume 3: Editing
Volume 4: Marketing
Volume 5: Bonus CD

This four part series is narrated by Dany Byrne from Ghost Leg Media and me - Cindy Shebley. It was hosted by Janelle Elms at OSI Rockstars.

If you missed the live web broadcasts in September, now is you chance to catch up with them. Video is going to be a powerful new tool for selling your products on the Internet.

For a limited time only – Get a free 5^th BONUS CD that includes iPod and MP3 versions of the webinars, for studying on the go, plus an exclusive eBook, “The eBay Sellers Guide to Video”

For More Information, or to buy - here's a link to the four part eBay video series

FREE Snag-it and Camtasia Software!

Here's a holiday sale no one is going to want to miss - TechSmith is giving away their products, Snag-It and Camtasia Studio.

Sooner or later, if you teach others how to use eBay, you'll need to use screen captures. Screen caps are pictures of an area on your monitor's screen, or a particular window, or sometimes even the entire screen. They are an indispensable part of teaching someone how to sell on eBay.

I've been using Snag-It for a few years. It is the absolute best tool for the job, bar none. Not only do you have a choice of outputs (.png, .jpg, .gif, etc.), but you can add call outs and special effects - like arrows or balloon help - to your screen caps. Snag-It's editor allows you to create jagged or torn or faded edges, which always draw attention and earn comments in classes (everyone wants to know how to do it!) Snag-It even includes a simple screen recorder to make small flash demos when a still picture just won't do.

At $40, Snag-It is a great deal. But right now, TechSmith, the makers of Snag-It and Camtasia, are offering an even better deal -- FREE.

There are no gimmicks or gotchas. It's a simple statement from the developer that they believe you'll love their product so much that once you use it, you'll never want to use anything else. And you may even want to buy the latest version. So they will give you, with no strings attached, a registration key for version 7 of Snag-It (the current version is 8.2)

First, of course, you'll need to get a copy of version 7. Go to oldapps.com and download Snag-It 7.25 from this link:

http://www.oldapps.com/download.php?oldappsid=SnagIt725.exe

Then head on over to TechSmith and request a free registration key from this special link:

http://www.techsmith.com/snagit/ukdn.asp

That's it - you are now free to use Snag-It forever for free with no strings attached, courtesy of an amazing promotion. And - as a bonus - if you do decide to upgrade at any point - you can get the current version for half price!

Trust me - if you don't already use Snag-It, you are missing one of the most valuable teaching tools around. Grab it while you can - you won't regret it.

And if you love Snag-It as much as I think you will, you won't want to miss TechSmith's even more spectacular offer on Camtasia Studio, their top of the line screencasting product. TechSmith is also offering an older version of Camtasia at no cost (that's a $300.00 savings!). To get the details on the Camtasia deal, check the Using Video on eBay blog at

http://www.ghostleg.com/blog

Thanks Dany - for this heads up!

New Online Digital Camera Class Coming In January

Take this class without leaving the comfort of your home!
Taught by Cindy Shebley

Dial in and watch your computer monitor.

When: January 23, 2008 and January 30, 2008 (Two Wednesday sessions).
Time: 5:00 - 7:00 pm (pacific)

I'll provide the information necessary to produce great photos and walk you through step-by-step how to use your digital camera.

During these two classes we'll cover: the various modes and settings your camera has to offer, the basics of composition, how to get those images to your computer, basic software uses, printing and sharing your photos via email and the internet.

We'll open up the phone lines for questions at the end of each session, so bring your camera, questions and enthusiasm - and never leave the comfort of you home!

Includes a downloadable PDF file with the presentation so you can follow along with your camera instead of taking notes.

For More Information or register about this online camera class click here

Don't forget to check out my classes. If you live in the Puget Sound Region the next eBay Success Meeting is on Friday December 14th, 2007.

If you missed the last one Our Guest Speaker was
Cathi Aiello
Allegro Accounting, Inc.
www.allegroaccounting.com
www.web-bookkeeper.com

One of the fantastic tips she gave us was about copying thermal receipts. I hadn't thought of it before, but those thermal receipts fade away - not very good if you plan on proving your expenses during an audit a few years from now. If you'd like to hear the meeting, along with Q&A we recorded it. Here's the link to the Cathi Aiello Success Meeting. Look for it at the bottom of the page and download it to listen.