Posts Tagged: national small business week

7 Permanent link to What’s on Your Marketing Calendar Today? The A-to-Z of Marketing Your eBay Business What’s on Your Marketing Calendar Today? The A-to-Z of Marketing Your eBay Business

FEATURED POSTMelinda Jackson / Friday, May 20th, 2011

What’s on Your Marketing Calendar Today? The A-to-Z of Marketing Your eBay Business

Marketing your eBay business online to increase your sales may seem like a daunting task. Where and how do you promote your items? What tools are available to help you accomplish this? How do you track your progress? I wanted to provide some tips to help you get started in the right direction.

Set up an eBay Store
Before you begin to promote your business, decide what products you want to promote. Choose the keywords that will help you promote your products. I highly recommended that you purchase a domain name for your eBay business that you can then forward to your eBay store that is keyword rich or the name of your business or user id name.com. Don’t have an eBay store? Consider a subscription for an eBay store as an important first step in marketing your business. eBay stores offer powerful tools to help you market your business including 15 custom store pages, markdown manager, email marketing, your eBay store custom header and logo in all listings, and visitor traffic reports just to name a few!

As eBay rolls out changes and requires that listings be updated, take time to review your titles, descriptions, and perhaps add more item specifics, additional pictures, and more keywords. A great way to market your items in every listing is a scrolling gallery, such as the one offered free by Auctiva. Update your “About Me” page and use the simple HTML eBay suggests to add your active items and most recent feedback to your “About Me” page. This keeps your page updated with active listings full of keywords to feed the Search Engine spiders that “crawl” websites looking for important content. To see a great example of eBay custom pages, check out one of John Lawson’s 3rdPowerOutlet custom pages titled “Bandanas” which highlights one of his store categories.

Get Social
Now you have a URL forwarded to your eBay store to promote. This link can be added to all your social media and online profiles! Let’s start first with social media. You probably already have a Facebook page and maybe even a Twitter ID, but now you have a link to add to those profiles and promote in your status updates and tweets. When was the last time you updated your Facebook profile? Take time to update your personal profile, and if you don’t already have one, get a Facebook business page and include links to your eBay store. If you don’t have an eBay store, you can promote a link to your list of active items, your “My World” Page, and your “About Me” page.

Facebook and Twitter are popular and powerful social media tools to promote your brand, encourage customer engagement, and increase sales. It’s best to have both a personal Facebook profile and business page. Both profiles should be complete with descriptions of you, what you sell, your links, and your business information. New to social media? No worries, seek the pages of your competition, your mentors, experts on eBay, and follow them! They’ll teach you everything you want to know. We all have to start somewhere, but it is vital that you start!

With a Facebook page and a Twitter ID, a good place to start would be to follow the Twitter accounts of eBay Ink’s Social Media Sellers, and connect with them on Facebook. Join some Facebook Groups relevant to what you sell, and where you sell online to connect with your buyers and sellers who sell what you do or offer insights into marketing.
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4 Permanent link to Open Your Virtual Front Doors Because Opportunity Awaits Open Your Virtual Front Doors Because Opportunity Awaits

FEATURED POSTDanna Crawford / Friday, May 20th, 2011

Open Your Virtual Front Doors Because Opportunity Awaits

eBay has been my personal livelihood for almost 14 years now. I can’t stress enough to my friends and colleagues that are suffering in this economy to take a close look into getting set-up on eBay and bring their business to the world’s largest online marketplace and open the virtual front doors to opportunity!

When I show small business people how the items they are wanting to market show up in a simple google search they soon see for themselves that eBay listings are towering over their own. The proof is in the search and I love showing that visual example during a consulting session.

I spoke with a small business owner the other day that shared with me one of his proven facts and it was that his business has increased 70% since he brought his product onto the world of eBay.

As a certified eBay Business Consultant I’ve helped small businesses organize their listings and I’ve helped create powerful eBay stores that have become first on the search pages within Google and eBay. Watching eBay sellers become
Top Rated sellers for me is the ultimate pat on the back.

During this week as we celebrate the “working class love” while small businesses unite with recognition, I especially salute those like myself working from home being able to put the family first 24/7. This is one of the major perks of being a small business owner.

**Cheers** to continued success!

- Danna

Danna Crawford has been selling on eBay for 14 years – AskDanna.com – and you can learn more from her blog, podcasts and website at PowerSellingMom.com. Danna is a certified eBay Ink Social Media Seller and can be found on Twitter @PowerSellingMom.
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0 Permanent link to It’s not just about buying and selling… it’s about giving too It’s not just about buying and selling… it’s about giving too

FEATURED POSTKat Simpson / Friday, May 20th, 2011

It’s not just about buying and selling… it’s about giving too

Hello, my name is Kat Simpson and I’ve been selling on eBay since 1997! I’ve seen many changes and improvements on eBay since I started and one of my favorites was the addition of the eBay Giving Works program in 2003.

Since 2003, eBay sellers have raised over 2 BILLION dollars through this program!

A few fast facts about eBay Giving Works:
* Every minute, over $68 is raised for good causes on eBay and a donation is made every 24 seconds.
* Eight nonprofits in the US have raised more than $1M with eBay Giving Works.
* The most money raised for charity from a single listing on eBay was $2.1M, for a power lunch with Warren Buffett benefiting the Glide Foundation. Fast Facts about eBay Giving Works:
* Every minute, over $68 is raised for good causes on eBay and a donation is made every 24 seconds.
* Eight nonprofits in the US have raised more than $1M with eBay Giving Works.
* The most money raised for charity from a single listing on eBay was $2.1M, for a power lunch with Warren Buffett benefiting the Glide Foundation.

You can learn more by joining the community on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/ebaygivingworks.

Now, why should YOU as an eBay seller, participate?

1. Everyone wants to be a part of something bigger. I’m sure you as a seller have a desire to make a difference in this world. Your buyers do, too! Having at least a portion of their purchase go to charity is a great way to overcome any resistance to purchasing.

2. Traffic is higher to Giving Works listings – among the masses of listings on eBay, the Giving Works Ribbon helps yours stand out and buyers are looking for anything different.

3. Being a part of the Giving Works community is a great way to build your brand and build your own community feel with your buyers.

- Kat

Kat’s Boutique, Kat Simpson’s main ID on eBay, donates 10% of every sale through eBay Giving Works to the Mi Esperanza Program, a non-profit organization dedicated to the educational, financial and spiritual development of women living in extreme poverty. Kat also helps organize the yearly Breast Cancer Fundraiser Bling My Bra campaign on eBay, which donates 100% to the Susan G. Komen foundation. You can join the Bling My Bra community on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/blingmybra. Kat is also a certified eBay Ink Social Media Seller and can be found on Twitter @katskloset.
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0 Permanent link to Maintaining a work/life balance from the home office; conversation is key Maintaining a work/life balance from the home office; conversation is key

FEATURED POSTKaren Locker / Friday, May 20th, 2011

Maintaining a work/life balance from the home office; conversation is key

Why being a small business owner works for me…

Being a small business owner affords me the luxury of working on my own schedule. I have young children and when my daughter was born in 2006 I decided I wanted to stay home with them and be able to do all the fun things that mommys do. I had worked for others most of my life and as a single parent to my oldest I missed a lot of his growing up years working 100 hours a week to pay the bills. Now I have the time to be involved in field trips and field days, the PTA and school councils. I don’t have to find a baby sitter when one is sick, I no longer have to try and race out the door with a toddler that doesn’t want to go to day care that day.

One of things I didn’t expect when I decided to work from home was the eventual need for adult conversation. I was thrilled when I discovered twitter in 2009 as I met a lot of great people that were doing the same things as I was trying to do. Joining in the conversation I learned so much. Interacting with other e-commerce sellers taught me how to move my business forward in ways I never expected. I learned that by listening, learning and sharing there are so many opportunities out there. Over the years I went from selling my kids outgrown clothing and toys to having my own product line and working in partnerships with some of the coolest e-commerce people I know and I still get to be here every day when my kids get home from school. So to me it is the best of both worlds.

- Karen

Karen Locker’s eBay Seller ID is MommysBazaar1 and you can follow her on Twitter @KarenLocker. Karen started selling on eBay the same month that RBH joined the company – January, 2008. Karen is a certified eBay Ink Social Media Seller.
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0 Permanent link to eBay Ink Weekly Roundup – May 20 #InkRoundup eBay Ink Weekly Roundup – May 20 #InkRoundup

FEATURED POSTRichard Brewer-Hay / Friday, May 20th, 2011

eBay Ink Weekly Roundup – May 20 #InkRoundup

eBay SM Sellers Celebrate National Small Business Week
Kicking off National Small Business Week, eBay Ink Social Media Sellers took over the blog this week sharing with readers their thoughts on SMBs. From discussing the size of their business, to the pros of working with a spouse, our SM Sellers were able to provide insight and tips on what it takes to own a succesfull small business. [via Ink Blog]

eBay Launches Dedicated Motors iPhone App
eBay rolled out a new iPhone app for eBay Motors on Monday. The dedicated app for eBay Motors sells cars, parts and accessories, currently 90,000 parts and accessories and 2,000 cars are purchased per week globally from eBay’s general mobile apps. [via TechCrunch]

Further News
+ PayPal Teams With Philanthroper and opens the site up to an entirely new, international audience of potential donors.
+ Social Media allows SMBs to work faster
+ Half of smartphone owners now shop online via a mobile device

Looking Back on eBay Ink

May 19, 2010: I was fortunate enough to sit down with eBay CEO, John Donahoe, at the eBay: On Location event in Dallas a couple of weeks ago. We managed to take 5 minutes between sessions to sit down and talk about the event(s). Rather than edit the video down I wanted to give you guys the conversation in its entirety. I apologize for the bad lighting; we had to conduct it in his hotel room to eliminate any background noise. I’ve done my best to fix the brightness and contrast on the video for better viewing.

eBay Ink Weekend Roundup is a summary of news and updates around eBay, PayPal, Social Media, Technology and E-commerce. Let us know what interests you.
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2 Permanent link to Working and Selling Together: A True Marriage Working and Selling Together: A True Marriage

FEATURED POSTBetsie Bolger / Wednesday, May 18th, 2011

Working and Selling Together: A True Marriage

For me and my husband, the best part of owning a small business is also the number one challenge that must be faced and overcome: it’s the two of us, working together… and…it’s the two of us, working together. We’ve lived through the fighting phase of divvying up duties and authority, but not every couple does…or even can. And where the rubber meets the road, there’s nobody driving this baby but us, so scheduling vacations and taking time off isn’t easy.

Let’s talk about the good parts first. We get to spend almost all of our time together, which we think is great but it may not work for every couple. Considering that we used to live in two separate cities, it was a big and welcome change for us. Pre-eBay, I was a horse trainer (with weekend horse show and lesson commitments), while my husband was a nightclub DJ/VJ (a mostly weekend job). Not much chance of combining those two career paths into something we could both make a living at!

Thanks to eBay, which came along the year after we got married, we’ve been in business together ever since. Thankfully, figuring out who would do what was easy: he’s great at photography and shipping, and I’m better at listing and communicating (I help out with shipping as needed, but he’s in charge of how it’s done). So our skill sets mesh nicely, and we each get to take turns being the boss of something.

But working out the lines of authority without confusing them with personal autonomy took some doing…and maybe even some therapy. It’s gotten easier as we’ve gotten older; he doesn’t get mad if I have a suggestion about shipping presentation for a particular item, and I don’t get upset if he tells me what I should say in a listing. Well, not as upset as I used to get. Most of the time, anyway. In fact, sometimes I even ask for his input, especially when it comes to listing jigsaw puzzles.

Also as we’ve “matured” (such a nice way to say “gotten older”), we don’t often fall back into the trap of bringing domestic irritations to work with us. That’s something any couple who both live and work together need to watch out for. There’s something to be said for going into business as a couple during your AARP years, because you’re usually past the Sturm and Drang of a younger marriage (and some couples shouldn’t work together at any age!).

Our business on eBay includes our own account plus an account that we handle for a client. Our own account tends to ebb and flow depending on how much we’ve got going on in the client account, and our goal for this year is to achieve a better balance so we’re not sacrificing business in our own account because of the demands of the client account. Again, the onus is on the two of us to figure out how to better structure our time and productivity to make that happen.

Once we get that sorted, we’ll give some serious thought to how we can schedule a break from the production line (which will have to be timed to coincide with breaks we get from part-time side jobs each of us has). As it is now, we’re never away long enough to ship late, and we never go anywhere without an internet connection.

Luckily, we enjoy the challenge of integrating work into our lifestyle. We’re happy being a mom-and-pop shop, and we have no plans to expand beyond what we can handle between the two of us. But we do have a couple of friends who only work part-time, and they may step in this year to help us out from time to time so that we can keep firing on all cylinders.

For all its changes, eBay is giving us a good living and a good life. It offers both scalable opportunity and sustainability. For small-business entrepreneurs, it doesn’t get much better than that. Who else would hire the two of us as a team, and pay us this well? It’s a wonderful job…and we got it on eBay.

- eBetsy

Betsie Bolger is a full time eBay seller and an education specialist trained by eBay. As a producer for eBay Radio, Betsie develops content and scripts for the twice weekly live broadcasts. Betsie is also a certified eBay Ink Social Media Seller.
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5 Permanent link to How small is small? (After all, size isn’t everything) How small is small? (After all, size isn’t everything)

FEATURED POSTMarsha Collier / Tuesday, May 17th, 2011

How small is small? (After all, size isn’t everything)

Photo taken by Kenneth Yeung
National Small Business week? I’m so glad we got our own holiday! The Small Business Administration (SBA) defines a small business as one having less than 500 employees. Small, really? I’ve run a small business for over 20 years and personally find having lots of employees doesn’t suit my style. Lots of folks get their business going and can’t wait until they expand, hire lots of employees and hit the big time… and that’s great! But I enjoy working with a small intimate group.

Very few people get to truly understand the joys of being a very small business. You have the chance to run it by yourself, get help from family or hire employees. It’s all up to you. I started small – and chose to stay that way. I enjoy the flexibility of the hours I spend on my workday. I often work seven days a week, and also work at very odd hours. I fit my eBay business into my life.

If you make mistakes, buy the wrong products or price something badly, it’s your responsibility. You get the chance to learn from your own mistakes.

Depending on the point in my life, I decided how hard or how much I wanted to work on my online enterprise. I’ve hired employees, but I most enjoy working in a family setting. Before my daughter graduated from college, she would help me with my business. We’d go out together finding products, shipping items and working out pricing and profit margins. Had I been in my eBay business when she was little, I might have balanced a bit more between child care and school.

I speak to hundreds of eBay sellers every year, and when I ask them what they see for the future of their business, I almost always get the same reply. When the children grow up and they are left to their own needs and devices, almost everyone sees a retirement selling online. The best part of this is it is so totally doable!

Using social media expands the market for your items, and also allows you to bring together an online group of friends that encourages you in your business. There’s always someone to talk to, and someone to sell your items to.

I’m never going to give up my eBay business, and frankly can’t understand when someone tells me it’s too much work or too complex. Once you’ve got it down, you can have an income for life. An income will be based on just how hard you want to work. I love the idea.

- Marsha

Marsha Collier ran her own retail marketing business for 15 years, The Collier Company, and her eBay store is Marsha Collier’s Fabulous Finds. With over 1 million copies of her books in print, she is the top selling eBay author. Among her books, eBay For Dummies is the best selling book for eBay beginners. You can find her on Twitter @MarshaCollier. Marsha is also a certified eBay Ink Social Media Seller.
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5 Permanent link to Using Video to Gain the Competitive Edge Using Video to Gain the Competitive Edge

FEATURED POSTJohn Lawson / Monday, May 16th, 2011

Using Video to Gain the Competitive Edge
Listen to this astonishing statistic…171 million US Internet users watched online video in April 2011, engaging in nearly 4.9 billion viewer sessions during the month.

Many sellers both small and large are still missing one of the most accessible and important aspects of online marketing and social engagement: video marketing. eBay and the web is filled with text based advertising.

Each day internet users are bombarded with textual ads, eBay listings, email marketing and social media advertising. How can you get prospects to notice your items? How can your content stand way above the norm? How can you engage buyers and even make them share you listings with others? How about using videos in your ads!

Understanding Video and Human Stimulation.

Video does something that text can not, it touches senses of sight and sound that text can not. Couple your sight and sound with good contextual content and you now have an equation that looks something like this… Sight + Sound + Text = Magnified Stimulation. Video marketing will amass response that simple text does not have the capability to do.

Reading the written word is a foundational means of communicating with humans since ancient times. Then came the advancement of voice communication like radio and recordings to move human communication to the next level of stimuli. The revolution of movies, television and video enhanced the communication experience to a whole new height, stimulating the senses with audio, visual and motion.
- - Consumers trust online video
- - Conversion rates are higher
- - Customer rate of return is lowered
- - Satisfaction rating increased
- - Mobile and Social media “share value” increased
Video and Online Shopping

Research on the purchasing response of online shoppers show a 35% increase in sale conversion rate of shoppers who engage with rich media versus those who do not. Shoppers that view videos “product tours” spent over 2.5 minutes more with each product.
Quick Facts on Video Use in Commerce:

- Zappos – 6% to 30% increase in sales for products with video. (ReelSEO, December 2009)

- Visitors who view product videos are 85% more likely to buy than visitors who do not. (Internet Retailer, April 2010)

- Visitors who view video stay two minutes longer on average and 64% more likely to purchase than other site visitors. (Comscore, August 2010)

- In tests, merchants such as Archie McPhee experienced conversion rate increases averaging 30%, with a range from 12% to 115%. (Practical Ecommerce, November 2008)

- Optimized video increases the chance of a front-page Google result by 53x. (Forrester, January 2010)

- Video in email marketing has been shown to increase click-through rates by over 96%. In response, the number of marketers planning to use video in email campaigns has increased 5x since the beginning of 2009. (Implix 2010 Email Marketing Trends Survey)

- Living Direct found that videos boosted conversion as well as increasing time on site by 9%. (Internet Retailer, October 2010)

- Video views doubled from 14.8 billion to 33.2 billion between January 2009 and December 2009
- John

John Lawson is the President of ColderICE eCommerce Blog and the CEO of 3rd Power Outlet. John has been growing and changing his business with the continuously shifting world of eCommerce since he began selling a few used IT books online for extra money back in 2001. John is a top rated eCommerce professional with sales channels on Amazon, eBay, Yahoo Stores and company web site. John is also a certified eBay Ink Social Media Seller.
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0 Permanent link to Giving eBay Ink to our sellers in honor of National Small Business Week Giving eBay Ink to our sellers in honor of National Small Business Week

FEATURED POSTRichard Brewer-Hay / Monday, May 16th, 2011

Giving eBay Ink to our sellers in honor of National Small Business Week

National Small Business Week 2011 kicks off today and runs through Friday, May 20. To celebrate small business owners around the country, I’ve invited our eBay Ink Social Media Sellers to take over the official eBay corporate blog to write about topics, tips and issues they face as small business owners online. I can’t wait to see what they have to share with us all. Look for the first contributed blog post here later today.

Speaking on behalf of eBay Inc. and on a personal level, I am continually in awe of the ingenuity, competitive fire and entrepreneurial spirit that lives inside so many individuals not just in the US but around the world. Whether you’re realizing your dream as business owners online or off, all should be commended and acknowledged for your tireless efforts. I already point specifically to the eBay sellers I’ve met and come to know over the past 3.5 years as role models for my kids and even though I have a great professional and personal relationship with my manager, I imagine there can be no more liberating feeling than being your own boss. Cheers to all of you!

In the meantime, if you’re interested in becoming an eBay Ink Social Media Seller, please email me at ebayink@ebay.com and we can make it happen.

Cheers!
RBH
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Posts Tagged: national small business week

eBay Ink Weekly Roundup – May 20 #InkRoundup

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