Advertise Outside of eBay

There is a common misconception about eBay in which people think they can get rich easily and quickly. While some people have made lots of money from selling on eBay, it certainly isn’t effortless or easy. Folks need to first understand the eBay environment they’re venturing into. Marketing expert and bestselling author, Seth Godin, calls eBay a “haystack”; something in which people can easily get lost if they don’t have a plan.

In a recent podcast interview, AuctionBytes editor, Ina Steiner, talks with Seth about his new book, “The Dip: A little book that teaches you when to quit (and when to stick)”. During their discussion, Seth talks a little bit about the way he sees eBay commerce:

“eBay is a haystack, and your auction is a needle. You can sharpen your needle all you want, but it’s still going to be a needle in a really big haystack. I think the way you win is by getting out of the haystack.” (emphasis mine)

Seth offers specific ways of doing just that. eBay sellers and storeowners can market their brand, and themselves, on places around the web such as, Squidoo (which he founded), Twitter, and blogging.

Seth Godin is a very well established marketer and there’s no doubt that he knows his stuff about product promotion and brand marketing. I’d like to expand on his idea of marketing outside of eBay to include cost-effective product advertising as well.

eBay sellers have tons of listings, especially if they have a store. While Seth’s suggestions are great for marketing the seller, it is also important to market the seller’s products as well. Blogging about each individual listing is just too time consuming to be a valuable use of time.

ClassifiedFlyerAds.com allows eBay sellers to advertise all of their listings online in one step, simply by using the file feed or RSS feed of their listing inventory. The system automatically places each listing into it’s own web page and posts them to over a dozen online search directories.

With seller marketing and product marketing combined, an eBay seller has a real chance at success.

Increase eBay Store Traffic

So you’ve got an eBay store with tons of great items, so it’s just a matter of time before the cash starts rolling in, right? You’ve made sure all of your friends, family, and co-workers know about it, but is that going to get you the amount of traffic you’re looking for? Likely not.  eBay is the largest online marketplace in the world, which means you have a lot of competition, no matter what type of things you sell there. So, how do you get your eBay store and products noticed?

You need to advertise your eBay store. Simply putting items on a website and opening an eBay store will not bring the success you’re looking for. Remember, you are a salesperson now, and have lots of competition. If you’re serious about having a successful eBay store, you need to treat it like you would a business. When a new storefront opens in your town, do they open their doors and just sit around hoping that masses of people flood in? No, of course not! They plan and promote and advertise their new store; and that’s just what a new eBay store owner must do as well. If you want a little help,  ClassifiedFlyerAds.com has developed a system that makes it so simple to effectively advertise your store and eBay items. The advertising method they use also increases incoming traffic to your store.

The service uses a file of your eBay store listings to promote those items outside of eBay. They place each of your items on a unique webpage, then submit all items to online classified directories - automatically. And that’s the best part; it’s hassle-free.  So now, instead of your eBay items being only on eBay, they are all over the internet. A great added benefit is that with all of those links (from your item webpages) pointing back to your eBay store, it actually improves your eBay store’s overall ranking in Google and other search engines.
 

Remember, any new eBay store (like any new brick-and-mortar store or any new website) needs promotion and attention. If you spend a little bit of time and effort, you can end up with a truly successful store. Best wishes for your success!

And, if you don’t know how to get the file feed of your listings, don’t worry! ClassifiedFlyerAds.com provides an illustrated guide and video tutorial to guide you through the process, step-by-step. Once you sign up, the process is simple and fast, and much more affordable than other similar services out there.

So get advertising! Best wishes for your eBay store success.