Ebay Ebook Success: Effectively Promoting your eBay Store

To really maximise your eBay ebook sales you need to be promoting your eBay store.  eBay stores get less exposure than normal eBay listings and therefore will not yield great sales for you unless you promote them.  There are many ways both on and off eBay that you can promote your eBay store.  This article outlines some of them:

1) Ebay Auction Listings:- eBay Auction and Buy It Now listings get the main exposure on eBay.  When someone does an eBay search for an item all the eBay Auction and Buy It Now listings are displayed first.  Then after these the eBay Store listings are displayed.  Since these Auction and Buy It Now listings are getting the most exposure it makes sense to run a few of these and insert a link to your eBay store inside the actual description.  This works especially well with Auction listings as people often click the link so they can buy the item instantly from your eBay store rather than wait for the auction to end.

2) Ebay About Me Page:- The eBay About Me page is one of the best free opportunity's eBay provides to promote yourself.  Every time someone on eBay sees your eBay ID (whether you bid on something, leave feedback, or buy an item) there will be an About Me logo next to it and some people will click this logo.  Despite this, it really is one of the most under utilised tools on eBay.  If you do not yet have an eBay About Me page yet then get one NOW.  Use it to write about your eBay store and tell people why they should buy from you.

3) Ebay Reviews and Guides:- These are a relatively new addition to eBay but they are still a great way to promote your eBay store for free.  The reviews section allows you to write product reviews such as CDs and DVDs.  The guides section is more relevant to eBay sellers as it allows you to write guides on just about anything.  There has got to be some topic that you can write a guide on so get righting now.  When people read your guide they are presented with a link to your eBay store which is again more free exposure.

4) Ebay Seller Cross Promotion:- I outlined in the last article that with an eBay store you can cross-promote your items.  Recently eBay has also added the ability to cross-promote with other sellers.  This is very easy to set up and eBay manages the whole process for you.  All you have to do is go to the "Cross-Promotion Connections" area of My eBay and then use the request cross-promotions link in order to set them up.  If the other seller agrees then a box promoting their products will appear on your listings and vice versa.  This is a valuable way to increase your eBay sales and also generate more traffic to your eBay store.

5) Search Engines:- As I mentioned in my last article you get an actual URL with your eBay store.  This URL gets listed in the eBay stores directory and search engines which means extra traffic for your eBay store.  What's more eBay allows you to pick your search engine keywords so you can be listed under the categories that you feel are most appropriate to your eBay store.  Getting listed in the search engines is a great way to bring in customers from outside of eBay and maximise your sales potential.

6) Store RSS Feed:- When you access the home page of an eBay store you may notice a small RSS box in the bottom left corner.  If you click on this RSS box then you will be shown your store's RSS feed.  Now I myself am not an expert in RSS but I do know that it is another way to promote your eBay store easily and effectively from outside of eBay.  You can get some free software that submits your RSS feeds to the main RSS directories by doing a search on Google.

7) Blogging:- For those who don't know a blog is a weblog.  It's basically like an online journal where you post your thoughts, comments, or whatever else you want.  Blogging is an excellent way to get traffic to your eBay store.  Quite a few websites offer free blogs which you can sign up for and then link back to your eBay store.  Post in it regularly to gain exposure and your blog should soon become a great source of traffic.

8) Article Submission:- There are 100s of article directories out there that will you can submit your articles to, and if accepted you are allowed to have a live link back to your website or eBay store in the author resource box.  This is a great way to generate traffic to your website in the long-term as not only do the search engines index your article, but people also reprint these articles on their websites complete with your author resource box (and live link back to your eBay store).  The longer your article is online the more it will be reprinted and so the more traffic it will generate.

Hopefully this article has opened your eyes to some of the free and effective promotion methods for your eBay store.  At first the fact that eBay Stores do not get as much exposure seems like a major problem but by putting a little effort into promoting it yourself, it can be much more successful than any eBay Auction listing.  Till next time good luck with your ebook sales and take care!!!

Choosing the Right eBooks to Sell on eBay

As you may already understand, there is a great deal of profit potential in the field of eBook sales.  Many have found they can generate substantial earnings by selling eBooks on eBay, for instance.  There are a variety of sources that can provide some very solid information on how to operate and manage an eBook selling business.  However, many of these great instructional systems fail to provide some very critical information.  They don’t provide a great deal of guidance regarding title selection.

EBook sales are not just about how you sell.  It is also a matter of what you sell.  That is why choosing the right eBooks to place into your personal inventory is so critical.  No one would think of opening a traditional brick and mortar bookstore without having some idea of the kinds of titles the store would stock.  For some reason, however, many eBook resellers hop right into the eBook market without having any clear notion of what kind of eBooks they will be selling.

Picking the next great eBook seller may be more of an art than a science, and there is no sure way to predict which titles will perform the best.  However, there are a few factors one can consider to help guide them in making wise decisions.

Newer titles offer more potential.  Anyone seeking to make a healthy profit from eBook sales should realize that newer titles will generally outperform older titles.  This is not so different than the traditional book market.  However, the value of carrying new merchandise may be even more pronounced in the digital setting.  Internet audiences tend to find new information and accumulate it faster than others.  Thus, in order to really post huge returns on investments, you will need to stay in front of the curve.  New titles may cost you more to obtain, but the value of owning reseller’s rights to the hottest new thing will certainly make that cost a worthwhile investment.

Name recognition can be important.  EBook sellers need to remember what traditional book sellers have long known.  Authors sell books.  Regardless of the field in which you plan to operate, working with titles authored by well-respected and recognized authors will always help to increase sales.  Readers seek out the familiarity of a known author and tend to respect those who have supplied valuable work in the past.  Again, there is a greater up-front cost involved in working with more notable eBook authors, but the cost is a good investment when one considers the better returns they are likely to experience.

There is no perfect way to choosing titles for your eBook selling venture.  One is probably best advised to being their eBook selling career by focusing on a niche with which they are familiar.  This will better allow them to distinguish between the quality of titles, the distinction of the authors involved and other factors that can make a difference.  Newer titles and titles by recognized authors are always more desirable than older material produced by no-names.  The rights to great titles may cost a bit extra, but the expense is more than justified by the end result.

Choosing A Format For Your Online E-Book Publishing Business

Publishing an eBook online is without a doubt one of the most profitable ventures you can undertake when trying to make some income from the Internet.  But you must consider what format your eBook will be in.  Choose the wrong format and you can doom yourself to never making a profit, or at least not making a profit for very long. 

What are formats and what are some of the things you need to consider?  A format is simply what type of file your information will be stored in.  On your desktop computer are many different file types, where each file type is typically opened by a different type of program.  For example, there are plain text files, usually denoted with a “.txt” extension, there are “.doc” files, which are usually opened in Microsoft Word, there are “.htm” files, which can be opened by any web browser, and so on.  There are many, many different types of formats that are used by the myriad text and word processing programs our there.

In the same way, the information you present in your eBook needs to be presented to your online audience in a format that they can open up and read.  Formats such as .doc, .txt, .htm (or .html), .pdf (for Adobe’s ubiquitous Acrobat Reader) will have virtually universal readability.  However, you need to consider more than just readability when you make this decision.  You must also consider piracy and copyright infringement.  If your eBook is truly stellar, with a title such as “How to make a million dollars in two weeks by watching TV”, you must realize that it will be a prime target for information pirates.

Your eBook creation is your intellectual property and needs to be protected as much as possible.  Otherwise, people can simply pass your eBooks around on the Internet or attach them in emails to their friends.  You want to ensure that anyone who is reading your valuable content has legitimately bought and paid for the right to do so.  For this reason, the best solution is to publish your eBook in one of the many proprietary formats that will convert your ebook into a protected file that can only be opened by the person who has purchased it.

There are many programs out there that will convert your eBook into a secure format.  I can’t even begin to list them all, but you want to look for a format that will convert your eBook into some type of executable (.exe) file that can’t be cut, copied, or pasted from.  Search for “ebook creation software” or something like that in your favorite Internet search engine, and follow as many links as you desire until you find the format you like the best.

It’s up to you to protect your content, because certainly no one else is going to do it for you!

Till next time…<I>Success to you!</I>

-Ted

Ted is part of an Internet information marketing
group that makes its home at:
<a href="http://www.ebusinessmentor.com">www.eBusinessMentor.com</a>
Check it out for up-to-the-minute info on
marketing YOUR information online!

Business Expansion with Ebooks

Businesses of all sizes are expanding with ebooks. An ebook is a paperless book in digital format that you can download to your computer, handheld or other reader device. It can be read by using a software program like Adobe (for .pdf formats) or Microsoft Word.

Here are several ways to expand your own business operations with ebooks.

Marketing – An ebook offers an inexpensive means of producing full-color marketing materials complete with graphics and audio components. Find good software or hire someone to help create your ebooks. Grab a digital camera and start snapping shots of your products, people using your products and services, your workers, etc. Then show off your shots, your products and describe your services with awesome power-packed presentations; web pages with interactive links for sound, visual presentations, communications (emails or forum posts) and more.

Education – When your products or services need explained, educate your prospects and clients with ebooks. Have sample or short versions available for trial offers or free downloads. Then include full-fledged detailed editions with product / service purchases. Educate with visual, sound and interactive point-and-click methods. Invite questions and feedback from recipients for improvements on future product and service development.

Communications – How many times do you get an email you with a question - the same question over and over gain it seems – that requires a book-length answer? Maybe questions like, “How do you create a basic website?” or “How can you market on a tight budget?” inspire lengthy replies. Well, now you can write one long reply, turn it into an ebook and send it out – over and over again and free up more time for other things. AND include your own marketing information inside so that readers can look you up on the Internet, pass your information along and give others the opportunity to find you, too.

New Product – Use surveys and take polls for new product creation. Include a link to a web page with a questionnaire and free download for recipients upon completion.

Sales Reps – Arm your sales representatives with professional, top-notch full-color media / product / service information kits presented via your ebooks to share with local newspaper, radio, television and other media reps, visitors and potential clients at trade shows and other events. Set up an introductory page in your ebook, then an index where people can click and quickly find your History, Mission Statement, product and service descriptions and images, Contact information, Testimonials, etc. Then copy the ebooks to disks and CDs to distribute at events. This gives people the opportunity to learn much more about you when they have more time afterwards.

So grab your cyber-pencil or keypad and start writing! Ebooks can definitely enlarge your operations.

Business books have come a long way - but are they worth the read?

Business books are today’s fastest-growing categories in the professional/trade publishing industry.  Business books are a great asset to a person interested in starting his or her first small business and in recent years they have fast turned from heavy theoretical textbooks to a far more readable story format.  In a recent interview with renowned business columnist Dave Borgner, Jack Yale asked him why it had taken so long for business books to catch on with most people.  He answered in part by saying that in the past, between 45 percent and 62 percent of all business books were harder to read than other kinds of books because 68 percent of them used more complex words than we did.  David Williamson, CEO of Mark Hallet Financial Services Inc. and the author of the top selling news letter "Brands That Sell", thinks most business books are too theoretical.  The interesting business books are the ones that not only get the facts right but also tell a story in an interesting and appealing manner.

But today, business books are far more approachable than in years past – they tend to be more readable, more useful and may actually help to encourage more people to read this genre.  As the business book category has matured, Barnes and Noble insiders report that business books are among the company’s top five categories.  Over 5000 new business books are published each year in the United States alone, and we are beginning to see some titles encroaching onto the New York Times Bestseller list.   But beyond those red-hot numbers is what some publishing executives call a vast ''gray area'' in the way business books are sold, tracked and ranked.  Something like 93% of all business books are never read (most readers get thru one chapter and then give up).  I think that one of the problems is that a lot of business books are just too general and don't explain to a reader how to actually implement their ideas, or sometimes even the authors don't know how to implement their ideas.  On the one hand, business books are necessarily about generalizations – on the other hand your company is necessarily all about specifics – so herein lies a dilemma.

The business books are valuable sources of information as well as information on the strategies taken up by a particular company or updated information on the present funding trend, interviews with leading business personalities and suggestions on the ways of capitalization in a business.  It can be hard to know which new business books are the most beneficial, and impossible to find the time to read all of them.

Boosting the Sales of Your Internet Marketing eBook or Any eBook

When you put your all into learning something that  you  need  to know, you can bet that other people can  benefit  from  what  you have learned. Internet marketing is one of those topics that lots  of people need help with. So once  you've  gained  knowledge  and experience writing and selling an internet marketing ebook  might be a good opportunity for you.

In order to make money in ebook publishing, you have  to  have  a product that people want. How-to  books  that  fill  a  need  are undoubtedly best-selling  ebooks.  An  internet  marketing  ebook falls into that category.

There is nothing worse than an internet marketing ebook or how-to ebook that is filled with junk. Thus, in order for your  internet marketing ebook to be a best  seller,  it  has  to  offer  useful information. If  it  doesn't,  you'll  get  return  requests  and charge-backs left and right. Besides, if you don't  have  quality content in your internet marketing ebook, you  can't  comfortably offer a money back guarantee which is actually a vital aspect  of marketing ebooks for profit.

Every ebook, especially an internet  marketing  ebook,  needs  to have a clear purpose before you begin to  write  it.  Decide  who your target audience will be - who will buy your book?  Selecting a niche market to sell your internet marketing ebook to  is  half the battle. When you narrow your market  rather  than  trying  to satisfy the masses, you will have a much higher  quality  product and less competition. The trick to producing a best seller is  to provide a solution to an existing problem that isn't  effectively solved by numerous competitors.

Add value to your internet marketing ebook by  offering  freebies as  bonuses  for  buying  the  ebook  right  away.  A  customer's perceived value is very  important.  Examples  of  bonuses  might include things like a report  on  how  to  set  up  an  affiliate program for an ebook, how to manage a pay-per-click campaign,  or how  to  write  results-oriented  sales  copy  for  an   internet marketing website.

Realize that if your internet marketing ebook is  going  to  make money, you've got to apply the internet marketing principles that will get your ebook noticed, walk the prospect through the  sales process and close  the  sale.  The  first  principle  is  driving traffic to your website. Whatever internet  marketing  techniques you use to accomplish that, targeted traffic is vital.  Once  you have visitors at your website the sales process kicks in.

Long-copy sales letters  are  undoubtedly  best  for  selling  an internet marketing ebook or any  other  ebook  for  that  matter. Short copy just doesn't cut it. You see,  when  you  are  selling information products online, like an  internet  marketing  ebook, you don't have the advantage of a face-to-face sales opportunity. Your web copy has to accomplish the sales for you.

To close  the  sale,  the  copy  must  convey  a  unique  selling proposition - one or more things that stand out apart  from  your competition. It has to be attractive and compelling to your well-defined target market  with  headlines  and  subheads  that  grab attention by  stating  the  product's  benefit  or  solution,  or invoking curiosity. Your pricing strategy  and  relative  bonuses must give readers a high perceived value so they  feel  they  are getting an internet marketing ebook and additional information or products that are worth what they are paying.

The sales copy also has to build credibility  either  by  stating the  author's  credentials,  using  testimonials,  or  both.  The reader's objections also have to be countered by the sales  copy. This can be accomplished  by  addressing  them  directly  and  by offering a money back guarantee.

A long-copy sales letter for selling an internet marketing  ebook or another "how to" ebook that creates a  sense  of  urgency  can result in immediate sales. People have a tendency to  be  impulse shoppers so creating urgency by offering a "limited  time"  price or bonuses or making the product available  only  for  a  limited time will prompt the close of the sale.

Another factor to consider  when  writing  sales  copy  for  your internet marketing ebook is, buyers want to know they can contact you. When you provide  valid,  easy-to-find  contact  information your credibility increases tremendously and as a result  so  will your sales for your internet marketing ebook  or  any  ebook  you choose to publish.

Submitted by rcplinks.com <a href ="http://www.rcplinks.com/Article_Submission.htm">Article Distribution Service</a>.

Boost Ebook Sales with Easy Online Marketing

Have you experienced the famine cycle of business lately? A client complained, “I get so frustrated with being overwhelmed with business one week and famished the next. The truth is many business professionals experience the ebb and flow of business when they first start out. Some never break out of this daunting cycle. Their businesses eventually fail for they never learn to balance the ebb and flow with consistent marketing.

A mentor friend advised me, “To create daily sales, you must market daily.” Here are five of those top ten things to include in your marketing plan. Include these, break the feast and famine cycle for good and start a perpetual boost in sales:

1.    Put valuable free content on your website.

Seek to educate your audience. Help them make more money, cut costs or solve their problems. Examples include: online assessments, how to tips, short reports, resource lists, how-to tutorials, dictionary of terms in your field, etc.

2.    Create systematic ways to attract traffic to your website.

Setup a marketing system that will attract visitors to your website. Write articles that create a link back to your site. Develop a newsletter to stay in regular contact with your prospects and customers. Offer free information to educate, entice and motivate your audience. Include your website url with a special offer to attract visitors systematically.

3.    Automate keeping in touch with prospects and clients. Put a subscription form on your website.

Make a special offer or free gift to entice your prospects to sign-up. After building a list of prospects, you must follow-up with them on a regular basis to build credibility and relationship. You could create a message and put it on an auto responder. Send a message for every week with an offer for something valuable that will cost your audience little or nothing.

4.    Expand your marketing collateral.

If you create a short report that your target audience will value (e.g. “How to Hunt the Hidden Treasure in Your Customer Files”), don’t stop there. Expand it to a different media and/or market. You could create a tele-seminar, short articles. Or use the information to re-purpose it for a different market: coaches, consultants, doctors.

5.    Make marketing a habit. Marketing must become a habit not an interruption. 

Make a calendar that specifies what marketing activities you will do, in what frequency and the deadline. This way, your marketing becomes a part of your regular routine and not an interruption of real work. Schedule all your marketing activities including: writing articles, advertising deadlines, traffic building, referral systems, speeches, tele-seminars, etc. 

So how did your plan rate on a scale of 1-10? Seasoned business owners most likely already have their plan in place.
Even so, no matter where your experience level is, you can balance your business profit cycles by including: valuable content on your site, a systematic way to drive traffic, automatically keeping in touch with prospects and clients, expanding marketing collateral, habitual marketing, a good referral system, automated billing system, templates of best practice business and marketing materials, soliciting previous customers and outsourcing your marketing services.

Sound overwhelming? Don’t worry. Even starting with 2 or 3 of these tasks will help stabilize your sales flow. Start now. Put these tips into practice one by one and break the feast and famine cycle for good. Give your sales a perpetual sales boost with consistent marketing. Go ahead. Market daily and prosper daily.

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