7 Ways To Promote Your eBay Store
The recent fee increases for eBay Stores have resulted in a
large number of eBay Storeowners closing their stores because
they didn't feel they could absorb the increases and remain
profitable.
The majority of eBay Storeowners, however, simply absorbed the
increases and continued to run their stores in a highly
profitable manner. The primary reason they were able to do this
was because they didn't just throw up an eBay Store, put a few
items in it, and let it sit there. They had been promoting their
stores all along. Promoting your eBay Store is vital to ensure
it maintains continued profitability.
Here are some ways you can go about promoting your eBay Store
for continued maximum profits:
1. Link To Your eBay Store In All Your Auctions - Every auction
you list should include a link to your eBay Store. While eBay
automatically includes a link to your store in all your
auctions, you should take a different approach. Make sure your
store has similar items in it, and then link to that specific
item with links such as "Can't wait for this auction to end?
Click here to Buy It Now!"
2. Link To Your eBay Store In All Your Invoices And Other
Correspondence - Everything you send to your customers, or
potential customers, should include a link to your store. You
can do this in two ways:
- Include a link to your eBay store in your email signature
block. For this to be most effective, don't just link to your
store. Make them want to click on the link by linking to a
specific item or items related to the content of the email.
- Include mentions of your eBay store within your email itself.
When a customer writes you with a question about a specific
item, don't just answer their question. If you have a similar
item or items in your store tell them about it and include a
direct link to it within the body of your email. Just be careful
not to make the email look like an advertisement. Use a
soft-sell approach and mention the item in a way that doesn't
interfere with the flow of your response.
3. Submit Targeted Keyword To Pay-Per-Click Search Engines -
Submit your site to pay-per-click search engines such as
Overture.com. Select keywords that will attract narrowly
targeted buyers. When doing this, your goal shouldn't be to
attract as many clicks as possible, but rather, to attract as
many tightly targeted clicks as possible. Write your
pay-per-click description in such a manner that it draws people
who want to buy your item to your store. You do not want to
attract "browsers" as they will just eat up your PPC budget very
quickly.
4. Use Your Store's Monthly Sales Report As A Promotional Tool -
Study the information included in your monthly sales report for
your store to determine what promotional methods are working and
what ones aren't. Increase your efforts in the areas that are
working best for you and either drop or revise those that aren't
doing so well.
5. Let Your Store Promote Itself - eBay has a store search page
that works very similar to a regular search engine that some
eBay buyers will use. Others will use actual search engines such
as Google, Yahoo, etc. Because of this, it's important that you
let your store promote itself by targeted keywords in the
appropriate places:
- Your eBay Store name should describe what you are selling
- You are allowed to have up to 20 customized categories within
your store. Use the keywords that your potential buyers will
search for as your category names.
- Use keywords in your eBay store description that accurately
describe what you are selling. Just be sure to insert them into
your description in a way that's user-friendly and doesn't
appear as blatant advertising.
6. Use eBay's Cross Promotion Features - eBay provides
storeowners with cross-promotion features but most sellers don't
use them wisely. Make sure you are showing the right product to
the right buyer at the right time. Ensure you are
cross-promoting the proper items not only in your listings, but
also in your Bid Confirmation and your Purchase Confirmation
pages.
7. Make Use Of The Email Marketing Tool eBay Provides - eBay's
Email Marketing feature allows you to build an opt-in customer
list very cheaply. Encourage buyers to opt-in to your mailings
by promoting your newsletters in your store and in all post
transaction communications with buyers. Just ensure that you use
the tool wisely and don't send messages to your subscribers so
frequently that they view your newsletters as Spam. Optimally,
you shouldn't send more than two or three newsletters a month.