Press Release Tools For Marketing – RocketPlace eBay Conference – PR Web Based Marketing

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Do you use Press Release Marketing?

Press releases can be a very effective tool for online marketing. Using services like PRWeb, Express Press Release and more (just google "press release or online press release and you will have hundreds to choose from) can increase your online exposure, provide back links to your blog articles and web pages and much more. The odds of an online press release being picked up by a major news outlet may be slim but the everlasting exposure on the web is still worth your efforts.

You should write press releases in a newsworthy style. Simply repeating your marketing message will not cause many readers of press release material to linger long on your press release. Include current events which relate to your business or service and try to get quotes and references from outside sources. Your press release should look somewhat like what you might read in a newspaper, not like a brochure or web page for your business.

Here is an example of a press release I just sent out this morning. Tell me if you think it looks newsworthy.

All Business Auctions of Largo, Florida CEO Scott Pooler to Speak at eBay Powerseller Conference - RocketPlace - Orlando March 1, 2008
Scott Pooler of All Business Auctions to Speak at an eBay Selling Seminar & Conference (The first to convene after the recent fee and feedback changes at eBay). The focus of this conference is education and information sharing. Scott will discuss the addition of eBay consignment to existing small businesses and many other speakers will share insights about how to make eBay add to your bottom line.

Recent eBay news has been filled with negative reports about changes in fee calculation methods and seller feedback. These changes have just recently been introduced by eBay to the millions of current sellers utilizing the online auction service to present their wares to the world.
Rocketplace (formerly the As Was Conference) @ The Disney World Yacht Club Resort, February 28 - March 1, 2008. http://www.rocketplace.com/index.html Is the first conference of Powersellers and Solutions providers being held after these eBay changes were announced.

"We will discuss the changes in fees and feedback but we do not plan on adding to the present fervor by promoting sellers strikes or departures" Said Scott Pooler of All Business Auctions.com in Largo, Florida. "Our focus is and always has been, using eBay's massive appeal and significant worldwide traffic pull to help small businesses succeed in online marketing"

Mr. Pooler is a 10 year veteran of online marketing via eBay. He has been a Powerseller, a Trading Assistant, eBay Drop Store owner and a Master Franchise Representative for one of the largest eBay drop store chains in America. "I have seen how changes can sometimes cause a stir among the eBay selling community in the past. It is important to remember as an independent seller, your focus should be more about how to use the site to your advantage, we teach those methods to small businesses every day". As a certified eBay Education Specialist with eBay University, Mr. Pooler has transitioned his business into an Internet Marketing and eBay sales consulting firm. All Business Auctions is designed to first demonstrate and then implement advanced selling strategies and solutions for local small businesses. "We help small businesses with every aspect of getting online, from branding and web design to eCommerce and eBay sales".

Many speakers and presentations will be available to attendees at RocketPlace. Subjects covered will include eBay and eCommerce solutions and resources in addition to utilizing web 2.0 applications and methods to effectively promote your business online. "This is not just a eBay centric conference, we will discuss many emerging technologies and methods to increase online sales" Says conference organizer Debbie Levitt of As Was Marketing in Tucson, Arizona.

"In my business I have seen the effectiveness of these new technologies and methods of promoting via social media/web 2.0, I want to share these techniques with other business owners and merchants. This conference is an amazing opportunity to do that in a face to face situation, I am very pleased to be asked to not only attend but speak at such a cutting edge and prestigious event". Scott Pooler - All Business Auctions

Scott Pooler will be speaking about bringing eBay consignment services into existing businesses, how it works, and how to use these services to bring value to existing customers while promoting your own brand on a worldwide stage. Scott's presentation is scheduled right before the amazing keynote address we expect to hear from Jay Berkowitz of TenGoldenRules.com in Boca Raton, Florida - "I know Jay Berkowitz will bring amazing insight and clarity to the social media topics he specializes in. Ten Golden Rules is a great concept and Jay is a fantastic speaker, we will all learn from his perspective". (Jay Berkowitz is the former marketing director of Coca Cola, AT&T, Sprint, and e-Diets.com).

Worldwide Brands, eBay, Refund Retriever, Kyozou, Merchant Advantage, Channel Advisor, HammerTap Research, PPCSummit.com, Type Pad - Six Apart, Constant Contact, buySafe, & Blueberry Consulting are just a few of the major solutions and services providers presenting and available at the RocketPlace.com conference.
See:
http://allbusinessauctions.com/blog/2008/01/19/the-as-was-conference-in-orlando-2008-meet-and-network-with-the-pros-of-ebay/

All Business Auctions

12525 Walsingham Road

Largo, Florida 33774

727-596-6900

See Our Blog At: http://allbusinessauctions.com/blog

Read the Trading Assistant Journal http://allbusinessauctions.wordpress.com

Popularity: 16% [?]

Is Your Business Using Online Advertising? Promote Your Website with PPC

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What is your strategy to grow your business?  Maybe you should explore using online ads...

The days of relying completely on the traditional methods of advertising like the Yellow Pages or newspapers to advertise a business or product may be quickly coming to a close.  With the advent of the Internet and the convenience of online search, consumers are now less likely to reach for the yellow pages and more likely to search the Internet for your products.  Laptops, Blackberries and wireless networks make the convenience of the Internet hard to ignore. Internet search advertising is the hottest marketing trend to hit small business in decades.

Placing advertising on multiple websites where millions of people have access to your message is easy cheap and convenient for business owners. Set up a your ad buy through a single advertising source and place these small text messages and links throughout the Internet.

These tiny, text-only paid ads you create can  pop up as search engine results or be placed directly within websites based upon the keywords you select and the content base of the blog or website they are placed upon.

Business owners in every industry and location are turning to these low-cost online advertising campaigns conducted through search engines to help drive business. The trend is unmistakable. The increase of high-speed Web access and computer hardware improvements along with mobile based Internet access from cell phones and other devices is certainly giving the Web centric advertising options market a boost, and paid search engine advertising, also known as keyword advertising, is leading the way.

According to an A.C. Nielsen survey, consumers are not letting fraud concerns stop them from shopping online. Results of this survey, commissioned by eBay, indicate that consumers are buying more each year online and that most believe the Web is becoming a safer place to shop.

Results from online advertising campaigns can be tracked and analysed. An advertisers return on investment is measured in tremendous detail which has never before been available with traditional print types of advertising.

If your business uses a Website to sell or market products and services, online marketing will be critical to your success. Targeted ads attached to keyword search results are the clear winner among Web-based marketing methods. Their simplicity, low cost and popularity among small businesses have pushed flashy banners aside as the main method for connecting buyers and merchants online. You pay only when someone clicks your ad and visits your site. A prospect that reads your brief ad but doesn't click it costs you nothing.

Two leading search ad outlets are Google AdWords, www.google.com/ads, and Yahoo! Search Marketing, http://searchmarketing.yahoo.com. Visit the sites for complete details and to open an account.

Popularity: 7% [?]

As Was Conference & All Business Auctions Recruit Ten Golden Rules Jay Berkowitz for eBay Social Networking Keynote

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As you may know from my previous post about TAWC (The As Was Conference in Orlando) Debbie Levitt of As Was asked me to discuss adding eBay consignment to any business at the conference based on my consignment background and history with drop store operations, franchising and our publication of the Trading Assistant Journal.

Debbie also wanted to bring in a focus on social marketing via networks such as Facebook, Linked In, and Second Life among others.  Debbie actually asked my opinion of who she should ask to speak at the conference about these cutting edge marketing topics.

My first thought was of Jay Berkowitz CEO of Ten Golden Rules an Internet marketing professional with former employers on his resume such as Coca-Cola, McDonalds, AT&T, Sprint & e-Diets.com .

Jay broadcasts a very successful and informative marketing podcast on i-tunes called the Ten Golden Rules of Internet Marketing. I thought he would be the perfect choice to introduce these types of new marketing opportunities to the eBay culture.  Debbie asked me for the introduction after I gave her a short review of Jay's considerable qualifications.

I called Jay and introduced him to the As Was Conference and briefly covered the goals of the conference.  Jay was more than gracious in making time for our conference in his very cramped February speaking schedule.  Debbie was very pleased to offer Jay the Keynote speech to end the conference on Saturday March 1, 2008.

The Ten Golden Rules Podcast and Jay Berkowitz featured an Interview with Debbie Levitt of As Was in episode 19 available on i-tunes or directly from the Ten Golden Rules website.  I will also add that both Jay and Debbie were very gracious on the Podcast in mentioning my contribution towards bringing Jay to speak at TAWC... Thanks for the honorable mention Jay and Debbie!

Check out the podcast and sign up for The As Was Conference - You will learn more at this conference than you could possibly imagine. It's not too late to join Debbie, Jay & I along with numerous other eBay and Internet Marketing specialists at the conference at Disney World Yacht Club Resort.

See You There!

Scott Pooler

Popularity: 9% [?]

Buy it Sell It – Ebay Competitor Review buyitsellit vs eBay

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All Business Auctions is about to launch a review series of the alternate channels available for eBay sellers. We feel strongly that leaving eBay is not a prudent course of action but keeping ones options open is also an excellent idea. A great deal has changes in the Internet commerce arena since the early days of eBay. It would seem that eBay is no longer the only fast and simple method to get products online for sale. Much has been written about eBay and Amazon so we will not cover those behemoths in this series. Our plan is to start with some of the most interesting options and then move up to Amazon and OverStock Auctions.

Please know that we are not affiliates of Buy It Sell It or any of the other solutions we will try in this series. If we find one we like and continue to use it after our reviews are complete we may become an affiliate... But for now we only should disclose that we do offer eBay affiliate links on this site.

First on our list is Buy it Sell it

Buy it Sell it is an Ink Frog product. Many eBay sellers will be familiar with The Ink Frog eBay listing software solution. Ink Frog offers a flat rate $9.95 a month eBay management package with free hosting for images and template gallery.

Buy it Sell It offers an attractive interface...

And the front page of the offer says a lot... We will try it ourselves and see exactly how and if Buy it Sell it works as advertised.

I think one of the most interesting aspects of this offer is the following paragraph:

BuyItSellIt supports the leading payment processors Google Checkout, Paypal and Authorize.Net. Tired of complicated shipping matrixes? Use our real-time calculated shipping via USPS and FedEx. All product entries are automatically posted to Google Product Search for maximum exposure to your store. Sell on eBay? Easily plug in your eBay store listings directly into your BuyItSellIt store front.

To Sum up the Introduction:

BuyitSellit offers

• A free and attractive stand alone web store front.
• eBay import
• Digital Delivery Options
• Multiple Web Store Templates
• An Order Management Console
• Bulk Upload and Product Management Console
• Google Checkout and PayPal
• Rss feeds for each store

If nothing else this is a great way to get up and running with an off eBay website.

Check back for updates...

Popularity: 36% [?]

Alternative Fuel for Success – eBay eCommerce & Auction Competition

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Turmoil 

There is a great deal of turmoil emanating from within the ranks of eBay sellers since the numerous and ominous recent announcements and changes in the eBay policies and fee schedules. Some of this consternation is worthy of serious consideration.  Changes in feedback and seller ratings criteria, changes in fees and significant changes in the eBay consignment requirements have all caused quite a stir.

Fire Storm 

While within eBay management it seems the powers that be feel they will weather this fire-storm just as they have every other major upheaval from sellers due to fee hikes in the past, this round of announcements seems to have salted some very old wounds.  Sellers this time around seem to be more genuinely ready to look for alternatives to eBay.

Mistake? 

I will say that I personally agree with many of the sellers' viewpoints.  But alternately, eBay has its goals as well.  It seems that eBay is working hard to play catch up with Amazon, which in my mind is a mistake.  eBay is not Amazon and should never try to be Amazon.  Buyers go to each site for different reasons.  When a buyer lands on an eBay page they are aware of what eBay is, they are somewhat excited by the bidding process and exhilarated when an item they won at auction arrives at the door as promised.  eBay is - and always was - a scavenger hunt destination.  People enjoy the hunt and even though they do like to complain about this or that, they always come back because of the hunt.

eBay has been slowing morphing into a new version of Amazon with more new fixed price items than ever before.  This may seem like a good thing to eBay executives and board members because the major players in the fixed price market pay eBay fees on time and without complaint.  But what happens to those sellers when the buyers stop coming to eBay? When eBay is no longer a scavenger hunt, a place to find interesting or weird items and/or great deals, why will the world flock to its portal? 

If we want a new product and we want it delivered tomorrow, as a group of educated buyers we go to Amazon or Buy.com or one of the many hundreds of other new merchandise sites.  If eBay changes are meant to morph the site into another Amazon.com, why will anyone go to eBay?  It will simply become one of a hundred other sites and will diminish in stature over time.  Amazon has the lead in new merchandise sales and will probably retain that lead.  eBay should concentrate more on its core sellers and its original reasons for success.

Loyalty Shift 

Recent news articles and comments from the sellers themselves on eBay's own discussion boards may prove that this upheaval is different than recent similar outbreaks of revolt.  Talks of seller strikes may sound silly to the casual observer since they have been tried before without much success.  The real proof of a possible shift in loyalty comes from reports of an influx of new sellers on eBay alternative sites. 

Fortune CNN Reports 

Fortune Magazine reports in this article eBay rivals circle an influx of new sellers to multiple alternative eCommerce and auction sites.  We will review these and many more online selling sites for you in this publication in the coming weeks. 

Our view is:  check options, be open to change, evaluate inventory and costs and try new ideas.  I would never recommend leaving eBay altogether as other have openly demanded.  eBay still is a powerhouse of traffic generation and will continue to be a part of our business and a recommended tool for any business we work with.  But options are out there to explore and from our initial evaluation, some of these options may just be a viable alternative. 

Eggs 

I have always preached that no business should depend completely upon one outlet for sales.  There is no real reason to place all of your eggs in the eBay basket.  But do not abandon eBay completely because of some sort of seller upheaval.  Take a wait-and-see outlook and check your options.  Change, in the end, is almost always a good thing.  But change just for the sake of change can be dangerous.  Keep your eBay account, keep your customers happy and keep selling...

Popularity: 13% [?]

eBay Feedback Changes 2008 – Sellers Dismay – Buyers Hooray?

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Feedback has always been an issue on eBay both for buyers and sellers since the creation of the once-neighborly online auctioneering service.

The feedback system was originally devised by eBay over 10 years ago and is one of the primary reason why eBay not only prospered but thrived in the marketplace it has dominated for the last 10 years. The idea was that when both buyers and sellers could report on the results of a successful or unsuccessful transaction, everyone would be on thier best behavior to avoid developing a bad reputation. It has been recently reported by as yet unnamed business journalists that this eBay system of feedback, which has worked to a degree for over 10 years, was considered the "Wild West" of eCommerce.

A recent Google search for the keyword eBay feedback revealed over 11 Million hits with some mention of this infamous or dubious system. Google Results xxxx of about 11,100,000 for the search term ebay feedback. (0.22 seconds)

The feedback system on eBay has always created stress and controversy among the site's users.

• Some would argue that sellers abuse the system by not leaving feedback immediately for honest buyers who fulfill their part of the bargain by paying promptly for an auction item won or purchased.
• Others (the Sellers) have always maintained the policy they have adapted is necessary due to the millions of not-so- honest buyers in the world who would threaten poor feedback posting if the seller will not perform some service such as provide reduced shipping or a partial refund.  Sellers have experienced the gamut of buyer feedback faux pas from simple mistaken premature feedback to all-out attempts at extortion over a simple feedback placement.

Sellers' only defense against such negative feedback threats has been to withhold feedback left for buyers until they receive positive feedback from the buyer.

Until Now...

eBay has announced - in the midst of its recent round of fee increases and hoopla over the changing of the guard from Meg to JD - that sellers will no longer have the ability to protect the feedback rating they have earned.  Sellers will have no choice in the feedback cycle at all.  If a buyer pays, they get positive feedback...period.  A novel and honorable standard - in a perfect world.

News Flash - Internet retailing is not a perfect world.  Buyers are not always right and sellers are not always bad.  The opposite truths could also be argued.  It really boils down to a case by case basis.  A sweeping policy such as this can not be considered fair or just and the only parties being penalized are the sellers, with small sellers being penalized the most.

High volume sellers already have no problem with poor feedback. They collect hundreds of negatives each year with very little effect on the bottom line because these same sellers collect thousands of positive feedbacks in the same time frame. The percentage change for a negative dropped on a high volume seller is minuscule.

Small sellers, mom & pop sellers, consignment sellers and sellers of unique and expensive product lines with low volume will be the segment hurt the most by this new policy.  One negative for a new seller can put that seller out of business. One negative for a seller with less than 100 feedback will remove any discounts or other incentives eBay is so proud to offer under the new fee plan.  It is not a reasonable incentive if it cannot reasonably attained.

This new feedback plan is almost universally considered as a poor move by eBay among long-time sellers who are posting their vitriol and vehement opinions on the eBay forums.  It will be interesting to see how it all works out.

In our business, we plan on leaving positive feedback as soon as we receive payment and hope we do not receive too many helter skelter buyers. After all, we all wish we could live in a perfect eBay world - may as well try to see how it works before deciding it does not exist.

Popularity: 9% [?]