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

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...

Much has been written in recent weeks about the coming fee reductions for eBay sellers.

Market analysts and eBay sellers themselves recommended the lower fee structure and it looked as though eBay was listening. We have all read in many industry magazines and blogs about the new lower listing fees in the future... It was all spin...

eBay has taken on the panache of a high powered political campaign. Leaking stories about fee reductions and changes in search while a changing of the guard at the CEO position is orchestrated. This was and is a very nifty piece of politicly styled spin. It worked for awhile, but now the truth is out.

While auctions listed with a starting price of less than $1 will cost 15 cents in Insertion fees (down from the current 20 cents), eBay will no longer allow sellers to list items in fixed-price format for under $1.

• Final Value Fees increases are larger than expected - more than offsetting the small reduction in listing fees.
• Items that sell for under $25 are currently charged 5.25% of the closing value - this will be increased to 8.75%.
• The FVF for items that sell for between $25.01 - $1,000 are currently 5.25% of the initial $24, plus 3.25% of the remaining closing value balance; this will change to 8.75% and 3.5%,
• Store Inventory listing Final Value Fees will rise from 10% to 12% for items that sell for $25 and less.
• For Store Inventory items that sell for between $25 and $1,000, the fees will be 12.00% of the initial $25.00, plus 8.00% of the remaining closing value balance.
• Reserve fees will no longer be refundable if the item sells.
• The Good News is.... Drumroll Please...Gallery Fees are no longer charged!

Will the reduction, small as it may be, of initial listing fees help your overall bottom line costs when the increase of almost 3.5% is added to your final value fees?  Even with the removal of a gallery fee, a 3.5% hike in final value may be hard to swallow.

We all will benefit from the initial reductions, but the compensation on the back end seems a bit extreme.

eBay sellers should always be aware of the value they receive from listing items on eBay while at the same time being aware that eBay is a business, and they are in the business to make money. We still feel that even with these recent fee changes, there is no better place to advertise your products and your brand than in an eBay store.  You may need to be even more diligent about how you go about doing this however.  Make sure you have tight controls on your eBay listing habits and know your cost per unit sold before launching any new eBay inventory.

For your convenience we have included all of the details of the new fee changes below. Please refer to these graphics as released by eBay today as the real fee structure moving forward.

Bye Bye Meg...

We all know Meg has had some critical press in these recent years but she has weathered the onslaught with grace and style.  What do you suppose will be the result of Mr. John Donahue's ascension to the throne? I am enthusiastic about his background as head of the Auction business in eBay's vast empire... Things might be a bit more unsettled if it were looking like the head of Skype were set to take the reins... I think John Donahue will bring a more focused direction to the core business of eBay. (Selling Products and promoting Auctions)

For now let just wish Meg well.  I am sure she will be just as busy as before, what with all of seats on all of those boards of directors to occupy...

The following content are excepts from other sources as Noted:

EBay CEO Meg Whitman to Retire

Martyn Williams, IDG News Service Tue Jan 22, 9:30 AM ET

EBay CEO Meg Whitman is planning to step down from the company she has led for the past 10 years, The Wall Street Journal said Tuesday.

Whitman has been delegating more tasks to deputies over the last few months and is expected to decide on her retirement in the coming weeks, the newspaper said quoting "people familiar with the matter." John Donahue, who leads the company's auction business, is the leading candidate to succeed her, according to the newspaper.

EBay, which also operates the PayPal payment system and Skype Internet telephony service, is due to report earnings for the fourth quarter Wednesday. The quarter includes the traditionally-strong year-end holiday period and estimates see eBay reporting earnings per share of US$0.38.

The company reported a net profit of US$1.1 billion in 2006 on the back of US$6 billion in revenue. For 2007 eBay expects revenue to jump to US$7.6 billion.

EBay CEO set to retire, report says
WHITMAN WORKING ON HER SUCCESSION PLAN
By the Mercury News
Article Launched: 01/21/2008 11:39:21 PM PST

Meg Whitman, president and CEO of eBay, is preparing to retire, according to an article the Wall Street Journal posted on its Web site late Monday.

In the past few months, Whitman, 51, who has led eBay since March 1998, has been delegating more daily responsibilities to her subordinates and is completing a succession plan, the Journal reported, attributing the information to "people familiar with the matter."

A decision about her departure could come within weeks, though the situation "remains fluid," the Journal reported.

John Donahoe, 47, whom Whitman recruited in 2005 to become the president of eBay's auction business unit, has emerged as the leading candidate to succeed her, the Journal reported.

EBay is scheduled to announce fourth-quarter earnings today.

As recently as 2004, she has denied rumors that she planned to step down. That year, she told a Goldman Sachs Technology Investment Symposium in Phoenix that she was having fun helping the company grow in the United States and internationally and had no plans to leave.

"I think it is one of the best jobs in America," she told investors gathered for the conference.

But, she said, her tenure might not last through 2008 because of her belief that one shouldn't stay in such jobs 10 years.

Whitman, who habitually appears at or near the top of lists of the most powerful women in the United States, has been the very public face of eBay since before the company went public. She also is one of the highest-paid executives in the valley, earning $11.1 million in 2006.
Recently, she has emerged as a supporter of Republican Mitt Romney's bid for the White House, hosting a fundraiser for the former Massachusetts governor in her Atherton home last year.

Attempts to reach eBay Monday night for confirmation of the retirement report were unsuccessful.

News Flash-

When eBay makes what it thinks are small changes in the way they do things, sometimes it can wreak havoc among eBay sellers. Fortunately for us, our AuctionLogic listing management solution has not been affected by this change. But for others, it could be a nightmare.  Read On...

eBay Changes Item-Number System
By Ina Steiner
AuctionBytes.com
January 15, 2008

eBay has apparently changed the way it serves up Item numbers, and it is causing headaches for some sellers. Some use the item number to track inventory and listings. Sellers said eBay is serving up Item numbers out of sequence, wreaking havoc for those who implemented a numerical filing system based on the numbers. A similar problem occurred for sellers in 2006 when eBay expanded Item numbers from 10 to 12 digits without notifying sellers ahead of time.

See eBay Forums Post Here