Whether you do so as a hobby, as work from home solution, or as part of your existing professional business, it is commonly stated that not having a website of your own to assist with your eBay sales is like throwing money down the drain.
And it is very true.
Let me explain just how having a website of your own, or a Facebook page, will help you capture potential customers from eBay and help you to make future sales.
Consider this scenario.
You have some items currently listed for sale on eBay. You have made sure to add a counter to your listing therefore you can clearly see the number of times your items have been viewed.
Imagine that over a typical 10 day auction period, your product, whether it be a How-To eBook, a Designer Outfit, a Baby Swaddle or some collectable comic books you picked up from a yard sale was visited 50 times.
At the end of your auction, your item sold. Congratulations. But remember that only one person was the actual winner. The other 49 potential customers either did not find what they were after or were outbid. You have let 49 potential customers get away!
Now imagine if you had a website or a facebook page. Its content matches closely, if not identically to the products and/or services that you are also selling on eBay. Imagine if you were able to direct a good proportion (realistically not all) to your site to tantalise them with the other items you have on offer. Without it, they are gone. Maybe forever.
Yes you are correct however there is a way around it and it is perfectly acceptable and within the rules. How? It is very easy.
eBay's policy on the use of the About Me page is that you can direct visitors to a website outside of eBay as long as that site provides further information on the item you are auctioning or selling. So the secret here is to provide a link from within each and every item you have listed, to your about me page and then from that page, customers will be offered, hopefully persuaded, to click through to your site.
You make (or source) and sell Buntings. Those lovely colourful flag-like structures seen at birthday parties, markets and stalls. Your item for sale is a gorgeous Polka Dot Bunting.
After describing the Bunting you would add a line or two to your description explaining that the visitor can find out more about Buntings by visiting your About Me page .
Then you would include a link that will take them to your About Me page.
Feel free to add the link a few times if your description is long and detailed.
When visitors arrive at your About Me page, they will see that you have set it up with a profile description about yourself, your bunting passion and maybe some basic information on buntings. Maybe you can direct them to a mailing list to learn more - add a link to an opt in list. Capture potential clients! Clever hey?! Also have a link to your website or facebook page, where visitors can see more of the history of buntings and more about Buntings in general.
They may not have wanted the Bunting you had for sale, but you may be able to help with with something else.
Some will click on your About Me page. Some won't. Some will click through to your website, some won't. Even if only one buyer comes out if it, it is one extra buyer you would not have had and we all know how good customer service spreads.
So if you can and do have a website or facebook page, complimentary to the items you sell on eBay, don't forget your links!
Now imagine if you had a website or a facebook page. Its content matches closely, if not identically to the products and/or services that you are also selling on eBay. Imagine if you were able to direct a good proportion (realistically not all) to your site to tantalise them with the other items you have on offer. Without it, they are gone. Maybe forever.
You are probably saying to yourself, "I thought eBay prohibited use of links to external sites".
Yes you are correct however there is a way around it and it is perfectly acceptable and within the rules. How? It is very easy.
How to capture sales from eBay
Every eBay user has a profile or about me page. This can be used to upload an image or logo and provide some details about yourself, your business and your interests. Be as limited or as detailed as you are comfortable with. The key is to add a link to your website or facebook page on your about me page.- Make it bold.
- Make it stand out.
eBay's policy on the use of the About Me page is that you can direct visitors to a website outside of eBay as long as that site provides further information on the item you are auctioning or selling. So the secret here is to provide a link from within each and every item you have listed, to your about me page and then from that page, customers will be offered, hopefully persuaded, to click through to your site.
- You could direct them to an email sign up,
- A newsletter or
- Your home page.
Let's go through an example.
You make (or source) and sell Buntings. Those lovely colourful flag-like structures seen at birthday parties, markets and stalls. Your item for sale is a gorgeous Polka Dot Bunting.
After describing the Bunting you would add a line or two to your description explaining that the visitor can find out more about Buntings by visiting your About Me page .
Then you would include a link that will take them to your About Me page.
Feel free to add the link a few times if your description is long and detailed.
When visitors arrive at your About Me page, they will see that you have set it up with a profile description about yourself, your bunting passion and maybe some basic information on buntings. Maybe you can direct them to a mailing list to learn more - add a link to an opt in list. Capture potential clients! Clever hey?! Also have a link to your website or facebook page, where visitors can see more of the history of buntings and more about Buntings in general.
They may not have wanted the Bunting you had for sale, but you may be able to help with with something else.
Some will click on your About Me page. Some won't. Some will click through to your website, some won't. Even if only one buyer comes out if it, it is one extra buyer you would not have had and we all know how good customer service spreads.
So if you can and do have a website or facebook page, complimentary to the items you sell on eBay, don't forget your links!
No comments:
Post a Comment