Making sure the customer gets what they asked for? I'm no better at that either.
If it wasn't for my other half (or as she refers to herself, the ?better half) there would be a lot of angry customers venting a lot of anger in my in box.
I like to stick to what I feel I excel at?..Coming up with ideas.
I know what my strengths are, and I also know where my weaknesses are. So keeping track of things, and actually sending things out to people that have paid me - that's not much good for me. Someone else needs to do that, or else it won't get done.
Sitting behind a computer trying to look busy is how I spend most of my days but don't actually do very much at all.
My speciality is to come up with new angles, products and research various other 'things'. Creation of new ideas in marketing and (here's a word people don't really like) in selling.
So what's that got to do with making money on eBay? A lot!
You see, my main focus on the site is in marketing more effectively, because I know that's where my strengths are. Not only does a mastery of good eBay marketing mean I can concentrate where my strength is (i.e. marketing)... it also makes things a lot easier.
In short, being good at marketing on eBay can help you - in a big, big way. Should you become an eBay marketer? I think so. It will help you tremendously.
How Can Good Marketing Help You Make Money on eBay?
Here are some of the ways 'good marketing' can help you:
It can mean far more powerful descriptions. This is HUGE. Descriptions can certainly make or break you. A new approach in describing products, a twist on a staid concept, powerfully convincing' copy' ... all these things can make or break your business. Good marketing knowledge/salesmanship can convince people to choose your listings over others, and your listing over doing nothing at all. This is very important. And that's why becoming a good marketer is critical.
It can help you tremendously when sourcing products. Not only can it help you when communicating with potential partners, but a knowledge of marketing can help you 'dream up' crafty ways of sourcing all sorts of products.
Another thing, also related to sourcing. You can use 'smart' marketing to get people to come to you with product, in relation to selling on behalf of others.
It can help you after you've sold your products on eBay... when you're expanding your business into other channels... whether that's retail, the larger internet or wherever else. Again, solid marketing skills will help you massively.
It can help with your listings. I've touched on this when referring to descriptions above. If you gain a better understanding of marketing... or your prospect... same kind of thing... you can understand how you might better attract more customers, by listing in more categories and so on.
I can't think of any more right now, but there will undoubtedly be many more ways in which learning how to be good at marketing will tremendously help you make more money on ebay - or any other business, for that matter!
Believe me: marketing is good to know if you're an eBay trader.
Important: Pick What You're Good At
I've come to realise something else too. Since I was good at marketing, I had to select those eBay businesses where I was able to use my marketing skills... in short, use what I was actually good at.
Let me be a bit more concrete. Let's say that you want to sell a branded product, such as Apple iPods. Admirable goal. But my marketing... what I was good at... wouldn't have been able to help me very much if I chose this route. Maybe that category is tied up with established re sellers, and there's little I can do to break into it.
So, I have to choose another category of product where I CAN use 'what I'm good at'... For example, those items where I can use lengthy descriptions to 'beat' my competition (who maybe aren't as good at marketing as me), or where product sourcing is much easier if you're a good marketer.
Examples? If I choose to sell vitamins on eBay, I reckon I'd be good at that, because there's more marketing leverage available to me in a category like that (lengthy descriptions etc.). I'd be playing to my strengths.
So, should YOU get better at eBay marketing? Maybe you should. Because when you do, things can get a lot easier... and you can blitz (certain) other sellers in a heartbeat.
If you do want to 'get good' at this and maybe build it up so good marketing is one of your strengths, then the best thing to do is start reading the material on this subject.
Me? Whenever I get interested in something, I end up getting interested in a big way. So I become something of a junkie.
If you're interested in learning more, there are literally hundreds of good books on any given topic. One of my favourite authors is Joseph Sugarman, who really knows how to position products. If you want to blitz the competition, you can start with his book Advertising Secrets Of The Written Word.
Remember these words and getting marketing. Go on, make some REAL money on ebay!
Okay, youre reading this because you want to make money online. You are fairly new to this, so you want some assistance. Well, youre reading the right article. I will attempt to show you the basics on how to start an online money-making venture as quickly as possible.
The internet, through its sheer size, can be a bit overwhelming for a newcomer especially if theres so many different types of lucrative opportunities out there. Follow these simple steps to get started.
STEP 1: Understand how money is made on the internet
In its simplest form, money can be made on the internet in roughly three ways:
By setting up your own web site
A web site can be an ideal way to make money online. However, it should be pointed out that you have to be prepared to put in a lot of hard work and have a great deal of patience. Your web site can make money by you offering a product or service on it or by earning advertising revenue or both. You can sell just about anything on a web site but it is recommended that you start with items that are instantly downloadable like software or ebooks. This spares you the agony and extra work of having to specially ship physical items around the world.
You will start by choosing a domain name, registering it and hosting your site. You need to design a site to suit your needs and what you have to sell. You can use the services of a web designer to do this for you or if you are the creative sort with reasonable computer knowledge and some good common sense, you could do this yourself its not that difficult!
You will also need the ability to accept credit card payments from your customers. This has become reasonably easy to do these days by simply making use of a third party processor. Search for these on the search engines. You then need to market your web site either by way of paid ads or by using good Seo (search engine optimization) techniques to get your site ranked well in the search engines.
An alternate method of making money with a web site is by offering free, useful and quality content that appeals to users. Once you have built up a decent amount of regular visitors, you host Google Adsense ads. Google will pay you a commission on all their ads that are clicked on your site. You can also offer paid advertising to other web sites on your own by way of text or banner ads.
By doing some sort of online work for a company
There are numerous genuine companies out there that offer part time work to ordinary individuals. You can find research work, taking of surveys, data capturing, typing, etc. You can source these companies by searching for them on the search engines.
By participating in affiliate programs
Affiliate programs are popular with work-at-homers. An affiliate program is simply an advertising/marketing program run by company/web site in which they get members to refer visitors to their site. Members are paid per visitor or per sign-up or a combination of both. Most affiliate programs are free to join and the company will provide you with marketing/advertising aids in the form of text ads, sales copy, banners, etc to use. It is quite alright for you to participate in more that one affiliate program at the same time this greatly increases your chance of success. Incidentally, affiliate activities create a great deal of internet traffic. To further increase your chance of success with affiliate programs, only join established companies that offer well respected and popular products or services.
STEP 2: Decide what you feel comfortable with
Now that you have a brief idea on the most popular money-making methods, you need to decide which one appeals to you. Once you have, feel free to do more research in that area and try to get as much information as possible. Play around with a few ideas until you are sure what you want to do.
STEP 3: Finding the right opportunity
Once youve decided on what youd like to do, you now need to find the right opportunity. If youve decided to start your own web site, you need to determine what its going to be about. Its best to base it upon something you have a fair knowledge of or are passionate about. If youve decided to take the affiliate route or to do online work for a company, make sure you are dealing with a reputable company that pays promptly. Use the search engines to find possible companies, then email these companies with any questions you have. Ask for references (people who are doing work for this company) and contact these people about their experiences.
Following these simple steps should put you on the right track very quickly. All the best!
Both Eric Spence & Anwar Ahmed Ally are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Eric Spence has sinced written about articles on various topics from How to Sell on Ebay, Residual Income and Language. Sign up for my free newsletter and free 7 day e-course 'How to make more money on eBay' at . Eric Spence's top article generates over 1000 views. to your Favourites.
Anwar Ahmed Ally has sinced written about articles on various topics from Debts Loans, Home Businesses and Marketing. Anwar Ally specializes in work at home opportunities. He is the founder of: http://www.thehomeworker.orgHe also blogs at: http://www.2work-at-home.blogspot.com. Anwar Ahmed Ally's top article generates over 110000 views. to your Favourites.