The eBay business phenomenon has seen millions of buyers and sellers join together in what amounts to the world's biggest virtual flea market. In this world's fast-paced online transactions, that amounts to billions of dollars a day, a person can actually make some money without selling anything he owns. In the world of free enterprise, all it takes is the ability to grasp opportunity and take an educated risk.
Here are some tips on how you can think out of the box with eBay:
1. Promote products as an affiliate. Promote other sites with products. An affiliate program is actually just another way for a company to give its products as much exposure as possible to potential buyers.
Most affiliate programs actually let you join them for free or with a small fee. All you have to do is to list the product, with the highest bidder getting what he wants through you. The company tracks these sales. Depending on the revenue generated, or even the agreement you ad with the company, every sale of a product you make, you get a commission. As an affiliate of a company, you are not an employee or a contractor, receiving no perks nor benefits, except for the commission.
2. Get out there and join the forums. If you are quite passionate about the products you advertise, you can create interest by providing highly relevant content to enthusiasts. Find others like you. You have to let people know you exist. Participate in chats, forums and user groups. Once these people get to know you and your level of expertise in the subject, it gives you a leg up on making "recommendations".
3. Drop shipping products. Another variation of the affiliate program, drop shipping involves just passing on to the manufacturer or wholesaler your customer's order letting them take care of the delivery, and you make a profit from the difference between the wholesaler's price and your selling price.
4. Advertise other products when you post. Most veteran eBay sellers know a large volume of customers can pass through their auctions without people actually buying something. So, in order to maximize their marketing space, they advertise other products in the same space through links. Savvy eBay sellers even edit their About Me links to get people interested in other wares.
5. Create a link to other sites. If you are a web programmer, one outfit suggests you make use of the About Me site in another way. When you create the About Me link, there is a way to take advantage of the HTML layout feature. This layout can be edited with HTML syntax to link users to another site, if you so choose.
As a further explanation, when you create your About Me link, choose any format layout. This may sound strange but you will have the opportunity to enter a code on your own. Next, go to the bottom and click on "Preview". There, you will go to the bottom of the page again, this time clicking on "Edit using HTML". Delete everything in the box and replace it with your own code. If you are not code-savvy, you better hire someone to create the link.
So there you have it, five (out of a lot of) tips to make money from eBay without resorting to selling.
Do I need a website?
How do I get started?
Where do I advertise?
How do I make money?
I really think the best way to answer these questions is by comparing them with something new online marketers may be more familiar with, off line otherwise known as brick and mortar businesses.
So let's start a business off line and compare it to it's online relative to gain some understanding of the relationship and hopefully by doing so, some understanding of how to get started ...
Do I Need a Website?
Let's presume we need to build our business from the ground up starting with a building
Okay, hand me a hammer let's get started
I'm sorry we need what? A plan? A design?
Makes perfect sense to you right? Yet everyday I see websites where someone just grabbed a hammer and started nailing boards together.
Do you need a website? Some say no not right away. My daughter spent considerable time selling magazines (selling other people's products is known as affiliate marketing online) door to door before making me a grandfather. The company she worked for mostly stayed at hotels. Did they have a central office however? Yes they did. They probably rented a building (used a template if it were a web page) not built one (learned html code from scratch to build a web page). Your website is your central office.
Even though it's very simple and inexpensive to have your own website and domain name, it still establishes you as a serious businessperson with whom a prospect may wish to conduct business (had to work at not ending that one with a preposition). I personally started with a free website from freeservers.com and eventually got my own domain from the same company KirkhamsEbooks.com. If I had to do it over again I would have started with my own domain name.
Steven Weber has a great book with some excellent advise and resources. Don't pick up a hammer till you read his book.
How do I Get Started
Research. Ask questions. Location. The same procedures you'd follow for an off line business.
You can pick up a lot of information in forums and groups (meeting places and breakfast clubs). My Submission Sites Clickable Ebook has a lot of resources for you.
If you're considering affiliate marketing, email the owner of the product. See if he/she responds to your email. Join the merchants mailing list to find out more about who you may be representing. If you're going to represent someone's product off line, say open a store and put their canned goods on your shelves, you'd try to find out a little bit about the company right?
The three important things in real estate are location location location. The same thing applies to your website. Make your website visible to those people who need your product or service. Are the people who need your service just online? Where's your business cards?
Ask yourself these questions
What does my prospective customer want?
How can I let them know about me?
How can I help them decide I am their best choice?
Think about everything you'd do to start a business off line and do the equivalent for your online business.
Where do I Advertise
What does every major store ask you for when you walk in? Contact information so they can add you to their mailing list.
Now why would they want the address of an established customer who has purchased or visited the store already? Hmmmmm I'll bet you know. An email list is the equivalent of a snail mail list many stores use who by the way are also now switching to email.
So the first place you advertise is your own website
Major off line businesses target everything from TV ads to newspaper ads by demographics. Where does their target prospective buyers and established clientèle go, do, and what time do they get their?
Who watches late night television during the week? Retired people
Who watches the evening news? Middle age working people?
These are generalities but that's demographics.
So research where your prospects go to get their information.
Figure out how you can advertise there.
Make it to your prospective buyer's advantage to allow you to send more information so you can keep your name in front of them. This is the exact same procedures off line businesses do to make more money.
In auto sales, is it more effective to give the prospective buyer brochures and leave him/her alone or is it more effective to get to know your prospective buyer and let your prospective buyer know you're a human being as well? When you advertise on your sales page and in forums etc. introduce yourself. Tell people a little about yourself. Make friends then make sales.
How Do I Make Money
There are lots of ways to make money on line
Google Adsense for pay per click advertising along with many other pay per click programs. Although. Just don't buy anything online that you wouldn't buy off line without investigating and remember – if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
My favorite way is, though I am a merchant of my own products, I love affiliate marketing. I don't have to create all the products in order to represent them, just like my daughter didn't have to publish the magazines in order to sell them. I've also learned a lot of do's and don'ts with affiliate marketing by seeing sales pages and getting my merchants' newsletters.
Conclusion
For you new marketers, and perhaps as a reminder to you experienced gurus, remember, people are people. Regardless of the media you're using to advertise, internet, tv, newspaper, a human being, with the same needs and wants as you and me, is reading that advertisement. Treat that prospective buyer as a human being as you would want to be treated, whether online or off line, get that human being what he/she wants, and you'll get what you want, online or off line.
Both Jason James & Sensei J. Richard B.sc. Kirkham 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.
Jason James has sinced written about articles on various topics from How to Sell on Ebay, Recreation and Sports and How to Sell on Ebay. Jason James website 'The Auction Resource Network' reveals his inside secrets and sources that help him pocket over $10,000 a month on eBay.Claim your FREE 'Top 10 eBay Selling Secrets' eBook:. Jason James's top article generates over 8100 views. to your Favourites.
Sensei J. Richard B.sc. Kirkham has sinced written about articles on various topics from Education, Interview Questions and How to Sell on Ebay. J. Richard Kirkham is a dual certified teacher and martial arts instructor. He has expertise in alternative teaching methods and positive reinforcement methodology. He's written several books in the printable electronic format and has made downloadable vi. Sensei J. Richard B.sc. Kirkham's top article generates over 3600 views. to your Favourites.