?Hey, what's new?? is an expression that most people hear many times a day in this country (USA). It's actually been overused to the point where the phrase has lost its original meaning - it's simply used as a greeting now. But of course you'll never hear someone say, ?Hey, tell me something old.? Why is that?



Around the world, it doesn't matter what country you live in, we are all obsessed by the news. We get bored easily, so we want to know what's new, hence the word ?news'. The news tells us what's new.

It's worth reminding ourselves that we now have more sources of news than ever before ? network TV, satellite TV, cable TV, conventional radio, satellite radio, the Internet, email notifications, magazines, and so on. If there were no audience, these channels wouldn't survive very long, but of course the audience is huge, and many people still want more.

A number of my friends have a TV on in their office all day long, to monitor the news. Seems like anyone that monitors the stock market is attuned to the news at every waking hour.

I think you get the point. On a day to day basis, none of us cares too much about the past, we care about what's happening right now.

This basic premise applies equally to our online business. Our customers want to know what's new. They don't care about what we did last week, last month or last year - this or that offer or promotion. They only care about what's happening now. In short, if we don't give our customers something NEW on a regular basis, they're gonna' go somewhere else. And who can blame them? Customers are a fickle bunch. That includes you and me of course, we're no different.

So what can we offer that's new?

he answer is simpler than you probably think. On eBay, as well as on our own website, we need to regularly add new products. When customers know that we do that, they come back, which leads to more sales. Told you it was simple. Point is, how many sellers actually do that? Very very few. When they keep the same product range for months or years, customers quickly lose interest and move on to someone else that gives ?em what they want. Starbucks does a good job with creating news. At least every 3 months they introduce new drinks to tie in with the current season, and they make a big deal about promoting these concoctions. The new drinks are always successful because customers like trying something new, and it becomes a talking point (news).

Similarly, imagine if Disneyland was the same park as it was when it opened in the 1950's. How many repeat visitors do you think they'd get each year? The Disney organization knows that they must keep providing something new.

If you feel your business is getting stale, invigorate it with new products or services, or even variations of existing lines. If you're selling information products, invite customers to tell you what they'd like to see more of, and give them something new. It's easy profits.