Best single way to promote your site & generate sales.
I'm just starting up here, so I'm looking for advice.
There is a lot of good advice on here, but it's scattered throughout the posts, and hard to find.
So I thought I'd ask the question, above:
What is the best single way you found to promote your site, and generate sales?
Did one way out-perform others?
Was anything a complete waste of time?
I know everything won't work for everybody, but it is possible that some methods work much better than others.
It would be interesting to know.
I don't know how to do it, but it might be a good idea to collect this information, collate it, and make a sort of league table.
And then post it somewhere easy to find.
With all the great brains on this site, it must be possible to do this.
So let's have the benefit of this massive intellectual power - the ONE thing that made a difference.
Re: Best single way to promote your site & generate sales.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
squern
What is the best single way you found to promote your site, and generate sales?
Did one way out-perform others?
Was anything a complete waste of time?
.......- the ONE thing that made a difference.
Increased listings (currently about 700) of widest possible variety of items making sure that google shopping criteria was met.
Facebook was a waste of time for me.
Just joined Pinterest so it is too soon to make a judgement.
.
Re: Best single way to promote your site & generate sales.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
cheaver
Increased listings (currently about 700) of widest possible variety of items.
Facebook was a waste of time for me.
Just joined Pinterest so it is too soon to make a judgement.
.
Facebook & Twitter waste of time for me. Pinterest not sure yet,No sales from it. 400 listings I think I need about 4000+ before I get regular sales as its the big listers who are selling on a regular basis
Re: Best single way to promote your site & generate sales.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
sheffieldtony
its the big listers who are selling on a regular basis
List as much as possible yes.
But also try and list quality items if possible.
Make sure you are really competitive,
You should be able to beat ebayers every time on price!
I believe it is the quality and price of items that will drive traffic to ebid.
Having said that; we also need many, many more quality listings and a much wider variety of listings.
Re: Best single way to promote your site & generate sales.
Pinterest has generated more views and sales for me.
Re: Best single way to promote your site & generate sales.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
cheaver
Increased listings (currently about 700) of widest possible variety of items making sure that google shopping criteria was met.
Facebook was a waste of time for me.
Just joined Pinterest so it is too soon to make a judgement.
.
What Cheaver said. I don't use Pinterest as yet, but I have used Twitter for a while, though it doesn't appear to have brought many sales, (though truthfully it's hard for me to tell as I don't ask buyers how they found me when they find me, I'm just glad they find me and buy when they do). :)
Best wishes for many sales to all,
Re: Best single way to promote your site & generate sales.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
squern
I'm just starting up here, so I'm looking for advice.
There is a lot of good advice on here, but it's scattered throughout the posts, and hard to find.
So I thought I'd ask the question, above:
What is the best single way you found to promote your site, and generate sales?
Did one way out-perform others?
Was anything a complete waste of time?
I know everything won't work for everybody, but it is possible that some methods work much better than others.
It would be interesting to know.
I don't know how to do it, but it might be a good idea to collect this information, collate it, and make a sort of league table.
And then post it somewhere easy to find.
With all the great brains on this site, it must be possible to do this.
So let's have the benefit of this massive intellectual power - the ONE thing that made a difference.
For me
1. email to past/present buyers informing them i have listed something that may be of interest to them (this works)
2 pin on Pinterest, and upload to a multi user blog (i contribute to 4 at the mo) both work for me
3.Use The ebid parcel on all items regardless of where you sell. (people do notice) use flyers but this costs extra parcel tape is free with buddy points.
the ebid tell a friend doesnt seem to work for me an email to a customer works best.
For me not sure if facebook/twitter work. would rather spend time promoting using tried and tested methods.
I try to purchase things that i know my regular buyers will happily purchase - success rate 99%
List all you can and dont use list till sold, use make an offer if you can afford to.
I DID SUGGEST ONE LIST BUT A LOT OF SELLERS SEEMED TO THINK SEARCHING THROUGH ALL THE ADVICE ON THE FORUM WAS A BETTER IDEA!!!
Re: Best single way to promote your site & generate sales.
I came to eBid only a few weeks ago, after a number of years on ebay - and very pleased I did!
I would suggest the following actions to get things moving:
1. Pay up for SELLER+ level - you do really need the extra features to promote your products well, and to enhance the buying experience for your customers. Buy a few items to see how the system works for customers.
2. Spend some time setting up a good 'store', with plenty of stock. Just the same as on the High Street, customers like a well-stocked shop!
3. If you have previous sales on ebay - tell your customers where you are. I've emailed every one of my customers on ebay over the last 4 months - a standard 'here I am' message, to each one individually. You can recover their email addresses from your PayPal account transaction history. It works! Takes a bit of time, but well worth the effort.
4. If you have feedback history on ebay - transfer it over to eBid. Again, you'll need to read the 'help' page carefully to understand how to do it - but again, it makes your listings look a lot more convincing if customers can see you have a trading history - even if it was on the other side!
5. Don't be greedy! The selling costs are much lower here - so pass some of the gain on to your customers with lower prices - build up goodwill for the future.
6. When you do sell - make sure you include a decent 'thank you' note in with the package - and an invite to 'tell your friends' We all have to get the word around that eBid is here and worth visiting.
7. Get some eBid tape for your packaging. If you don't have any buddy points yet - well try asking! I did, and they sent me some!
8. Be patient. It's a smaller site (at present) so sales activity will be slower than on ebay - but as the buyer/seller base grows, it will get faster. Remember Avis!
Good Luck!
Rick at The Booking Office - which you are very welcome to visit!
Re: Best single way to promote your site & generate sales.
I have found Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Google+ all generate a lot of views, but no sales as yet. I'm not going to bother too much with Facebook, since my Facebook 'friends' haven't bought anything from me in the few months I've been selling on eBid, so it's unlikely that they will in future. Twitter - it depends who is following you. I have some fair trade interests following me, so they might be curious to see what I'm selling, but all the travel types and are unlikely to be. Google+ seems to place random photos from others on my page, so in turn, my photos could be placed randomly on other peoples' pages, so that's a possibility. Pinterest seems the most promising, as those who deliberately decide to 'follow' you must be interested in what you are pinning. I am new to this social media game, so it's all trial and error. There are also other social media avenues to explore, such as Instagram, but I haven't had the time to investigate them yet.
Re: Best single way to promote your site & generate sales.
List as many items as you can.
Make sure they are search-engine friendly. Put as much information as possible in the title, then even more in the description.
Unless you're reselling and can't afford it, make sure your prices are lower than on other sites, and definitely not more. We dropped everything by 10 percent when we moved here from you-know-where.
Don't pad the shipping charge (buyers do notice).
Fill in your "All About the Seller" with as much information as you can. Keep it positive (no negative references to other sites), but a general description that makes them feel confident about buying from you. Plus details on your return policies, shipping, combined shipping, anything you can think of that a buyer might want to know.