Promoting Your eBay Store Offline

Article from the Shopster blog

Having an online eBay store shouldn’t limit your world to just the web. One of the most effective ways to deliver traffic to your eBay store is to do a bit of offline marketing. And it’s not just about traffic, we’re looking at increasing credibility and customer trust. Knowing you have a physical presence can help you make a connection with customers who aren’t as comfortable with buying online.

Here are a couple of tips on advertising your eBay Store via traditional means:

• Include the eBay Store web address in marketing collaterals such as brochures, mailing labels, posters, letterheads, fax cover sheet and more.
• Add your URL to your business card. Don’t just give away your number when you hand out business card, send them that message that you want them to visit your site as well.
• Give out promotional products to your existing client base as well as to potential new clients – of course all displaying your website address. Pens, bags, bumper stickers, promotional products go a long way in the advertising world. They often have an extended reach, not just to your target audience but to their friends, family and other people who see the product when being used.
• Display it in your physical location. If you have an actual retail store, put the URL up on your store window or have signage made indicating the time of business operations and hat you’re also open 24 hours on the web.
• Include the URL in your newspaper / magazine ads and even in radio and television ads. You’ll have the tri-media effect working for you and you’re doubling the effect of traditional advertisement you are already paying for.
• Update your phone book listing. Most businesses are listed in a telephone directory, other take out a bigger space in them. If you’re one of the businesses that has paid for a bigger or a highlighted listing in the local yellow pages, you might as well list your web address there.
• Give out printed discount coupons or gift certificates for use on your website. How you deliver this to your intended audience is entirely up to you. You can have it done as a cut-out add in the newspaper, you can send it by snail mail, however you do it, it should only be claimed on the website.

Let your creativity go to work in exploring ways to advertise your eBay Store and make your brand more visible in the real world.

Happy Selling!

Shopster is an eBay Certified Solutions Provider providing additional product and inventory for eBay sellers through drop shipping. Shopster has customers in 22 countries and provides full service drop shipping to both the United States and Canada.