Christmas Profits Begin in July: Your Holiday Planning & Prep Starts Here

Blog post by Lisa Suttora, CEO & Founder of WhatDoISell.com

Christmas Profits Begin in July: Your Holiday Planning & Prep Starts Here

Ready to make some money this holiday season? Then grab a glass of lemonade and sit down to read this post. Because what you’re about to read will be key to your holiday income success.


Starting on July 5th, with the kick-off of the back-to-school shopping season, the countdown begins to 2010 holiday sales. There are almost 9 weeks from July 1st to September 1st, when 38% of online shoppers will begin their holiday shopping.

If you wait until Fall to starting thinking about and preparing for the holidays, you’ll find yourself in catch up mode from September to December, and as a result leave a lot of holiday money on the table.

Preparing begins with the actions you take in July.

Every year at this time, I begin helping people prepare for holiday sales.

Unfortunately not enough people take action early on. And there’s nothing worse than rounding the holiday bend in November and watching sadly as your holiday sales slip by.

Don’t let this happen to you! The time is now…

To get you started, I’ve listed some of the holiday prep steps you’ll take this year:

• Creating a holiday inventory list
• Choosing your affiliate products & signing up for the programs
• Creating a holiday marketing plan
• Ordering last-minute inventory
• Organizing your physical products
• Snapping up packaging supplies on the cheap
• Creating holiday advertising graphics
• Planning your website and blog “seasonal decor”
• Creating holiday gift sets
• Setting up your holiday blog/ sales pages if you are an affiliate marketer
• Setting up your email marketing campaign
• Bringing in seasonal help

Now if the thought of putting together a plan for the holiday selling season feels overwhelming to you and you’re wondering how you’re going to find time to add yet another thing to your already overloaded schedule, there’s relief in sight.

With 15 holiday selling seasons under my belt (whew!) – 7 offline & 8 online! I have the planning and action steps for holiday income success down to a science. Stay tuned, for the upcoming announcement about this year’s Holiday Selling Guide and use this link to sign-up for announcements.

eBay Workshop July 29th - "How to Use Content Marketing to Attract, Engage & Retain More Customers!"

Topic: How to Use Content Marketing to Attract, Engage & Retain More Customers!

Host: Lisa Suttora, ecommerce strategist and Founder/CEO of WhatDoISell.com
Date: Thursday, July 29th
Time: 10 a.m. – 11 a.m. PST (Pacific Standard Time)

Location: eBay Workshop Board

Description: Content is still king on the web! Unfortunately many online sellers overlook this free, highly effective marketing strategy. Discover how to use content to:

• Drive targeted buyer traffic
• Convert more sales
• Retain existing customers
• Give your business a unique presence on eBay

Join ecommerce strategist Lisa Suttora, Founder/CEO of WhatDoISell.com, as she discusses several creative ways to use content marketing to successfully promote a business in any online niche market.

You’ll learn how to integrate content with eBay’s marketing tools, as well as how to leverage your content on today’s top social media sites.

Visit http://certifiedprovider.ebay.com/ to learn more about eBay Certified Providers and the services and solutions they offer to help an eBay seller grow their business.

The Pivot Points in Your Online Business (Critical Points Where You Must Make a Change in Your Strategy)

For those living in the U.S. the 4th of July is a long holiday weekend – but for eBay and online sellers July 4th is a “Pivot Point” for your 2010 online sales.

In sports, a pivot point can set an athlete up to make the winning shot or run the distance for a touchdown. In business, “Pivot Points” are critical points where you MUST make a turn in your strategy in order to stay AHEAD of the needs of your online buyers.

I first identified the concept of Pivot Points(tm) in my own business back in 2002.

I realized that there had been several selling opportunities I’d missed because I wasn’t prepared. I started charting these Pivot Points on my business calendar my first year in business so that the following year they didn’t sneak up on me OR even worse, I didn’t miss them completely.

From that point on, JULY 4th was one of the most important Pivot Points in my online sales success. In fact, by acting on that one Pivot Point alone, I more than doubled my holiday sales that following year.

The next Pivot Point for etailers is the change of focus from summer sales to planning for fall and holiday sales.

So even though you’re currently in the middle of summer sales – it’s time to TAKE ACTION on this Pivot Point and shift a part of your attention to prepping for what you’ll sell this fall.

Here are Your Pivot Point Actions
==> The Back-to-School selling season starts July 5th.
==> 69% of holiday shoppers START their holiday shopping in SEPTEMBER.

Pivot Point Action #1: Take a look at what Back-to-School related merchandise (or information) you are selling. The beginning of July is the time to move that merchandise front & center. You have to start advertising this merchandise now. Capture the early bird sales. Don’t wait for the procrastination shoppers. Or you’ll lose a ton of income.

Pivot Point Action #2: What Fall/Holiday merchandise do you CURRENTLY have in your inventory? Start grouping that merchandise together on a spreadsheet so you can see where the gaps in your inventory are and determine what inventory buys you want to make this month. If you wait to order holiday merchandise, your suppliers will be sold out of their hot selling seasonal merchandise by Sept.

Benjamin Franklin, a very successful entrepreneur in his own right once said: “By failing to prepare you are preparing to fail.” Taking action at Pivot Points will prepare you to SUCCEED!'

Instead of chasing the seasonal sales, start early with preparation and watch your sales soar while others are playing catch up!

Blog post by Lisa Suttora, CEO & Founder of WhatDoISell.com

Since 2004, Lisa Suttora of WhatDoISell.com has provided thousands of online sellers with the skills, knowledge and support they need to build a unique, thriving business on eBay.

Smart Moves to Make This Summer to Put the Sizzle in Your Sales

Selling successfully on eBay means paying attention to the change in seasons, the change in what your customers are buying and making the right changes in your business at the right time to ride the wave of momentum towards future fortune.

In short, it’s all about timing.

When many people think about summer, the word vacation comes to mind. But if you’re an online entrepreneur, don’t plan on taking the entire summer off! The summer is a golden opportunity for you to make some smart moves that will set you up to make more profits the rest of the year.

Snap up the sumptuous samplings of available inventory. If you sell unique one of a kind items online, the summer is your oyster. Yard sales abound, flea markets are in full swing, and thrift stores are marking down their inventory. In fact some of my clients bring in a team during the summer, just to help them scour the city yard sales, estate sales and thrift stores several times a week. They do 60% of their product sourcing from May – Sept. With a team help them, they can cover 10 times the territory that they could cover on their own.

With the sunny summer weather comes the desire to clean out the house and have a yard sale. This makes for a product sourcing cornucopia.

Contact suppliers for sizzling hot deals. End of season merchandise, pre-season specials, you name it! Now’s the time to call and ask your supplier what summer deals they have available. Or take a trip and do some local product sourcing. Heading to hot Atlanta? Visit the AmericasMart merchandise mart while you’re there. Check with your accountant about writing off a part of the trip as a business expense.

Last call for holiday importing. Been thinking about importing new merchandise for the holidays? Better get the show on the road – because if you wait past mid-July it will be too late to get it in time for the holiday selling season. Use eBay market research to determine hot selling items and seasonal trends.

Retail resale is real swell during the summer. Lego sets at 90% off. Wet suits discounted 60%. Pre-back-to-school sales preview what will be the hot holiday products. It’s all there waiting for you at your local retail store. By July 5th, brick and mortar stores will be transitioning to their back-to-school inventory. You can pick up some GREAT deals in you local store and bring that inventory online for your global customer base.

Stock up now for the holiday selling season. Even though you’re wearing a bathing suit and sitting by the lake, your need to spend some time thinking, planning and sourcing for the holiday season. If you’ve been tracking the trends for 2010 in your category, you should already have an idea of what will be hot in your category for Christmas. And for some categories, especially the toy category, NOW is the time to head to your local retail store and stock up on those hot sellers you can’t get from a wholesaler.

Use eBay market research to determine hot selling items and seasonal trends.

Clean sweep your product line. Throw open the windows, let the sun shine in and dig in to those boxes of inventory that need to be listed and sold!

Sales Happen When Preparation Meets Opportunity

There’s a Chinese Proverb that says “Luck is where preparation meets opportunity.”

The same is true of your sales. If you use the dog days of summer like one smart puppy and do a little every day to get ahead of your competition. Come fall, when everyone wakes up out of the summer haze realizing that the biggest selling season of the year is right in front of them, and they’re not prepared… you’ll be sitting in your nice clean office, watching your products sell, calm and relaxed and excited about your sales figures this year…

This article has been condensed. Read the full article here.

Since 2004, Lisa Suttora of WhatDoISell.com has provided thousands of online sellers with the skills, knowledge and support they need to build a unique, thriving business on eBay.

Wondering What (or What Else) to Sell on eBay?

Blog Post by Lisa Suttora from Auctiva Education

Wondering What (or What Else) to Sell on eBay?

How to activate your product sourcing radar

Are you stuck in a product line rut? Are you selling the same things over and over again, but seeing little growth or expansion in your business? Are your product offerings stale and ho-hum?

Perhaps it's time to inject some life back into your business! After all, there are thousands of new products coming into the marketplace each year, yet all too often people find themselves at a loss for how to expand their business.

And without having the products buyers want, all the marketing, selling strategies and customer service in the world won't sell items people aren't interested in. Without enough inventory to sell, you won't see the revenue growth you desire.

So how do you figure out what to sell, or what else to sell?

1. Understand your customer first; then look at what they want to buy

When you understand who your customer is, answering the question of what to sell, or what else to sell, becomes much easier. Unfortunately, many sellers see their customers as "buyers" rather than people who have a reason behind every purchase they make. Taking the time to know your customer will go a long way in helping you figure out what else to sell.

Here are some questions to ask that will help you with that process:

• Who are your customers?
• What are their wants?
• What are their needs?
• What else are they buying?
• Where else do they shop?
• What are the top products they purchased from you and others last year?

For example, are your customers moms who are snapping up everything they can for their newborns? What are their favorite brands? What colors do they like? What new products are they reading about in parenting magazines? What are they talking about? It's the answers to these questions that will help you decide what to sell next.

Keep in mind that these questions apply to every market! Whether you sell baby products or bongos, you need to know who your customers are.

2. Live in the world your buyers live in
Read what they're reading; hang out where they hang out online. Can you name the top consumer publications in your industry? Online or offline, your customers read magazines, Web sites and blogs on a daily basis. Are you there, too? This is where shoppers are getting ideas about products to buy next. Can you list the top blogs or discussion groups that cover your niche market? That's where your customers are talking about their problems, wants and needs, and where they're discussing the latest gadgets and gizmos they want to buy. A client of mine who sells in the boating niche gets 80 percent of his business and his ideas for products to sell by participating in a top recreational boating Yahoo group.

3. What products are they searching for?
As online retailers, we live in a search-driven world. Fortunately, the answer to what products your customers are searching for can be found for free, and is as close as the Google Keywords Tool. Do a search using Broad Match and Phrase Match for your primary keywords and watch as hundreds of related keywords come up. Products you have never thought about selling will suddenly be displayed right before your eyes!

You can also leverage the marketplaces. Spend some time looking on eBay when you're in the product sourcing mindset and you'll find yourself with more ideas for products to sell than time to sell them!

4. Make it your business to be on top of industry trends
Staying on top of industry trends is a fun and exciting process and will infuse your business with ideas for products to sell. Unfortunately, it's one that I find e-tailers often neglect. Do you know about the latest and greatest new products in your market? Are you on top of what's new before your customer is? Do you spend time each week reading industry publications and consumer magazines, and talking to your suppliers about what's hot? Do you attend industry trade shows?

It's in these places that you'll get a plethora of ideas or products to sell and find out what's destined to be the next hot product!

5. Listen to your customers
How often have you received an e-mail from your customer asking if you carry a particular product? Many people might just say, "No, sorry, we don't carry that," and move on. But paying attention to what customers are asking for can be a clue into what you should carry next. WhatDoISell member and eBay seller E.J. Bantz gets some of his best product ideas from his customers.

"They often tell me what they want to buy," he says. "It's my job to then go and source it for them."

6. Get insights from Google Insights
One of my favorite tools for figuring out what to sell next is Terapeak. Terapeak's trending module will lead you to many different opportunities for new products to sell on eBay.

7. Test, test, test!
Before you invest your inventory capital in unproven products, you'll want to test-market new inventory in small quantities. This will allow you to quickly distinguish the winners from the losers. A lot of people source products seasonally. But product sourcing isn't something you can do once a month.

One of the most important steps to being in the Product Sourcing Mindset is to have at least 10 new products in the pipeline at any given time. What you focus on expands, and being in the mindset will ensure you'll have a constant stream of new products flowing into your business.

This blog post has been condensed. Click here to read the full article.

4 Surefire Ways to Make More Money on eBay This Spring

Blog post by Lisa Suttora, CEO & Founder of WhatDoISell.com

4 Surefire Ways to Make More Money on eBay This Spring

Spring has sprung and so have online sales! We’ll be hearing about the March ecommerce sales figures in the coming weeks, but early indicators reveal that an early Easter and the arrival of spring weather will bring a boost of online retail sales in the neighborhood of 8-10% over 2009.

For eBay sellers, spring also brought with it some major changes to the way business is transacted on eBay. With the end of the Store Inventory Listing Format, millions of items formerly nestled away in eBay stores, saw the dawn of a new day in eBay’s core search.

For many eBay sellers, the inclusion of “store in core” has been a boon for sales. Many people are finding that inventory they’ve had sitting on their virtual store shelves for two years is now selling.

Other sellers who had enjoyed a sole position in core, while their competitors left their listings in store, have seen their categories explode with many competing products alongside theirs where none were before.

But there’s no doubt about it. No matter what changes you’ve seen in your sales on eBay over the past week or so, with the eBay changes and the arrival of spring, it’s time to refresh your strategy!

Today we’re going to look at 4 ways to get started doing just that!

1. Put Your Spring and Summer Merchandise Front and Center

Walk into any brick and mortar retailer these days and you’ll see the signs of spring. Brightly colored signs, spring products in the hot new colors and a fresh array of merchandise to choose from. Spring is a time or renewal and rebirth, and people are wired for that. They’re also very ready to make new purchases for spring and summer. And the eBay seller who actively markets their spring and summer products is the one who increases their sales! Unfortunately, I see many eBay stores and listings that are not doing any spring marketing at all. Even worse, holiday messages and graphics remain. Fall and winter categories are featured in stores and spring merchandise is buried in sea of fall and winter products.

Take a look at your store and listings. Will customers be excited by what they see when they land on your eBay pages?

2. “Top Up” Your Store Categories

If visitors to your eBay store can’t find your new merchandise, they won’t become buyers. And part of putting your new spring merchandise front and center is rearranging your eBay store categories so that the new in-season categories are featured at the top. Many people list their categories in alphabetical order, but by doing that, you relegate your Spring and Summer merchandise to the bottom of your category list where no one will find it!

Keep in mind that a shopper’s focus is going to be “above the fold” which means you have to engage them with what’s on their screen BEFORE you can get them to scroll down to see what else you are offering. Always put your most popular 5 or so eBay store categories and in-season categories at the top of your store category list. If you have a lot of categories, once you feature your top 5-7 categories you can continue your category list alphabetically.

3. Use Subtitles for Marketing not Product Details

eBay subtitles are the best marketing deal on the web IF you use them for the right purpose. eBay listing subtitles should be used for one thing only – MARKETING. Think of eBay listing subtitles as the banner you hang outside your store or the sign you place on a product that tells people what makes that product different, unique or special than everything else the customer is being offered.

Two important things that every eBay seller must know. eBay listing subtitle keywords are not included in core search, this means that if you are putting item specific keyword data into your subtitle in the hopes that it will help people find your products, it does not contribute at all to that purpose.

For marketing purposes you want to craft what we call in marketing a USP (Unique Selling Position) or a “headline” – that will make people do ONE thing… and that is CLICK on your listing and go to your listing description page.

A listing subtitle has ONE purpose – to get a prospective buyer to CLICK on your listing and go to your listing description page where you then display the product information that will convert that browser into a buyer!

So what should go in your listing subtitle? Anything that showcases what’s different about your product or service. The thing that sets you apart from every other seller. Maybe, you’re selling a “Limited Edition Platinum Retro 60 Series”. Maybe your product is an “Exclusive Set. Only Available on eBay”. Maybe you are fortunate to carry an item that is “In Stock with Same Day Shipping. Sold Out In Stores”. Maybe your item is “Eligible for Bing Cashback”. Or the product your carry is “Winner of the Top 10 Toy Awards”. In many categories these days “We Ship Worldwide” is a USP – there are a lot of eBay sellers who no longer ship worldwide. (Which is the subject for another blog post.) Or your item is “100% Made in the USA”.

4. Use eBay’s Search Visibility Analysis Tool to test and track your strategies

The most important key to success when running a business on eBay or anywhere else is to know what works for your business. Each business has so many variables to it, that you have to apply the strategies and then test them and track them to make sure that they are right for you. eBay’s Search Visibility Analysis Tool will help you test and track changes you make to your listings as well as view the impact they have on your ranking in eBay’s Best Match. For example, the tool will show you how many times your listing has been displayed to buyers and the number of times a buyer has clicked-through to view your listing description. This information is critical to determining why your listings are or are not selling. If shoppers aren’t clicking on your listing, they definitely aren’t buying. With the Search Visibility Analysis Tool, you can pinpoint where the problem in the process is and make changes accordingly.

We’ll we’ve just covered four solid business strategies to increase your sales this spring. There’s only one thing left to do now… apply what you’ve learned and implement!

This article has been condensed. Read the full article here.

Since 2004, Lisa Suttora of WhatDoISell.com has provided thousands of online sellers with the skills, knowledge and support they need to build a unique, thriving business on eBay.

11 Hot Selling Holidays eBay Sellers Should Be Ready For (April - June) by Lisa Suttora

Article by Lisa Suttora, CEO & Founder of WhatDoISell.com

You may think that the “holiday selling season” runs November-December, but take a look below and you’ll be surprised at all the selling opportunities you have for your online business coming up in the next few months. No matter what you sell or where you sell it, capitalizing on these HOT spring and summer selling seasons can make a huge difference in your income during the 2nd quarter of the year! From April to June there are 11 different selling holidays that you’ll want to ramp up for! Miss these and you’ll leave money on the table…

April
April may be the kickoff to spring, but in the world of online sales, there’s a whole lot of shopping goin’ on!

• Bathing suit season: It’s still too chilly to wear them but sales of bathing suits are skyrocketing now. In fact, shoppers who wait much past May will find that all the best selection is gone! If you sell beachwear, it’s time to get it on your store homepage
• Prom wear: Online searches for prom wear are on the rise this month. Even though most proms don’ t happen until late May or early June, prom wear sales are increasing quickly with online searches up 60-80% from last month according to Google Insights
• Wedding season: Wedding season is in full swing as we approach June, one of the biggest wedding months of the year!
• April 4th: Easter: Easter is April 4th. And there is still time to make last minute sales. According to BIGResearch the average amount Easter shoppers are expected to spend is $118.60, slightly up from the 2009 average of $116.59.
  April 22nd: Earth Day: Earth Day is April 22nd and sales of eco-friendly and green products abound during this time. Don’t just look to sell traditionally “green” products. Look for the green in everything you sell. A bicycle is not only for entertainment and exercise, it is an eco-friendly way for your customers to commute to work or around town.

May
But that’s not all people are buying…

Bathing suit, prom wear and wedding season continue, but Mom boosts the sales this month!

• Sales of summer products ramp sharply in May (and June): Products for outdoor activities, clothing and outdoor living products for the home. Don’t wait until June to feature these in your store or you’ll lose a lot of sales!
• May 4th: National Teachers Day. A week long celebration honoring teachers, if you sell gifts and decorative accessories your store should have a promotion around National Teacher’s Day.
• May 9th: Mother’s Day: Mother’s Day is one of the biggest spending holidays of the year. Because it’s not just about buying a gift for your mom… there are grandmas, aunts, nieces, friends, co-workers and friends who are like a mom, who will all be getting gifts on this holiday too. Recognize all the moms in your store promotions and you’re sure to increase sales!
• May 31st: Memorial Day: It vacation time, camping time, fun in the summer time and your last chance to make big inroads in summer product sales!

June

• June: Graduation. Grade school, middle-school, high-school, college and technical college – sales of graduation gifts increase in May and June! And don’t forget the little ones! Pre-school graduation parties are all the rage. What do you sell that would make a perfect gift for the graduate?
• June 20th: Father’s Day: Dad doesn’t fare quite as well as mom when it comes to Father’s Day spending but Father’s Day gift shoppers will be out in full force. Put together a Top 10 Father’s Day gift list and watch your sales of those products soar!
• June: 4th of July products: Remember the majority of product sales happen in advance of the holiday, so if you wait until July to pull out the red,white and blue – you’ve just lost sales to the savvy seller who merchandised their 4th of July products in June. So get those 4th of July products out early, so your inventory is sold out come July.\

As you can see there’s a whole lot of selling you can do from April through June! So it’s time to get out there and capitalize on these spring and summer holiday selling seasons. Looking for creative ideas on how to merchandise your products or source products for these selling seasons? You’ll find them in the WhatDoISell Business Growth Center!

Since 2004, Lisa Suttora of WhatDoISell.com has provided thousands of online sellers with the skills, knowledge and support they need to build a unique, thriving business on eBay.

New Seller Education and Consulting Services from eBay Certified Providers

Selling on eBay is an easy and great way to make extra cash while cleaning out a garage or closet. All a new seller really needs to do is decide what to sell, take pictures and write a description about the item. No matter if an eBay member would like guided help or go it alone, Certified Providers can make the transition from buyer to seller quickly and easily.

If you have a new or beginner seller that would like to enlist the advice and help from experienced eBay sellers and consultants to guide you, then our Certified Providers can help. They can teach sellers how to sell effectively on eBay and perhaps even increase their eBay selling to full-time and start an online business.

Benefits:

• Learn what items sell on eBay
• Avoid common selling mistakes
• Self-paced learning environment
• Personalized advice
• Find the products buyers want and locate suppliers
• Set up your business properly

eBay Certified Providers can help sellers interested in getting started selling on eBay or learning how to be more successful. Look into -

The Queen of Auctions
WhatDoISell

We suggest you contact the Certified Provider directly and decide if they offer the right education and consulting service for you.

eBay Workshop Jan 26th - "5 Tips to Prepare for a Successful 2010"

Workshop: 5 Tips to Prepare for a Successful 2010

Host: Lisa Suttora, Founder/CEO of WhatDoISell.com

Date: Jan 26th, Tuesday

Time: 11AM - Noon PST

Location: eBay Workshop Board

Description: The holiday selling rush is over and the new selling season has just begun. It is a great time to look at your 2009 selling and plan for your 2010 selling strategy. NOW is the time to review, plan and refresh your eBay business for a successful new year.

Please join Lisa Suttora, ecommerce strategist and Founder/CEO of WhatDoISell.com, as she shares her advice and insight on what you can do to prepare for a successful year selling on eBay.

Visit http://certifiedprovider.ebay.com/ to learn more about eBay Certified Providers and the services and solutions they offer to help eBay sellers.

5 Tips to Prepare for a Successful 2010 - eBay Radio with WhatDoISell.com

Listen on eBay Radio as Lisa Suttora, CEO & Founder of WhatDoISell.com, shares her insights and tips on how eBay sellers can create a prosperous 2010!

“5 Tips to Prepare for a Successful 2010”

• Look back at 2009 and assess your business
• Review your financials and create goals
• Organize inventory and workspace
• Analyze inventory and reprice or remove slow selling items
• Find new or fresh products and expand in your current niche

Check out www.bizplan2010.com to receive these tips and more from Lisa Suttora. Lisa's Top 10 Tips for a Successful eCommerce Business.

Since 2004, Lisa Suttora of WhatDoISell.com has provided thousands of online sellers with the skills, knowledge and support they need to build a unique, thriving business on eBay.

Creating an Emotional Connection with Buyers Can Increase Sales by WhatDoISell.com

Marketing Online: Why You Must Create an Emotional Connection with Your Customers - by Lisa Suttora, Founder & CEO of WhatDoISell.com

If you think shopping is a perfunctory, logical process for us human beings… think again! The decision to make a purchase is largely based upon emotion (often subconscious emotions) that is then justified by logic.

Too often however, niche online sellers offer pages and pages of products that are devoid of emotion and personality.

Inanimate objects sitting on a page, the sales copy brings no life, no emotion, no meaning to what they sell. And because of that they don’t sell.

How then do you reach your customers and inspire them to click the “Buy” button?

You inspire by creating the right emotional connection with your buyer. One that speaks the language of a conversation that is already happening in their heads.

7 Questions to Help You Make an Emotional Connection When Marketing Your Products

If your product sales have been devoid of emotion so far, the prospect of creating an emotional connection when marketing your products may not come intuitively to you. Below are 7 questions that will help get you started connecting with your customers.

1. What do your customers want?
2. What do they care about?
3. How can your product contribute to their life? Their day? Their well-being?
4. What will inspire them? Perk them up? Make them feel some enthusiasm for what they are about to buy?
5. What are their worries? Their cares?
6. How can your product make their life easier, less stressful, more productive, calmer?
7. How will your product make your customers feel?

No matter what you sell or where you sell it, you have to make an emotional connection with your potential customer. Go right now to your eBay listings and eBay Store and look at your product offerings through a new pair of eyes.

*This article has been condensed. Click here for the full article.

Since 2004, WhatDoISell.com has provided thousands of online sellers with the skills, knowledge and support they need to build a unique, thriving business on eBay.

eBay Workshop Nov 3rd - 12 Sales Boosting Strategies to Put More Jingle in Your Holiday Season

Workshop: 12 Sales Boosting Strategies to Put More Jingle in Your Holiday Season

Host: Lisa Suttora, Founder/CEO of WhatDoISell.com

Date: November 3rd, Tuesday

Time: 11AM - Noon PST

Location: eBay Workshop Board

Description: The holiday season is upon us! And holiday shoppers are headed your way. But will YOU be ready when they arrive? With new holiday shoppers coming online each year and return buyers coming back for more, NOW is the time to ready your store, listings, and marketing for prime time!

Please join Lisa Suttora, ecommerce strategist, and Founder/CEO of WhatDoISell.com as she shares 12 sales boosting marketing strategies that will get you ready for holiday buyers and put more jingle in your holiday sales!

Since 2004, WhatDoISell.com, an eBay Certified Service Provider, has provided thousands of online sellers with the skills, knowledge and support they need to build a unique, thriving business on eBay.

Visit http://certifiedprovider.ebay.com/ to learn more about eBay Certified Providers and the services and solutions they offer to help eBay sellers.

5 Costly Mistakes that Put the Scrooge in Your Online Holiday Sales - by WhatDoISell.com

5 Costly Mistakes that Put the Scrooge in Your Online Holiday Sales - By Lisa Suttora, Founder & CEO of WhatDoISell.com

Selling online this holiday season?

If so, then you don’t want to fall into these 5 common traps that many online sellers make… (they’ll put the “Scrooge” in your online sales.)
1. Not preparing your website/online store to look like Christmas.

Imagine what your local mall would feel like during the holiday season WITHOUT all those holiday bells and whistles.

It certainly wouldn’t get you in the holiday spirit would it?

Yet frequently, online sellers do nothing to prepare their stores with a holiday look & feel. If you want potential holiday shoppers to stop and shop on your website, you need to let them know that you are dialed-in and ready for the holiday season.

This doesn’t have to cost an arm & a leg either – there are things you can do to bring the spirit of the season (and the sales) to your website for less than the cost of a dinner out. I talk about several ways to do this in my 2009 Holiday Season Checklist audio training.

2. Merchandising too late.

You cannot, I repeat CANNOT wait until December to start featuring your holiday merchandise.

Otherwise it will simply be TOO late in the season to pick up anything but last minute sales.

3. If you sell on eBay, in order to get the best visibility for your products you need to mix up your listing formats.

If you’ve been selling everything in a Fixed Price Multi-Quantity Format, it’s time to relist or list some new merchandise in a 7 day fixed price format.

4. Not collecting email addresses of your customers.

This is probably one of the most business devastating mistakes I see people make during the holidays.

I recently worked with a client who sold almost 800 items last year during the months of Sept – Dec. and hadn’t tracked any of those customer’s email addresses. That’s 800 people who they never followed up with again!

Now there are certain legalities that you need to be aware of in order to do this so that you’ll be in compliance with the CAN SPAM email laws – but when done correctly, a simple year-end email can build an ongoing relationship with your customers for the following year.

5. Telling your customers what you can’t/won’t do instead of what you CAN do. Nobody likes to be told “We don’t do this or No, you can’t have that.”
Well the same goes for your holiday customers. It’s all in how you say it.

• “We don’t accept checks.” should be “We accept Visa, Mastercard, Discover & PayPal


• “We can’t ship overnight.” can be rephrased as “We’re delighted to offer two day shipping.”

Look at your website, eBay store or listings. Count the # of times your copy says “We can’t” or “We don’t” then replace those statements with “We can” and “We’ll gladly.”

It takes 43 muscles to frown and only 17 to smile. The same goes for your holiday web copy – make it smile!

Your customers will thank you by rewarding you with their business!

About the author: Lisa Suttora is an ecommerce expert, noted product trend authority and the Founder & CEO of eBay Certified Provider WhatDoISell.com. With 15 years of online & offline retail merchandising experience, Lisa brings a fresh approach to the topic of "what to sell and how to sell it."

Since 2004, WhatDoISell.com has provided thousands of online sellers with the skills, knowledge and support they need to build a unique, thriving business on eBay.

eBay Workshops Past, Present and Future Contain Information You Need to Save Money, Save Time and Grow

eBay Workshops are a great learning experience for sellers to learn about the different opportunities available to them to help their eBay business grow and at the same time streamline their manual processes to be more efficient.

In the eBay workshops, we invite a Certified Provider to host a workshop on a topic they are well versed and experienced with. Certified Providers are third party companies, partnered with eBay, and have the expertise and experience to assist an eBay seller in growing their eBay business.

Upcoming Workshop:

• Save Time & Money Shipping and Increase Repeat Purchases August 13th- hosted by ShipWorks

Past Workshops: *review the workshops at any time, even after the scheduled timeslot*

• Save Time Listing and Gain Insightful Understanding into Your Buyers - hosted by Auctiva
• 5 Easy Steps to Increase Your eBay Profits w/Market Research - hosted by Terapeak
• Easy Listing Revisions - Edit LIVE eBay Listings in Bulk - hosted by inkFrog
• Selling on eBay using Drop Shippers: How to Make a Profit - hosted by Worldwide Brands
• Turn Your Household Items Into Cash on eBay - hosted by The Queen of Auctions
• Product Trends for 2009 and Beyond- hosted by WhatDoISell
• Keeping Up With the Latest eBay Strategies - hosted by As Was
• Saving $ When Shipping - Are you getting the most out of First Class Mail? - hosted by ShipRush

If you have questions about the past workshops in 2009, post your questions in our Certified Provider Discussion Board.

5 Tips for Turning Closet Clutter into Cash on eBay by WhatDoISell

By Lisa Suttora, Founder and CEO of WhatDoISell.com

Is the money for your next vacation or that long standing home improvement project as close as your overflowing closets? It can be when you get into the habit of turning your closet clutter into cash! Most of us have at least one closet in our home bulging with items we never use. And many people have multiple closets filled to the brim!

If you have never thought of transforming your unused items into money in the bank, consider this…

No matter how tired you may be of certain items, there is always someone else who will find value in them and be willing to pay for them!

Additionally, the market for pre-owned goods has grown dramatically over the past few years! Shoppers looking to “go green” are buying used goods where they once bought new. Other people are revisiting the way they spend their money, resulting in fueled demand for used goods.

So how can you get started turning your closet clutter into cash?

Selling your unwanted items on eBay can be a quick, easy and profitable process when you follow these five “closet clutter into cash” tips:

1. The first thing we need to do is get all that clutter out of your closets and believe it or not, this is often the hardest step for people! The #1 deterrent of turning clutter into cash is thinking that you’re going to use the item again! Make your decisions quickly. The longer you ponder over whether or not you should sell an item, the more likely it is to end up back in the closet. Focus on what you’ll do with your new found cash and you’ll find yourself very motivated to part with your unused items.
   
2. Do some quick pricing & selling format research. The biggest mistake people make when selling closet clutter is misjudging the value of their unused items. Don’t let your personal biases undervalue what you sell. That long since used, hand painted longhorn lamp your husband bought for his den may be an eyesore in your mind, but there may be someone else across the country searching for a lamp just like it! Conversely, don’t let your personal attachments overvalue your clutter either. While you may have fond memories of that black patent leather handbag you splurged on in the ‘90’s, it may not hold the same cache’ for today’s shoppers. Keep in mind that every item you sell adds up to more money in the bank! And market demand plays the biggest role in the final selling price of your item. To get an idea of what items similar to yours are selling for and whether they’ll sell better in auction format or as a fixed price listing - do your market research by using eBay’s Completed Items search filter.
3. Gather your items all in one place and look for any logical or unusual ways you can group items together. Creative bundling can net you higher prices. For example, instead of selling your pre-schooler’s outgrown clothing one piece at a time, think about selling a “LOT” ( i.e., a group) of items. Sell all your matching “size 4 girl’s summer clothes” together and offer another mom a whole new summer wardrobe for her daughter! One savvy seller put together a set of eclectic brightly colored dishes and sold it as a “Fiesta Set”! Her lucky buyer was thrilled to purchase a fun and funky set of colorful dishes that dazzled guests at her next dinner gathering.
4. Take a good photo. Just because your item came from the closet, does not mean you should photograph it there! A clear, close-up, well-lit photo (using natural lighting from a window) with a clean white background will really showcase your items and can significantly increase your final sales price. Your item photo is the first thing buyers notice when scrolling through the eBay search results.
5. Give people a roadmap directly to your items. The majority of all online purchases begin with a keyword search. Yet a lot of people don’t think about the importance of keywords when selling items from around the home. When creating your eBay listing title, think about what keywords your buyers will use to find your products. Do some practice searches and see if the title keywords that you’re thinking of using bring up a list of sold items (use the Completed Items search filter again to find recent items sold on eBay). The right keywords will help to connect your item with the perfect buyer.

Finally, list simply and quickly. Once people get into selling their closet clutter and realize how much money they can make, their tendency is to want to create the perfect listing and squeeze every last dollar out of their unused items. This leads to over complicating the listing process which slows down your progress and your profits dramatically! Remember, any money you make on an item stored in your closet is a net positive cash flow. And time is money! So don’t prolong the process of listing, go for it! Get it listed quickly using eBay’s Sell Your Item Form or Turbo Lister (both free eBay listing tools). And enjoy the profits as they roll in!

When you resell your unused items on eBay you make money, other people save money and you recycle. It’s a win-win situation! Now that you know what to sell and how to sell it, there’s only one thing left to do…

Get started turning your closet clutter into cash today!

About the author: Lisa Suttora is an ecommerce expert, noted product trend authority and the Founder & CEO of eBay Certified Provider WhatDoISell.com. With 15 years of online & offline retail merchandising experience, Lisa brings a fresh approach to the topic of "what to sell and how to sell it."

Since 2004, WhatDoISell.com has provided thousands of online sellers with the skills, knowledge and support they need to build a unique, thriving business on eBay.

Increase Sales and Improve Visibility on eBay with Strategy and Marketing Help

Increase your sales and improve visibility of your items on eBay with listing strategy and marketing help. It’s not enough to just be on top, you need to maintain “top billing” status and beat out your competition for eBay buyer attention. Be unique. Capitalize on eBay search, listing formats, visibility features, marketing and merchandising tools for eBay sellers.

Every winner has a strategy, and so should you.

Benefits:

• Incorporate successful eBay pricing and listing strategies
• Understand demand patterns of your product(s)
• Compete effectively with your competition
• Create effective design and build a recognizable name/brand on eBay to suit your target buyer
• Up-sell additional eBay inventory
• Configurable listings: Save time and spend less by letting buyers build the listing they want, on the fly
• Trade-In program: Sell and source simultaneously, while expanding your market to owners of similar merchandise. Take a trade in right in the listing. Make buyers happy by providing trade in value based on trade in worth.

Consider enlisting the marketing and strategy services of an eBay Certified Provider to get started on eBay, or to grow your current eBay business with effective marketing and merchandising tools. eBay Certified Providers work with all levels of eBay sellers from beginners to larger online merchants and brick and mortar retailers.

eBay Education, Consulting and Marketing

As Was

WhatDoISell

The Queen of Auctions

Merchandising Tools

Infopia

Vendio

inkFrog

Auctiva

Earn $ in Your Spare Time on eBay - Education for New Sellers

Considering selling on eBay to make extra cash while cleaning out your garage? Where do you start? No matter if you want to get guided help or go it alone, Certified Providers can make the transition from buyer to seller quickly and easily.

The first thing to decide is what to sell. Find out which items in your house will turn the highest profit and eBay Market Research tools can do just that. Just type in what the item is and our market research tools will search millions of eBay listings (international sites included) and report back:

• Average sale price
• Sell-through percentage (success rate)
• How to list your item to maximize it’s potential for success

eBay research and listing is easy, but if you’d like to enlist the advice and help from experienced eBay sellers and consultants to guide you, then our Certified Providers can help. They can help you learn how to sell effectively on eBay and perhaps even increase your eBay selling to full-time and start an online business.

Benefits:

• Learn what items sell on eBay
• Avoid common selling mistakes
• Self-paced learning environment
• Find the products buyers want and locate suppliers
• Set up your business properly

eBay Market Research Tools:

Terapeak
Vendio

eBay Consulting:

The Queen of Auctions
WhatDoISell

Research + Education = Successful eBay Selling

"Good Morning America" recently featured an eBay seller turned Trading Assistant making a successful living on eBay. If you watch the GMA video, you will notice one of the eBay seller's secrets to success is to know how much an item is worth on eBay and how likely it is the item will sell before investing more time and effort. To determine the likely success of an item and the average sale price, the seller used Terapeak's market research tool for eBay.

eBay sellers using Terapeak can answer the questions, "What do buyers want?" "How much is a buyer willing to pay for an item?"

Terapeak is an eBay Certified Provider and eBay Market Data Program member offering an easy-to-use, market research tool that provides real-time eBay sales and data analytics. eBay sellers can access two years worth of trending information and 90 days of item specific data across eBay.com, eBay Motors and international eBay sites with Terapeak.

If you are interested in either becoming a Trading Assistant in your area like the seller featured in the story, or perhaps you would like to learn how to get started selling your own items on eBay, we recommend contacting one of our eBay Certified Providers specializing in education and marketing consulting and strategy on eBay. Check out WhatDoISell and The Queen of Auctions for assistance with how to get started selling on eBay or how to take your eBay selling to the next level.

Terapeak, WhatDoISell and The Queen of Auctions are all members of the eBay Certified Provider Program. The eBay Certified Provider Program recognizes third party companies excelling at providing the tools or services an eBay seller needs to grow their business and increase efficiency.

Start or Expand Your eBay Business with WhatDoISell

If you are currently selling on eBay or are thinking about getting started on eBay, then you have an opportunity to start or expand your eBay business with step-by-step selling strategies, product sourcing and marketing from WhatDoISell, an eBay Certified Provider and Certified Consultant.

"...online sales are projected to grow at a rate of 11% in 2009. This at a time when many other industries are not growing or even in decline. And a significant portion of these sales were made by independent online sellers just like you. Whether you have a growing business or you're just getting your feet wet selling online, there's no doubt that the future is bright for independent online sellers." - Lisa Suttora, Founder of WhatDoISell.

Successfully selling on eBay requires knowing what strategies & methods work for your product, category, customer and business. WhatDoISell provides training, consultation and 1x1 mentoring to help an eBay seller take their sales to the next level.

The WhatDoISell Online Business Growth Center provides:

• Business Planning & Strategy
• Product Selection
• Product Trends
• Product Sourcing
• Selling Strategies
• Marketing Your Business
• Support, Inspiration, Mentoring and Growth

Click here to learn how ecommerce strategist & eBay Certified Provider, Lisa Suttora, can help you get started with your eBay business or expand your existing eBay sales.

Lisa Suttora, CEO and Founder of WhatDoISell.com, has been helping home based entrepreneurs start, run and expand their businesses since 2002. WhatDoISell is an eBay Certified Services Provider specializing in Product Sourcing, Education, Marketing and Strategy.

eBay Workshop - Product Trends for 2009

Workshop: Product Trends for 2009 & Beyond

Host: WhatDoISell
Date: Tuesday, April 28th
Time: 11AM PST

Description: What will your customers buy? Next week? Next month? Next year? The answer to these questions can be found in looking at emerging product trends. No matter what category you sell in, product trends will influence the inventory you buy in 2009 and beyond.

Please join Lisa Suttora, Founder of eBay Certified Provider WhatDoISell.com, as she discusses the 7 product trends that will impact your online sales this year. A noted trend authority, Lisa will introduce you to the year’s top consumer trends and show you how to apply them to YOUR business!