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publication date: Jul 12, 2006
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- Editorial
- Start a Pet Supply Drop Ship Business
by GeneSower
- Search Engine Marketing: 20 Strategies to
Compel People to Link to Your Website
by VeronicaAzam
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Editorial
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The big buzz on the Internet today is 'Blog' and
although blogging represents big business for
millions of Internet marketers, in reality very few
people know what a blog is or how it works, even
less understand how blogs and blogging can
greatly benefit their Internet ventures, including
on eBay.
Well, given that eBay has just started offering
free blogs which hundreds of top PowerSellers
are currently benefiting from I thought it was time
I made my opinions known on the subject.
Blogs - I think they're great, I have twenty
myself, they each took about 5 minutes to prepare
and upload and they are one of the easiest of all
Internet concepts to actually use to make money.
'Blog' is short for 'web log' and a web log is really
just an Internet web site, having much the same
features, including space for information and
pictures, unique web address, and supporting
email and linking procedures. What makes a blog
really special though is that usually they're free
and even non-techies can create and upload and
begin making money from their blog literally in
minutes.
I won't rabbit on about blogging for now, I just
wanted to let you know that soon blogs will be
available on eBay.co.uk, as they are in the USA.
Actually blogs are available on the UK site but
the facility has been out of action for at least the
last ten days so I'm taking that to mean teething
troubles which might soon be resolved.
When operating a blog, on or outside of eBay, its
so easy to add messages, promote sales, tell your
customers about special offers and to get them to
sign up to your mailing list where you can
promote products outside of eBay (best use a non-
eBay blog for this last one, such as the free ones
Google offers at http://www.blogger.com).
But most of all, the really great thing about most
blogging sites is that you do not need knowledge
of html or even know how to upload a web site.
Everything you enter onto the blog can be in plain
text and you upload right there on screen from
inside your blogging account. It is so easy.
So until eBay.co.uk blogs come properly online, I
recommend you go tohttp://www.blogger.com,
open a blogging account, get used to adding
information and publishing it all online.
The last article in this newsletter talks about
'linking', it's an important concept, both to
increase traffic to your blog as well as to raise
your blog high in search engine listings.
Go on, give it a go, see how you get on, and in
August's main newsletter you'll find a
comprehensive guide to making money from your
blog, preferably on eBay, but it matters not, get it
right and you will begin to make good money
online.
Happy eBaying!
Until next time,
Avril
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Special Offer
****
Let me tell you about an easy way to
sell thousands of products a month,
from home, without ever having to
buy, store, pack or post products to
hundreds of buyers each day.
Sounds wonderful? Click here to read on:
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Start a Pet Supply Drop Ship Business
by GeneSower
***
If you're looking to sell pet products without
having to invest and carry inventory then you
should consider drop shipping.
Drop shipping is defined as selling products that
you don't actually have in your possession but
have made arrangements with someone who does.
You get paid from your customer, you send the
order to the drop shipper and they pick, pack and
ship the product for you and bill you a particular
amount.
For instance, you have pooper scoopers for sale
on your site for $10 each. A customer comes
along, orders the $10 pooper scooper, pays you
$10 via whatever method you've already got in
place (PayPal, credit card), you forward the order
to your drop shipper via email or fax, they receive
your order, pick the pooper scooper they have in
stock, pack it, and ship it to your customer. Then
they either send you an invoice or bill a credit
card on file (more about billing & costs below).
WHAT YOU NEED TO UNDERSTAND
The beauty of this arrangement is that you didn't
have to pay two cents for that pooper scooper
until you sold it. You didn't have to spend any
money on inventory, you didn't have to store it,
you didn't have to pay an employee to pick, pack
and ship. You didn't have to even touch it!
Rather then spend money on inventory that sits in
a warehouse you can devote your time and
MONEY to marketing and selling more pooper
scoopers! Pretty sweet, right?
COSTS
Most drop shippers are product distributors who
sell pet products at dealer cost. They supply
retailers with products for their stores (whether
online stores or brick and mortar pet stores ---
doesn't matter). Let's use the $10 pooper scooper
sale as an example of what this arrangement can
potentially cost:
Pooper scooper $5
Box $1
Handling fee $1
Total Cost: $7
Your Profit: $3
Note: Every arrangement is different. Some
charge a service fee and some charge for packing
materials. Find out before entering the
relationship.
SHIPPING COSTS
The customer pays the shipping charges, that's
why shipping charges were not included in the
example above. It's basically a pass along cost.
NOTE: Shipping charges can also be a profit
center by adding a few bucks onto the rates
charged by UPS, FedEx or other delivery service.
Also, if possible, have your drop shipper use
YOUR shipping account to send your items.
One, you'll be making sure that you're only
paying actual shipping charges and your drop
shipper isn't making money on you from the
shipping fees.
Most drop shippers will prefer this because it
simplifies billing and if they're invoicing you they
won't have to carry the extra shipping fees on the
balances that you'll owe.
You'll prefer it because you'll get monthly
statements from the shipping companies so you
can stay on top of your costs more easily.
WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN A DROP SHIPPER
Lots of Products
Not all drop shippers are created equal. The most
important thing about finding a good pet supply
partner who can ship products for you is to
identify one that sells a large selection of products
you're interested in selling. You're basically going
to be selling whatever they carry. If you're trying
to establish a one-stop destination for dog toys,
for instance, make sure the partner you decide to
work with has tons of dog toys that you can
choose from.
Reliability & Speed
Another critical aspect is how fast they can turn
around orders for you. Remember, the work they
do will reflect directly on you and your business.
It's your reputation and name that's on the line out
there --- they're 'only' shipping the stuff. And
when I say 'only', it's because while shipping may
not me very glamorous, it's where the rubber
meets the road. Getting products out the door
quickly and cost effectively will directly effect
your customer's satisfaction and likelihood of
coming back and buying from you again in the
future. The worst thing that could happen is that
your drop shipper repeatedly screws up your
orders or takes days to ship them. You can kiss
that customer good bye!
Fees
As I mentioned above, find out what the fees are
in advance. Almost every drop shipper will
charge them. You can't expect them to do all that
work for free. But are they charging you a per
item fee or a fee based on total dollar amount per
order? A $5 flat rate fee on the $10 pooper
scooper example above would have you breaking
even or LOSING money on that sale. But on a
larger $100 order a $5 flat fee is fine. Figure out
or estimate your average sale per order and
negotiate a fee you can both live with. I prefer a
sliding scale fee structure based on the total dollar
amount of the order. Smaller orders get charged
smaller fees, larger ones, larger fees.
Online Access To Catalogue
This may sound obvious, but make sure your drop
shipper has a website so you can browse for
products, get pricing, copy and paste product
images as well as product descriptions. Believe
me, if you wind up carrying several hundred or
even thousands of items, you don't want to have
to write all those product descriptions yourself
and chase down all those product images and
photos for your own website catalog.
PITFALLS TO AVOID
Many companies will drop ship. They don't
advertise the fact but if you call and ask, more
than half the time they'll say 'yes'. The main
pitfall to avoid is getting too excited and lining up
all these suppliers willing to ship your orders for
you. Here's why: lets' say you offer products from
4 different drop shippers. One sells dog toys, one
sells dog food, one sells cat toys and the other
sells leashes. Now, let's say you get an order that
includes an item from each one --- a dog toy, a
bag of dog food, a cat toy and a leash? You, not
your customer, will have to pay 4 SEPARATE
SHIPPING FEES! You can quickly see how this
can be a problem.
That's why, as we said previously, try and find
one or two drop shippers, tops, that can do it all
for you. One drop shipper, one drop ship fee, one
shipping charge. 'Nuff said.
GeneSower is the editor and publisher of
website devoted to helping people launch their
own pet-related businesses.
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Search Engine Marketing: 20 Strategies to
Compel People to Link to Your Web Site
by VeronicaAzam
***
It is essential to establish quality inbound links
from websites with high page ranks to attain a
high ranking amongst search engines.
The 20 guidelines listed below should be
followed diligently.
1. Develop content related to your site with links
on all pages. Offer other websites to post it on
their sites free of cost. This will expose you more
to your target audiences.
2. Permit other websites to publish your
beneficial review of their business if they link up
to your website.
3. Include your websites ad and link in every
issue of your e-zine. Allow other sites to publish
your e-zine on their site.
4. Let other sites give away free web book
designed with your website title and contents on
linking to your website.
5. Place a banner ad on the top of the article
directory for your website. By linking to your
site, visitors can add a free article directory to
their site.
6. Allow other sites to use your discussion board
by linking. Add your banner ad on top of
discussion board.
7. Offer free membership to your 'members only'
websites.
8. Pay commission to visitors to sell your product
or services, and an affiliate link to track their
sales.
9. Create a graphic or text link award site for
other websites. They will link on to it for
awarding the winners, thus building traffic for
your site.
10. Offer free consultation on e-mail on a
particular subject i.e. astrology to people linking
to your site. Traffic volumes will increase, as
consulting fee is otherwise expensive.
11. Let other website publish your product
approval testimonial by linking to your site.
12. Put your business ad on top of your directory's
home page and let people add the directory to
their site by linking to your site.
13. Exchange content of trade articles, lists etc.
with other websites. All parties can include a
resource box at end of the content.
14. Allow people to download software free of
charge, if they link to your site.
15. Trade various forms of advertising with
people who link up to your website.
16. Give web space to people for free. As a favor,
request them to place ad banners of link for your
web site.
17. Create a web ring by linking with a group of
similar web sites.
18. Offer free membership to an online club or
association, if they link to your site.
19. In exchange of linking, offer use of online
services or utilities from your website.
20. Offer a free e-book related to your audience
to people linking to your web site.
Use this list as your personal commandments for
'Success in Search Engine Marketing' and see
your ranking improve by the click!!
Good Luck!
VeronicaAzam is an experienced and established
ebay seller and ebook entrepreneur at
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