Free Stuff!PowerSeller AcademyAbout UsLinksAdditional Resources |
Sell the Sizzle, not the Steak
publication date: Oct 4, 2006
*******
- Editorial
- Steal Yourself a Publishing
Business!
- How to Make Money on eBay by
PeterFisher
- 5 Major Benefits of Selling Digital
Products Like eBooks and
Software by JeanLam
*******
***
Editorial
***
Hi,
'Sell the Sizzle, Not the Steak' is
great advice, it means extolling the
benefits of your product, not merely
describing the features of whatever
you are selling.
This applies equally to the technique
of listing products on eBay.
It works because people don't buy
steak for its own sake, they buy for
the eating experience, the taste, the
sizzle.
You must sell benefits of your
product (sizzle), not the product
itself (steak)if you're going to reach
the widest audience of eager bidders.
So, for example, the title 'Figure-
Hugging Crushed Silk Ivory
Ballgown' should attract more
interest than 'Woman's Cream
Frock'; 'ElvisPresley Hand-Signed
Army Recruitment Portrait' sounds
better than 'ElvisPresley
Autograph'.
These additional features 'figure-
hugging', 'Crushed silk', 'Hand-
Signed', are the sizzle, more likely to
make a bidder's mouth water than
describing the product as frock,
autograph, whatever.
Taking time to learn what makes
your prospective buyer's mouth
water makes all the difference
between attracting fabulous finishing
prices for your items and those items
instead going unsold.
Here are some examples based on
items I currently have listed on eBay:
* I could have listed it 'Sunday
Dispatch Newspaper' but I think I'll
get more bids and higher prices for
'TRUTH ABOUT THE
LINDBERGH BABY Newspaper
1932'. The Lindbergh baby's
disappearance is still a major interest
despite the passage of 70 years. A
newspaper per se, just 70 years old,
is worth little or nothing. The
Lindbergh Baby is the sizzle, the
newspaper is the steak.
* 'Dog Print' is good, but infinitely
better is 'SCOTTISH TERRIER
Hand-Coloured Print. LucyDawson.
1946'. Scottish Terrier memorabilia
is hugely popular, so is Lucy
Dawson, and despite being quite
modern, '1946' still impresses more
people than a more recent
presentation. 'Scottish Terrier',
'1946', 'LucyDawson', are the
sizzle, 'Print' is the steak.
Take time over your listings, find the
sizzle that sells the steak.
Until next time,
Happy eBaying,
Avril
*****
Special Endorsement
****
'Steal Yourself a Publishing Business!'
If you ever wanted a NO START-UP COST
way to create your own £330,000 side-business
- or £375,000+ full-time venture - read on...
Here's how to find, repackage and republish
works you can get for FREE in the public
domain... selling as many copies as you like...
keeping 100% of the profits... and never having
to pay a penny in fees or royalties.
Find out more, click here
***
How to Make Money on eBay
by PeterFisher
***
Some people say that anyone can
make money on eBay, by selling all
sorts of household junk and
unwanted gifts that you have lying
around. It would have to be a very
big house to have enough stuff going
around to make money on eBay
consistently.
However there are over a million
registered users in the UK and
millions visit the site every month so
there is potentially a large relatively
untapped market which should allow
you to make money on eBay if you
do your homework first; in the USA
over 150,000 people make their full-
time living from selling on eBay.
In the UK eBay is rapidly getting
established and just about everyone
has heard of it so how do you make
money on eBay?
Whether you are looking for a way
to supplement your income or
develop it as a full-time job, you
need to know the basic steps for
selling online and the strategies that
will get you the highest bids and
keep your customers coming.
What you need to do before you get
started:
Don't expect to sell every item you
put up for auction or sale - it
probably won't happen;
Don't expect to make a killing in
your first few weeks as some of the
authors of books about eBay would
have you believe;
Do your homework - research eBay
carefully before you place your first
listings. This information is essential,
you must find out as much as you
can about pricing policies,
competitors and buying habits.
Look at sellers' feedback scores and
the items they sell to find out what
goes best and when to use a seven-
day auction or a one-day auction. If
you want to make money on eBay,
model yourself on successful sellers
with high positive feedback scores.
When you come to create your
listing you will have found out that a
good title, accompanied by a precise,
well-written and accurately detailed
product description will maximise
your listing's impact. Add a picture
to make the selling power grow even
more because people trust what they
can see more than just a description.
70% of registered users will accept
payments by PayPal but you should
offer other payment options as well.
The greater the number of payment
options that you accept the less
chance of potential buyers backing
away!
Positive feedback from previous
buyers can make all your offers more
attractive. You will have to work
your way up and become a top eBay
seller. From that position you will
notice more buyers bidding on your
products and an increase in the prices
they offer. A tip to build your own
feedback score quickly and make
money on eBay, is to become an
active buyer yourself. Many items
are sold at very low prices and the
opportunity to build your score up to
say 100 won't cost you very much.
Always be professional and treat
your buyers with respect and
courtesy. If they have questions
answer quickly and not only will
they come back willing to bid even
higher prices for your products but
they will also spread the word among
their friends.
Make sure you use all the available
marketing help from eBay itself -
especially the 'About Me' page
which allows you to set up a
personalised page about yourself.
Add a signature-file and promote
your business.
Bookmark the 'Want It Now' page
so that you can regularly browse
through lists of items actually
wanted by buyers. You will make
money on eBay quicker by
responding to buyers' needs.
Read more of Peter's articles at
***
5 Major Benefits of Selling Digital
Products Like eBooks and
Software by JeanLam
***
Selling digital products on the
internet like eBooks and software is
among the most lucrative businesses.
The possibilities are endless. You
can create software or hire people to
do it for you and you sell it after and
if it's quite useful, you will get sales
provided that you are getting
targeted traffic of course. Or you can
develop your own info product idea
like an eBook and write about a
specific topic that people will pay to
get that information. Developing an
eBook about a topic you know
usually is best and you can easily
create a product out of your ideas,
e.g. dog training, home decorating
etc. Usually writing an eBook about
a niche topic where it's not too
competitive is the best way to get
started.
Below are 5 major benefits of selling
digital products like eBooks and
software:
(1) No Product Shipping / No
Inventory Needed
Due to the fact that digital products
can only be downloaded to use, you
don't need to keep any inventory and
you don't need to ship. So no need
for a store because you have can
unlimited copies with digital
products. Create just one and sell as
many as you want. And save on
shipping costs as well.
(2) Auto-Pilot Business 24/7
When you are selling digital
products, you are promoting online
and your websites are usually
accessible every day and any time of
the year. It's not like a bricks and
mortar business where you have
closing hours. This means more
profitability for your business. You
can make money while you are
sleeping or on vacation.
(3) No Employees
With this kind of business, you don't
really need employees so that's a
huge saving. Maybe one to help you
with customer service if you have
your own product say you are away
on vacation but if you are selling
other people's products, no need for
any employee.
(4) High Income Potential
Selling digital goods can have a high
earning potential only limited by
your own desire, effort, ambition and
imagination. You can potentially
generate hundreds, thousands or
even tens of thousands of dollars
with this business. And many are
doing this right now.
(5) Low Set Up Costs
An eBook is not difficult to create
and you just need the information to
put into it. If you already have it, it's
a breeze to create one and is not
expensive. Creating software might
be higher in cost though.
If you have an interesting eBook or
software idea that has a good
demand, it's not a bad idea to venture
and try it out. You might be
surprised by the outcome.
Read more of JeanLam's articles at
|
SearchLog In |
.gif)