Online Chats, Sales & Bonanzle

A recent report by Internet Retailer points out that 10% to 15% of e-commerce browsers will buy if they engage in online chat versus 2% who do not.

The online shopping site, Bonanzle gives buyers the opportunity to chat with sellers via a booth chat.

Do you think that's part of the reason Bonanzle has been growing by leaps and bounds?

If you're a Bonanzle seller, what has been your experience as far as talking with your customers?

Are your booth chats productive?

Are buyers wasting your time?

And more importantly - do your chats convert to sales?

Keywords: Are You Losing Money by Using the Wrong Ones?

Keywords are the specific words that buyers use to find the items that you sell.

To be successful, a seller must use the same keywords their buyers are using AND they must place those keywords correctly on their site so the search engine 'spiders' will find them.

How do you find the keywords your buyers are using? There are a number of online tools that provide the information whether you sell on eBay or elsewhere. Some are free and some are subscription services. Use the sites most relevant to your business to create a comprehensive list of at least 50-75 words. Remember to go back to these tools several times a year to keep your keywords up-to-date.

Now that you've compiled your list, add the keywords to the places where search engine 'spiders' will find them. If you sell on eBay, start by including them in your Store description, as Store categories and in your custom pages. If you have a website, begin by including them in your metatags.

Your keyword list provides additional benefits by using it in other ways. Since the keywords are what your buyers are searching for, use the words to give you ideas for new items to add to your product line or as topics to write about in a blog or squidoo lens.

To learn more about finding the right 'profitable' keywords for your business, join us for a Free Podcast on Mon Jan 26th - 3:00pm EST (noon PT). Our guest instructor for this training is Janelle Elms.

Janelle is a best-selling author, speaker, Visionaire of OSI Rock Stars and creator of the Profitable Keyword CD - a 4-hr step-by-step training on using Keywords for a more profitable business.

Our information-packed podcast will cover:

• what keywords are
• why keywords are essential to your business
• how to set up your keyword list
• keyword tools
• where to use your keywords
• and more!

You're welcome to join us in the chat room where you can 'talk' with others and type in any questions you have for Janelle.

Under Construction

We're getting a new look! Please bear with us while we update our appearance.

Thanks -

WordPress, WordPress, WordPress

I spent a very informative hour tonight talking about 'WordPress for eCommerce' with Scott Pooler, CEO of iBusinessLogic.

WordPress was on my mind. So it's no wonder that tonight I found a great little site with tons of WordPress info!

WordPress.tv has slideshows and videos that show you 'how-to' do all sorts of things with your WordPress site.

As stated in their blog,
Our goal with WordPress.tv is simple: To make it easy for you to find up-to-date, WordPress-themed video content within a couple of clicks. Without having to wade through spammy promotional videos, out-of-date content, and missing chunks of presentations

Enjoy -

PS - If you'd like to hear the talk with Scott Pooler, you can listen to the archived podcast here:

Fulfillment by Amazon, New Terapeak Tool, WordPress for eCommerce & More!

Check out these great trainings! Mark your calendar and Save the dates!

Monday Jan 29 8:00pm EST (5:00pm PT)
WordPress for eCommerce

Join Scott Pooler, CEO of iBusinessLogic, as he continues his WordPress series on our 'Tips From the Top' podcasts!

Tonight Scott will discuss how the WordPress platform is used for eCommerce and why it's important for all online sellers to have a web presence.

The podcast begins at 8pm. Listen in and join us in the chat room too!

Tuesday Jan 20 3:00pm EST (noon PT)

Sneak Peek at a New Terapeak Tool!

Terapeak has something new! It's the Value Track tool. Sign up for this webinar and learn what it can do for your business and its profits!

Save your spot in this class at: http://www.askterapeak.com/. Sponsored by OSI Rock Stars.

Wednesday Jan 21 3:00pm EST (noon PT)

Fulfillment by Amazon

Join Cindy Shebley of Success with Cindy as she discusses the process of Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) and shares tips and tricks on successfully implementing FBA into your business.

Save your spot in this class at: http://www.successwithcindy.com/. Sponsored by OSI Rock Stars.

Coming up on our Tips From the Top podcast series:

Monday January 26 3:00pm EST (noon PT)

KEYWORD Basics with Janelle Elms, Visionnaire of OSI Rock Stars.

Plus lots more including:

An interview with Sue Bailey from TameBay

Things I Learned the Hard Way (Part II) with Charlene Anderson, Purveyor of All Things Creative

eCommerce & eBay Accounting Tips & Tools with Cathi Aiello of Allegro Accounting

A 3-part How to Squidoo series taught by a Giant Squid .... and more!

e-Newsletters: Tips For Success

Thinking about starting a newsletter for your eCommerce business?

Check out our 'Tips From the Top' Newsletter Training podcasts and get started on the right foot!

These 2 podcasts will show you how to effectively create a newsletter. You'll also learn insider tips to make yours a huge success.

The guest trainer for this informative 2-part series was Greg Bala. Greg has been working in online marketing for the last 11 years. Currently he is the Director of 3rd Party and Affiliate Marketing at Sales in a Click.

Below you'll find some of the valuable information covered in the podcasts:

• what e-newsletters are



• who should use them



• who should receive them



• why you want to send them



• pitfalls and things to avoid



• how to construct an effective newsletter



• ideas for content



• how often to send



• type of template to use



• the different kinds of newsletters



• how to include a 'sales pitch'



• what to include in your letter



• what you can test for



• how to create a community



• how to establish a voice



• how to reward loyalty



• Best Practices

eBay Stores - Is Yours the Best It Can Be? Get a Free Consultation & Find Out!

By now I expect most everyone is aware of the announcement eBay made earlier this week about the 'New eBay Store Experience.'

If your store design template has been heavily customised, the change will impact you the most. Be sure to preview your store NOW to be certain it will transition well when the change takes place at the end of March.

While it's easy to set up an eBay Store, there are many features included with a Store subscription that sellers are unaware of or aren't using to their best advantage.

On today's Tips From the Top podcast, our topic is 'eBay Stores.' Along with a general discussion of Stores, we're offering you the unique opportunity to have a mini-consultation/review of your Store during the podcast! You'll get praise for what you're doing right and gentle feedback & suggestions for areas that could be improved.

If you don't want your store mentioned during the podcast, feel free to DM the link to me on Twitter. We'll discuss the points without referring to your store specifically.

Today's 'Tips From the Top' podcast is at 1:00pm EST (10 am PT).

Joining me, The Savvy Seller, is our guest Debbie Levitt, CEO of AsWas. Debbie's company was eBay's first Certified Consultant and they designed last year's 'Best Standard Store' winner.

Please join us at 1:00pm and visit in the chatroom too!

Business Atmosphere Cold? Warm Up with colderICE Podcasts!

John Lawson is CEO of 3rd Power Outlet, a blogger, vlogger, podcaster and more! You can take full advantage of his personality and knowledge on the social networking site Twitter where he is known as @colderICE.

Anyway, John has been doing a special series of interviews leading up to Tuesday, January 13th. You can read all about them on John's blog.

Here's a list of the amazing interviews so far:

Dave White - eBay and Beyond: Basics to Business
Randy Smythe - My Blog Utopia
Brandon Dupsky - ECMTA Director
Ina Steiner - AuctionBytes
Dwight Miller - Start A Business Backwards & Black Genius Network

I was actually fortunate enough to be a part of this series and you can read all about my interview with John on his blog.

Tune in today (Jan 12) at 4:30PM (EST) to listen to the next guest interview!

The BIG day is tomorrow, Tue Jan 13th. Will John give us hints today?

Keep Up With eBay Announcements

It's important for eBay sellers to keep track of the many policy changes that effect their listings. Listings that are not compliant risk being pulled.

To keep up with the changes and find out how they impact your listings, join Debbie Levitt, CEO of AsWas, every Tuesday as she hosts a 30 minute radio show called 'eBay Seller Compliance Workshop'.

Every Tuesday from noon - 12:30 PM (EST) Debbie will go over what you can or cannot include in your listings, templates, Stores, custom Store pages and About Me pages. You are welcome to call into the show (646-716-9221) and ask a question or type it into the chat room for Debbie to answer.

On Monday Jan 12th at 4:30PM (EST) Debbie will discuss the most recent eBay Announcements on John Lawson's colderICE podcast.

On Friday Jan 16th at 1:00PM (EST), Debbie will be our guest on our 'Tips From the Top' podcast to further discuss what's new.

For even more information tune in on Saturday, Jan 17th at 10:30AM (EST) when Debbie joins Dave White on his eBay and Beyond Radio Show .

The Table Was Turned -

Happy New Year!

I hope the holiday season was everything you wished for and more!

To start off 2009, the table - well actually the microphone - was turned!

Instead of asking the questions as I do in our 'Tips From the Top' podcasts, today I was a podcast guest on John Lawson's (colderICE) Internet Commerce and eBay podcast show and he asked the questions!

John is CEO of 3rd Power Outlet, an eBay powerseller, podcaster and vlogger. He has all the bases covered! It was a pleasure, an honor and lots of fun to be on his show.

Hope you have a chance to download the podcast. It's one of the few times I'll be on the other side!