New Terapeak Keywords App!

Image via CrunchBase

Today is the official release of the Terapeak Keyword Application for eBay sellers and best of all, it's FREE!

If you've ever sold on eBay, you know the first step to creating a great listing is coming up with a great title.

Terapeak Keywords is a free tool that helps eBay sellers optimize their listing titles.

Type in an item's name/description into the search field. Terapeak's tool will then sample 100 recent eBay listings that have also included the specified search term(s) and automatically produces a list of related keywords accompanied by average prices and other metrics.

By clicking the most valuable relevant keywords and adding then to your listing, you can continue to build your title until you've used up all 55 characters!

Here's the summary of its features:

• 20 suggested keywords related to your search
• average, maximum & minimum prices for each suggested keyword
• a self-refreshing suggestions list as you select additional keywords
• the ability to build your title until you've exhausted all 55 characters
• all data based on 100 recently closed eBay listings.

It's free!! Available on eBay's Selling Manager Applications platform Try it out!!

DeClutter Discoveries and A Yankee Auctioneer

Image by mercurialn via Flickr

Please join us for this week's Tips From the Top podcasts featuring a decluttering adventure and a Yankee Auctioneer!

Tue Oct 27 - 1:00pm eastern/10:00am pacific
DeClutter Discoveries with Joyce Banbury

Joyce has been an eBay seller since 1998 and is currently an eBay Certified Education Specialist & Owner at AuctionBBS (Auction Better Business Solutions).

Joyce has owned and successfully operated home-based businesses for over 27 years. Now she is on a journey to declutter her own home. Bravely baring her clutter chaos to the world, she's invited us to share this adventure with her on her blog!

Tune in to the podcast to hear Joyce's motivation for embarking on this journey and the tips she's learning from this real-life experience!

Wed Oct 28 - 3:00pm eastern/noon pacific
Meet The Yankee Auctioneer

Walt Kolenda, aka Auction Wally, is a licensed auctioneer with 25+ years in the antiques and collectible business.

However, auctioneer is only one of the many hats this Yankee wears!! Appraiser, podcaster, author and eCommerce seller also describe this multi-tasker. And there is even more....

So be sure to tune in to the podcast to meet Auction Wally - on the other side of the microphone!!

The Chat Room will be open during both podcasts and we welcome your questions!

How Your Facebook Fan Page Is Affected By Yesterday's Changes

Image via Wikipedia

Yesterday Facebook rolled out some changes to the News Feed / Status Updates.

In the new version of the News Feed you'll now see the top stories that Facebook feels has the most relevant information for you.

By clicking on the 'Live Feed' tab you'll still be able to see stories as they appear in real time.

From Facebook:

Two important points to note about the Top News stream:

1. Stories will be chosen for Top News based on a variety of undisclosed factors, including but not limited to “how many people comment and like” on stories, “who you’re close with,” and “who you interact with frequently.”

2. Facebook is adding user activity stories back to the News Feed – like friend acceptances, relationship updates, event RSVPs, group memberships, and becoming a fan of a Page. In the real time stream, only explicitly “shared” content appeared in the stream.

So what does this have to do with Fan Pages? Plenty!!

Many people have jumped on the Facebook Fan Page bandwagon without any real thought on how to make them work for their business.

With the new changes, Fan Page stories will now be subject to the same algorithm as the News Feed. This means that Fan Page updates won't necessarily show up in your fans' News Feeds in real time as they have been doing.

It's going to take more creativity and work for a Fan Page to be effective.

What and How?

In this redesign, Fan Page posts will show up based on how much response they get, how many people comment on them and how much fans interact with the page.

Business owners using Fan Pages now need to think about what they can do to their updates so they'll show up in the News Feed.

How you can make your stories interesting enough to be 'liked' and commented upon by others? Determine what it will take for your clients or customers to stay engaged and keep returning.

Some ideas:

• create a poll
• ask thought-provoking questions
  
• start discussions that will get people talking
• offer incentives or discounts
• send people on a 'treasure hunt'
  

Be creative, work it and your Fan Pages will work for you!

If you like this post, please sign up for The Savvy Seller Fan Page where we already have some discussion going and features available only to fans!

Make Shipping Easy & Cost-Effective This Holiday Season

Image via Wikipedia

If you're an eCommerce seller, you know that shipping costs can make or break a sale.

An internet based postage service can help you reduce costs and even save you time.

Join The Savvy Seller's 'Tips From the Top' podcast this Wed Oct 21 at noon eastern / 9am Pacific as we talk with Eric Nash, Director of Online Marketing at Stamps.com.

Stamps.com is software that allows you to buy and print official USPS postage right from your computer without any special hardware. The software gives you postage discounts that you can't get at the post office or with a postage meter.

Imagine having your own post office that's open 24/7! Stamps.com allows you to retrieve order data from eBay, Yahoo!, Amazon.com, Google Checkout and PayPal Shops.

Join our podcast on Wed 10/21 at noon EDT and find out how Stamps.com can make your life easier this holiday season and beyond!

The Chat Room will be open and we welcome your questions.

What a Hoot! My Bra Is For Sale on eBay!

As you probably know, October is Breast Cancer Awareness month. So many of us have been touched by this disease. It's time to band together, raise funds for research and make breast cancer a thing of the past.

In an effort to reach this goal, a network of eBay, Bonanzle and Internet sellers have organized a "BLING MY BRA" campaign that is running all month long to raise money for breast cancer research.

Each day during October there will be an eBay auction of one or more 'fantasy art bras' - creative confections with themes that are beautiful, funny & inventive. 100% of the money raised by these auctions goes to the Susan G. Komen For The Cure.

Somehow, one of my bras has become a 'fantasy art bra.' Not quite sure how it happened but I think a savvy little owl was involved.



Here's the link to the auction. Please place a bid!!

You can follow the action on Twitter using #BlingMyBra or by following @BlingMyBra.

Huge thanks to eBay seller WOADIELAND, Beth Cherkowsky and eBay seller GalleriaGifts, Melinda Jackson for coordinating this.

42 Rules of Social Media for Small Business

You own a small business and know you should be doing 'something' with Social Media. But what is that 'something?'

If you're wondering how Social Media fits your business or how to get the most out of your online presence, be sure to join us tomorrow, Wed Oct 7 at noon EDT/9am PDT on our Tips From the Top podcast, when our guest will be Jennifer L. Jacobson, author of '42 Rules of Social Media for Small Business.'

Jennifer L. Jacobson is a communicator specializing in Public Relations, Brand Identity and Strategic Sales. As a Public Relations Professional, Jennifer creates powerful campaigns that have had her clients featured on Oprah & Friends, DisneyFamily.com, The Huffington Post and The American Marketing Association’s Marketing News. As a strategic sales professional, Jennifer has the unique ability to grow a sales campaign from the ground up and turn cold leads into clients almost overnight.

Join the podcast 'live' (Wed Oct 7 at noon EDT) as we talk about the 'rules,' how they fit your business & how you can make the most of your social media presence!

The Chat Room will be open and we welcome your questions!

LinkedIN: Are You Part of the 90%?

I recently read that 90% of individuals who signed up on Linkedin have no idea how to use the site!

Are you in that 90%?

If you'd like to learn more about this business networking site, please join me tonight, Mon Oct 5, at 8:00pm EDT (5:00pm PDT) on the Selling Circus Podcast for 'LinkedIn Basics & Beyond!'

I'm honored that the Yankee Auctioneer (Walt Kolenda aka Auction Wally) and his co-host, the Southern Belle (aka Phaedra aka @attheboutique) have invited me to be a guest on their show.

LinkedIn is best categorized as a business-oriented social networking site.

It has a different 'feel' than some of the other popular sites such as Facebook or Twitter. Many people set up a LinkedIn profile but quickly lose interest in the site because they don't know what to do next.

Tonight on the Selling Circus podcast we'll talk about how to get started on LinkedIn, how to create a powerful, optimized profile, the various features of the site and some strategies for success.

Linkedin also has a specific vocabulary. To give you a head start, here are a few of the terms you'll want to know:

Connection: A connection is the relationship between two LinkedIn members. A member who has accepted an invitation from you to connect is considered to be a 1st degree connection.

Contact: A contact is someone you know and can reach through a working email address.

Network: A network is defined as a group of LinkedIn users that can contact you through connections up to three degrees away. You are at the center of your network with the following degrees of connections:

• Direct connections make up the 1st degree of your network
• Connections to each of your direct connections make up your 2nd degree
• Connections to those in your 2nd degree make up your 3rd degree.

Invitation: An Invitation is sent by an existing LinkedIn user who wants to connect to another person who may (or may not) be a LinkedIn user. For two people to become connections, one must send an 'Invitation' and the other member must accept it.

Introduction: Introductions are LinkedIn messages that allow LinkedIn members to contact or to be contacted through shared or mutual connections.

Please join us for tonight's podcast at 8pm EDT as we discuss Linkedin: features, best practices and how-to's.