Lessons From eBay On Location Atlanta

eBay's first 'On Location' event was held in Atlanta this past weekend. A Networking Reception was held Fri evening and the training portion took place on Saturday.

The first session, 'Strategies to Grow Your Business' was presented by Sarah Brubacher, eBay's Director of Top Seller Development. The key growth strategies listed were:

• leverage the new fee option
• maximize search visibility and sales
• delight your customers
• optimize effectiveness with tools & resources

Leveraging the new fee option included information on eBay stores and how to determine the right subscription level. Maximizing search visibility included information on choosing the right listing format, optimizing item prices, earning/maintaining Top Seller status, writing great listing titles and offering free shipping. Various ways to use 'Best Offer' was an interesting part of the discussion.

The next talk was called 'The Art of (Customer) Attraction.' Mike Michalowicz, The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur, gave a lively and informative talk about finding and keeping repeat customers. He discussed loyalty programs, email marketing and how to create great buyer experiences.

Next was the 'Top-Rated Seller Secrets' portion of the day. This was a panel discussion moderated by Griff. Panelists Cindy Shebley, Jordan Insley and Lynn Dralle were quite candid in answering a wide range of questions that had been submitted by the audience.

After lunch Sarah Brubacher returned to the stage to present 'The Power of Productivity' - talking about how to reduce costs and grow sales volume. This is what was covered:

Next up was a presentation by Rieva Lesonsky, former editorial director for Entrepreneur magazine. Unfortunately I did not attend this session as I was in a break-out session with Griff called 'Know Your Numbers.'

Griff's talk was all about the numbers that are important in running a business on eBay. To quote him "you can't manage what you do not measure." He went over Gross Merchandise Volume (GMV), Costs, Net Profit, Average Selling Price (ASP), Conversion or Sell Through Rate (STR) and Sales Velocity and Price Balancing Act. An interesting part of the discussion was about 'Who Sets the Price' and how frequently you might want to check up on your competition.

The final presentation was 'I Just Tweetered on FaceSpace' by John Jantsch of Duct Tape Marketing. He defined social media and reminded us that eBay pioneered social networking. After describing the pillars of a social media system as listening, optimizing your assets, using content for lead generation and managing it all, he showed examples from various social sites as well as a variety of useful tools. This talk ended with a list of action steps: Set up Google Alerts, Create a Content Hub, Grab 2-3 Profiles and Create 1 Outpost.

There were additional Break-Out sessions during the day. They included 'eBay Seller Tool Demos,' 'New to eBay Stores' and 'Shipping Q&A.' These sessions had limited seating and tickets to attend were distributed in the early morning on a first-come, first-served basis.

Sponsors of this event included the USPS, endicia, PitneyBowes, eBay Giving Works, ProStores, eBay AdCommerce and eBay Green Team. All had space in the exhibition part of the venue.

A ReCap of The 'Presenters Series' Master Mind Roundtable

Image by Dimdim Web Conferencing via Flickr

The 'Presenters' Series' explores the techniques and tools that are essential for a successful presentation, whether it's an online webinar or an in-person class.

A Master-Mind Round-Table discussion held on Mon Nov 2nd served as the introduction to the 8-part series. Janelle Elms, Phaedra Stockstill and yours truly, Marlene Gavens, shared tips for those who want to master the art of public speaking or teaching.

As part of the series, co-hosts Cindy Shebley and Dany Byrne will be trying out a variety of tools in the individual sessions.

In this first session, they used FreeConferencePro.com What did they discover about the service?

First, although there is a lot to recommend the service, during the peak evening hours, Free Conference Pro has a reputation for dropping calls. Sadly, the call re-inforced this reputation - it was dropped half way through. They were unable to continue, and so missed a presentation by the fourth speaker, Sheryl Schuff, as well as the anticipated Question & Answer Session.

Second, the audio quality was spotty. Each speaker's phone had a different sound - some clear and crisp, some with a low hum.

So on a technical front, this call receives a C+

But the content was stellar. Each speaker addressed a different aspect of interviewing, from preparation through helping guests to relax. In addition, the discussion touched on the many ways internet conferencing tools could be used to grow an online business.

I invite you to listen to the replay on The Web Sellers' Circle and to sign up for the remaining 7 sessions!

A Master Mind Call, A Call To Action & How To Terapeak

Image via Wikipedia

November starts out in full swing with 3 powerful podcasts! Be sure to mark your calendars so you don't miss a single one!

'Presenters Series' Mastermind Round Table
Tue Nov 3
8:00pm eastern / 5:00pm Pacific

Online education is a new way to reach students, clients and promote your business. It's a growing field and an abundance of new technology makes it easy and inexpensive to reach more people.

Webinars and Podcasts are becoming a common way to communicate and build a community, yet most educators don't know where to start, what tools work the best or a host of other details.

The Web Sellers Circle is proud to introduce the new "Presenter Series" which will be a valuable resource for those interested in learning how to participate in online trainings. As a way to introduce the series, The Web Sellers' Circle is hosting an exciting, free Master Mind Round table conference call with industry experts:

• Cindy Shebley - Web Sellers' Circle
• Dany Byrne - The Web Sellers' Circle
• Janelle Elms - OSI Rock Stars
• Phaedra Stockstill - Learn To Sell on Bonanzle
• Sheryl Schuff - No More Bookkeeping Headaches
• Marlene Gavens - The Savvy Seller's 'Tips From the Top.'

Be sure to save time on Tue Nov 3 at 8:00pm eastern and join us. You can register for the program by using this link: http://www.websellerscircle.com/public/331.cfm

Social Media and More for eCommerce Sellers
Wed Nov 4
Noon eastern / 9:00am Pacific

Join Michael Stelzner, author of the Social Media Marketing Industry Report, organizer of the Social Media Success Summit & founder of the Social Media Examiner as we talk about

• using social media in your business
  
• how a white paper can help your business
• the importance of a call to action & why you must have one
  
• and more!

Michael Stelzner is known as the "Grandfather of White Papers." He has written over 130 white papers for companies including Microsoft, Dow Jones, FedEx, Motorola & Hewlett Packard. He is a sought after speaker who has presented at national business and marketing conferences such as MarketingSherpa and MarketingProfs.

This past month he launched the Social Media Examiner - a free online, weekly magazine that features how-to articles, case studies, video interviews and tips from experts in the field.

Michael has written numerous blog posts and articles including: Six Deadly Marketing Mistakes and a New Approach, How To Use Twitter To Grow Your Business & How To Use LinkedIn to Create Authoritative Content.

Join our Tips From the Top podcast on Wed Nov 4 at 12:00 noon (eastern) for an information-filled, fast-paced conversation with Michael Stelzner. The Chat Room will be open and we welcome your questions.

How To Research with Terapeak
Thu Nov 5
2:00pm eastern / 11am Pacific

Today our podcast guest is the dynamic Denise Hogue, Terapeak Product Manager. We'll discuss Terapeak's new, free eBay Keyword application and then cover some of the other, perhaps less well-known or less-used features of this research tool that can improve your selling strategies.

Join our Tips From the Top podcast on Thu Nov 5 at 2:00pm eastern to learn about Terapeak! Our Chat Room will be open and we welcome your questions!

Watch a Terapeak eBay Research Demo

Fun and Free X3!

Image via CrunchBase

Here are 3 fun and free things you can do this week and best of all .... they're good for you!

#1 - Win a FREE copy of 'The eBay Marketing Bible!'

This Thursday (July 9) between 9:00 am and 1:00 pm - Pacific time, Cindy Shebley of Web Sellers Circle will be giving away five free copies of her new book, 'The eBay Marketing Bible.'

It's simple to win - just watch Cindy's Twitter feed (www.twitter.com/clovercity) for the mystery questions, be the first to answer and you'll win a copy of the book!

To make it even easier, here is one of the questions AND THE ANSWER:
Question: What famous TV car was auctioned on eBay in 1999?
Answer: The 1960's Batmobile

You're on your own for the other four mystery questions!

If you want to know more about the book, you can listen to Cindy talk about it (and share some of the tips) in our 'Tips From the Top' podcast. Don't let the book's title mislead you: All the tips can be used by anyone who's involved in eCommerce - not just eBayers.



#2 - How To Stay Motivated When Working From Home Or As A Solopreneur

Join us on Wed July 8 at 4:00pm EDT for a free Tips From the Top podcast with the amazing Charlene Anderson - Purveyor of All Things Creative as she joins us to share her words of wisdom.

Charlene's previous podcasts, which include 'Things I Learned the Hard Way' and 'Things I Did Right the First Time' have been some of the most downloaded in our series. On Wed, July 8, she's going to tackle the topic of staying motivated when you work from home or work alone.

#3 - Become a Fan of The Savvy Seller's Facebook Page

The Savvy Seller has a brand new Facebook page! Please feel free to stop by, become a fan, introduce yourself on the Discussion Board or start a topic.

Starting in the fall we'll have info links & tips available only to our fans. Also, when we offer our 'Tips From the Top' podcasts, only our fans will be provided with a link to the powerpoint slide presentation or video that accompanies it. Join us!

Join Me on This Journey

Last week I had the pleasure of interviewing Cindy Shebley, CEO of Web Sellers Circle.

Our interview was about Cindy's new DVD, 'Making Money with the eBay Partner Network.'

Cindy shared lots of useful information and got me intrigued about the idea of making a passive income. Really now, who wouldn't want to make a bit of extra money for only a few hours of work?

Since many affiliate programs strike me as phony 'get-rich-quick schemes,' I'm normally a bit leery of them but I trust Cindy and this approach seems like it has potential. I even know a few people who are making some income from the program.

So..... I've decided to try it out! I'm going to keep you posted on my progress and hopefully I'll be able to report some success after my site is set up.

I invite you to follow me on this journey. I'll be starting this week and plan to follow the step-by-step instructions on Cindy's DVD.

This week I'm going to do some research to find a niche area. I'm doing this first so I know what keywords I'll want to use when I purchase my domain name.

Join me and see what happens!



If you'd like to listen to Cindy's podcast interview, you can find it in our 'Tips From the Top' series.

Increase Your Income with EPN

If you're looking for a new way to generate revenue, be sure to tune in to today's 'Tips From the Top' podcast with Cindy Shebley, CEO of Web Sellers Circle and Dany Byrne of Ghost Leg Media (Mon Feb 16 at 5pm EST/2pm PST).

Cindy's newly released DVD, Make Money with eBay Affiliate Web Sites, covers the 'set and forget' revenue generating possibilities available through the EPN (eBay Partner Network).

Affiliate sales can be a steady and reliable income stream & eBay's Partner Network gives you the tools to create links and widgets to eBay auctions. When someone clicks on one of your links and buys a product from eBay, you collect a commission.

During today's podcast Cindy & Dany will share some of the tips & techniques for getting accepted by the EPN (eBay Partner Network) and how to make money using the tools provided.

If you'd like to generate passive income with a low start-up cost, no inventory to purchase & no shipping, you won't want to miss this podcast.

Learn:

• how to avoid the Google 'slap'
• what type of domain to register for
• what email address to use
• about privacy policy pages
• what EPN looks for in bounce rate
• and much more!

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!

Holiday Tips, WordPress & Video!

Mark your calendars!

Three great trainings are scheduled for this week - 2 webinars and 1 podcast. All the trainings are FREE but space is limited so register now!

2009: The Year of the Video
Wed Dec 3 (3:00PM EST/ Noon PST)

Internet Video is becoming increasingly more important for online sellers. eBay sellers added video to their listings during the past year and Amazon sellers will be able to use video in 2009.

Meanwhile, YouTube is the #2 search engine on the internet. If you don't have a video on YouTube, your chances of being found through search is increasingly slim. More importantly, after the first of the year, there are going to be changes in the search algorithms on Google that will make video even more critical.

This 'Year of the Video' webinar will be taught by my colleague Cindy Shebley of CloverCity and is sponsored by Janelle Elms' OSI Rock Stars. Join Cindy as she shows you how to get the jump on your competition by using video in your business. To save your spot at this FREE webinar, register now at http://www.successwithcindy.com/.


Advanced WordPress with Scott Pooler of iBusinessLogic
Thu Dec 4 (11:00am EST/ 8:00am PST)

Scott Pooler, CEO of iBusinessLogic, is our 'Tips From the Top' podcast guest this week.

WordPress is no longer just a blogging tool or platform. With the controls available in the “Manage Pages” feature, a complete, multi-page website, with many levels of site navigation can be easily developed and managed.

Join Scott as he shows us how WordPress, a Content Management Site (CMS), can be used for increased visibility and success in your online business! The podcast starts at 11am EST. Join us by going to our 'Tips From the Top' home page and clicking the 'Join In' button. The chat room will be open so you can ask your questions and participate in the conversation!

Holiday Tips

Thu Dec 4 (5:00pm EST/ 2:00pm PST)

Join Michael Kaiser, Executive Director for the National Cyber Security Alliance, as he shares tips on being safe online this holiday season. This timely webinar is sponsored by Janelle Elms' OSI Rock Stars. To save your spot, register now at www.AskMichaelKaiser.com.

Flip For a Great Cause

Just wanted to let you know that right NOW you have a chance to bid on a Flip Video Ultra CamCorder (2 GB 60 Min) that's being auctioned on eBay for a great cause.

Yours truly won this Flip camera in an OSI Rock Star contest. Since I already have a Flip camera (and LOVE it!), I decided to auction this one on eBay and donate the proceeds to JanieRuth's Chipin Fund.

JanieRuth as you may recall from my previous blog post on the Traveling Lab Coat, suffered a severe head injury while in Chicago attending this year's eBay Live. Prior to her injury, JanieRuth and I made some fun videos so it was most appropriate that the proceeds from the sale of this Flip Video camera go to help cover some of the major expenses her family has incurred.

My colleague and fellow Rock Star Cindy Shebley has listed the camera for me.

Click here to bid on this brand new Flip Video camera.

Or, watch the progress & easily bid by clicking on the green 'View and Bid' button in the box below.

What Did You Think of eBay Live?

If you have any thoughts on this year's eBay Live, I'd love to hear them!!

While much more subdued and less extravagant than last year's Live in Boston, there were a few highlights. While I'm still putting my thoughts together, here are a few pictures .....

Janelle Elms and Uncle Griff:


The Savvy Seller (Marlene Gavens) and author Jeffrey Gitomer:


Sharon Ware (Dandelion Consulting) and Uncle Griff (Jim Griffith):



Grannie Annie:


Cindy Shebley (CloverCity Sells) and Joyce Banbury:

What's Your Pet's Name??

Today, in our 'Tips from the Top' podcast series, we take another look into the world of successful eBay entrepreneurs with the multi-talented Cindy Shebley - Certified Education Specialist Trained by eBay, eBay Store owner, photographer, author and pet-owner.

Cindy shares how she chose her business name, tells a great story about one of her first eBay sales, gives valuable information on international selling and lets us in on a super tip for using video in auction listings.

Click the orange button below to hear her words of wisdom.