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

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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

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!

Make Shipping Easy & Cost-Effective This Holiday Season

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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.

Fun and Free X3!

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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!

eBayers: How WatchCount.com Can Help You

Please join us today (Tue June 9) for an informative podcast with Jake Becker, owner and webmaster of WatchCount.com.

WatchCount.com offers a collection of free tools and services for eBay buyers and sellers. These include unique marketplace search capabilities unavailable on the eBay site.

Sellers can avail themselves of automatic listing enhancements such as the WatchCount.com widget and both buyers & sellers can view the Most Watched eBay items in real-time to better help them frame both their buying and selling activities on the site.

Calling all sellers of collectibles: this category of users has found WatchCount useful in helping them determine which items are most in demand.

Join us today at 3:00pm EST (noon Pacific) on our ' Tips From the Top podcast' to learn all about WatchCount.com's features and benefits. The Chat Room will be open and your questions are welcome!

Social Media Tool: PeopleBrowsr

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Recently I've been trying out several tools that are meant to help social media users keep track of their social networking activities.

PeopleBrowsr was highly recommended so I decided to check it out. While it's very promising with an abundance of features, I found it a bit confusing and a less intuitive than I had hoped.

However, I had the good fortune to meet Joe Cascio, an independent software developer, at a local Tweet-up last month. He knows all about PeopleBrowsr and has contact with the developers.

Joe graciously agreed to discuss PeopleBrowsr and answer questions as today's guest on our 'Tips From the Top' podcast at 11:00am EST.

As I've tweeted about my PeopleBrowsr experiences over the past week, I received a number of helpful replies from people on Twitter who are associated with the company (@SHHHE & @PeopleBrowsr). A big 'Thank You' goes out to them for their offers of assistance & links to information.

Below are several screenshots of PeopleBrowsr. It may be helpful to refer to them during the podcast.

Please join us at 11:00am EST on our Tips From the Top podcast for a discussion of PeopleBrowsr features. The chat room will be open so join us and ask your questions!

A Stellar Seller w/ Good Buys All The Time

Last week during our Tips From the Top podcast, I had the pleasure of interviewing Maryann Lowden - an Education Specialist Trained by eBay, Silver level PowerSeller and experienced Trading Assistant.

Maryann is an enthusiastic eBay seller and her eBay sales have increased this past year - something quite notable during this economic downturn.

In addition, Maryann was just named one of eBay's Stellar Sellers.

I hope you'll take a few minutes and listen to this podcast & learn how Maryann achieved success, maintains a positive outlook and approaches customer service.

You can find Maryann on eBay under her ID 'onecrazyredhead', in her eBay Store, Good Buys All the Time or follow her on Twitter (http://twitter.com/crazy4ebay).

Driving Traffic & Engaging Viewers With Video & Vzaar!

This past January, Nate Elliot at Forrester published a blog post called 'The Easiest Way to a First-Page Ranking on Google.'

In the article, he gave details of an experiment he conducted which concluded that videos stand a much better chance of being shown on the first page of Google's 'Blended' search results than text only pages.

So, how do you add video to your listings if you sell on your own website or on another eCommerce platform?

You could upload them to a site such as YouTube, Vimeo or Viddler - but then your buyer would be taken off your site to view it. Sites like YouTube direct people to view other videos once they've seen yours - so your buyer may not make it back to your listing!

Videos have been shown to engage viewers, keeping them in your listing longer. More time on your site increases conversion rates resulting in more sales. Wouldn't it be amazing if you could easily add video to your listings that show up well in search and keep your buyers right there?

Vzaar is a service that allows businesses to upload videos to your own website or eBay listings in 3 easy steps. They offer an easy-to-use video streaming and hosting service that was designed for eCommerce. Besides offering a free package, Vzaar redirects the video to your site/listing, keeping the buyer on your turf.

Join The Savvy Seller's 'Tips From the Top' podcast tomorrow, Tue Mar 10 at 11:00am EST, when our guest will be Jamie Parkins, Vzaar's COO of Business Development & Marketing, as he discusses video's role in driving traffic, engaging customers and inspiring trust as well as all the great features of Vzaar.

Our Chat Room will be open during the call and we invite you join us there and write in your questions.

Squidoo 101: How To Squidoo

Have you heard about Squidoo but don't know what it is? Know what it is but not sure how to 'do' it?

Come join Lens Master and Giant Squid Stephanie Daugherty of Katiyana's Collectibles for this multi-part, 'Tips From the Top' podcast series and learn everything you need to know!

Stephanie has created over 200 lenses from scratch and knows Squidoo inside and out. She also makes money from her lenses and she'll show you how you can too.

Part I is today (Fri 3/6) at 7:00pm EST (4:00pm PST).

Stephanie will cover:

• What is Squidoo?
• How does Squidoo work?
• 4 ways to Make Money with Squidoo
• Examples of Money-Making Lenses
• Squidoo Short-Cuts
• How To Use Squidoo In Your Business

Mark Your Calendar:

At 7:00pm EST (4:00pm PST) you can listen 'Live' to this Squidoo podcast training by going to 'Tips From the Top' and clicking on the purple 'Join In' button.

We also invite you to participate in the Chat Room conversation and write in your questions for Stephanie.

See you later!

Tips on Using Facebook, MySpace & LinkedIn for Your Business

Yesterday I had the pleasure of interviewing Kelsey Foster of My Savvy Space on a 'Tips From the Top' podcast.

The topic was 'How To Use Social Networking Sites To Promote Your Business.'

Kelsey started by addressing a problem that many of us have - feeling pressured to be on all the sites and not having enough time. She explained how to determine which sites we should be on as well as why & how to best utilize social networks.

Along with many helpful tips and Best Practices, Kelsey provided step-by-step instructions on how to set up a business page on Facebook. A business page is a great way to keep your personal & business profiles separate on Facebook.

You can listen to the full podcast interview by clicking the green button below:

Bonanzle, Squidoo, Social Media + 3 Jerks & A Lady

Mark Your Calendars!

Join us for this week's 'Tips From the Top' podcasts brought to you by The Savvy Seller.

Tuesday Mar 3 - 4:00pm EST

Mark Dorsey from Bonanzle
Join Mark Dorsey, Chief Raconteur of Bonanzle as we discuss all things Bonanzle!

Wednesday Mar 4 - 2:00pm EST

Kelsey Foster of My Savvy Space
Join Kelsey Foster, social media expert, as she gives us concrete examples of how businesses are successfully using sites such as Facebook, My Space & Twitter.

Friday Mar 6 - 7:00pm EST

Squidoo 101 - How To Squidoo
Learn 'How To Squidoo' in this multi-part training with Stephanie Daugherty, a lens master & Giant Squid. Stephanie has created over 200 Squidoo lenses from scratch and knows the topic inside and out. You'll learn the basic how-to's in Part I then go on to find out insider tips & tools as well as how to make money from your lenses in Parts II & III.

Thursday March 19 - 2:00pm EST

When Egos Fly: 3 Jerks and A Lady
Stay tuned for details on this one-time-only event!

To listen to these podcasts, click 'Tips From the Top' at the designated times. You are welcome to sign in to join us in the Chat Room where you can participate in the conversation and ask your questions.

How To Use Twitter & Facebook in Your Business

Last week, our 'Tips From the Top' podcast guest was Rich Brooks, President of flyte new media. The topic of our call was 'How To Use Twitter & Facebook in Your Business' and Rich gave us some amazing insights and tips.

Here is a bit of the information we covered:

• why use social media sites
• the importance of having a strategy if you use social media for your business
• how to determine which social networking platforms are best for you
• how to use Twitter research to establish yourself as an expert
• the 1st thing to do when you sign up for Twitter
• how to use a Facebook Fan page for your business
• suggestions for eCommerce sellers on how to use Facebook
• the 80/20 rule for tweets
• attracting business vs chasing business
• how to get people to follow you on Twitter
• the best book on Social Media

You can listen to entire podcast by clicking this button:

To see the notes from the Chat Room, go to Chat Grabber and type in 19245.

Online Success From Beanie Babies to Lobster Roaches

Last week I had the pleasure of interviewing Kat Simpson of Kat's-Kloset on our 'Tips From the Top' podcast series.

Kat is a bundle of energy! She's an eBay and Amazon seller, an Education Specialist Trained by eBay and a podcaster. Kat had some great stories to tell from her online selling experiences. Wait until you hear how a lizard and a tarantula led to selling Lobster Roaches on eBay!!

Kat also shared a great tips on how to choose which online sites to sell on, how she keeps track of inventory and how to make Endicia pay for itself!

You can listen to the interview here:




The Chat Room notes for this podcast are available at Chat Grabber. Type in 19245.

How to Use Twitter & Facebook in Your Business & The Law of Attraction

It's time to mark your calendars for this week's awesome & FREE trainings!

2/24/09, Tuesday at Noon pst/3pm est

Law of Attraction with Sylvia McClintick

Are you repelling new opportunities with negative self talk? Learn how to attract new opportunities with a new vocabulary.

You can get registered at: http://www.ask-the-entrepreneurs.com/. Sponsored by OSI Rock Stars.

2/25/09, Wednesday at 11am PST/2pm EST

How To Use Twitter and Facebook for Your Business with Rich Brooks

Join Rich Brooks, Internet Marketing Expert & President of flyte new media as he explains how to use Facebook & Twitter for your business.

A Tips From the Top podcast from The Savvy Seller. Click here on Wednesday to listen to the podcast and join our Chat Room.

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!

Tip of the Day: You Would Never Think of This!

Today's Tip comes from Cathi Aiello, owner of Allegro Accounting and web-bookkeeper.com.

Tip:
Today's receipts are printed on thermal paper. The ink on thermal paper evaporates in approximately 2 years. Since IRS audits happen in 3-4 years you will have a major problem if you present them with blank receipts. The solution is to copy the receipts or buy an IRS approved receipt scanner.

Cathi was our 'Tips From the Top' podcast guest yesterday and gave us many other very useful tips during the call. You can listen to all of them here:

Taxes, Emergencies, Buyer Confidence & Jobvana

Please mark your calendars for this week's trainings (all FREE!):

2/10/09, Tuesday at Noon PST/3pm EST
Promote your Local Business with Jobvana

Come meet Nathan, CEO of new start-up Jobvana. Learn about the power of this site for local businesses. You can get registered at: http://www.askabouttools.com/. Sponsored by OSI Rock Stars.

2/11/09, Wednesday at 11am PST/2pm EST
Accounting for Your eCommerce or eBay Business

Join Cathi Aiello, owner of Allegro Accounting, as she gives valuable tips and discusses useful tools for managing your online business accounting. Join us for this 'Tips From the Top' podcast sponsored by The Savvy Seller.

2/12/09, Thursday at 5pm pst/8pm est
Is Your Business Prepared to Handle an Emergency?

From flu to death...from snow storm to hurricanes...from broken arm to hospital stay...is your business ready to handle an emergency? Join guest Stephanie of Katiyana's Collectibles as we talk about how to be prepared to handle these situations BEFORE they happen. Ask your questions and join us at: http://www.ask-the-entrepreneurs.com/ Sponsored by OSI Rock Stars.

2/13/09, Friday at 1pm PST/4pm EST

Meet Henrietta from redINKdiary

You may have seen Henrietta on Twitter, heard her on a podcast, read her blog or been to her shop on Bonanzle. If so, you know this woman has a unique & intelligent perspective on eCommerce and life in general. Join us as we discuss Buyer Confidence, Bonanzle, the state of eCommerce & more! A 'Tips From the Top' podcast sponsored by The Savvy Seller.

Tip of the Day

Today's 'Tip of the Day' is actually several tips! They come from Charlene Anderson - Purveyor of All Things Creative.


Charlene was The Savvy Seller's 'Tips From Top' podcast guest earlier this week. For the full stories behind the tips be sure to tune in!

1. if you don't ask for it, you won't get it
2. if you can get it free & use it, get more of it
3. right now, register all the domain names you ever think you'll need
4. register your user name now on all the social networking sites so no one else will take it
5. you can't do it all yourself
6. the post office has a back door for business drop-offs - use it & save time
7. money talks
8. don't believe everything you read
9. never use copy & paste to sign up for online sites
10. don't loan money to family or friends
    
    
    

To listen to the podcast, click here:

TameBay & Things Learned The Hard Way #2

Mark your calendars!

You won't want to miss this week's 'Tips From the Top' podcasts!

Image of tamebay

Monday Feb 2 - 3:00pm EST (noon PST)
Meet Sue Bailey from TameBay

Sue Bailey is co-author of TameBay, the highly regarded eBay news blog that provides up-to-the-minute news, views, hints and tips for eBay sellers & ecommerce merchants. In addition to her eBay related activities, she is also involved in web design and web development work. Join Sue as she talks with us about TameBay, eBay and all things eCommerce.

Click here to listen and join us in the chat room where you can ask your questions!

Image of Charlene Anderson

Wed Feb 4 - 2:00pm EST (11am PST)
Things I Learned the Hard Way #2
with Charlene Anderson, Purveyor of All Things Creative

Several months ago Charlene shared an incredible list of 'things' she learned the hard way. These turned out to be practical and insightful tips for the ecommerce entrepreneur! This podcast has been one of the most popular ones we've done so far, based on the large number of downloads. Join Charlene as she shares more 'things she learned the hard way' so you won't have to!

Click here to listen and join us in the chat room where you can ask your questions!

More Podcasts coming up on 'Tips From the Top':

2/11 at 2pm EST

Tips & Tools for eCommerce Merchants with Cathi Aiello of Allegro Accounting

2/13 at 4:00pm EST

Meet Henrietta of redINKdiary

2/16 at 5pm EST

How To Make Money Using eBay Widgets with Cindy Shebley & Dany Byrne

2/18 at 3pm EST

Meet Kathy Simpson of Kat's Kloset

2/25 at 2pm EST

Using Twitter & Facebook For Your Business with Rich Brooks of flyte

3/3 at 4pm EST

Meet Mark Dorsey of Bonanzle

3/4 at 2pm EST

Examples of Social Networking for Business with Kelsey Foster of MySavvySpace

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.