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!

Social Media Tool: PeopleBrowsr

Image via CrunchBase

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).

What Signals Are You Sending? Tips For eCommerce Sellers

As part of The Savvy Seller's Tips From the Top podcast series, I had the pleasure of interviewing Henrietta, author of the widely-read redINKdiary blog and owner of Felicitations & Inspiration at 200 West Main.

During our call Henrietta shared a number of valuable tips about 'Buyer Confidence' and 'Self-Confidence for Sellers.'

Here is an overview of what we discussed -

• what signals are you, the seller, sending to your buyers?
• perception and feedback
• there's nothing wrong with small
• what is a fake seller?
• do you practice geographic discrimination?
• how to 'cowboy up'
• being diversified - are you competing with yourself?

To learn the details behind the tips, please click on the green button below to listen to or download the complete interview (approx 45 min).

You can also visit Henrietta at Felicitations and while you're there, be sure to say 'hi' to Larry!



Chat Room notes are available at Chat Grabber. Type in 19245.

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:

How Are You Going to Retain Your New Customers?

With 2008 coming to an end, now is the time to focus on ways to improve & increase your business in the coming year.

Hopefully you acquired many new customers in 2008. Customers who were delighted with their purchase and the shopping experience. Customers who were excited to tell their friends about your business.

Did you know that your satisfied customers are your best prospects for future sales?

How are you going to take advantage of that and continue the relationship?

Using email marketing in the form of a newsletter is one way to engage and retain your customer. Since your buyers are innundated with email, you need to know the right ways to maintain contact and ask for their business. It's a delicate balance and a mis-step could result in the loss of customers and sales.

What is the right approach to email marketing? What 6 points should you keep in mind to respect your buyer and promote your business? What are 3 types of content that your customer will perceive as valuable?

On Jan 9 & 15, 2009 you are invited to join us for a free, 2-part informative podcast training on 'Using Email Marketing (newsletters) to Retain Customers and Increase Sales.' Greg Bala of Sales in a Click will be our guest.

Part I is Fri Jan 9 at 2:00pm EST (11am Pacific) and Part II is Thu Jan 15 at 11:00am EST (8am Pacific). To listen, click on The Savvy Seller's Tips From the Top' podcast home page. The chat room will be open and your questions and comments are welcome. Greg may even have a special offer for those who listen in live.

To learn more about 'Sales in a Click' you can listen to Greg Bala this Tue Dec 30 at 3:00pm EST (noon Pacific) on an OSI RockStar podcast. To listen to the OSI podcast, sign up here.

Happy New Year to all!

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.

Branding & Marketing Training - Part 2

Be sure to join us this Tues, Nov 18 at noon EST (9am Pacific) for Part II of our 'Branding and Marketing' mini-training with Debbie Levitt, CEO of As Was.

To listen live, go to The Savvy Seller's 'Tips From the Top' podcast series and click on the large purple 'Join In' button. The chat room will be open and you're welcome to join us there and ask Debbie your questions during the call.

We recorded Part I so if you missed it you can click here to download it or listen from your computer.

Debbie has recently launched a new site called RocketPlace Community which includes events, education and advice for eBay sellers at all levels. I think I can persuade her to tell us more about this exciting new venture during our call!

Debbie recently recorded a very timely and helpful video about eBay Holiday 2008 Strategies and some of the eBay changes coming in 2009. It's on her new site but you can catch a peek at the video here:

'How To Blog with WordPress' UPDATE

Many thanks to Dany Byrne of Ghostleg Media for an extremely informative and very popular 3-part training on How to Blog with WordPress.

You can continue Dany's WordPress training with a webinar this coming Tuesday, Nov 18 at 3pm EST (noon Pacific) hosted by Janelle Elms of OSI Rock Stars.

Dany and Janelle will be taking us on a special, backstage sneak peek at WordPress 2.7’s new Dashboard and Plugin features. Dany has installed a beta copy of WordPress 2.7 on her web site just for this webinar. This is an amazing opportunity to get a look at all the new goodies - and I'm sure you're going to be delighted with what you see!

To join this free OSI Rock Stars webinar, sign up here.

In her 3 'How To Blog with WordPress' podcasts Dany covered a great amount of information including:

5 Questions to Answer Before You Begin Blogging
Which Wordpress is right for you?
Themes, Plug-Ins & SEO
The Art of Blog Writing
Profitable Blogging
How to make your blog your own
What to look for in a theme
Template do’s and dont’s
How to optimize your blog for the best search engine rankings
Plug-ins and customizations
Blog subscribers and RSS feeds
... And quite a bit more

If you missed the live trainings, you can download them from The Savvy Seller's 'Tips From the Top' podcast series.