How to Use eBay to Grow
Your Business
Most of the people who
make money from eBay
don't actually make all
of that money on eBay.
There are all sorts of
ways you can use eBay to
give your existing
businesses a helping
hand.
The Supply Side.
If you have any leftover
stock or used items from
another business you
run, then why not sell
them on eBay? You can
make this a regular
thing, using it to get
rid of things that won't
sell for the premium you
ask for in a shop, or
items that are no longer
in demand in the town or
city where your business
is based.
You can really make a
lot of money this way,
if you know what you're
doing. You will, of
course, already be an
expert in the items
you're selling, as you
use them in your
business, and you'll
know that the items are
of high enough quality
to be sellable. This is
a whole new market for
your old inventory!
Not only that, of
course, but remember
that your good eBay
reputation will make you
a great buyer! If
there's ever anything
you want to get for your
business, the chances
are you'll be able to
get it on eBay for a
discount.
The Sales Side.
Here, though, is where
the true power of eBay
lies. eBay give you an
'About Me' page, where
you can write anything
you like and link
anywhere you like. This
means that you can get
traffic to your
business' website by
linking to your website
from your About Me page
and linking to your
About Me page from each
auction.
To create an About Me
page, just click on
'Community' on the
toolbar, scroll to the
bottom of the page, and
click 'Create an About
Me page'. You then get
the option to either
enter your own HTML or
let eBay guide you
through the process. All
you need to do is write
a little about your
website, link to it, and
you're done - you'll
notice that more people
start to come to your
site straight away.
There are thousands of
people who swear by this
technique to drive
traffic from eBay to
their website - with a
little persuasive sales
copy on your site, they
say, you can sell
directly to buyers,
cutting out the eBay
middleman. What's more,
all the traffic you'll
get will be targeted -
because the people who
click through were
interested in your
auction to begin with.
This can be a really
powerful technique,
especially if you've
already got an
e-commerce site. Even if
you haven't, you might
find it worth your time
to set up a website that
does nothing but list
your eBay inventory with
a few dollars off each
item, with a PayPal 'Buy
Now' button for each
item. Then simply make
the link to your About
Me page read 'Visit my
website for even more
bargains!', and you're
done.
Now that you've seen how
to drive visitors to
your website, maybe
you'd like a little help
getting your auction in
front of buyers. That's
why our next email will
show you the secrets of
taming the eBay search
engine.
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