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I Don’t Smoke, But I Love a Good .sig!
Copyright 2005 Jonathan van Clute .sig, or “Dot Sig” as it’s affectionately known, stands for “Signature File” and is the text and (usually) other contact information placed at the bottom of email or other computer-based correspondence. It is...
Link Popularity for a Successful Website: How (Not) to Go About Getting It
Everybody wants to draw visitors to their website. Many incoming links means many incoming paths for the visitors; it may also boost your search engine ranking. But how do you get there? A classic way of getting seen and noticed on the web is to...
Making A Living Online
Making a living online is not a difficult process for someone with drive and determination. It involves developing a strategy and sticking to it. There are many options available for you to make a living online. These include promoting and selling...
The Best Advertisement For Your Business
It is no secret among internet marketers that writing articles is a great way to market your website. With all the article distribution services and all the websites looking for free, unique content, writing a quality article can bring...
What "Big Pharma" Can Teach You About Niche Marketing
A recent newspaper review of a new book, Selling Sickness, got me thinking about niche marketing (The Globe and Mail, Saturday, August 6, 2005, D8-D9). The book in question considers case studies that purport to show how “Big Pharma” (the entire...
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Use Online Auctions to Promote Your Business!
When they first appeared on the scene, online auctions were used
mainly by people looking to get rid of old heirlooms or
collectors in niche markets (stuffed collectibles, etc.). Now,
it seems like everyone is participating in online auctions.
People are also beginning to realize that auctions can be a great
way to promote a business and test products.
I have to admit it -- I'm an eBay junkie. I'm probably on their
site at least 4 or 5 times a week, looking for items to add to my
various collections, and the more I visit, the more I'm seeing
businesses using online auctions in creative ways.
For instance, there are many people who have started to make
their living solely through online auctions. However, if you
don't want to become one of these "full-timers," you can still
use online auctions to help you with your business. Here are a
couple of thoughts on ways to do that:
* Use auctions to gauge new products. If you are considering
adding a new product to your business, auctions are a great way
to see what kind of demand there might be for it. Do an
experiment -- put one of the products up for auction and see how
many people bid on it (you might even be able to track how many
people look at the auction without making a bid.) If you have
good response from the auction, it can be a good indication that
you should add the product to your inventory.
* Use auctions to determine prices. One question that I get a lot
from clients is, "How much
should I charge for so-and-so?" If
you have this kind of question, auctions can be a great way to
gauge prices. Put your item on auction and see how much people
are willing to bid on it. Don't just look at the high bid --
remember that there are some "insane bidders" out there --
rather, look at the maximum bids from all bidders to get an idea
of what customers are willing to pay for your product.
* Link your auction to your business. Now, before I go any
further, I have to warn you to read your auction service's
policies CAREFULLY -- many services will not allow you to put a
direct link to your web site in your auction description.
Even if you can't put a link directly in your auction, you might
still be able to promote your business. For instance, many
services will have an "about me" page where you can put a link to
your business. Also, there is nothing keeping you from linking
the sites in the other direction -- putting a link to your
auctions on your web site, for instance.
One of the things that has always impressed me about the so-
called "net gurus" is their ability to be creative in their
advertising and promotion efforts. Online auctions seem to be a
great candidate for that type of creativity.
About the Author
Ron Sathoff is a noted speaker and manager of DrNunley's
http://InternetWriters.com He provides copy-writing, marketing,
Internet promotion, and help for business speakers. Reach him at
ron@drnunley.com or 801-328-9006.
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