eBay: The Missing Manual

Big-Time Marketing Strategies

Many successful business owners will tell you never to let a single day go by without doing at least one thing to market your business. They're right. If you put consistent, continuous effort into marketing your business, it will grow.

Marketing is nothing more than identifying, reaching, and communicating with people willing and able to buy from you. Many of the things you do in the course of an auction involve marketing. For example, when a potential bidder asks you a question and you come right back with a polite, helpful answer, that's marketing. When you leave positive feedback for good buyers, that's marketing. If you send out a newsletter or email promotions, that's marketing. Below are more ways to market effectively.

Identify—and Reach—Your Market

Your market isn't where you sell—it's to whom you sell. After you've been selling for a while, take some time to analyze your market. Look at who's bought from you and check out their buying habits (Advanced Search → Items by Bidder). By looking at other auctions your buyers have participated in, you can get some ideas for things you might do to improve your auctions, like add more photos or offer a multiple-item discount. Or you might notice a product you hadn't considered that would complement yours; is there anything that your buyers tend to buy in other auctions that you don't offer? Do the same kind of research with low bidders who bid on your auctions but didn't buy. Did they buy a similar ...