i switched from ebay to a lesser known but reperatable site called bonanzle and with it not getting as much traffic as ebay i am having to figure out how i can get some traffic.
i have set up like ads on groups where you sell things, tried traffic exchanges, made profiles on social sites with info and pictures etc but im running out of ideas..
i refuse to go back to ebay.. i loved the success i had there but i wasnt making anything after all the fees were taken out (i dont sell really expensive stuff so if its like 10 bucks or less 9% can really kill your earnings)
so if you sell online at a site or do auctions to sell stuff what do you do to get your name out there and bring in business? i havent been at bonanzle long enough to have a following yet or be really popular and i imported my feedback % from ebay to there so they know im legit (99.5% although on ebay it says 100% but 1 negative feed back from a seller that sold me a torn up book is continuing to haunt me even though its been like 5 years!) any ideas or tips? im thinking about listing on craigslist but i really dont want to have to meet up with people to get them the item since i dont always have a car and safety issues and i plan on getting Business Cards after a few more sales so im not paying anything out of pocket for them.. help!!
[question posted by moonlitmagikchild]
responses and comments:
I have an affiliate with amazon to sell stuff. I used only tagged as my points of selling and beside that I post also my advertisement in any social network that I find possible to post there...Unfortunately I didn't sell anything on amazon but only click and traffic...So disappointed, my friend... [aerous]
Thanks for the compliment, my friend. I think the things in that particular affiliate is to have our own websites that really intended for that purpose? [aerous]
I wouldn't know how to get traffic. I think that's a problem everyone has, especially at first. The internet is so full of stuff these days that it's hard to get anyone to follow our links. Your business card idea might prove helpful. On it, maybe say something like "See what you can sell, see what you can find" and give your link. Sometimes, when people are looking for a place to sell their own stuff, once they see your stuff they'll be more inclined to buy. Using the guise of "helping" them find a place to sell their stuff gets them to see your stuff. Make sure you leave your cards everywhere you go, too. Doctor's offices, restrooms in stores and restaurants, on cars in parking lots, public bulletin boards, everywhere. Am I making any sense? (My brain is pretty fried from this Medicare thing. blink) [mentalward]
I'm very glad it's working out for you! I know what it's like to worry about paying for meds. I was there for years! I don't qualify for any assistance because of my husband's income. If we every do separate, I'd definitely apply for it but, for now, I think I'll stick with what I have. I have dental and vision insurance through his insurance, too, so it works out much better. [mentalward]
I do use the social sites thing. I added the share this to FF and then throughout the day share things on different sites, like twitter, face book, and myspace to name a few. The other thing that I have heard people have success with is by reviewing products on a blog. I have two blogshappy and I get exposure through sites like entrecard, and adgitize. Link up your blog to facebook through network blogs. Point everything you blog about back to your auctions. It's a bunch of work in the beginning, like most internet stuff is. I'm starting to gain momentum now. Hope this helps. [redkathy]
ive already started a blog up at myspace with an acct just for my selling and have been using a lot of traffic exchanges and my views have gone up.. just gotta get some bites now! [moonlitmagikchild]
You can use traffic exchanges to draw some traffic to your auctions and the items you are selling. There are many good exchanges that have thousands of members...and many are free to join. You can usually begin using the site to advertise your items within 15-20 minutes of joining. I use these sites to drive outside traffic to my online jewelry store and I was surprised to find that many of the people on the exchange stopped and viewed several pages in my shop. I'm not sure if they purchased anything, but a few of my sales were to brand new members of the site I sell my jewelry on, and the sales were made on the days I was advertising on the exchanges. Not bad for no out-of-pocket advertising. [creationsbyrobin]
if you want you can give me your ref link via pm and if im not already with them i will try them out and see.. i mean i dont wanna just do a search and choose blindly and then have the site disappear so obviously if you have been with them awhile they are gonna be around.. [moonlitmagikchild]
I just noticed that on ebay now, the first 5 items of the month are free of insertion fees. What one could do is list a couple items there, point them to your About Me page where you can link to your other internet properties (perhaps even bonanzle). Make use of ebay blogs pointing it to your About Me page. Leave a note on the package that you are sending, perhaps giving repeat customers a discount as it's easier to sell to repeat customers than in getting a new one. Talk about auctions on social media like mylot maybe. [TremendousMachine]
yeah they have been doing that 5 items free every month thing for a few months but still charge a final value fee that is 3x what im paying now so it still wouldnt help (i had already pondered lol) i do like your idea about advertising my new place there to who ever bought and i may just end up doing that.. [moonlitmagikchild]
I found a topic I love chatting about and setup a blog. From that blog I post to twitter and all the social networking sites I can. I make money on google adsense, affiliate programs, sites like this, and somethings that I actually sell like web services. It is a lot of work to find the market you like and the audience, but once you do it will all click. It takes a lot of time to get your blog setup, but set it up ahead of time with auto posts just in case you miss a day and then add other things to it daily. You'll love it. [therealgeekmom]
yeah i know it will pay off with time but ugh its disappointing when i did well on ebay to have a lot less traffic here.. but oh well time and a little work will make it worthwhile and a lot easier later! [moonlitmagikchild]
I find it's getting harder and harder to sell anything online. It is so competitive. I mostly use safelists and submitters (which contain hundreds or thousands of safelists), traffic exchanges, surfing site, an auction site, and an autoresponder. The most successful are probably safelists. [jennybianca]
ok. any reccomendations would be greatly appreciated [moonlitmagikchild]
You may want to stop by my store. There is plenty of traffic and best of all Free listing. The credits are insanely cheap (like 19 cents a credit) and there is always someone looking for cheap stuff to buy. Here's the link http://tinyurl.com/faststore [B](NOT A REFERAL LINK!)[B] If you need free credits just ask me and I'll give you some of my credits. Good thing is you set the fees and you get decide how much you want to charge shipping and handling. I use this to buy and sell stuff and I always make a profit from my sales as I don't pay high fees like on eBay. I dumped eBay ages ago and wouldn't recommend anyone to use it unless you're a pro. So have a look and I'll help you sell or buy whatever it is you need. Any questions please PM me. Cheers. [jellymonty]
i will have to check that out.. about the credit system is it like a traffic exchange or something to earn credits or do you have to pay for all the credits? [moonlitmagikchild]
kindly look for sites that gives you terms on how to market your product on the internet. you can also find books on how to sell online. just take some time to make some research you will find good books. [etioewe]
i may hit up the library since i dont have the money to invest or buy books right now [moonlitmagikchild]
It seems that you really did great job on ebay. Actually, I run some online business on ebay as well. I'm always thinking about the way how I could get more traffic there.But I still think the best way to advertise your stuff is to get your online store or stuff more exposed on social sites. And you got to earn much more reputation from all your buyers.I believe some of your buyers would recommend your stuff if you sell great products. That can also help you add traffic out there... [abckimi]
i made a myspace for it and i am doing a lot of advertising on lj with one of my accounts but facebook was giving me problems and kept not letting me do a business account and i have a few others but i dont keep them up much.. i think they are bringing in some traffic because after i post my new stuff i see the traffic at the actual items jump up.. i cant really go by booth visits since thats just seeing the main and not any one item so i watch and see when the actual items get hits [moonlitmagikchild]
You can write or print flyers and post in your neighborhood. They are cheap and it might be a good way to gain exposure. Another advantage is that, there will be no shipping fee for buyers if they are staying nearby. I have a store at Zazzle, which was started recently(you could see that on my profile page at the bottom) and i am learning of ways to advertise my site too. [nishdan01]
It bugs me that a lot of sites like this will knock you right down if you try to even discuss your own work on here. I have two methods. One is a personal signature line in my e-mails with my website in it, and another is business cards that I hand out off line. [danishcanadian]
i need to change my signature on my email to say my selling site instead of this one lol.. hasnt helped me get any refs on here anyways [moonlitmagikchild]
Hello, I can imagine what you posted here and sometimes its stressful to have a online business. If you are selling by ebay for example or any other store and you are using barcodes maybe you can add you products to the databse of Shopsavvy I Phone application. This application gives traffic to your products and website. If you want more information you can write me or you can go to the website www.biggu.com . have a nice time [cambahorus2001]
hmm interesting i didnt even know about this possibility!! awesome [moonlitmagikchild]