Chances are, everyone who is reading this newsletter is an expert, whether they recognize it or not. If you're an online-auction seller, it's likely you're very knowledgeable about the items in which you deal. In today's issue, there are two articles on ways you can show off your expertise to help increase your credibility and exposure.
In the first article, Joel Elad and Michael Bellomo introduce us to eBay and Amazon "reviews and guides" features, some very powerful marketing tools. And in today's second article, I review a new site called Squidoo whose premise is, "Everyone's an expert about something."
I had the great pleasure of interviewing Squidoo founder and Internet marketing guru Seth Godin for AuctionBytes.TV earlier this month. You can view the interview on the Features channel on AuctionBytes.TV (http://www.auctionbytes.tv/features). He's got some interesting things to say about how online sellers can harness some simple marketing techniques to improve their businesses.
Also in today's issue we have an opinion piece by Daniel Nissanoff, who wrote "FutureShop: How the New Auction Culture Will Reveolutionize the Way We Buy, Sell and Get the Things We Really Want." Daniel's book is a ground-breaking look at how online auctions have changed shopping behavior. In today's op-ed, he takes a look at Tiffany's decision to sue eBay over counterfeits. This is a touchy (and complex) subject for both brand-holders and auction sellers, and Daniel takes an interesting view of the problem.
We also have an article by Brian Cohen, who discovers there is a market for selling broken iPods on eBay!
And as always, the "This & That," Collector's Corner, First Item Sold Online and Letters from Readers columns round out the issue.
Things are busy here as we gear up to bring you coverage of eBay's fifth eBay Live conference. If you've been reading my blog, you know that some other marketplaces are using the show as an opportunity to meet with their clients.
David put together a sixty-second video, compiled from pictures we've taken at the last 4 conventions, to get you in the mood for eBay Live, whether you are attending or will be watching our coverage from home (http://digbig.com/4hrwb).
Thanks for reading.
About the author:
Ina Steiner is Editor of AuctionBytes.com and author of "Turn eBay Data Into Dollars" (McGraw-Hill 2006). She has a background in marketing and research in the high-tech and publishing fields. If you have story ideas, comments or questions, send them to ina@auctionbytes.com.
