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It's a little ironic, but "word of mouth" is still a reliable way to attract customers who are strongly motivated to visit your auction or store listings and purchase items. And where a personal recommendation from a friend is unavailable, people more often than not will turn to the opinion of an "expert."
Expertise in this context refers to real-world experience with a particular field or product. And it can be as basic as having more visibility in the Amazon marketplace than the average person. It's this extra visibility that can steer people to your listings as an expert on a given product or subject area. Best of all, the cost of becoming an expert for this form of marketing is absolutely free.
Amazon has three ways you can become a "visible expert": reviewing products, using Listmania, or creating a special Amazon "So You Want To" list. In each case, you'll be afforded an opportunity to gain more visibility - and a link to your store - on many more Amazon.com web pages than any other method. eBay has recently taken similar steps, allowing users to write product reviews and "How To" or "Tip" Guides.
The simplest way to gain exposure on Amazon or eBay is by writing reviews. Web pages on Amazon each contain a link next to the product description to the customer reviews. (Currently, eBay has reviews for only a few categories, such as books, DVDs, music and cell phones.)
Each review will in turn have at least one link to the reviewer's name that can take an interested reader to a profile of the reviewer. On Amazon, you would see the profile with a "Browse" column in the left containing links to the reviewer's Listmania and other related links. If this reviewer had an auction listing or a zShop, there would be a link to the person's items.
This in turn begs the question: why would someone want to learn more about a particular product's reviewer? At times it is because you may have written such an interesting or controversial take on a product that a shopper may want to read more of what you have to say. More often, it will be because online buyers are, by and large, information-gathering people. Certain types of reviews will boost interest in your profile, which of course will link to your own eBay listings or Amazon zShop.
The reviews to get the attention of Amazon or eBay shoppers browsing for products need to be done with care. Writing a review that says, "This item is great, and I have 50 of these on sale!" isn't against the rules per se, but it will change your recommendation from an "expert opinion" into just another ad.
Remember that the review must be a sincere appraisal of a product's strengths and weaknesses. You can discuss your expertise in a positive, non-confrontational way that presents you as a more-or-less objective expert; one who likes the product line so much that you actually deal in it. Finally, you'll want to write reviews for products similar to the ones you carry, allowing you to catch the attention of people who may be drawn to buying widgets, but are not familiar with the brand you carry.
Here are two quick examples of reviews you could consider posting:
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Excellent product so long as you can find it!
Reviewer: Widgetguy (USA)
I personally think the Black Edition widget is the hottest product out there. It just looks so cool - and you'll differentiate yourself from The Crowd. It's very capable and packed with features. I've been carrying this widget for a while and it's always been a perennial seller, so much so that I have to work to keep it in stock.
***
An A for Effort
Reviewer: Widget_Expert (USA)
The Silver Edition widget works well and has a decent interface. Having worked with widgets as a hobbyist and developer for a decade though, it still lacks a couple of the colors that I've only seen on Brand X models. I've had a lot more luck (and fewer returns) from Brand X since it has a special feature that the others don't.
Finally, you'll continue to gain more credibility if you decide to become an Amazon or eBay "Top Reviewer." Top Reviewers are graced with a special badge or symbol that tells other users that they've earned a high rank in the reviewer hierarchy. Thus, a top reviewer badge by default tells the casual viewer to pay attention - the holder of the badge is someone who is dedicated and knowledgeable about the details and quality of a given field or product. It's also an excellent definition of an expert.
Part 2 of this article will further discuss using Amazon's Listmania and creating guides on eBay and Amazon as marketing techniques.
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