Happy Birthday to us! AuctionBytes turned 10 on Thursday. We registered the domain name AuctionBytes on September 3, 1999. We published our first email newsletter two months later (the first incarnation of AuctionBytes was actually a hardcopy 4-page newsletter that we handed out at fleamarkets and antiques shows, but that's a story for another day). Our first articles had to do with finding bubblewrap, common items that might be "treasures" on eBay, and Pokemon Madness (remember them?).

My, how times have changed.

The name of the game for small online sellers these days is diversification. As sellers have discovered, relying on one company leaves them vulnerable to not only the whim of that company's direction, but to technology glitches as well. This is true for marketplaces, storefront providers, online payment processors, and even search-engines.

Many sellers begin diversification by setting up their own ecommerce website or storefront, and while it may seem intimidating, even very small sellers have found success in diversification, and EveryPlaceISell.com is evidence of this. A search by venue shows some of the places on which EveryPlaceISell (EPIS) merchants are selling. This page doesn't count merchants' own websites, which are included in the individual seller listings.

Sellers frequently ask which sites drive as much traffic as eBay and Amazon.com, and there is no easy answer. Some sellers say they have success on one site, while others say they do poorly - it often depends on what you are selling and if the marketplace has a specialty. Some auction sites may be very strong in stamps and coins, but may be weak in other categories, for example. Sometimes it depends on the level of commitment - dipping a toe in another auction site may not net you the same results as a committed campaign.

No matter how small you are or where you sell, you should purchase your own domain name and create your own site, even if it's just a one-page "brochure" telling customers about you and pointing to the sites on which you sell. By branding and marketing your own domain name, it won't matter if you change marketplaces or service providers.

Those sellers who launch their own websites or storefronts usually rely on search engine marketing, both free SEO and paid advertising, as well as email marketing.

In today's issue, we have more ideas for marketing your business. Greg Holden introduces us to affiliate marketing, and Lisa Suttora wraps up her series on email marketing - a must-read!

We've long advocated that sellers include inserts in their packages to customers to encourage positive feedback and repeat business. I came across an interesting article on HandMadeNews.org about using postcards to get your name out in a variety of ways, including package inserts.

We hope you've enjoyed the past decade of AuctionBytes as we've explored new ways to bring you useful, compelling content through email, blogging, podcasts, videos and Twitter as well as services such as the Buyers Market classifieds, the Ecommwire.com newswire service, and the EveryPlaceISell.com merchant directory. Here's to another decade of AuctionBytes' independent reporting for online merchants!

Thanks for reading.