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Secret Power of Blogging

My personal recommendation…

If you’ve blogged for ten minutes out of your life you’ve already outgrown this book. It’s a wonderful book for someone who is a technophobe and just getting started on the internet, but would be a colossal waste of time for just about anyone else.

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The eBay Entrepreneur

The eBay Entrepreneur: The Definitive Guide for Starting Your Own eBay Trading Assistant Business by Christopher Matthew Spencer

My personal recommendation…

This book is unfortunately not what it says “on the tin”. It’s a really solid business start up guide but is an almost useless guide to becoming an eBay Trading Assistant.

My notes on what I found to be of particular interest…

Trading Assistant (TA)
Trading Assistant Program
www.ebay.com/ta – details, FAQs, resources and instructions
TA requirements – sold 10 items in the last 90 days, feedback score of 100 or higer, 97% or higher of feedback is positive, account in good standing
www.ebay.com/education – selling (and buying) resources
“American households have approximately $2,200 worth of unused items lying around.” A. C. Nielsen
Anytime you’re making a decision about spending money for your business you’re engaging a Business Plan, whether you realize it or not.
Trading Assistant profiles include: hours and days of operation, areas of specialty, languages, services, fees and terms and conditions.
Company Information – Structure, licensing?
Competition and fee-pricing ideas
Management/Employment – Experts, assistants, accountants, attorneys, etc.
Marketing – Ideas, plans, programs
Operations – Supplies, vendors, price lists, etc.
Financials
Analyze local Trading Assistant information – within 10 to 20 miles of your home
What is their experience, length of time in business, hours, pick up policy, commissions and fees and are they easy to understand, up-front listing fee, any graduation of fees, restrictions, specialist or generalist, drop-off, photography and list description quality.
Good questions for friendly competitors:
Seasonal trends?
Referrals?
How do they attract new clients?
Repeat business?
Pitfalls?
Projected income?
Business plans should include mission statement, marketing plan, competitors, technical specs, insurance coverage, personal financials, break-even analysis, resume and bio.
Recommends against upfront listing fees and does not personally accept items with a minimum selling price.
Also recommends against flat pricing and instead for percentage-based fees.
eBay fees – Insertion fees, reserve fees
You can use a graduated commission scale – 38% of first 500, 25% of next 500, and 15% of any amount over $1,000.
Contract and Item Submission Form
Testimonials
Blackthorne Basic – Creates and edits listings in bulk. downloads from Ebay. 30-day free trial and $9.99 per month.
Blackthorne Pro – For high volume sellers. Includes a consignment sales management feature as well as bulk print of invoices and labels. Supports multiple users and eBay IDs. 30-day free trial and $24.99 per month.
Selling Manager – Makes it easier to track sales. 30-day free trial and $4.99 per month.
Selling Manager Pro – Makes it easier to track sales. 30-day free trial and $15.99 per month.
Turbo Lister – eBay’s free bulk listing tool.
http://solutions.ebay.com – third-party solutions
http://www.ebay.com/community
Websites – should have home page, services, fees, testimonials, hall of fame (past listings), ebay listings page, contact
Mambo
Places to list your business:
http://www.google.com/local/add
http://www.switchboard.com
http://www.yellowbook.com
http://yp.yahoo.com
http://www.craigslist.org
Recommends against offering to clean or restore.
Label client items.
“Remember the breaks!” – starting and reserve prices and price point breaks.
Sample ad:
We perform miracles every day on eBay! Sell through us without the hassle – we do everything! Call today for more info: (etc)
Selling the items under your own account means you maintain control.
You may start out paying your clients frequently to increase client satisfaction. As business grows you will need to slow down the frequency just because of the demands of time and energy.
By paying his clients on a monthly basis attracts a less desperate and more upscale clientele. This also gives him time to make sure the buyer is satisfied.
Include attributes on the submission form to allow 10 days for payment bounces, positive feedback and expiration for returns.
“When the going gets touch, the diplomat gets going.”
Save everything!

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I did some research on the top 20 social networking sites and of course the numbers can fluctuate rapidly and a bit widely, but here’s where the numbers stand as of one hour ago today.

What I did was collect the Google Page Rank (PR), the Alexa PR and the Alexa People Count and rank them in the order of what I thought would be the top 20.

I’ll be the first to admit that to rank them in order partly took a bit of squinting and some old fashioned guessing as well as just making my personal judgement about the value of participating in that particular network, taking into account the differences between the rankings as well as the reach of their people count.

You’ll notice that Yahoo!’s 360 degrees and Google’s Orkut are pulled from being ranked – although still included in the list – because the numbers are going to take some research in order to be able to pull their individual performance out from the performance of Google and Yahoo! in general.  Currently their rankings are the exact same as Yahoo! and Google, which leads me to think it’s not a fair measurement of their actual Networking value.

I’ve personally noticed that the rankings of the Social Networking sites don’t seem to make sense until you take into consideration the actual head count of the people using them.

At any rate – here’s what I came up with – as always, would love to hear what you have to say on the subject…

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22 Immutable Laws of marketing

22 Immutable Laws of Marketing:  Violate Them at Your Own Risk by Al Ries and Jack Trout

Library Journal describes this book as…

“Ries and Trout, authors of some of the most popular titles in marketing published during the last decade continue the same breezy style, with lots of anecdotes and insider views of contemporary marketing strategy. The premise behind this book is that in order for marketing strategies to work, they must be in tune with some quintessential force in the marketplace. Just as the laws of physics define the workings of the universe, so do successful marketing programs conform to the “22 Laws.” Each law is presented with illustrations of how it works based on actual companies and their marketing strategies… The book is fun to read, contains solid information, and should be acquired by all public and business school libraries. ”

My notes on what I found to be of particular interest…

The 22 “immutable” laws of marketing:

1. The law of leadership: you want to be first in a category rather than “best” in a category.
2. The law of the category: if you can’t be first in a category, set up a new category you can be first in.
3. The law of the mind: even more important than being first in the marketplace is being first in the mind.
4. The law of perception: perceptions count for more than products.
5. The law of focus: owning a word in the prospect’s mind is the most powerful thing there is in marketing. For instance, “kleenex” with paper tissues, “google” with search on the internet, or “xerox” with copiers.
6. The law of exclusivity: two companies cannot both own the same word in the prospect’s mind.
7. The law of the ladder: your strategy depends on where you are on the ladder. On top? One rung down? Your product’s location on the ladder determines what strategic options are available to you.
8. The law of duality: with time, all markets become two-horse races.
9. The law of the opposite: if you are aiming for second place, your strategy is determined by the market leader.
10. The law of division: with time, a given category will split, and become two, or more categories.
11. The law of perspective: the effects of marketing are not immediate and need time to be effective.
12. The law of line extension: the pressure to extend a brand is irresistible, causing what was once a tightly focused product to be a thinly spread line of many products.
13. The law of sacrifice: in order to get something, you must be willing to give up something else.
14. The law of attributes: for every attribute, there is an opposite effective attribute
15. The law of candor: when you admit a negative, the prospect will give you a positive. The example given is of Avis admitting that they are number 2 in rental cars.
16. The law of singularity: for every situation, only one move will produce substantial results.
17. The law of unpredictability: “unless you write your competitor’s plans, you can’t predict the future.”
18. The law of success: “success often leads to arrogance, and arrogance to failure.” Never stray too far from your customers.
19. The law of failure: failure is to be expected and accepted, so don’t be afraid to take risks. You must also be ready to cut your losses when confronted with failure, however.
20. the law of hype: your situation is often the opposite of the way it appears in the press: “When things are going well, a company doesn’t need the hype. When you need the hype, it usually means you’re in trouble.”
21. The law of acceleration: “successful programs are not built on fads, they’re built on trends.”
22. The law of resources: “without adequate funding, an idea won’t get off the ground.”

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Amazon desribes this book as…

“Jobs. Housing. Customers. Stuff. Events. Advice. Even romance! It’s all waiting for you on craigslist… and this book will help you find it faster, smarter, and more safely. You name it, it’s covered here—with great insider tips and proven techniques! Get started today: Buy and sell merchandise, services, cars, and homes; generate leads; recruit staff or volunteers; promote your group, cause, candidate, or band; find great contractors or childcare; get or give a pet; arrange cheap rideshares and vacation swaps. Stay safe, no matter what you’re doing. This is the first book to take you deep inside craigslist and show you exactly how to get what you want there… whatever it might be!”

My notes on what I found to be of particular interest…

craigslist is known for posting classified ads, but it also provides many community services including event postings, community notices, personals, items for sale, items for free, job postings, classes, online groups and discussion forums, lost and found, artists and musicians, childcare, local news, “green” riding carpools, volunteers, pets, housing, services, gigs and resumes.
There’s an award winning documentary about craigslist called “24 Hours on craigslist”.
http://www.savetheinternet.com
Listing Tips:
Community, Housing, For Sale and Personals sections allow each posting to include up to 4 images under 160 kb each.
Listing Rules:
One listing per item in the correct category.
No cross posting between communities.
Post a maximum of once every 48 hours.
The Services section is for businesses.
Want ads go only in the forsale/wanted category.
Jobs is for paying jobs only, no compensation goes in Gigs.
No excessive HTML.
Success Strategies:
Successful ads usually have a well defined goal and an understanding of the market.
A well planned ad will have the following in mind: specifics, preferences, requirements and deal-breakers.
Suggested listing headlines: Title, objective, specifics/details, location, price, terms, preferences, requirements and deal-breakers.
Copywriting forumula: AIDA
A – Attention – Grab their attention. Make sure the ad title is arresting!
I – Interest – Keep their interest.
D – Desire – Build their desire. Use benefits. “Fast” and “easy” are hot buttons.
People buy based on emotion and justify their purchase with logic.
A – Action – Include a call to action.
Deal-breakers should be framed in the positive. No checks or money-orders? “Cash Only”
Community sections are good for finding people with a common interest and for publicising local events and news.
Groups, events and classes.
For offering classes, holding events or leading a group.
10 Questions for Activities:
1. What’s the initial goal?
2. What’s the ideal outcome?
3. How often is the gathering?
4. What does your schedule require?
5. What location?
6. Outcome from the activity?
7. Target audience?
8. Preferences?
9. Requirements?
10. Deal breakers?
Based on your product or service, what marketing activity is best for you? Seminar? Class? Local outings? Networking group? Speaking? Support group? Fundraiser?
1. Initial goal?
2. Ideal outcome?
3. Seminar, class or other?
4. Mission or purpose?
5. Describe the offering.
6. Describe target market.
7. Gathering specifics, date, time, etc.
8. Location.
9. Max number of attendees.
10. Requirements for attending.
11. Prerequisites for attending.
12. Supplies required and/or provided.
13. Fees and costs for supplies.
14. Preferences.
15. Requirements.
16. Deal breakers.
Volunteers
1. Initial goal?
2. Ideal outcome?
3. Describe business or cause.
4. ID what volunteer work is needed.
5. Specific requirements.
6. Days and times needed.
7. Locations.
8. Training offered?
9. Gains and/or benefits of volunteering.
10. Preferences.
11. Requirements.
12. Deal breakers.
Selling – For Sale is for personal items only!
1. Listing Title
2. Price
3. Location
4. Objective
5. Specific details
6. Terms
7. Requirements
8. Preferences
9. Deal breakers.
10. Photos
craigslist ads are posted chronologically, so post them when your target audience is online. Not sure when that is? Try surfing for “internet demographics” or “internet usage”.
USP – Unique Selling Position – Your brand and why people should choose you over other providers.
Sell the benefits – not the product.
What’s your marketing strategy?
What’s the existing market and what are your skills and abilities?
Nine secrets for successful online relationships:
1. Be honest.
2. Be positive and happy.
3. Express your personal uniqueness.
4. Use humor wisely.
5. Look for shared values.
6. Let people see who you are.
7. Value yourself and others.
8. Be present to whoever you’re engaging.
9. Enjoy the journey.

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