Male-focused "Pinterest" Offers Way to Promote to Potential Male Customers

Pinterest has long been taken over by women. Recipes, jewelry, home décor, and anything with glitter have graced the boards of over 48 million users. Business owners, brands, and online sellers have been searching high and low for a way to market to men on pinterest – but do they even use it? Enter manteresting.com. A man’s version of pinning, called Manteresting. Instead of pinning items to a board – users are nailing and bumping images to their workbench.

Marketing to men may be easier now that you can have their full attention. With a tag line like: “Interesting. Man. Things.”, the question is, what are they “nailing”? From a first glance, here are most popular subjects:

Bacon: anything revolving about how much they love bacon

Models / Actresses: pretty faces, round bottoms, and lots of breasts

Tree Houses: for adults

Comedic Quotes: about beer, or dogs

Movies: Star Wars, the Dark Knight, Chuck Norris, Liam Neeson

Use those subjects to create your own boards. Then create some promotions, here are some examples by seller type:

Kitchen goods: Post recipes with bacon. Win a “baconator” skillet.

Media sellers: Nail images from any Chuck Noris or Liam Neeson movie. Win a signed movie poster.

DIY: Build your own adult tree house, or shed. Win a full set of tools.

The promotion options are endless and the prizes can be as big or as small as you can afford. To create a large audience make sure, with each entry nailed, users are following you. Marketing to men just got a little easier, as long as you embrace Manteresting.

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Ramping Up 2013 – February

If you are a member of the Facebook group, then you saw many of the members post their sales numbers for the month of December. With Amazon continuing to grow by leaps and bounds and eBay making more changes to help compete with sites like Amazon, online selling is a great way to create income. It is never too late to start. Over the next few months, I will be sharing tips and ideas to help prepare you for success. Many of these are simple things that Here are a few things you can do to get ready for the upcoming season:

1. Create a (social) media frenzy If you are not using social media to help market your online store, you should start. If you use Twitter, Facebook, or Pinterest for personal posts, consider peppering in a few posts that market your store to your network. If you wish to open new accounts, try to name them as close to the name of your store as possible. Include your logo or a common picture on every profile. Doing so helps you create a brand. Your buyers will begin to recognize you and become interested in what you are offering. Remember not to flood your followers or friends with your store information. Post a few times a week. Make sure you mix some posts that show your personality with the posts that share your store or listing information. Also, start following others. Often they return the favor and their followers may find you through that connection. To make this a successful venture, make sure you set up a plan or schedule for staying in front of your fans and followers.
2. Consider new wholesale partnerships Take the opportunity while sales are not overwhelming you to look at possibly using wholesale partnerships. If you are already a reseller for a company or two (or more), look at expanding your line to include a new supplier. This is the perfect time to try them out. Watch how they deliver, monitor their customer service, and take the time to review their product offerings in depth. Look for product and company reviews online. If this is a new venture for you and you don’t know what to sell, take a look at things you would buy. Find things that you know about.
3. Consider selling St. Patrick Day itemsIncrease your income for future product sourcing by selling items for St. Patrick’s Day. Many people go all out for this holiday and are always looking for unique items that feature the holiday. If you are planning to sell by Amazon, you may want to get those items in quickly! If you are selling by eBay, there is no time like the present to start listing them!

Even if getting ready for Holiday 2013 is not your current goal. These tips can help you become successful.

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It's Not Too Early To Market for the 2013 Holiday Season

Is it too early to start thinking about the 2013 holiday season? I don't think so. The holiday seasons are one of the most crucial times for an online business that wants to obtain higher sales. It's not enough to send out a post every now and then, or to tweet a few things every couple of weeks. Bringing in the holiday sales through social media means being persistent and carefully guiding traffic towards the sales page or website and not just at the end of the year.

While major retail chains are bringing in the holiday dollars both online and offline, there's still plenty of room for businesses to wrap the rest of consumers in through social media outlets.
For those that plan to actively seek customers for this coming holiday season and want to put their best sales foot forward, or for those who are not sure where to get started, here are a couple of steps that can be taken to ensure your business receives the most profit:

Engage Your Customers As anyone whose put their business out there in the online world of social media already knows, it can take some serious time and effort to gain a loyal and consistent following. Be efficient by finding an online tool that allows you to send the same message through each social media outlet, maximizing marketing capabilities and minimizing time spent doing so. Be honest with each message that's put out there, and stay away from looking like a company that just wants the customers cash. If possible, try and promote or talk about other relevant ventures or topics, to appeal to a larger audience.

Build The List Building a list of emails and names should be the first thing on your mind considering the upcoming holidays. These emails and names could easily be converted into conversions, sales and returning customers. And because customers who have already purchased from your business are valuable resources, it can be a good idea to offer them generous discounts or savings.

Website Revamp A part of being well prepared for this busy time of year means making sure the website that is associated with the social media account, contains all the necessary elements to bring in the most sales. Try to add as much new content as possible. This is a great time seek out product reviews and recommendations. Later in the year, you can try to give the website a temporary holiday cheer by adding in Christmas colors and reminding everyone that Christmas is near. Meanwhile, make sure there's a designated spot on the website for the opt-in email box, and make sure it's clear and visible for everyone to see.

Go Mobile Many webmasters continue to underestimate mobile shopping, and it's causing them to lose out big. For those trying to squeeze in every possible sale, it's vital that their content be visible through mobile devices. Be sure to measure and track the performance of sales that come through mobile devices. If things turn out better than expected, then this would be an excellent indicator that it's time to stay just as focused on mobile devices and mobile optimization. eBay and Amazon have versions on their websites that are designed to be easily viewed on mobile devices. If you have another online store, check with your provider to see if it is mobile-device-friendly.

Building a customer base and successfully marketing your business is something that cannot be achieved during the last few months before the holiday season begins. Start now. Deploy a few of these tips or all to help build your customer base for the upcoming holiday season. Over the next few months, I will share more details and other tips to help you and your business be more successful!

Let's have an incredible 2013!

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Etsy Promotes Sellers with Free Google Shopping Ads

Starting in October, those using Google as their search engine may begin to see some different results. This is due to the new version of 'Google Shopping' that the internet powerhouse company has announced. This rebranding of their product search will give higher placement in search results to those that pay for it. Etsy.com will be investing heavily to ensure that their listings remain near the top. Etsy has seen over $500 million in sales so far in 2012 alone and will be investing $250,000 to help their U.S. sellers remain at the top of the Google search results for the rest of the year. This investment will help Etsy better compete with other top online sellers.

After Google's new policy has launched, customers that are “Googling” will see that these new pay-for-placement listings labeled uniquely in the search results and the usual search results will be listed below the paid slots.

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How to Market Your eBay Store/Listings

Jenn Cangelosi of Boutique Bargains brings us today's posting:

It takes time to become established on eBay as a reputable seller, but begin with a plan and that time can be shortened. Here are a few marketing ideas to help you get started.

Get the word out - Start with word of mouth or viral marketing. Tell everyone you know about your new eBay business venture. Send out emails with links included to your auctions so they know what it is your are selling.

Use your email - Now there is another use for your email. Set up a signature that goes out with every email you send. Include a link to your auction listings or eBay store, with a short tagline like "Come and see what is new on eBay!"

Get some business cards - Vista print is a great place to order some inexpensive business cards. Include your business card with every package you ship. If you sell electronic informational products like eBooks, just include a business card box on the last page of the product.

Ask for customer feedback - After an item is shipped send an email thanking the customer for their purchase and ask them to leave you positive feedback. Most people will leave feedback, but the email is a good customer service and reminds them to leave the feedback.

Reward repeat buyers - Offer a coupon or other promotion to repeat buyers. Offering them an incentive helps ensure that they will buy from you again. The most popular incentive is a shipping discount on multiple items purchased.

Add something extra - Everyone loves getting something extra for free. For example: you sell a girls dress, add a cute matching bow or inexpensive jewelry. If possible include an item with your web address or logo.

Combine these ideas to start your marketing plan. There are numerous other marketing strategies that you can implement, especially if you have a separate website. Try several different marketing strategies until you find the ones that work best for you.

Jenn, thank you for the tips! They are great ideas to include in marketing your eBay or Amazon business!


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eBay Marketing Calendar: June 2012

Today, we welcome back Chris Taylor of Page Mage with tips to market more successfully for June:

One of the keys to becoming a successful eBay merchant is marketing the products at the right time. June brings us a variety of events that eBay merchants should leverage to help bring in money from those impulse buys. What makes this selling strategy even more successful is how heavily these events are pushed by other businesses. Essentially they are doing your marketing for you.

Are you ready?

Father’s Day – June 17th 
Searched for on Google over 100,000 times each month, Father’s Day is a great holiday that every eBay seller should be looking forward towards. Few people know exactly what to get their Dad for Father’s Day, so take advantage of that by offering a large variety of options for them.

From ties to golf clubs, cigars to gag gifts, there are endless opportunities for you to sell off your men’s inventory during the Father’s Day rush.

First Day of Summer – June 20th
Summer break, vacations, hot weather and lots of time by the pool are all on the minds of eBay buyers starting as early as April. This is a great time to break out summer-themed listings such as barbeque equipment, pool toys, summer clothing and anything that would help entertain kids during the long summer months for parents.

NHL and NBA Playoff Finals
With the NHL and NBA seasons wrapping up in April, we’re now on to the championship rounds for both leagues. With only two teams remaining in each league, team memorabilia will be at its highest for all four franchises. From new fans to old, everyone will be looking to get their hands on just about anything with their team’s logo on it.

Consider increasing your inventories of autographed memorabilia, decorations and of course, clothing for each of the remaining franchises. You may even see the other franchises in both leagues selling well as fans of their sport prepare for a long summer until the next season begins.

Graduations
High School graduations, a memorable event years in the making. Parents, friends and family members will be looking for the perfect gift to send to their graduate as they prepare for college and/or the working world. Stock up on graduation party items, themed-gifts and basically anything with an inspirational quote on it.

Making Your Listing Stand Out
Don’t forget about the importance of making your listing stand out from the competition. Other eBay sellers will be trying to capitalize on these seasonal events as well, and you can enhance your listing by using a custom eBay listing template. A custom template will help give you the professional and trusted appearance buyers are looking for when spending money online.

Want more ideas on what you to sell this month? Checkout the eBay Retail Marketing Calendar from Page Mage to see a complete list of monthly events and trends that you should be leveraging.

Chris Taylor is VP of Marketing at Page Mage. Page Mage, a recipient of eBay's 2011 Ecosystem Champion Award, offers Billboards, a "Top 10 Most Popular" application for free custom eBay listing templates for eBay sellers looking to stand out from the competition.

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How to Use Facebook Ads to Grow Your eBay Business

Facebook is the most visited site online - and almost everyone has heard of it. Because of the huge amount of people that Facebook reaches, it can be a great place to advertise. However, the advertising system that Facebook uses is picky and has both pros and cons (like any system).

One thing that’s very important to keep in mind with Facebook ads is that they won’t create a huge amount of sales, which is typically the point of advertising. But, Facebook ads do allow you to access specific markets easily. Facebook’s system for creating ads lets you choose only to show your ad to people with certain interests. Plus, you can choose specific age groups, employment status, place of residence, and even whether they’re married or not. This is a big plus because it helps keep you from wasting money and time on people who won’t be interested in your product.

It’s important to highlight the most important information on the display of your Facebook ad - not many people actually click on Facebook ads. But they can still be valuable tools because they allow you to connect with your target demographic and create a brand for yourself. The more often people see your product, the more likely they are to make a purchase. Facebook ads can be part of the process that gets people to that point.

Testing a variety of ads on Facebook can be a great way to get feedback on what types of ads are the best for your business. Facebook has made it very easy to track the success of your ads. And because the ads are very reasonably priced, you won’t be out a lot of money.

Setting up an affiliate link is also a good way to track the success of your Facebook ads. This will allow you to see what purchases occurred as a result of your ads.

If you want to test the waters a little, Entrepreneur Magazine has a special going on. Use the coupon code TFWJ-6TRW-VCHX-P6VX and you’ll receive $50 in free Facebook ads.

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