Sales from the EDGE
Back Issue #017

Back to Back Issues Page

Sales from the EDGE Issue #017

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sales from the EDGE
Breaking Through the "White Noise" Of Selling on the Net
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>From time to time, the EDGE publishes important updates that
you need to SELL on the Net. Most "latest and greatest" Net
marketing & sales developments simply waste our time. Today's 
"hot new technology" is tomorrow's "whatever happened to?"
 
Occasionally, though, something comes along that STICKS. It
might NOT even be NEW... but we need to be reminded. When
that happens, the EDGE cuts through all the "white noise" of
Web marketing.  It explains the issue and outlines clearly
how YOU can best take advantage of it.
 
SALES FROM THE EDGE is sent ONLY to SiteSell product owners.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
April 25, 2001
Issue #017
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS
 
o SITESELL NEWS
 
  1) MYNAS Launches!
  
  2) SBI! Sweeps Winner for March Announced!
  
 
o ARTICLES
 
  1) Yahoo!'s Sponsored Listings
  
  2) Net Auctions and a Family's Success 
    
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
>>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~SITESELL NEWS~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 

>-News-
---1---
>-News-
 
MYNAS! Launches!

The SiteSell Make Your ____ Sell! series has an exciting new
addition...

Make Your Net Auction Sell! (MYNAS!)

Written by Sydney Johnston, MYNAS! details the entire
process of building a successful Net Auction biz from the
ground up.  Sydney is your perfect host... and GUIDE.  After
all, she's built her own impressive Net Auction biz -- from
scratch, and without outside help.

Call her a pioneer.

Five years ago, this opportunity didn't even exist.  But as
sites like eBay (one of the most popular and highly
trafficked sites on the entire Net) grew by leaps and
bounds, a few pioneering folk like Sydney recognized the
vast profit potential of Net auctions.

Net auctions are the 21st century's equivalent to the
village markets of old -- full of hustle and bustle, the air
filled with the sounds of merchants and their buyers --
haggling, arguing, buying, and...

... SELLING!

So when Sydney's initial dabblings with Net Auctions
confirmed her expectations (she made a $1,000 in her first
week), she charged full-speed-ahead into the auction fray.

But earning a good, reliable income from the Net Auctions
wasn't attained without effort on Sydney's part.  

Make Your Net Auction Sell! is the end result of Sydney's
experimentation and extensive business experience with the
Net Auction phenomenon.  MYNAS! is the one-stop complete
resource guide (over 500 pages), covering everything from
start-up to expansion. 

MYNAS! even includes a bonus book, Build Sources, that shows
you where to find profitable goods to sell so that you can
build your own source list, no matter where you live.

Net Auctions represent *much more* than an additional (and
enjoyable) income stream opportunity for the budding
netrepreneur.  

Consider these interesting stats...

o 76% of online shoppers have used eBay over a 6 month
period.  (Source: eMarketer)

o The online auction market is currently worth in excess of
US$6.5 billion, up from US$650 million in 1998.  (Source: 
eMarketer)

o As a percentage of B2C (business to consumer) sales, the
online auction comprises over 17%.  (Source: eMarketer)

o The future of e-commerce lies in the auction model.  
(Source: Jupiter Communications)

Bottom line?

The Net Auction advantage is *not* selective.  In fact,
online information giant Jupiter Communications has
suggested that e-tailers can successfully use Net Auctions
to clear out surplus, overstocked, or out-of-season
inventory much more quickly and effectively than they could
directly from their stores. 

And for those of us selling products or services, either our
own or someone else's, a Net Auction listing brings both
sales, and interested visitors to our Web sites.

By itself, a Net Auction business offers a fantastic
opportunity for an additional income stream.  But more than
that, it offers those of us with other types of online
businesses the ability to leverage our Web sites in a big,
BIG way.  

Would an inexpensive 3-line ad on eBay build interest in
your products and your Web site?  ABSOLUTELY. 

It's like sticking up a cyber-banner with your advertising
message in the midst of millions of itching-to-buy surfers.

How could it not help?

Build a Net Auction business, liquidate existing inventory,
leverage your own products or Web site...

All for $3.00 and a bit.

For more information, please visit...

> http://mynas.sitesell.com/

-----SIDEBAR-----
By all means visit, but please, do not buy at
the posted price.  As a SiteSell product
owner, you are entitled to special discounts
on all of our products -- yes, including the
brand-new "Make Your Net Auction Sell!"  It's
our way of saying, "Thank You!"

For more info, visit the SiteSell Discount
Directory at...

> http://www.sitesell.com/discount-directory.html
-----SIDEBAR----- 


>-News-
---2---
>-News-  
   
SBI! Sweeps Winner for March Announced!

To the fanfare of trumpets and the beating of drums, we
announced our latest Sweepstakes winner last week.  The
prize?  A two-year subscription to Site Build It!.

Our lucky winner is...

>***  Mei-Lin, watlily@ake.quik.co.nz  ****

Mei-Lin had exactly 7 days to respond to the Sweeps Winner
Alert mailout to claim her prize, modestly valued at US
$2,000... but selling for much less!  

The Sweepstakes, now entering its third month, accomplishes
several important goals...

o Because the Sweepstakes employs a powerful "viral"
marketing technique, it allows the Site Build It! message to
reach that many more eager eyes and ears. It's a classic
SiteSell win-win-win situation.  The affiliate wins, the
contest entrant wins, and we win!  

o SBI!'s exceptional value and features, coupled with a
customer-driven Dynamic Pricing model, edges a yearly
subscription tantalizingly out of reach for some marketers. 
The sweepstakes provides a way for those of us with empty
pocketbooks to obtain Site Build It!

o The contest allows us, here at SiteSell, to take our
powerful sweepstakes technology out of the closet, where it
had been gathering dust, and put it to good use.

o Lastly... everybody loves a contest.  Heck, they're simply
plain-old-fashioned good fun.  Especially when the prize
includes...

- A brand-spanking-new domain name

- Hosting of your site

- The Analyze It! module, which allows you to build properly
optimized SE-friendly pages with a modicum of work

- Regular URL submission, spider tracking, and automatic
URL re-submission

- SE Ranking Reports

- Pay-Per-Click Search Engine research and mass-bidding

- Plus the all-powerful Brain button, the SBI! Manager, and
other assorted goodies at Site Central.

------SIDEBAR-----
And for those who *really* love to win...

The completely re-vamped SBI! V 1.5 is on its
way.  Featuring a more robust Manager, an
expanded Site Central, and an all-inclusive,
easy-to-use accompanying Action Guide, V 1.5
is...

The cat's meow!  :-)
-----SIDEBAR-----
 
So...

Do *YOU* love contests?  Could you use two years worth of
free Site Build It!?

Have you got your ticket yet?  You can't win...

If you're not in the game.

> http://sweeps.sitesell.com/        

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>>                THIS ISSUE'S ARTICLES
 
-------
---1--- 
-------
 
Yahoo!'s Sponsorship Listings

Recently, Yahoo! introduced its paid Sponsorship Listings.
The basic premise?  Netrepreneurs gain extra exposure in the
directory, and Yahoo! pads the bottom line.  Nothing out of
the ordinary here.  But there seems to be a bit of confusion
as to what is the "real deal" with Yahoo!'s Sponsorship
Listings Program.

Let's cut to the chase on this latest advertising medium...

Yahoo!'s new program offers a way for less-popular sites to
catapult their way to the top of highly-congested, or highly
popular categories.

Yes, that much is true.  Sponsorship Listings appear within
a highly-visible yellow box that is placed prominently at
the top of participating categories -- even above the "Most
Popular Sites" listings.

-----SIDEBAR-----
Yahoo! uses a complex measurement of link and
click popularity to determine which sites are
placed in the "Most Popular Sites" section.
Not all categories contain such a section, so
don't worry if you don't see one in your
category.
-----SIDEBAR-----

Up to 5 ads may be displayed in the Sponsorship box, with
all adds rotated to ensure equal exposure, should more than
5 sites from a category participate in the program.  And the
cost?

It varies, depending on the category your site is listed
in... anywhere from $25-$300 CPM, (per 1,000 exposures), and
skywards.  Oh, and...

Sponsored Listings are not returned as a result of keyword
searches, by the way!

Now you have the program basics.  Let's dig down beneath the
surface, and get to the real dirt...

First, and most importantly, you can't use Yahoo!'s
Sponsorship Listing program to bypass the US $199 listing
fee.  Yep, if your site is a commercial one, it belongs in
either the "Business to Business", or "Shopping and
Services" areas of the Yahoo! directory.  And if this is the
case, you'll need to pay for inclusion -- there's no way
around it.  So in order to participate in this program, your
site *must* first be listed in the Yahoo! index.

-----SIDEBAR-----
Not yet listed in Yahoo!?  The bigger,
better, and totally revamped version of Make
Your Site SELL! (coming soon), has a
completely updated section on getting listed
in Yahoo! And of course, the "tried and true"
is no slouch either...

> http://myss.sitesell.com/
-----SIDEBAR-----

Your site is already listed in the Business to Business or
Shopping and Services of the Yahoo! index?  Good.  Let's
carry on...

Quite possibly, the first thing that springs into your mind
after reading about Yahoo!'s new service is the ability to
significantly increase your site's exposure across the WHOLE
of the Yahoo! directory.  A great way to get your listing
seen by the masses, right?   

Wrong.

You may only advertise WITHIN the category your site is
listed in.  OK, a change of plans -- but you're thinking
positively...

"Hey, it's still a pretty good deal.  I'll just craft a
compelling title and description for my Sponsored Listing,
and set up a meta re-direct so I can establish whether or
not this is a viable advertising option."

Good idea.  But it's a no-go.  

Your title and description *cannot* be changed from the one
your site already has in Yahoo!.  In other words, if the 
Yahoo! editors saddled your site with a lame title and 
description, that's exactly what will appear in the 
Sponsored Listings box.

And updating your link to a more appropriate or accurate 
one, as well as setting a tracking link or meta-redirect?  

Nope.  Nyet.  Nien.  Nada.  

What you're left with is the exact replication of your 
Yahoo! listing displayed in what is very obviously an
advertising format.  

Anyone savvy enough to do category drill-down searches at
Yahoo! will no doubt recognize Sponsored Listings for
exactly what they are... glorified banner ads.  And surfers
don't like ads... they ignore them.

So most will skip right over the Sponsorship Listings on
their way to Yahoo!'s Most Popular Sites section (containing
sites that have risen to the top of the list on their own
merit).  Barring that, they'll search for listings with the
coveted SUN GLASSES icon beside them (meaning a Yahoo!
editor has reviewed the site and found it exceptionally
cool!).  

So what can you realistically expect from a Yahoo!
Sponsorship Listing?

Click-through rates on par with the current banner ad norm
-- in the range of 0.3 to 1%.  That translates into an
additional 3 to 10 visitors to your site for every CPM you
purchase.  And at $25 CPM, that means each visitor costs
between $2.50 and $8.33.  And that's the low end of the
pricing scale (Gulp!).

Just for fun, let's expand on this a bit... 

Let's assume you attain a click-through rate of 1% on a $25
CPM.  In other words, 100 visitors to your site will cost
you $250.  If your Web site's conversion rate is...

o 1%, you'll make one sale from this campaign, and you'll
need a $250 profit on that sale to break even.

o 2%, you'll make two sales from this campaign, and you'll
need a $125 profit from each sale to break even.

o 3%, you'll make three sales from this campaign, and you'll
need a $83.33 profit from each to break even.

o 4%, you'll make four sales from this campaign, and you'll
need a $62.50 profit from each sale to break even.

Can you imagine the profit-per-sale required on the other
end of the Yahoo! advertising spectrum?  Phew!

Bottom line?

Normally, I'd suggest that it might be worthwhile
experimenting with an ad (provided it doesn't leave you too
much out of pocket), just "for the heck of it."  After all,
you never know until you try, right?  However, it's pretty
difficult to advocate such an experiment when Yahoo! doesn't
currently offer any way for you to track your results. 
Therefore...

I leave the decision to use this service totally up to you.

If you're concerned about wringing every ounce of value from
your advertising dollar, your best bet is to stick with the
Pay-Per-Click Search Engines.  In comparison to Yahoo!'s
service, Pay-Per-Clicks only cost you when someone
clicks-through to your site.  Better still, you know exactly
what each visitor is going to cost you.  And *you* determine
your budget.  Moral of the story?

Pay-Per-Clicks still offer the best "bang-for-the-buck."

However, if you're a daredevil with a taste for adventure...  


> http://sponsoredsites.yahoo.com/



-------
---2--- 
-------

>>               **SPECIAL** GUEST WRITER
Sydney Johnston, Author, Make Your Net Auction Sell! 


Net Auctions and a Family's Success

Most people who are connected to the Net are aware of the
excited buzz around eBay and the online auction craze.  Even
those who are offline have heard radio programs or read
newspaper articles or watched television shows about Net
auctions.

Perhaps you have already wandered around some auction sites,
maybe bought a couple of items or have even sold some of
those slightly-off-the-mark Christmas gifts.  You know then
what an incredibly fun buying and/or selling experience a
Net auction offers to people.

But to use Net auctions to build a REAL business?  Well,
that's when a tinge of doubt might creep in...

Anyone who wonders if they can really make money on Net
auctions will be encouraged by the wonderful success story
of Bill, Angi and Corey Regan.

The Regans began their online auction business only a scant
six months ago.  They wanted to earn some extra income and
were looking around for ideas.  Bill heard a radio program
about online auctions.  When he told Angi about this
fast-growing e-biz opportunity, she said, "That's it!" and
so the Game began.

Like most sellers, the Regans started by haunting garage
sales and flea markets, looking for goodies to entice
auction buyers.  At that point in time, however, auctions
were merely an interesting hobby.

Now the Regans have an income-generating home business that
involves the whole family, including their techno whiz son,
Corey, (age 12 going on 22, according to Bill).

Like all smart sellers, they had a lot of questions when
they first started out.  They wanted to know...

-- Is it best to sell many different products or concentrate
on one or two?

-- What is the best time of day to end sales?

-- Are certain days of the week better than others?

-- Should they have all their auctions end at the same time,
or stagger them?

The Regans soon discovered that research, experimentation
and experience can provide all the answers.  As Bill points
out, it is necessary to test different prices, different
auction site categories, different headlines in your auction
listing, etc., to see what is the most effective action to
get the sale.

For instance, the Regans offer "specials".  One of their
most popular products is a belt that comes in three colors. 
If buyers order all three, the Regans give them free
shipping. They have discovered that half of the people who
buy that belt choose to buy all three, thus raising their
profits.

This family has also decided, based on experience, to ship
just once a week, finding that much easier than mailing 6-10
items per day.

After a certain amount of experimentation, they determined
that it was smarter, easier and more profitable to stick to
one product and do it better than anyone else.

So the Regans concentrate on men's leather belts, wanting to
become the experts for that one commodity.  And they
are succeeding admirably.

After only six months, they are designated eBay Power
Sellers, which means that they are selling at least $2,000
per month.  As well, the Regans are now the biggest sellers
of men's belts on eBay and they have opened their own belt
store.

> http://www.the-e-stores.com/belts

These ambitious sellers want their store to be a support
system for their auctions.  The store increases their
credibility in the eyes of potential customers. It confirms
that they are not fly-by-night scam artists.

Although the Regans have received some orders at the store
site, their attention and energy, up to this point, have
been focused on their auctions.  Now, however, they are 
beginning to make plans to make the store more profitable.

Bill's first step will be to start tackling the Search
Engines in order to get their store listed.

As Angi comments, "There's so much opportunity if you leave
yourself open to it and, of course, a little help from your
friends doesn't hurt either!"

The Regans heard about SiteSell before Make Your Net Auction
Sell! was even on the market.  Bill called the office and
talked with Ken, asking if Make Your Site Sell! would help
them in their auction business.

Ken had a better idea.  He asked Bill to read/test MYNAS!
before it was published and give feedback.

Bill credits Make Your Net Auction Sell! for speeding up the
progress of their business.

"It saved us from a lot of rookie mistakes we would have
made if we hadn't read it", he says.

Right now, they are selling 40-50 belts per week and are
aiming for 75-100.  On the personal side, Bill is presently
self-employed, with his own renovation business.  Angi works
20 hours per week at American airlines.  They want to quit
their jobs, and "hopefully, eventually" be full time
auctioneers.

There isn't the slightest doubt that they will get their
wish!

To meet these wonderful people, stop by their "About me"
page, which is available to all sellers: 

> http://members.ebay.com/aboutme/cesars/

There you can see Angi, Bill and Corey.  Oh, and we can't
forget Mojo, their golden retriever, who contributes his
part to the auction business by sniffing all the packages. 


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You can visit Sydney Johnston's personal web site at...

> http://www.auctionknowhow.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


   
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~SiteSell Discount Directory~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
http://www.sitesell.com/discount-directory.html
 
Please bookmark this page -- it's the only page that you
will EVER need to buy SiteSell products at an owners-only
discount. For owners of SiteSell products ONLY, it provides
discounts on all products, except for the Electronic Version
of MYSS! -- if I reduced the price on it, I'd have to pay
*you* to buy it!  ;-)
 
SiteSell Discount Directory
http://www.sitesell.com/discount-directory.html
 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Back issues available at...
>> http://www.sitesell.com/edge/backissues.html  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
TO UNSUBSCRIBE
To unsubscribe, go to the following URL and enter your e-mail
address. If you use more than one e-mail address, be sure to
enter the same one that you used when you subscribed.
>>  http://www.sitesell.com/unsubscribe-edge.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
WANT TO CHANGE THE E-MAIL ADDRESS AT WHICH YOU GET THE EDGE?
http://www.sitesell.com/change-email.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Contact info: E-mail us at support@sitesell.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Written by Ken Evoy, M.D., 
President, SiteSell.com
(c) copyright 2001 SiteSell.com