Creating Ideas for marketing an eBay Store

When selling on eBay, creating a quality listing is important, but just as equally important is seeking out the right customer base and driving them to your listing. With many sellers offering some of the same goods at varying prices, a great seller can employ the following techniques to drive traffic to their store and develop a one-on-one relationship with potential customers.

The first step in marketing an eBay store is to know your customer base. Create an inventory of the products offered in your online store. Look at these products and see what specific category or niche they are. For example, a piece of Art Deco jewelry could be classified as both jewelry and antique. The potential customer base needed to be reached would be both jewelry and antique collectors.

Once the determination has been made for niche categories, now it is time to make your store known to collectors. A great way to do this is to participate in item-specific forums. Using the ring example again, find forums for both antique and jewelry collectors. This will give you a chance to meet potential customers and learn more about desired items. Always link your eBay store in your signature line and target your signature to the specified forums. “Art Deco Jewelry for Sale”, or “Antique Jewelry Collectors Click Here”, are some words designed to entice customers to visit your store. Out of curiosity, most people will see what is being offered and, by utilizing free advertising, a seller is able to draw potential customers to your online store.

Niche-specific forums are also good for determining pricing and in-demand items. If new to a market, some sellers may be unsure how to price items or be afraid their item is listed for too much/too little. Learn about going rates for various items and see what merchandise is highly desired. If the desired or discussed item(s) are available in your store, use that in your signature line and link the items to your eBay store. Be sure to post in the specific thread, as the mention of the item desired, along with the appearance of it available in your signature link will definitely attract attention.

Finally, be sure to take advantage of article directories. If your store’s niche is children’s clothing, attract customers by creating some informative articles and submit them to article directories. Some great article topics to write about children’s clothing would include: care of children’s clothes, how to hold a clothing swap meeting with other parents, stain removal and clothing repair, etc. By creating useful, informative articles potential customers gain your trust by seeing your store is not out to make a quick dollar and really cares about its customers.

While writing these articles will not pay (unless submitted to a content site), they allow authors to advertise their businesses for free. Create a name for your eBay store and use it when referring to your online store. Market yourself as both founder/proprietor and if allowed on the article, submit a picture of yourself. Customers can see a “real” person working the store as opposed to just a screen name. By following these above steps, eBay sellers will attract prospective buyers to their online stores.