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SELLING TIPS
& SUGGESTIONS ON CHOOSING YOUR AUCTION TEMPLATE
I want to make you look GOOD
If you look GOOD I look GOOD
AUCTION TEMPLATE
GUIDES & SELLING TIPS
Selling on the
internet is becoming very competive and one of the first
things that serious sellers should look at is their selling
page.
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Does
it make a statement?
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Is it
set out well?
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Does it
provide an enjoyable experience for your potential
buyers?
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Does it
instill trust in you as a seller?
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Are
your items displayed to their best
advantage?
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Is the layout
of the page easy to read and navigate?
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Does
your page design reflect the theme of your
selling?
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Are your store colours co-ordinated
to match?
It matters not if you are
offering your items for sale on an auction site or from your
own web page, design and eye appeal can set you
appart and keep prospective buyers browsing longer resulting
in more sales and they are more likely to remember you and
call again.
Think of it as a shop. Are
you not impressed by a store that is well fitted out, clean,
well lit and displays their items
beautifully.
You should think of your selling
page as your shop which should be inviting for people to enter
and browse.
Showcasing your selling with
a professionally designed template will provide shoppers
and potential buyers a pleasant shopping
experience.
Templates create a unique
identity for your buyers and can set you appart from
other sellers of similar items and convey that you are
not a fly by night seller but are serious and
trustworthy.
SELLING TIPS
SELLING ITEM TITLES DO'S
Your selling item title is important and
acts as a keyword for people searching for that item.
Describe your item as if you were searching for a similar
item. Keep it simple and to the point. Your first
words in your title should be what you are selling e.g. if you
are selling Balloons the first word in title should be
balloons. Always make sure your spelling is correct or
people won't find your item/s.
SELLING
ITEM TITLES DON'TS
Avoid using descriptive words such as
great, beautiful etc. as no-one searches for a great or
beautiful.
STORE
DESCRIPTION DO'S
Store
descriptions are very important and are usually used as meta
tags (keywords) for search engines such as google. Try
and include as many keywords as you think people may search
for. Always start with your most prominant item or
service and describe exactly what your are selling using as
many keywords as you would think people would search
for. Place a comma separating your
keywords.
STORE DESCRIPTION
DON'TS
Don't
rave about how good you are and expound on your virtues
as a seller (leave this for your about Me Page).
ITEM DESCRIPTION
DO'S
Your
item description should be the first thing people see and
include as much detail as possible including size
condition etc. Images are best displayed under the
description as it has been shown that buyers want to read
about the item before viewing the images. The
description and image displays is all your prospective buyers
have to go by and a well written description is essential for
good sales. Double check it for errors and spelling
mistakes.
ITEM
DESCRIPTION DON'TS
Don't rush your
description. Don't use fancy or extra large text
(some text's won't display on older computer
programs).
IMAGE DISPLAY
DO'S
Image display is one of the most
important steps in succeeding as a seller. Buyers want
to see well displayed item images. Buyers depend on the
image depicting the item and clear images are essential.
The gallery image is one of the most important as this is the
image shown when browsing and a good image can result in more
hits. Most Images are best displayed with a white
background and when taking photo's try to keep this in mind as
most images appear clearer without excessive backgrounds
detracting from the item. Power sellers usually edit
their images so that only the item is displayed in the
image. A good recommended image size is 300-400 px or
use clickable images if displaying many images (this allows
for a quicker download). Templates have the advantage
that you can place as many images as you like in them for free
and the more images displayed of an item can result in
more sales.
IMAGES
DON'TS
Don't display blurred or out of focus
images this conveys an unprofessional look and does not do
justice to your item/s. Don't use excessively large
images (this can result in slow downloads for people on
dial-up). Don't display your images on top of your
description (this is more important when displaying many
images) as this results in people having to scroll down the
page to view the item details. Descriptions can often be
read whilst images are still downloading on the
page.
Have a
browse through other sellers stores selling similar items and
particularly check out the Power Sellers. Look around
their store and selling pages for ideas. There is
nothing wrong in checking out the competition and you can
often learn from it.
If you have a store make sure you display your
store categories in your listing
page.
CHOOSING A TEMPLATE
I have
noticed over the years that template choices are often made by
the heart and not the head. Many people want to reflect
their user ID or Store Name rather than the items they are
selling. There is nothing wrong with that and I try to
incorporate this in my custom designs, however in some cases
the template overshadows the selling item and is used more to
reflect the seller.
A template
should reflect and enhance the items being sold and not the
seller unless being used for a personal page. Everyone
wants to see their name up in lights but this does not impress
prospective buyers who are only interested in the item being
offered.
Don't forget
what you are trying to do and that is usually to sell items
and provide a professional feel and look to your
selling. A template should not overshadow your selling
item.
I have many
requests for animation to be included in the template and this
can be done to enhance the store or selling page but excessive
animation with things floating all over the page or flashing
at you can often turn people off and is best left to a
minimum.
If you are a
seller that sells various items I recommend the use of several
different templates that reflect the theme of the
different selling items.
Colors are
important and many stores are branded by their color
scheme more than anything else. Stores and selling pages
should be color-co-ordinated to match the template. This
provides a professional look and feel throughout your selling
pages even if using different templates. I can supply
color codes to all templates so you can customise your
store.
Enjoy
browsing and choosing a template or let me customise a unique
template for you and help brand you as a serious seller who
has taken the time and energy to prepare and display their
items for ultimate
sales.
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