Sellers who are willing to put in a little effort to learn the new rules are seeing better results. So you’ll likely come out ahead of your less savvy competition if you implement a few changes of your own.

So, where to begin? Let’s talk about the Best Match search criteria.

As of the beginning of March, the default for all item searches on eBay is now "Best Match" (it used to be "Time: Ending Soonest").

Buyers can change this default, but you can assume they most likely won’t do that, so it’s important to know what makes an item a Best Match.

eBay explains these search criteria:

• It sorts the listings based on Time Ending, Relevance, Seller Performance, and Shipping & Handling.
• "Relevance" is based, in part, on past successful buyer behavior for similar items (eBay notes what items are clicked on most by buyers when they run searches, and this means heading keywords will be extra important).
• Sellers with buyer dissatisfaction rates greater than 5% in the last 30 days will see their listings appear lower in search results.
• Sellers with the lowest Detailed Seller Ratings for Shipping & Handling Charges will also see a decrease in exposure.
• Sellers with Detailed Seller Ratings of 4.6 and above within the last 30 days will get higher ranking in search results.
• The time remaining on an auction is still taken into consideration, but it isn’t the main criterion any longer.

This can obviously have a huge impact on your sales. In fact, sellers with a DSR or 4.6% or greater will now likely have up to 20% more exposure on their auction listings than their competitors.

Just check out this screen grab of a search for webkinz (they’re popular on eBay right now) to see what we’re talking about.

We took this from page 6 of the search results…

Some sellers here only have a minute or two left, yet they’re lumped in with the 2-hour auctions way back on page 6 where no one is going to find them.

We clicked on the profile for one of the poor-ranking sellers. This is a high-volume seller with a 99.1% positive feedback rating, but his average DSR is 4.4. Not so bad, you might think…

… But compare the page 6 seller to a seller who ranked at the top of the same eBay Best Match search, whose average DSRs and Negative feedback results are slightly higher…

Obviously a few fractions of a percentage point make a huge difference here! A difference, in fact, of being ranked at the top of the search… or back on page 6.

And it doesn’t stop there. Shipping costs are now a really big deal on eBay as well — and that doesn’t just include buyer feedback on your turnaround time. Best Match will soon also take into consideration how the shipping cost for an item compares to other items in the same sub-category, and also whether the shipping price is specified.

Items with shipping costs significantly above the average cost for other items in the same sub-category may receive less exposure from now on.

So this is the Best Match default search in action.

What can you do to make sure you’re not shoved way out on page 6 with just minutes to spare on your auction?

Don’t panic! Our Advanced eBay Mentoring Team gave us some fantastic strategies you can use to propel your listings to the top of those searches. And since this is new territory for everyone, you can use this change as a great opportunity to get the jump on your competition.

Keywords are, as always, key

The keywords you use in your item listings are going to be more important from now on, so you need to make sure you’re getting them right.

The good news is that you don’t have to be psychic to figure out what keywords your buyers are searching for. Just do your own search for items you’re thinking of selling and pay careful attention to the listings that are making it to the top.

For example, when we go back to the search, we found that "unused tags, new, webkinz, and rare" seemed to come up in all the top featured listings. Those are the keywords you would start with in this case.

Do your own searches to make sure you’re getting your keywords correct, and include those words in your auction listings.

Test, test, test!

Here’s a very handy tip… you can test how effective your keywords are!

Post your item, then make a note of where it ranks. Go in and change your heading… eBay will rank it again within just 5 minutes. Check to see if this improved your listing or not, and revise your heading again if you need to.

You can do this as many times as you like up until the last 12 hours of the auction.

Shipping secrets

Shipping is always going to be a bit of a tricky area to address… especially when you have to rely on your postal system to make sure your items are delivered in a timely fashion. There isn’t much you can do about delays beyond your control, but you do need to remember that communication is the name of the game when it comes to shipping your goods.

Here are some top tips you can use to make sure your customer knows when to expect your items so they’re not up in arms because their package is a few days late:

1. When you make a sale, leave positive feedback for your customer that also states your shipping times. You can say "Thanks for buying my product! You can expect to receive your item on April 17th," so the buyer has an exact date they can aim for. The more detailed information you can give them, the more likely you are to receive positive feedback yourself.
2. Be careful when you calculate your shipping times… add a day or two to your estimates to avoid disappointment. Then if it arrives earlier, you’re golden!
3. Include details of your shipping costs on a sheet of paper in the package so the customer sees it when their package arrives. This way you can explain that, for example, although postage may only have cost $1.50, you charged $3.00 because you needed to buy bubble wrap ($0.75) and a post pack ($0.75) to make sure the item was delivered in good shape.
   

   Again, this gives your customer all the information they need to see you’re being reasonable with your charges. You can even print these details on a bright pink sheet of paper if you think it will help attract their attention!

4. Ask for positive feedback from your customer! You can include a written note with your item, add it to the feedback you give to the buyer, or send a follow up email to them, but make sure you politely request that they give you positive feedback, or at least let you know what you can improve on if they’re not happy.
5. Remember that your DSR is based on the last 30 days only, so you can work to improve it all the time!
6. Add a specific shipping service and price in the Shipping Details section of your listing, and making sure shipping costs are competitive with what buyers see in other auctions. And put your shipping information in the body of your item description too so there’s less chance people will ignore it.
7. Check out eBay’s Shipping Best Practices for more info… http://pages.ebay.com/sellercentral/shipping.html#best

If you’re looking to start an Internet business…

• WITHOUT a website
• WITHOUT a ton of start-up capital
• WITHOUT being a computer techie, and
• WITHOUT a ton of business experience!

… eBay is the perfect place for you!

PLUS — if you have an EXISTING Internet business —
you’ll learn how to boost your sales by expanding into
eBay’s giant online auctionplace of 2,000,000 shoppers
a day, with over $1 Billion in purchases made in 2006!

So if you’re keen to earn life-changing wealth in the
world’s largest marketplace (I’m talking 241,000,000
registered users who are PSYCHED to spend money online),
then check out my new Insider Secrets to Selling on eBay!

Have you heard the news? The Internet has CHANGED!

It’s a whole new world out there… and if you don’t jump on this super-hot new trend RIGHT NOW, these changes are going to crash down on your head like a tidal wave and sweep away your chances of achieving online success — for GOOD!

Sigh…

How many times have you seen overblown "scare" pitches like this, telling you that the world of Internet marketing has been turned on its head, and only the savvy elite will survive the changes that are coming?

Every time I see something like this, I shake my head.

Sure, the Internet is growing and evolving… But the fundamental rules for making great money online have NOT changed at all.

And it drives me absolutely CRAZY when marketers use fear tactics to try and scare people into buying "The next hottest thing!"

The shocking secret is, there IS no secret!

I know that’s a funny thing to hear from the guy who sells a best-selling marketing course called, "Insider Secrets Course to Marketing Your Business on the Internet!"

But the fact is, there is no real "mystery"involved in creating a money-making online business.

All you need to do is follow these six steps:

Step #1: Find your niche market

You need to confirm that there’s a NEED for whatever it is your business is going to sell — and that people are willing to pay for it!

Also, you absolutely MUST research your competition to make sure your niche isn’t overcrowded with competitors who offer perfectly good solutions to the problem you want to solve for your customers. Otherwise, there may not be enough room for your business to grow and thrive.

Step #2: Make sure you sell the right solution

You have to come up with a product or service that does a good job of solving your market’s problem.

And there has to be something truly "special" about it!

You need to have some sort of "unique selling proposition" (USP) — something that sets your product or service apart from every other product out there.

Step #3: Keep visitors glued to your site with compelling copy

When you have an online business, the WORDS on your site are going to be your best salesperson — so you have to make sure they do the best possible job of selling the benefits of your product to your potential customers.

Step #4: Design a site that leads visitors straight to the order button

You have to make sure your website gives people exactly what they’re looking for — and makes it EASY for them to buy your product!

Step #5: Use an "opt-in" to capture leads and build customer relationships

Most people won’t buy from you unless they feel like they know you.

That’s why you need to capture your visitors’ email addresses so you can build relationships with them over time. Otherwise, you’ll only ever make a fraction of the sales you could be getting.

Step #6: Advertise your business to the people who are MOST LIKELY TO BUY

The beauty of the Internet is that you can laser-target your advertising so you only present your message to the people who are most interested in buying your product. And traffic channels like the ‘Net’s top search engines can help you drive thousands of qualified leads to your site — for little or no money!

… And that’s basically it!

All of these 6 steps are essential to the success of your business.

Once you have mastered all of these steps, you will be the proud owner of a website that’s guaranteed to generate you healthy profits.

HOWEVER, if you skip a single step, or do them out of order, you won’t achieve the kind of success you’re hoping for.

And you’ll end up wasting a lot of time (not to mention blood, sweat, and tears) trying to correct a painful situation you never would have experienced if you had done all these steps properly in the first place!

Are you confused by any of these 6 steps, or experiencing problems implementing any of them in your business?

If so, leave me a comment letting me know which steps you’d like me to explain in more detail – and I’ll do my best to fill in the blanks tomorrow.

To your success,
Derek Gehl

Point at your computer screen.

And give clear directions?

100 Internet marketing newbies attended my 5-day clinics in 2007.

100 people walked out the door on Day 5 with their own LIVE, fully-automated Internet businesses.

(That’s what you call a 100% batting average!)

Wouldn’t it be EASY to get started if there was a "live" person you could talk to?

Someone who could…

==> Help you decide what to sell

==> Design and build the website for you…

==> Show you exactly how to accept credit card payments on the site?

==> Then, walk you 1, 2, 3 through how to get swarms of visitors to swarm your website and BUY?

… Well, that’s exactly what we want to help you do!

(To find out how, click here: www.marketingtips.com/5-day-clinic)

I’m about to open registration for my Internet marketing clinic, and
each event is STRICTLY LIMITED to just 10 participants only.

But before I reveal all of the details on this event to you,
I have just a few questions to make sure you’re qualified to attend.

(Can you blame me for wanting to keep my 100% success rate?)

For the full details on this elite 5-day e-biz EXPLOSION program,
click here now: www.marketingtips.com/5-day-clinic

To your success,

Derek Gehl
The Internet Marketing Center

internet marketing clinic

If yes, there are 3 rules you absolutely MUST follow in order to avoid going down the wrong product path.

These rules have nothing to do with researching supply and demand or locating a niche market to sell to. They actually precede that kind of research. And if you violate one of them, then I can guarantee the product you choose will NOT be a good money maker.

So here they are…

Rule #1: Don’t sell something people can easily buy at the local supermarket!

Or mall, or hardware store, or electronics shop, or sports store, etc. etc.

Why would people go online to buy something they can easily get on their regular weekly shopping trip?

Unless you can offer something truly unique — such as a lower price or a hard-to-find product — you’ll find it tough to compete with the convenience and the lack of shipping costs those offline alternatives offer.


Rule #2: Don’t sell a "time-sensitive" product!

If you try to sell something people need RIGHT AWAY, you’re going to have a hard time convincing them to wait a few days for it to be shipped to them.

For example, if you do proper keyword research you’ll see that thousands of people do searches every month on the keyword, "cure sore throat fast."

But here’s the challenge: If someone wants to cure a sore throat fast, do you think they’re going to wait for you to ship a herbal remedy? No! They’re looking for immediate results. And once their cold has gone, their desire to buy any kind of cough remedy will vanish along with it.

If the product can’t be delivered through a download, think twice…

Rule #3: Don’t enter a market with a massive amount of competition!

If there’s already a huge number of savvy marketers selling to your intended market, you should probably choose a different market.

Take world-famous online "shopping mall" Amazon.com, for example. They’re one of the hugest online vendors out there. If you decide to start your own catalog site selling a general selection of books, or music, or DVDs, how will you ever be able to compete with an industry giant like Amazon?

Unless you figure out a way to offer a lower price (doubtful) or cater to a very specific niche Amazon hasn’t yet tapped (difficult), you’re going to have a hard time getting your business off the ground.


Nothing is impossible… but the more competitive a market, the more time and money it will cost for you to become successful.

If these rules seem ridiculously obvious, then I apologize for wasting your time. But I had to mention them. Every day, I see budding entrepreneurs break these rules and spend weeks… months… and even years working extremely hard for minuscule results.

And it frustrates me, because I know it didn’t have to be that way.

If you want to learn how to find hot products that people are absolutely GUARANTEED to buy — before you even start selling them! — you can discover the formula that teaches you exactly how to do it in Step One of my best-selling course, "The Insider Secrets To Marketing Your Business On The Internet."

For more information, go to:

http://www.marketingtips.com/tipsltr

If you’re just getting started online, you cannot afford to choose the wrong product! That’s why we dedicated a full 5 lessons in our course to showing you how to choose the right product. You can let us hold your hand and walk you step-by-step through this entire scientific process.

Or you can base your business on guesswork and hope for the best… but I hope you’ll take my advice instead.

To your online success,

Derek Gehl

Now, I’m not going to tell you exactly what product you should sell to make great money on the Internet.

(After all, if I told the thousands of you who read this blog to start selling "Product X," then you’d be facing quite a lot of competition, wouldn’t you???)

But what I will do is tell you exactly what TYPE of product you should be selling, if you want to reap the greatest profits from all your online efforts.

And that type of product is…?

INFORMATION.

Yes, you read that right. Information is by far the most profitable kind of product you can sell online.

Why? Think about it for a moment… What do the vast majority of Internet users go online to search for?

That’s right. Information. Which means that by selling highly sought-after information on your website, you’re giving people exactly what they’re looking for!

And that’s a recipe for online success.

Here are some more reasons why information is the best type of product to sell on the Internet…

When you sell "hard" products that require physical delivery, you have to deal with the cost and hassle of manufacturing, stocking, and packaging — not to mention shipping your product. And all those things take a serious bite out of your profit margin.

However, when you sell information — in the form of an electronic "eBook," for example — once you’ve created your master copy, you can make countless duplications of it, at NO additional cost. Your manufacturing, stocking, and packaging expenses are non-existent!

And because you can deliver your electronic eBook instantly to your customers, your shipping costs are zero, as well.

That means your profit margin is 100%!

Your customers will be especially attracted by the promise of instant gratification. They won’t have to wait days (or even weeks!) for their product to arrive — it’ll get downloaded to their desktop in just a minute or two, which means they can start accessing that information right away.

And once your website is up and running, you can automate your entire business so it takes just an hour or two a week to run! You can set up your order form and "shopping cart" system to automatically process the order, put the money in your bank account, and electronically deliver your product to the customer. It’s the perfect "hands-free" business!

… And you don’t even have to be a writer!

To create a best-selling eBook, you don’t even have to be a professional writer! You can hire someone else to do the writing for you. Simply tell them what topics you want your eBook to cover, and then let them go to it.

(A great place to hire writers who won’t charge you an arm and a leg is www.elance.com.)

Or, if you’re just starting out and don’t have any extra money to invest in product development, you could create an "interview compilation" book. All you have to do is interview various leaders in your industry then type up the interviews and put them all together in your eBook.

For example, if you want to sell a book on how to house-train a puppy, interview three or four well-known dog trainers in your area. Then type up the transcripts of the interviews and put them together in an eBook.

You could even consider compiling articles written by other people that focus on a particular topic of interest to your customers. Maybe there are already a bunch of articles online that talk in detail about the different ways to house-train a puppy.

All you have to do is get permission from the original authors to reuse their content, put all the articles together into an eBook, and ta-da! You’ve got a product on your hands.

How do you get permission from the authors?

Simply explain to them that your eBook will provide great publicity for them and let them know you are planning to widely distribute the final product. Make sure they understand they’ll receive full credit for their work and that their contact information will be made available to readers (along with mention of other products and services they might offer).

Once you have compiled all of the contributors’ work, you should have a highly valuable publication on your hands. And you didn’t have to write any of it yourself!

The FASTEST way to be making good money online.

You can write a profit-generating eBook — and build the site to sell it — in as little as 2-3 weeks. There’s no faster way to make a solid income selling your very own product online.

And once your site is up and running, you can get feedback from your visitors and customers and start testing new ways to sell to them, so you can perfect your product and your sales process so it’s making maximum profits in the minimum amount of time.

But that’s not all… Once your eBook business is truly booming, you can start adding more products on to the back end, which you can then sell to your customers and boost your profits still higher!

So that’s my best possible answer to the never-ending question of, "What do I sell online?"

If you have ever experienced any challenges — or successes! — setting up a site that sells an eBook, please leave me a comment and tell me about them.

I’m eager to hear your stories…