Backyard Opportunities for eBay and Ecommerce
Many website owners have spent countless hours researching SEO and marketing their sites. eBay store owners are the same with keyword placements. Most all eBay sellers put great thought into the title of an item using it as a lure to bring people into each listing.
We all work hard and play little trying to compete, upgrade and optimize ourselves in the virtual world of selling online.
Today I wanted to encourage the readers of Practical eCommerce to seek out some local opportunities. I feel this is an area that is overlooked and many times not even considered.
We tend to get so busy with our online presence that we don’t even consider looking in our own back yard.
There are many tools available right down the street in your community. Getting started is easy. Pull up a google search and try the suggested keywords:
- Your Town/State Chamber
- Your Town/State Small Business
- Your Town/State Business Directory
It helps to always include the name of your town or city and the state you live in. I’ve had different results spelling out the word Florida and using the abbreviation FL. I suggest you try both to see which types of results you can find. Example: I would use: Ocala FL Small Business and then the second try I would use: Ocala Florida Small Business Try different spellings such as: Business and Businesses.
I highly recommend you attend a local Chamber of Commerce meeting and take a look at what they have to offer. I recently attended one in my area and I was very pleased to learn more about the chamber. Getting placement in their large directory can be an added bonus to the chamber membership.
The Small business resources are available and waiting for you to find. You may be able to have your website and/or eBay store placed in a local business directory for little or no cost.
Look for free advertising opportunities in your area. Do a search: Your Town/State Free Classified Ad and take advantage of free offers online and locally.
The next thing I suggest to help with promotion is to visit these sites and search within each site:
- Your town/State on Twitter
- Your town/State on Facebook
- Your town/State on Myspace
If you don’t have an account at each of these sites, you can easily set one up using your brand and your product promotion style. Include the matching colors, links back to you, your sites, your phone number whatever it is you’re promoting. By creating a presence to “You” you are not only feeding the web with content about you and/or your product but you are creating more awareness of what a serious business person you are.
Using the platforms of Twitter, Facebook and MySpace the chances are huge that you will find a local person promoting your area. Take advantage of this promotional opportunity and at the same time, stay informed with updates about events in your community.
Google search for blogs in your area:
- Your town/State Blogs Once you find blogs in your area I suggest you “follow them” and leave comments with kind words. Most blogs will allow you to include a link back to your own site and this will be another opportunity for exposure.
As you find different places around the internet be sure to subscribe to their content and if they have a google “Follow” option or a networked blog following option do click to follow. This will let them know you care about their content and it will also put you in a “Be seen” position.
Another site you may want to check out is: Meetup.com. Join this free site and after you fill out your personal information and include lists of interests you can seek out like-minded meetings being held in your area. Many are meeting to social network and exchange ideas, business cards and do some brainstorming. If there is nothing in your area of your interest then you could start your own networking meetup. If you do go that route then there is a monthly fee the site charges of 19.99. I’ve had great personal success with the site as I do run my own virtual meetup and do recommend it.
EventFull.com is another place to search for local events taking place. This is free to use and it is free to list events as well. I’ve listed my eBay classes several times on the site and have enjoyed the additional exposure.
Rent a table! Some local events include tables for rent. You could easily set-up a table and promote your online business at events locally. And don’t forget the local nonprofits. Many events that they hold include table rentals for a very reasonable cost.
Bottom line, there is a ton of local opportunity waiting for you to explore. Socialize with the locals and continue to brand yourself sharing your business cards at events while you market and learn from all the great opportunities offered and found in your own backyard!
This post is filed under eBay and eCommerce and has the following keyword tags: local event, chamber, small business, locally, ebay sellers.
