The Breyer SpotLight: Your Horse Model Market ResourceHi < In this issue
What's new and interesting?Can you believe that we are already half way through January? Time is flying by! And believe or not, Breyerfest has already announced their new Celebration House, and this one is a beauty. If you haven't already seen Roxy and Stacy perform (or even if you have), you need to watch the video: Roxy is the Breyerfest 2009 Celebration Model! After Christmas we wondered if our web site traffic would go down. Well it hasn't, if anything it's gone up! What hasn't changed is that our top pages are still our collection of Holiday horses. A big thank you to Robyn Fox and Deb Marshall for their pictures of Silver Snow and Holiday Hunt!
Holiday Horses Overall, it seems, there is a lot of interest by Breyer Collectors. To help those who are selling we have some advertising tips for you.
Advertising, eBay and BeyondWhile there are many new people joining the ranks of buyers and sellers on eBay, there are also many who avoid it like The Plague. So the question becomes: how do you reach new buyers when you list your Breyer Models on eBay?The point I would like to bring about today is to look beyond what you may be familiar with as an eBay Seller. This is your comfort zone, this is where you have learned and grown as a Seller, how can you think of doing something else? However, right now is a critical time for you to do just that. I know some of you are testing other areas such as the Model Horse Sales Pages and the Model Exchange. This is a good thing. And yet I have heard Sellers saying that eBay still draws in the greatest traffic. Remember those who don't wish to deal with eBay? The numbers are growing every day. They are still searching on the net to find the Model they are looking for. The question is where are they searching? You can bring in greater numbers to your listings by doing a few key things. Take and type in the words you think you would like to use for your title into Google. For example, if you have a Breyer Indian Pony you would like to list, type the words “Breyer Indian Pony” into Google and see what else comes up. On the day I was writing this, there were 175,000 search results for “Breyer Indian Pony” on Google. That is some pretty strong competition that can also be used as good examples to follow. The next step is to look at the top ten sites that come up in your search. Read what they say, look at the words that are used in the first two paragraphs of the site. Find out the “common” words that are used from each site. Make a list of these words. These will be the words that you will need to use in your ad title and description. Next, you will have to use these key words (and other similar words) in the first 90 words of your add. This first 90 words of text is the area that Google “searches” and captures. If you are listing your warnings and shipping information first, or your personal story, your ad won't be found. Be sure and move all of that information to the bottom of your page or to the “ME” section on eBay. The words you use in your title must be included in your first 90 words in order for your information to be found by Google. To clarify this for you: be sure to describe your Model first, using the title information in the description. Now this is very important: NEVER COPY anything on any page. Simply use the information to help you form YOUR own content. What you choose to say has to apply to the Model you are selling. Test out a few phrases and key words to determine where they fit. If you don't see results for the words you choose in your title and description, then try using other words. Over and over again, in all the research that I have done, it keeps coming back to me that “Content is King”. You need to choose the correct words for your title as well as your ad, in order to be found. How does this affect buyers who don't search eBay? It will because they still search Google. They still need their “model horse fix” and they are still looking. By making sure your ad will come up in the Google search as well as the eBay search, you have increased your chances of being seen. Many times, ads from eBay and Craig's List come up when a Google search is conducted. I have seen Breyer ads, as an example. Good sales and successful ads don't come by luck; they come by planning. So roll up your sleeves and spend some time researching. It will pay off in the long run and you will start to see a few words that are used over and over again. Then you simply mix in the specifics of your Model, whether it is Vintage, Glossy, or the name of the Mold/Model to raise your listing on the Google searches. By all means, seriously consider using Craig's List to advertise your Models. I have seen some pretty nice looking ads come up in Craig's List when I have searched the internet. The pictures are great, all the information is there, and the Sellers are receiving potential Customers outside of eBay. More and more people are using Craig's List as a source to find items. On occasion, Sellers List something as “f*r*ee of charge” and and greatly increase their traffic. The one down side of using Craig's List as a listing source is that it may put the Seller/Buyer at higher risk of not receiving their part of the deal. There is lower security in receiving payments as well as not receiving an item. However, as a Seller, you are still able to send an invoice to anyone using PayPal. Make sure you pay the little extra for the signature required for each shipment. This will give you a bit more security if someone should decide they want to be dishonest. You can also ask for references and check on the other sites for feedback, such as Model Hobby Horse Reference. The other slight drawback to using Craig's List is the fact that you have to go in and resubmit your ad from time to time. Once a week is probably sufficient. However, in order to do this, you must first cancel the current ad, then repost it along with any pictures you want to use. Otherwise your listing will filter down to the bottom of the site because there are so many other listings added each day. Craig's List removes the “middle man” from the sale and puts the advertising and sales strictly between buyer and seller, resulting in low cost commerce. With this method, the same rules apply. The right keywords in your title and your description will make a difference. Good, clean pictures will show the treasures you have available for sale. I would also highly recommend when using Craig's List to say something about your self. Give a few basic details such as how long you have been a Model Collector, or that you are a serious Collector and know how important proper shipping and packaging is. These types of questions are there and need to be answered when people find your ad on Craig's List because they have no idea who you are. Unless, of course, you have contacted your list of previous customers to let them know. Building your list of happy, satisfied customers is another huge topic that is very important. If you are not building that list, you are missing out on future sales. Buyers will buy from people they know and trust. We'll cover that topic in future editions! If you are reading this; why not put your ad here?? Our list is growing weekly and is a great opportunity to reach qualified buyers. Simply hit “return” and ask us how. Until next time, Keep Imagining! Breyer Horse Collectors Web Site |
