Today's business news & commentary: Susanna's Online Magazine: copywriting, Internet marketing, direct response.

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Friday, September 30th

The Marketing Magic of eBay.

I buy a lot of stuff on ebay. Sell quite a bit too. I don't buy on ebay because I like auctions but because I often can find items on ebay that are not available elsewhere such as a special hard-to-find renewal point for a 1950 Esterbrook fountain pen.

My style of bidding is simple. I'll pay up to a certain amount and no more. If the bidding goes over that amount, let the other guy have it. He needs it more than me.

The reason I bid like that way is that most people overpay on ebay. Most items sell for far more than they're worth.

I put a really nice Gucci bag on ebay and offered to sell it flat out for $49.00. Guess what? No takers. It didn't sell.

So I relisted it. Only this time, I made it a 7-day auction and started the bidding at $9.99. I had some 20 bidders and it sold for $215.00! People want to compete. People want to win.

I was interested in a certain item on ebay. So I checked to see what that item had gone for lately. In each case, I could have easily and quickly bought it with the click of a mouse at several online stores for $30.00 less!

What is the magic of ebay that makes otherwise intelligent people go crazy and overspend?

It's the one word that matters most to Americans --- WINNING! On ebay, you don't BUY an item, you WIN an item.

You're not the silly person willing to overspend for a bobble --- you're the lucky winner. After you've purchased an item you get a message that says, "Congratulations. You won!" You don't get a thank you for your purchase letter.

One woman was bragging in a forum that she won every auction she was in. What that really tells you is that she's a foolish soul willing to pay too much for everything she buys. Sure hope she makes it to one of my auctions!

The nice thing about most of my ebay winnings is that rather than claim them as "winnings" on my income tax form, I can claim them as "business expenses". I may not win a computer. But I sure as hell can write it off!

Ebay plays on people's need to win and compete. And it's a business model that works.

We can't all use ebay's business model. After all, you don't win a book on Amazon. You buy it. Plain and simple. But you can make your customers and clients feel like they've made a wise decision by buying from you and that, as a result, they'll be a real winner.

Susanna on 09.30.05 @ 07:17 AM CDT [link]

Thursday, September 29th

Clients Who Think They Know More than the Experienced Copywriter.

There is nothing a copywriter hates more than having finished a project for a client and that client sticking his inept finger in the work, messing it up and using it. I have had so many clients who thought they knew more than me about copywriting. Why the hell they hired me I don't know!

Usually, after they try their own junk and my copy that they've screwed up, they see it doesn't work. So they revert to my original copy with good results.

Do you other copywriters have a way of handling this? If so, drop me an e-mail.

I find that clients are all too often their own worst enemy. They hire cheap writers and get screwed. They hire expensive ones and screw the copy up themselves.

And that's the way it is.

Susanna on 09.29.05 @ 11:58 AM CDT [link]

Wednesday, September 28th

Inflated Gasoline Prices Mean More Money for Internet Businesses.

I predict that the high cost of moving from point A to point B will mean more business for Internet enterprises. While Americans don't mind floating around from store to store to find a bargain, the cost of gasoline is putting the skids on this activity for a large percentage of us. That means more of us will buy online.

Indeed, buying online is more cost effective. In my state and my community, sales tax is 7.5% and on a major purchase, that's a lot of extra freight. Couple that with the drive to the store and all it entails, it's a big expense and a big waste of time.

I went to Best Buy three weeks ago to buy a laptop. I knew what I wanted so I walked in and asked for it. When they totaled it up, I opted to walk out and buy on the net. I did and I've not regreted it. I should have done that to begin with. In fact, I bought it on ebay. The price was great and shipping not bad at all. I got the PC in about a week. I bought my office Dell on ebay as well. Both purchases have proven to be very wise ones indeed.

So if you're an Internet marketer, start now to make your marketing materials --- especially your Web site --- user-friendly and professional. Take advantage of these inflated gas prices and the downbeat consumer. It's the smart thing to do.

Susanna on 09.28.05 @ 09:10 AM CDT [link]

Sunday, September 25th

Using Direct Mail to Get More Business.

Lots of people who advertise on the Internet seem to think they should restrict their advertising and marketing to the net. That's a bad decision. Obviously you must have a Web site. But most businesses should also use direct mail to drive traffic to the site and even to get orders --- depending on their products or services.

Direct mail can get you leads and/or orders. It gets right to the people you want to target and, if done right, direct mail will do a great job of getting you more business. In most cases you should use direct mail in addition to your online marketing. In fact, many people should use it as their main marketing vehicle with their other marketing working around it.

The best direct mail vehicle for most people is the sales letter. People often ask me to write post cards when what they need is a good direct mail letter. While cards are fine at the right time in your series of mail it's not the best place to start. The sales letter is the vehicle to use to begin your direct marketing strategy.

Susanna on 09.25.05 @ 03:55 AM CDT [link]