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Increase eBay Sales With One Little Change

eBay Marketing Tip to Turn eBay Browsers into Buyers with a Call to Action

Are you not getting as many sales on your auctions as you expected? If you get a good number of viewers but not many sales, it's time to look at your item description.

Many eBay sellers make a key mistake with their listings. They lack a "call to action."

What is a call to action?

A call to action is a simple word or phrase that tells your viewer what action to take to move one step closer to making what you're listing their own.

This may seem obvious, but one of the biggest mistakes you can make as an eBay seller is to sit back and 'hope' that your browser will become a buyer.

Many new eBay sellers hesitate to say anything that could be construed as "pushy." They want to be "polite" and let potential buyers take their time and make up their own minds. So they fill their listing with details and assume that viewers will come to their conclusion on their own to bid or buy.

The danger of trying to be too "polite"

Strangely enough, people's minds don't work like that. Most buyers are just as hesitant to make up their mind as sellers are to appear pushy. So they look over your listing, they like what they see, but they put off taking action for later.

When they do that, you've likely lost them. They may have good intentions to come back and bid, but those good intentions get lost in a hundred other tasks that pull their minds in different directions.

You want them to take action NOW! How do you do that, though? You give them a gentle nudge.

Nudging them toward a decision

Come right out and tell your potential customer what they should do next. You can use words or phrases such as the following:

• This Is a Hard-to-Find Item, Bid While It's Still Here
• Bid Now, Don't Miss Out on This Incredible Deal
• Bid Now and Enjoy (whatever benefits it gives)

The point is, encourage them to take action. Don't assume they'll take action on their own.

Surprising results

Using a call to action is not something new. Business owners use it all the time.

Studies have shown time and time again that people simply need a little nudge to help them overcome theier natural urge to procrastinate and make up their mind. Studies show that you can increase your sales by 80% simply by telling your viewers what to do next.

Bonus eBay marketing tips for when the customer isn't inclined to buy

But what if that particular item isn't exactly what they're looking for. They're not going to buy something they don't want just because you told them to, are they?

Probably not. That doesn't mean that you can't nudge them toward your larger selection, which might contain exactly what they're looking for. You also have the option of giving potential customers more than one call to action.

Using calls to action with customers who wouldn't normally buy

For example, let's say you sell vintage Barbie dolls on eBay and you get a visitor who is looking for one particular item. This potential customer finds one of your listings and sees that it isn't the one they want.

Let them know you have a wider assortment of vintage Barbies and encourage the potential buyer to visit your other listings. Provide a call to action, such as, "If this isn't what you're looking for, please click here (link to your eBay store or your entire list of auctions) to see all of my other vintage Barbie listings."

You can take it even one step farther. Use the subscription link that ebay provides its store owners to keep your auctions in front of them. Provide a call to action, such as, "Click here to receive free, weekly tips about buying vintage Barbies on eBay without getting scammed."

Collecting names of those who are in the market for your type of product is absolutely priceless. You'll come to be known to them as the expert on vintage Barbies on eBay. And by giving them ongoing information that helps them improve their collections, they'll be far more likely to turn to you in the future for their purchases.

Getting subscribers to your auctions is actually one of the most profitable things you can do to increase your sales. If you want to find out more about how to do this (as well as getting a lot of other killer eBay marketing tips) check out "The Silent Sales Machine Hiding on eBay."

It's by far the most complete book on using email marketing to increase your eBay sales. And it's also chock full of other tips to help you find low-cost products that give you higher profits and many other profit-increasing tips.

The service you offer by providing calls to action

When you get right down to it, you're not being pushy by encouraging them to take action. You're helping them overcome their own procrastination. And by helping them overcome their procrastination, you're helping them avoid missing out on something they want.

Consider this. Let's say a friend came to you and asked for your advice. You answer very dispassionately, laying out different options but being very careful not to give the appearance of you favoring any particular option. Your friend goes away better information, but still not sure of what to do. That friend continues to agonize over which option to take and remains stuck.

On the other hand, compare that to your friend coming to you and you giving a clearcut recommendation of the option you consider best. The friend follows your advice and resolves the problem. By which way have you helped your friend the most?

Using a clear call to action in your item description is the same as what you did in the second scenario. You're not being rude. You're not being pushy.

In the case of someone who likes what you're selling, you're simply helping them get past their hesitation to make that final decision. You're agreeing with that part of them that wants to buy and saying that it's OK to buy it.

Final thoughts

Many times, that little nudge can make all the difference between making a sale and losing it. Don't be afraid to add a call to action to your auction descriptions. You'll be doing your potential customers a service by adding them.

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