Technology Toolkit

To begin the eBay title creation process, take those words you’ve isolated as being important and see how many you can fit into the 55 character window. Play around with different combinations, always striving to make maximum impact as quickly as possible. If the title is your most valuable eBay real estate, the first word of that title is the most valuable of all.

Stuff your title field with as many relevant keywords as you can, but don’t overdo it. No need for commas or dashes to separate words, a single space will do. But don’t omit those spaces just to squeeze in more words as you’ll only be shooting yourself in the foot. If it looks like mumbo-jumbo, it will be passed over instantly.

Modify your collection of words and short forms for easy reading. Take what you have and string them together making sure your title makes sense. Many listings on eBay fail to do so. They’re just a collection of words or characters that fail to woo prospects inside.

Use up as much of your allotted space as you can. Don’t settle for 25 or 40 characters because that part is easy to do. Fill up the field with additional words to make the overall headline more useful, more descriptive, and more alluring. Rarely should you leave more than one or two extra spaces unused. There’s always more you can say, more firepower you can inject, to potentially attract larger crowds and more active bidding.

Choose one specific word or phrase to highlight and capitalize it. When a relatively small part of your headline is placed in UPPERCASE format, it stands apart from the others. But when they’re all set in uppercase, it’s as if you’re shouting. And that’s not something you want to do in the online world.

Once you’ve pieced together your best effort, you’re done at least for now. Consider every effort and every listing as a test. That’s what the most successful marketers do.

Chances are very good you haven’t done your best headline work just yet. Instead what you have is a starting point from which to grow and improve your profits. You now have a control and can test new variations, once your listing is up and running.

Compare your page views and closing bid prices to that of your competitors as well as your own earlier efforts. If results are noticeably different and all other variables (no optional upgraded ad features used) are the same, carefully examine both the titles and descriptions.

If you’ve never written a listing before, facing the limitation of 55 characters for your title can be a little stifling. But it helps to remember that every advertiser faces the same challenge you do.

We’re all limited to the same number, single color, and the fact that it’s a text-only field. The only real options are for a bold or featured listing. These ads run at the top of any list and are therefore subjected to more eyeballs in the process. It’s a way of gaining something by paying to rank higher in order. It may be worth your consideration to test these two options and determine whether they helped improve your profits.

There is one free option that can help your headline stand out in any list, and it is simply this: the correct use of capitalization.

Some advertisers use almost all lowercase text. Others prefer all UPPERCASE. Neither in my view is the best option in any environment. Lowercase test seems rather uninteresting and ordinary, like it’s just one line from a full page of text. It tends to blend in, rather than stand out.

Uppercase text, on the other hand, can be likened to standing on a busy street corner and screaming at the top of your lungs. It’s not exactly the best way to attract people to your message.

There’s already too much noise we all have to deal with daily. Any more of the same quickly shuts down an otherwise interested mind. Uppercase text is also more difficult to read. And although the title field is only 55 characters, it still requires extra time to read and comprehend the meaning of those words.

But uppercase characters can be very effective when used sparingly. The best method I’ve found is to capitalize the first character of each word. If you were to study the most successful ads, sales letters and web pages, in virtually any area of interest, you’d find many successful headlines written this way with the first letter of each word set in uppercase format.

Begin each word with a capital so your title reads like a headline. Then, focus on one to three words you want to highlight and capitalize those as well. Just don’t overdo it.

The real secret to using your title to create tons of traffic to your listing is to understand how your target market of buyers searches for your specific item. By this I mean keywords. What specific words would the greatest number of prospects likely use when searching for said item? Answer this accurately and you’ll know the exact words to include in your title.

It’s great if you know the market well because all you have to do is uncover typical keywords you’d use in a search for a similar product. But if you’re new in a particular market, it’s wise to do some homework before creating and posting your ad.

When selling on eBay, nothing is more important to each individual listing than the title that leads it. In fact, your overall success on eBay is dependent to a large degree on your ability to create effective headlines that pull in large amounts of quality traffic. It’s the title that’s the key to capturing the attention and interest of your target market.

Your title is your initial point of contact. It’s the first thing any shopper on eBay sees with respect to your individual auction.

If a prospective buyer conducts a keyword search as approximately 70% of eBayers do your keyword specific listing may be one of hundreds, or even thousands of listings that are shown. So your title needs to have the associated word or phrase to show up on a search for that term. But it also needs to be compelling enough to win clicks and get your listing opened by more interested prospects.

Your title is just as important to shoppers who choose to peruse listings in their favorite categories. Here your ad has to appear more interesting than the others. Even devout shoppers only have so much available time. Nobody looks at everything. Instead, they tend to zero in on the things that most interest them in the moment. So your title or headline has to grab hearts and minds instantly.

If your title fails, the rest of your ad description is insignificant. If they don’t click on the title, they won’t go to your page immediately. And if they miss it in the moment, 99.9% of browsers won’t even think of coming back. There’s just too much to explore on eBay and one search invariably leads to another.

You’ve only got limited space. Currently, eBay gives you a maximum of 55 characters to use any way you like in the Title field. It’s not a lot of space… so you have to choose your words and abbreviated forms with great care.

Titles are all about attracting the eyes of targeted prospects enough to get them to at least visit your more detailed description. If they don’t go beyond the title, they cannot bid, Buy-It-Now, ask you a question about the item, or your terms, or even sign up to your mailing list. All those actions require that they at least land on an individual auction description page and the most valuable tool you have to achieve this is your Title.

There are several simple steps to creating a killer sales letter for your eBay selling business, here are a few you can use immediately.

1. Explain How The Buyer Comes Out On Top. Pile on the benefits. Let them know what they get as a result of owning the item. Create a list of one valuable advantage after another. Set them up as powerful bullet points so prospects can quickly grasp the main benefits and move on quickly.

Write your bullet points like headlines. Simply preface each big benefit with a phrase like these, or something similar…
3 Little-Known Ways To…
A Simple, 3-Minute Solution To…
The Amazing Secret Of…
How To…
In Less Than 5 Minutes, You Can…
Easy Steps To…
Advice Pros Give To…
5 Insider Techniques To…
Common Mistakes That Actually Reverse Results…
Why 99%…
The Dirty Little Secret To…

2. Introduce Your Irresistible Offer. Create as stark a contrast as possible between what the item/package is worth versus how little you’re asking in return. This is where a low starting bid can instantly create a flurry of activity.

Give them dollars worth of value for mere pennies. Thanks to the auction-style, bid-what-you-want format of eBay, it’s easy to offer genuine value at bargain-basement prices, without raising suspicions. After all, you expect the price to go much higher. But it’s awfully tempting for prospects to simply go for it.

3. Prove What You Said Is True. Provide customer testimonials and case histories whenever possible. Legitimate third party endorsements can go a long way in convincing prospects of your selling points. Look at the way products are sold in infomercials today. A large chunk of the total airtime is devoted to customers telling their stories.

If you say it, it may be looked upon as mere advertising. But when a previous customer tells a compelling story of satisfaction with your product, it’s perceived as much closer to the truth.

Whenever possible, give buyers a satisfaction guarantee. And the longer, the better.

4. Seal The Deal and Close The Sale. Your sales letter only works if it leads to action. Don’t leave prospects half-sold on your item. Give them that extra nudge. Direct them to take action and provide a clear reason why it’s in their best interest to do so NOW.

Remind them of the great deal you have to offer. Summarize all they get from you. Make it worth far more than even the regular price of your package. And since you’re only asking for a much lower Buy-It-Now price, or a tiny starting bid, taking action should be a no-brainer.

Tell your prospects exactly what they need to do to get all the benefits for themselves… make taking the necessary action easy to do.

Writing an effective sales leter is not difficult once you understand the basics involved. Here’s a multi-step formula to create an effective sales letter.

1. Capture Your Best Prospect’s Attention. Use your title and Gallery image to woo potential buyers to your full Item Description. Give them the information they want and need to qualify themselves as prospects. If you’re selling black leather jackets, you need to let people know early that your jackets are available in black only. This disqualifies those looking for brown, beige, blue, purple or any other color.

Deliver the words that would most interest a buyer and make a big promise. Promise, large promise is the soul of an advertisement said British author, Samuel Johnson back in the 1700’s. And he was right. Making a big promise is just as effective today on eBay.

There are numerous ways to create headlines to launch into your full-scale sales pitch. But the easiest way to unveil the big promise of your item is to lead with the time-tested How To headline approach. Start with How To and just add an appealing promise that your product can help the buyer get, enjoy, achieve, or profit from.

2. Reveal Why Your Prospect Should Be Very Interested In Your Ad. Expand on the promise of your headline. Create a vivid image of the desired results. Paint a glorious picture by having them imagine what it’s going to be like to own your item, to use it, to enjoy it, to be able to treasure it, profit from it, or pass it along as a family keepsake.

It’s important to put your potential buyer in the picture. In order to buy, they need to feel the advantages of doing so. And in order to feel it, they have to be able to see the picture in their mind.

Get them enthused enough, and the pleasurable images will consume them. But don’t hesitate to get the ball rolling by encouraging prospects to Imagine that or to Picture this in your mind’s eye. Allow them to mentally entertain the idea and the corresponding benefits will invariably shine through. Sell the dream, not the item.

3. Make Yours A Rare Offering. People in general and eBayers specifically love original, rare, or unique items and packages. Therefore, you want your particular offer to stand out and be extra special when compared to anything similar. Instead of offering a product, make it a package. Add unique value with extra bonuses. Information products make excellent bonuses for just about any item you want to sell in quantities. Once you’ve created it, it’s simply a matter of duplication. It’s the information itself that holds value. Create a package deal that’s exclusively yours. That way your prospects simply cannot get the same thing anywhere else.