Tracey Edwards Blog

If you are a beginning Internet Marketer, often it can be confusing to know where to start.  I remember when I was just a baby marketer I didn’t have a clue about how to sell an ebook, or promote a product.  I was clueless!

Very recently I had a lovely customer of mine come to me for help because the technical aspects of making money from a classified ad was a bit overwhelming.  He just didn’t know where to start.

So my advice to him, and to you too, is to keep it very simple to begin with. 

If you are yet to make any money online, I would recommend starting with promoting an affiliate product.  Obviously Clickbank is a good place to start, but I also like promoting eBay products or Amazon products too.  (Yes you can promote eBay products through an eBay classified ad using an affiliate link!)

In my book Auction Classified Cash I stick completely to eBay’s rules with the methods I suggest, but I need to let you know that eBay are STILL not cracking down on aff links in ads.  I’ve been using them still for months and not once have I ever been told not to.

So should you put a direct link in your ad?  Why not!  The worst that could happen is they pull your ad.

Ok so for my friend here are the step by step method for doing that.

Go to Clickbank Marketplace and choose a product with a high gravity. 

Check if they have an affiliate page.  If they do, great - have a look at some of the text or images they have there and see if you can use them.

If not, that’s fine, just try and write in your own words what the product is about from reading the sales page.

Create your Classified Ad and put in the ad what you wrote about the product.  It doesn’t need to be long, just enough to create enough interest so people will want to know more and click on your link.

Add your affiliate link.  You get your affiliate link by clicking the ‘create hoplink’ button and putting in your clickbank id where it tells you.  You don’t need to worry about tracking id - that’s for more advanced marketers.

Now you will be given a link that looks something like this http://YOURID.MERCHANT.hop.clickbank.net/

In your ad - at both the top and bottom, add your link using the following html code: <a href="[YOUR AFFILIATE LINK HERE]">Click Here for More Information </a> But Make Sure to put YOUR affiliate link in place of the one I’ve got here.

Also test it to make sure it goes to the right page by clicking on it yourself.

On the page, that code will look like show up like this Click Here for More Information (this link doesn’t go anywhere it’s just to show you what it looks like).

Then when someone clicks that link they will go to the product via your affiliate link and if they buy the product you will get the commission.

It really is that easy.  The only difficult part is trying to choose a product to promote!

Good luck.

Yes you can!  (It’s one of the few things that you are still allowed to do).

If  you’d like to see an example, check out my latest classified ad that promotes my free report (notice how I also subtley promote my ebook as well on the page - sneaky huh!)

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=270250551224

I’ve been using video in some other classified ads and so far the results are awesome!  (Although this is the first one in which I’ve used myself in it - so be kind ;))

Anyway if you have any thoughts, feel free to write a comment below.

Talk about moving the goal posts everytime we try and kick a goal, it seems that eBay has changed the rules YET AGAIN about what you can and cannot do with your classified ads.

The reports from the recent eBay Live 2008 conference are that they will no longer allow email addresses to appear in your classified ad after 1st September, a strategy that we have been using successfully up until now.  So while we still have a few months before they will start cracking down, it is time to look for more creative ways to take advantage of the 84 million customers that eBay gets.

Lucky for you I’ve already starting experimenting with a few new ideas that are still completely within eBay’s rules and while it’s still early days, my results are certainly looking promising! 

In fact, I might even go so far to say that I think that these new methods of using classified ads are much more profitable than before - I’m finding a 12% increase in clickbank sales and a whopping 29% increase in opt-ins.  And while it’s still early days I’m thinking this is not bad at all!

I’ll be revealing all in the updated version of Auction Classified Cash coming out after 1st July.  All existing customers will be getting the new version automatically.

I will also be increasing the price after that time by a measly $10 (as I plan on adding a few ad templates to help you along as well).

1st July is nearly here and I predict that many eBay classified adders will have their ads removed for breaking the rules which means we will all have less competition, and that means more money for us!

Personally, I’m looking forward to the changes.

Happy Selling!
Tracey

Recently I was asked if I buy all of the products that I promote in my Classified Ads by one of my customers.

Here is the answer I gave:

I must admit that I don’t buy many of the products that I promote.  I do however do a bit of research to make sure it’s a decent product by looking at other people’s reviews of it first (the best reviews are on ezinearticles.com - they seem the most truthful).

I also read the sales page carefully and try and think about what type of people would be interested in that product.  I think thats the key when promoting products, don’t just copy the sales page, but try and think about what sort of customer they are targetting first and why they would want that product.

Then tailor your ad to that customer - what do they want/desire?  If it’s a weight loss product, perhaps they want to fit into a bikini / look good for a wedding / make an ex-boyfriend jealous .. very rarely it’s just losing weight for no reason.  If you find the reason then you’ll make sales.

I also to try and offer them a solution in the ad too - whether that’s advice, a free report, etc.  Don’t sell them straight away, if you give them something good first, then you can follow up with the sale later because you’ve built some trust already.

The exception to this is products I promote here on my blog.  Anything mentioned here I actually DO use!

Tracey

Hope you are all making a killing with your eBay classified ads and that all is well.

I wanted to have a quick chat about your ad title.

As you know I’m not a huge fan of just having the title of the product you are promoting in your title – why?

Because very rarely does anyone actually search for the product name unless it’s a very well know product.

People search for the BENEFITS of what the product will do.

So say you’ve decided on promoting a product that will help get your baby to sleep and the product name is Sleeping Soundly .. (or some such thing).

Unless that product has been on Oprah it’s unlikely that people will be searching for it by name. 

However, loads of people want to know how to get the baby to sleep and you want to earn money promoting the product so what would be a better title?

Hmm .. How about something like ‘How To get your Baby To Sleep in under 15 Minutes’.  Think that title would get clicks?  I certainly do.

So instead of placing the product name in the title, try using a product benefit and watch it increase your click through rate!

It’s time to let you know a little bit more about who I am.  I live in Australia, I’m a mum to a little boy, and I’m also a writer (I have two books in bookshops here in Australia on finance).

The reason I’m telling you this is because I only spend a maximum of two hours a day, five days a week doing internet marketing (when my son goes down for a nap), and I still make money.  Why?

I believe it’s because I’m organised.  I do a different task everyday and while many of them are different, they all help build my internet presence, and also build my income.

Monday - I work on my websites, I have four niche websites that are not related.

Tuesday - My own products.  This is when I spend time to either create or promote the products that I have made.  Currently I’m promoting Auction Classified Cash and will do so for the next few weeks before I start on my next product.

Wednesday - eBay day!  Today I’m either writing Classified As for eBay, or promoting my BANS sites (since they are eBay related).

Thursday - Blogs.  I update most of my blogs - I have over 10 different blogs on various niches.

Friday - Squidoo!  While I’ve still yet to make much money from squidoo lenses, I still spend a day either updating or creating new ones. 

Weekends - relaxing!

It doesn’t matter who you are, as long as you are prepared to spend time working your business everyday it will grow and you’ll start making money in no time!

To your success.
Tracey

Now this should be a no brainer for most of you, but I thought I’d give you a little quiz to get the creative juices flowing.  Which classified ad would get you the most clicks?

Google Cash Review
Or
Google Cash – How to Make Money - my Honest Review

Ok, ok that was a little too easy.

Then what about this title
10 Free ‘Google Cash’ Tips – Sneak Peak Review
Ohhh, I bet you know the answer now!

You see the trick for getting more clicks on your classified ad is to give your potential customers something they want: a sneak peak, a review, tips (or all three as in the last title example).

Want more great classified ad ideas?
Then check out my ebook at http://www.auctionclassifiedcash.com

To your success!
Tracey

I’ve had so many success story emails from fellow classified adders! Here is one of my faves .. 

“Tracey, you wouldn’t believe it, I made $200 from just one ad this month – thank you so much” – Warren

 Awww – that makes my day – I love helping people make money. Anyway I wanted to let you in on some tricks I use in my ads for more cash in my pocket: 

1. Use bullet points in your description!  People love lists and would much rather read a list than a paragraph.  And the more likely your ad is read, the more sales that you are probably going to make. 
   
2. Make sure you tell the customer WHAT TO DO NEXT – whether that is to send an email for more information, click a link – whatever – just TELL THEM what to do.  A big ol’ click here is not enough – tell them WHY they are clicking there – click here for more information, click here to learn the secrets to weight loss, click here to send a man to the moon … you get the idea 
   
3. Think about what people WANT before you choose a product to promote.  No good choosing products just because they sound cool, people must actually want the product. 

   Tracey what do you mean?  Well I’ll give you some hints – people WANT to lose weight, the WANT to fall in love, they WANT to make money.  They probably don’t care much for an ebook on how to cook toast .. ya get my drift  

Cool!

http://www.auctionclassifiedcash.com

I’ve just had my product approved by Clickbank so now it’s up and running and ready for people to purchase if they wish - it includes strategies for dealing with eBay’s current policies regarding Classified Ads as well as which ads are the most profitable.

Check out it!

Or if you are feeling like making some cash by promoting it, head over to my affiliate page and grab some tools to get you going.

After my recent experiment with eBay’s Classified Ads, I had many people asking me which Clickbank products I was promoting to get such a good response.  Personally I don’t think my results were anything spectacular, but it for the outlay, my return was pretty decent.

The truth of the matter is that it wasn’t the product I was promoting that was the key, it was how I was promoting them.

You see many Internet Marketers make the mistake of trying to sell a product through an ad with these key mistakes:

1. They use ONLY the product name in eBay’s title - very rarely to do people search for specific products.  Instead of the product name: eg. Influential Cash Quarterly (made up name), use the benefits in the title instead e.g. Make MONEY ! New Influence System Made Me Thousands!

2. Think about DESIRE - Why do people want that product?  To Lose Weight?, Find Love?, Make Money?,  Use those desires to promote your product but keep it real and don’t over-hype.

3. Don’t try and sell in your ad.  The sales page will do that - Your job is to create enough interest for people to CLICK THROUGH to the VENDOR! 

4. Really the best tip I can give you is to become really good at working out what people want and giving THAT to them.

How did I get so smart?  I learnt many of my Internet Marketing skills from Wealthy Affiliate.  I’ve been a member for over six months now and before I joined I couldn’t sell squat - They gave me the lightbulb to realise how to be a successful internet marketer.

I do realise that the monthly cost of Wealthy Affiliate is a little high, in the beginning I was just going to join for one month and learn everything I could and then quit - but I’m still a member because the skills I have learnt have more than made back the cost of membership.

Anyway I hope that this answers all your questions.  Good luck with your Classified Ads!