How do you know if a website bought at ebay is good

[avguy]

I have seen some websites for sale on ebay gauranteeing profit. Has anyone in this forum ever purchased any and made profit? Any suggestions on what I should ask the seller.
Also does advertising your website out in the real world create traffic to your website ? is it better to advertise within the internet.

[ExcelontheWeb]

Personally I wouldn't trust them. I have seen them on Ebay and can say from experience that it take a LONG time to figure out the correct marketing for each site. You don't just buy a turn key site and expect it to turn a profit right away.
I would want to meet with the seller in person. If they refuse or and can't/wont supply their books to a serious buyer I would steer far away.

Advertising your site in the real world? If I understand your question then here is the way I will answer it.
Your web site address should be on every piece of literature you can have from business cards, letter heads, your signature on forum posts and anywhere else your company or products could come in contact with potential buyers. If you sell products that you will ship via UPS, USPS FedEx etc., include a few business cards and a thank you letter. Happy customers are not too proud to pass out your cards to their fellow business acquaintances.

Advertising on the NET.

I sometimes use Overture and Google to increase customer awareness. I think most people use and expect the Pay-Per-Click engines strictly for selling, which is fine but when they spend more for advertising than they get in a return they get discouraged and quit. What has not been recognized is the fact that they ARE creating that customer awareness. For example, if you generate 25 leads per day to your site (and the content and quality is in tact) then you can bet that those visitors are going to tell at least one other person. Hence ... more customer awareness. Simple as that. Eventually your sales will far out-weigh your advertising dollars. It just takes commitment and patience.

Okay, I'm done rambling on. Good luck.

[mediahound]

The new topic for this thread is now going to be "Advertising your site in the real world." Apparently the wrong link was placed in the newsletter to tens of thousands of people, so everyone coming to this thread is looking to share ideas about how they promote their site in the real world.

The most interesting thing I would do to promote my sites was back when I started online. My first sites were all Real Estate related. I'm a licensed realtor, and what I would do to generate leads was this: I developed (hundreds of) "house values" websites, to get homeowners in my area to find out the value of their home. I got many listings, and sold many houses due to my efforts. I would walk neighborhoods, and place a rubber band on the doorknob of the homes. The flyer read " What's your home worth? Find out at (example) http://www.FloridaHouseValues.com "

This worked very well, and I soon found myself making more and more sites, geared towards each and every community in my area. I would pay the kids in the neighborhood to flyer for me, as my time was better spent in the office. Now, I develop my portfolio of sites and have assistants handle the leads. I branched off and started doing sites related to almost every issue you can think of. (Or at least, those that I could think of!"

Now, I have house values sites across the entire country, as well as Canada and some Carribbean islands!

I'm excited to hear what others have done. Please continue this thread, and I hope the moderators understand. Lets keep the momentum going...

[laurierend]

Hi friends!

MediaHound, I like your idea of putting just a short message on the flyer. I printed a short message on a beautiful picture postcard and sent it to about 200 professors and grad students.

Here's what I wrote: "Please contact me when you need a professional editor with experience in APA and MLA styles. All the best...." Then I had my name, e-mail address and Web address.

I've received no replies. Should I send more postcards or give up on this campaign? Would you put more details in the text?

Thanks,
Laurie Rendon

[voodooboy]

Originally Posted by laurierend

Here's what I wrote: "Please contact me when you need a professional editor with experience in APA and MLA styles. All the best...." Then I had my name, e-mail address and Web address.

I've received no replies. Should I send more postcards or give up on this campaign? Would you put more details in the text?

Here are the basic principles in print marketing:

The purpose of any print ad or marketing piece is to get the reader to act. Call a number, mail a reply card, or buy a product. A successful ad will cause the reader to:

1) Notice the ad
2) Read the headline
3) Read the copy
4) Act

You first need to create something that will catch your target markets attention. As an editor what about an image of a report or newspaper article with red copy editing marks all over it?

Next you need to create a headline that directly relates to the needs and interests of your target audience. Either make a bold statement that is direct and to the point or ask a question that will peek their interest. I.e. Why do fortune 500 companies use Copy Editors like Laurie Rendon? You are not saying that fortune 500 companies use you; they use copy editors like you. But this does 3 things in the golden rules of ad copy and headlines:

1) It peeks their attention by asking a question
2) It tells them exactly what you are selling
3) It puts your name in their head

You accomplished 3 major tasks all within the first sentence.

Your copy should only be long enough to hit no more than 4 major points as to why they cannot live without your services. This can be in a paragraph or list format. (list means bullet points)

And last don't say "when you need..." You caught their attention, you told them why they need you, now TELL them they need you now. "Call Laurie now at 000-000-0000 to setup a no obligation consultation! Or visit us online at www.-------.com"

Follow these guidelines, and you should see some ROI (return on investment)

Best of luck.

Originally Posted by avguy

Also does advertising your website out in the real world create traffic to your website ? is it better to advertise within the internet.

avguy,
This is a hard question to answer without knowing what it is you are selling. Who is your target audience? Are they businesses or consumers? Do you sell your product/service to a local market or are you national/international? Where does your market do their purchasing research? (i.e. newspaper ads, free periodicals, online research?) All these will have factor to your success with online and offline advertising. If you can provide details I can give you some advice.

[avguy]

Thanks ghstdrgn for the info .I dont have a website yet so I cant give specifics.

[voodooboy]

avguy,
Marketing is very expensive risk. Without the proper research, you could be throwing money out the window. (and I would prefer you give it to guys like me, than just throw it away)

You have to know what you are selling and who your target market is. That could be extremely broad (the entire west coast of the US) or extremely narrow (25-35 year old males in Southern California with an average income of $500,000).

That information will tell you where to place your money for the best chance of return. A good example is "cyanides" post on vehicle advertising. His company is looking at advertising on the sides of Hummers which will run through a large city in his area. His target market is executives in large corporations within his city market. Now executives are always looking at the nice cars and who is driving what. They make the decisions on purchasing cyanides services and the Hummer certainly attracts attention in and of itself.

Now this strategy would not go well if you were marketing to the rural house wife with an average income of $45,000 who just wished they could get a newer minivan

I know this is a very broad example, but I think it can give you an idea of why you need to thoroughly research where and to whom you want to market and the best vehicle (sorry for the pun) to use in reaching that market.
[/i]

[pnewell9]

Originally Posted by avguy

I have seen some websites for sale on ebay gauranteeing profit. Has anyone in this forum ever purchased any and made profit? Any suggestions on what I should ask the seller.
Also does advertising your website out in the real world create traffic to your website ? is it better to advertise within the internet.

Get the free "ALEXA" TOOLBAR (www.alexa.com)...for use with Explorer. It's a research tool and will immediately show you any sites internet ranking, etc.
Peter

[voodooboy]

Originally Posted by pnewell9

Get the free "ALEXA" TOOLBAR (www.alexa.com)...for use with Explorer. It's a research tool and will immediately show you any sites internet ranking, etc.
Peter

Peter,

You should type the word Alexa into the search box on this site. You will find a lot of good information that challenges the validity of this toolbars information. It seems to be an extremely unreliable tool.