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1. I just opened my store on August 8th! This was the first time I’d ever done a website, not to mention an online store. I was able to do it in about a day. Of course I had to call for support a few times, but every Yahoo person I spoke with was very helpful, as well as tolerant of the learning curve I was dealing with! Now I’m just waiting for the orders to come in. I’m just learning about getting customers to my site, but I am very happy and excited about my choice to go with Yahoo Small Business. My online store is http://www.violetmoonjewels.com and we specialize in vintage design photo jewelry and include the customer’s desired photo in the finished product. Any suggestions on how to get traffic to my site? Thanks.

   Comment by Emily Blondin — August 12, 2006 #

2. Hi Emily,

   Glad to hear you got up and running in a short period of time. Sounds like you have a unique product. While that can be good in terms of there not being much competition for keywords, you may not get tons of traffic from search engines unless shoppers are looking for what you are selling.

   Here’s a few ideas:

   - attend craft fairs if possible to get your products in the marketplace. Make sure you have brochures or flyers to hand out to potential buyers that include your website address. Include a coupon code (if you have Merchant Standard or above) to give shoppers a reason to keep your flyer and go to your site.

   - find out where your buyers lurk online and get involved. For example, is there a jewelry makers community site? If so, get involved in the online groups or mailing lists. You can become an active participant and usually include your web site address in your signature. This will get your address out there and with people likely to be buyers.

   - consider search marketing advertising but do your research first. If you know your margin on an average sale then you can figure how much you can spend to attract visitors to your site. Bid on very specific terms such as vintage photo braclelets rather than more competitive (and higher cost ones) such as vintage jewelry. Remember that it is better to attract ten shoppers that are highly interested in your product than 100 that just have a general interest in your product category (jewelry)–especally if you are paying for clicks.

   - ask family and friends to spread the word. You may consider giving them a sample product to wear with the understanding that they have to pitch your product and give out a business card to anyone that asks where they got such a unique gift idea.

   - do you have a friend or acquaintance that does candle parties (or other parties modeled after the Tupperware parties)? If so, find out if you can tag along. Your product may not compete with what they are selling and you can possibly make a pitch to any customers/party goers in exchange for helping set up.

   –finally, do your homework. There are a ton of free marketing newsletters, mailing lists, and online resources with fabulous and often free or low cost marketing ideas. Start reading, asking other merchants for advice, and figuring out where your customers are and how you can reach them.

   Paul

   Comment by Administrator — August 13, 2006 #

3. One of the great benefits of implementing a Yahoo Store and taking advantage of the Yahoo Merchant solutions that are available is that you will be able to easily design your store. Yahoo provides various wizards that will help you design a professional looking online store that is easy for your customers to use. If you have other programs to help you build your site, Yahoo also supports those types of tools as well.

   Engineers Beneficial Association

   Comment by galin — August 10, 2007 #

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