The Ultimate Guide to Selling a Website on eBay

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28. Ensure the Website is Idiot-Proof

If you do not want to be bombarded by emails and phonecalls from a confused and frustrated customer, likely to be new to the website game, then you need to ensure your website is, for want of a better phrase, idiot proof.

The website needs to be accessible for the customer and it needs to be blindingly obvious how to maintain and update it. I would recommend spending some time with your customer over the phone or Skype and lead them through these aspects. If you do not provide them with support or sell them a website where technical knowledge is required, e.g. html and php coding or MySQL databases they will become annoyed and upset.

Not only be on at you constantly requiring help on the same things over and over again, but their frustration may boil over and lead them to leave you a negative feedback, perhaps not realising they cannot be removed at a later time. There are several ways to “idiot proof” your website:

• Make use of a user-friendly content management system
• Keep the requirement for coding knowledge to a bare minimum
• Avoid the need for further software purchases and knowledge, e.g. image editing, video editing.

29. Build your Websites in Wordpress

Let’s not beat around the bush here, Wordpress is, in my opinion, the best platform to build complex websites quickly and they can be maintained with ease by a novice web user. Whether you want to create a blog, magazine-style website or even an ecommerce site, Wordpress can over deliver.

As well as enabling users to add new posts and articles to the website, there are numerous plugins which can allow new users to add videos, photographs, eBay auction listings, visitor stats and all manner of other functions to build and maintain a content-rich and interactive website with no prior knowledge of web development.

30. Provide Some Sample Content

It’s all well and good providing your customers with a platform where they can add their own content, but not much help if they don’t really know what “content” is. Yes, it’s best not to assume anything when dealing with newbie customers on eBay.

When listing a website for sale I always put some sample articles or reviews on there to give the customer a flavour of the type of content they can put on there themselves. You can either write original content but for time saving purposes I sometimes use articles from a source such as EzineArticles.com.

I know this will not please the purists, due to potential duplicate content issues, but four or five articles to flesh out a website and inspire a potential customer will not do any harm to its long term future and will increase your chances of making a sale.

31. Explain What Content They Can Update the Website With

Your customer has seen the sample articles you have put on there but they may still need coaxing on what exactly they can update the website with. I include a few bullet points on how they can maximise the use of the content management system. For example, for a travel website I listed for sale, I suggested customers could add:

• Destination and accommodation reviews, including videos and photographs to create attractive and interesting content.
• Travel hints and tips, such as ways people could still enjoy the holiday of their dreams even on a recession induced budget.
• Feature articles such as “Top 10…”, “The Best…”, “The Worst…” etc.

32. Limit the Requirement to Create New Graphics

Wordpress can make maintaining and updating a website a painless experience apart from when it comes to creating graphics. The vast majority of eBay customers I have dealt with do not have a clue about creating graphics to accompany a new post and the thought of doing so terrifies them. Therefore it is better to eliminate this aspect of maintaining a website completely if at all possible.

If you plan on using one of the many “magazine style” Wordpress themes as a basis for a website to sell, be aware they need the user to create thumbnail images to compliment each new article which is featured on the homepage.

If the customer is slightly tech-savvy you can suggest he or she learns how to use a free graphic software package such as Gimp, to perform basic editing and image resizing, or you can create and upload a selection of graphics to the server for the customer to pick and choose from when adding new articles to the website.

33. Describe How They Will Make Money

This is the section of your eBay listing where you can really get a potential customer’s mouth watering. Don’t just tell them they will make money, tell them how!

Explain to them the different affiliate programmes and other sources of income. Describe how they integrate into the content of the website and how they will make money. Tell your customer the actual bounty figures or commission percentages of each programme and give examples of their potential earnings if they make so many sales per day.

They could make money from the following sources:

• Retailer affiliate programmes
• Amazon affiliate programme
• eBay Partner network
• Google Adsense

34. Show Some Actual Earnings

Better still, if you are selling an established website, provide a screenshot of some actual earnings. Alternatively, if you run a similar website yourself to the one you are selling, include some earnings proof from that website. I have done this myself but always identified the earnings came from a “similar” website to the one listed for sale.

Whether it’s a list of Paypal sales, Clickbank earnings across a two week period or Google Adsense figures for one stellar day, nothing can improve your chances of making a sale if your customer can see some concrete evidence of making money with the website!

35. Use Popular Affiliate Programmes

Even if a customer is new to online business they will be able to instantly indentify with affiliate programmes from large online retailers such as Amazon and eBay, so it’s a good idea to stick with them.

They will be impressed at having their own “Amazon store” which carries the same inventory as the main Amazon website and will relish being able to earn money as an affiliate. Similarly, they will also be keen on promoting the thousands of eBay listings which can also earn them money as an affiliate.

On the plus side, the majority of large high street retailers such as Argos, HMV and Thomas Cook run affiliate programmes you can integrate into your websites, giving your customers immediate peace of mind because they are recognisable brand names they know and trust.

Most retailers use a third-party affiliate network to handle their affiliate programmes. This is great for new marketers because they can promote several retailers and receive one combined commission payment every month. Some of the more popular networks are as follows:

• Commission Junction
• Trade Doubler
• Affiliate Window
• Affiliate Future

36. Use Adsense

Similar to the recognisable branding of Amazon, eBay and high street retailers, I have noticed the majority of customers on eBay love the idea of Google Adsense and I ensure I include it on all of my websites. The idea of them making some money from people clicking on an advert on their website fills them with excitement, even if the reality is they will be lucky to make more than a few cents per day compared with the earning power of the other affiliate programmes.

37. Ensure No Stock is Required

An obvious one perhaps, but you must ensure every method of making money on websites you sell on eBay do not require your customers to hold any stock. Some may live in rabbit hutches executive living apartments and not have the room to store anything.

Plus, some new customers are unfamiliar with affiliate marketing and I have lost count of the times I have been emailed asking how do they get their stock etc to sell. They are delighted when I tell them no stock is required and they basically act as a middleman directing customers to retailers who process the sale on their behalf!

38. Show Evidence of Traffic

As well as providing evidence of earnings, you should also include traffic screenshots in your eBay listings to increase your chances of making a sale.

If the website you are selling is brand new, this need not be a problem because, similar to the earnings scenario, you can show traffic from a similar website to the one you are selling, as long as this is explained. This will give an indication to your customer of the levels of traffic they can expect with their website when it’s up and running properly.

39. Show Social Media Success

This one isn’t absolutely necessary but I have combined it with traffic evidence to produce good results.

What I have done recently is display a traffic screenshot of AffiliateDragon.com when I have enjoyed a spike in traffic from a social media website such as StumbleUpon or Sphinn and then accompanied the traffic image a screenshot of the successful story on the social media site.

I explain to my customers they can enjoy thousands of free visitors by utilising social media websites and I will teach them how to do this as part of their training.

40. Tell Customers You Will Reveal “Secrets”

If you advertise you will reveal to your customers industry secrets they will be more inclined to listen to what you have to say. Newcomers to internet marketing always want to know what the “insiders” know because it allows them to fast track their way to success. Why do you think the latest “make money fast” ebook sells thousands of copies?

Day Job Killer, Dominating Clickbank and The Rich Jerk made their authors thousands of pounds because they contained the “secret” methods used to make a substantial income online.

On my own listings I tempt my customers with secrets of attracting thousands of customers to their website for free every day, rather than relying on expensive pay per click advertising methods.

41. Explain Why You are Better than Your Competitors

To be honest, this shouldn’t be too difficult because there are a lot of sellers peddling absolute garbage on eBay in the hope of making a fast buck at the expense of naive customers. Merely by revealing your face and making yourself available to talk with your customers on the phone makes you infinitely better than most of the charlatans on the website.

As well as offering freephone training and after sales support, I also use the fact I do not rely on pay per click advertising to drive traffic to websites unlike the majority of sellers.

You can illustrate this point further if you are selling a similar website to someone else. Hone in on their weaknesses and make it blidingly obvious on your own listing. For example, if someone else was selling a travel website, on my listing for a similar website I would display some of the exhorbitant Google Adwords costs for related phrases, such as travel, holidays etc.

Would a customer rather know how to get thousands of visitors for free to a website in a competitive niche or pay upwards of £1 per click to get a single customer to the same website?

Another weapon to use is if you receive any messages from customers via the Ask Seller a Question facility which explains how they have been ripped off by other users, include them in your listing!

42. Do Not Baffle Your Customers with Jargon

This is something I have been guilty of myself in the past until I hired someone to take an objective view at my eBay listings. Whereas I believed I was being knowledgable, I was being confusing and I assumed my audience would at least have a basic knowledge of internet business. The majority don’t.

Now, I keep such phrases to a bare minimum and if I include a technical term, I make sure I explain what it is in laymans terms. Some terms which need at least an explanation of what they mean include:

• affiliate marketing
• content management system
• Google Adsense
• pay per click advertising
• traffic generation
• social media
• social networking
• viral marketing

43. Tell Them About Future Riches

This is something hardly any website sellers on eBay mention. Many customers think they will buy a website, make some money each month and not really consider the “long term” future of their website. I try to explain to my customers if they continue updating and marketing their website they could be sitting on something very valuable 24-36 months down the line. The possibility of selling a website bought for £1k for perhaps £50,000 is something they are unlikely to have considered before.

I tell my customers this is a realistic expectation if they add new content to the website consistently and also build their backlinks. Over time their website will have a chance of becoming an authority in its niche unlike a website which relies on pay per click advertising which is nothing if you cut the ad spend.

44. Confirm this is Not a “Get Rich Quick” Scheme

Unfortunately, eBay can be a hotbed for scammers and ludicrous “get rich quick” schemes. You may be a legitimate website business seller, but you are competing against numerous charlatans and conmen who couldn’t care less what rubbish they sell, as long as they get some money for it.

Tell your customers on your listing the website business you are presenting is not a scam and invite them to contact you so you can go through anything they are not sure of. Most website sellers want as little contact with their customers as possible so by inviting communication you stand out from the crowd.

45. Allow Them to Access Visitor Stats

My customers seem to have an obsession with visitor statistics so ensure you install a traffic statistic package onto the website so they can see how many visitors they are getting and where they are coming from. This shouldn’t cost you any extra, as most hosting packages have stats available, but it will make all the difference to your sale.

46. Include a Call to Action

One of main eBay listing killers is customer procrastination. You may have a fantastic website, offer unparalleled after-sales support and have an eBay listing so tight it would make Gary Halbert look amateurish. But, even so, you cannot “make” a customer hit that “Buy it Now” button or even pick up the phone to contact you for further information.

I had one particular eBay customer contact me almost every time I list a new website for sale. He asks me the same questions each time, such as “how soon before I make money?” and “how much can I expect to make each month?” Each time I answered him as honestly as I could but in the end had to put a stop to these questions.

I explained to him how I had answered his almost-identical questions honestly each time but if he would have to take action and purchase a website if he wanted to actually start making money online, rather than just dwelling upon the idea of making money online. I have not heard from him since.

I now include a section at the bottom of each listing entitled “Are You Ready to Take Action Now? which argues the customer has to take a chance, take action and buy the website if they are to take control over their own lives and start making an income online.

47. Sign Off Using Your Full Name

At the end of my listings I sign off using my first name and surname. This just finally reinforces I am a genuine seller who has no problems whatsoever revealing my identity to my customers and proves I have nothing to hide.

You could scan an image of your own handwriting or do what I do and use a handwritten style font.

48. Include an FAQ List

A list of Frequently Asked Questions will seriously cut down the number of repetitive questions you receive and you should only receive enquiries from serious buyers. I suggest you include further information on the following:

• Hosting. Whether it is included and for how long.
• Payment. What do you accept as well as the eBay-imposed Paypal?
• Domain Name. How will it be transferred to the new owner?

49. Spend Money on a Featured Listing

There is no way of avoiding expensive listing fees if you want to succeed on eBay - you will have to fork out for a Featured Listing if you want any chance of selling your website.

Regular listings are fine for sellers who are happy to get about 30 views of their listing in 10 days and sell a website for about £20, but if you want to make serious money, that means adding as many bells and whistles as eBay can offer you.

From September 24, it will cost £44.95 for a “Featured First” listing at the top of a category for seven days, or £134.95 for 30 days. This is a lot more expensive than the usual £19.95 it cost for a featured listing but eBay have now changed from displaying items in order of “ending soonest” to the much maligned “best match”, so if you want your listings to be seen, you have to pay through the nose.

50. Include Keywords in the Title

With eBay determined to proceed with their “Best Match” search facility, it is more important than ever to include as many keywords in your listing title to give it the best chance possible of being seen by potential customers.

Use eBay Pulse to see what the most popular website related search terms are and try and include them in your title.

Keywords such as “established”, “business”, “adsense” and “youtube” are never out of the top 10 in the internet business category.

51. Write the Title in Capital Letters

I have always written my eBay listing titles in capital letters because larger text enables it to stand out slightly more than listings which use lower case lettering in their titles. This will give you a small edge over your competitors and eBay are not charging any more for you to do this. Yet.

52. Add a Subtitle

A subtitle is an inexpensive way to draw more attention to your eBay listing and you should use one to give yourself an edge over competitors who plod along without one.

Fit your main keywords in your title and then add some more information about the benefit of doing business with you in the subtitle. I often say freephone support is included in this section.

53. Use Bold, Highlight & Gallery Image

Anything which can draw attention to your listing must be used. I always ensure I add the bold and highlight features to my listings in the UK and also include the outline feature to any listings I place on the USA website.

54. Have an “About Me” Page

I am not convinced the About Me pages on eBay generate a lot of visitors, but it cannot hurt you to set one up. If eBay are giving you the opportunity to add some extra content for free, then you should take advantage of it.

My page includes a bit more information about me, my listings and web businesses in general, as well as the usual feedback and list of items I have up for sale. It’s not too different to what I already have on my listings and did not take very long to set up.

55. Have an eBay Store

eBay have raised the prices on their store facilities and it now costs £14.99 per month even for their basic store. The good thing about store items is they cost less to list and you also get full visibility in the search results.

If you want to sell some cheaper, “turnkey” type websites, perhaps to boost your feedback rating, then your eBay store is the place to do it.

I also brand my eBay store on all the videos I use in my listings. By featuring my eBay store url, I will not fall foul of any eBay rules about advertising third-party websites which may encourage business to be conducted away from eBay.

56. Protect Yourself - Get Positive Feedback ASAP

The final point to consider, after selling your website, is to get a positive feedback rating from your customer as soon as possible. I always ask if they would be kind enough to leave one for me after concluding their phone training and never once have I been refused.

My reasoning behind obtaining the feedback as soon as possible is because people in general are lazy. You can provide your customer with world class training and give them the building blocks for a successful online business, but if they are not prepared to put the work in, they will not succeed.

What you don’t want to happen is for a customer to leave  anegative feedback for you because they are “not making any money”. Getting the feedback implemented when they are feeling positive about their new business will prevent any repercussions on you should laziness kick in a couple of months down the line.

Plus, with eBay’s “Best Match” search results depending partly on your overall feedback percentage, obtaining as many positive ratings as possible has never been more important.

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