Creating Your Perfect Ad

THE TITLE GETS YOU NOTICED

Ok, you’ve been to the auction web site, and you’ve taken a look around. It’s a lot like looking through the classified section of a newspaper, except for the fact that you have to click on the title to see the rest of the ad. It can be a very confusing task to find exactly what you are looking for. It is a virtual maze as you try to weed out just the items that you are looking for. There’s so many items that the information overload makes you want to scream! It’s your job as a seller to help your prospective bidder cut through the red tape and get your ad viewed by as many people as you can! There are a few ways to do this, so let’s get to it!

Like I just said in the last paragraph, in order for someone to see your ad, they have to go through the trouble to take their mouse, put it over your title and click on it! If they do not do this one thing, I do not care how good your item is, and I do not care how good your ad is, the simply reality is you are not going to sell a darn thing to them! Therefore, one of the most important things that you will do is create a title for your ad.

USE RELEVANT WORDS IN YOUR TITLE

The thing that I feel is the MOST IMPORTANT when coming up with your title is to include relevant words. Ok, this sounds really stupid, but you would be surprised at the amount of titles that tell you ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. You must be extremely specific in your titles about exactly what you are selling. If you have an autographed Frank Sinatra photo, don’t use the title "Frank Sinatra." I don’t care if it is in the autograph section of the web site, this is not descriptive enough, and a lot of people may miss your ad. Use something more like "RARE Frank Sinatra AUTOGRAPHED LP" and you will be amazed at the difference in the amount of bids you will get.

Remember that a lot of people will use the search feature to find the items that they are looking for, and make sure you include the words that they are most likely to search for in your title! I’m a big NASCAR racing fan and absolutely love to purchase die-cast model cars over the Internet. If I am searching for the different paint schemes used by a particular driver, they had better have the driver's name in the title, or I am going to miss it! So remember, think about what your buyer is searching for, and give it to them in the title!

USE WORDS THAT WILL GRAB THE BUYERS ATTENTION

The other thing you want to do in the title is use words that will GRAB the attention of the buyer. After all, they have literally thousands and thousands of titles to look at, and you want them to take a closer look at yours. How do you get their attention?

First, you can pay the small extra fee, which is $2.00 at the time this is being written, to get your title listed in a bold face font. This is an easy way to set your ad apart from the rest of the ads that are out there. And while the bold face is a quick and easy way to get more attention, I don’t believe that it is always the best way. The best thing, along with being descriptive, is using POWER WORDS.

What are power words? They’re things that you can use to add a sense of urgency to your items. Words such as RARE, LIMITED EDITION, UNIQUE, ONE-OF-A-KIND, BEAUTIFUL, will help you get attention. Other words like GREAT, UNBELIEVABLE, STUNNING, AWESOME will also help get your buyer to notice what you are selling.

Look at these two titles:

Bruce Springsteen Autograph

"RARE SPRINGSTEEN AUTOGRAPHED GUITAR-AWESOME!"

Ok which one grabs your attention? I’d say that 98% of you said that the second title did, the other 2% of you need to take another look! There are a few things going on in the second title, the most noticeable is that the whole thing is using capital letters. Now, this is a great way to make your items stand out, but sometimes it can be overdone. Occasionally it can take away from the emphasis on what you want the buyer to see. Take a look at this title:

"RARE SPRINGSTEEN Autographed GUITAR Awesome!"

This can also be a very effective title. The buyer will see what is the most important in the title first, which is "Springsteen Guitar." Remember no matter how you use capitals and lower case letters, you want your title to stand out from the rest.

Many sellers like to use characters in their title, things like @, #, $, %, etc. to draw extra attention. Sometimes they look cheesy, and sometimes they work. That all depends on the product, and the type of buyer that you are trying to attract. Try a few different things and see what is most effective. Keep records on how well each individual ad title is received, and use the style that is most successful!

Remember, when it comes to the title: be descriptive, use exciting attention grabbing words, and set your ad apart from the rest!

WRITING DESCRIPTIONS THAT SELL

Once you’ve gotten someone to take a look at your ad; you want him or her to bid on the item you are offering! You need to make your product look as appealing as possible and you want to motivate the person to place a bid immediately. After all, if the person leaves without placing a bid, there’s a good chance that they will not be back.

BE SPECIFIC

There are a few things that are important in the ad itself. The first is the overall description of what you are selling. BE SPECIFIC. This is the most important thing in your description. Do not leave any room for error on what is for sale. Get as graphic and specific as you can to describe your item. If there is anything special about the item, list it. List any special features of the item. People do not feel comfortable bidding on something of which they are not 100% sure.

LIST ANY IMPERFECTIONS THAT THE ITEM HAS

If there are any flaws in the item, like a dent or scratch, you have to list that when you are selling the item to protect yourself. As long as you are 100% specific on what you are selling, you will save yourself a lot of time and hassle if someone decides to return the product to you because they were not aware of a defect.

Even if you are using a picture in your ad, and we do highly recommend using one. Write your description for an ad without a picture. That way the picture can be there to totally reinforce what you are selling, but will not rely on the photo.

Once you have written an accurate and honest description of the item, add your own creative touch. Again, use wording that will motivate the buyer to bid on your item. If the item is difficult to find, use words like rare, one of a kind, and unique. If it’s brand new in a box, let the buyer know that. Include things that may seem obvious to you, because the potential buyer may not be aware. This helps the buyer feel more comfortable in dealing with you.

BE CREATIVE

When writing your ad you want to paint pictures with your words. Use adjectives like great, awesome, beautiful, etc. to describe your item. Paint a visual picture that makes your item irresistible! Tell a story with the item if you can. Explain what the item is, and what it can do for the buyer. If you are selling a cute little teddy bear, play it up. Put something in the ad about the bear looking for a good new home, and some new friends to play with. Not only will the buyer get a kick out of the ad, they will be more likely to bid on the item if it is something that they are looking for. Going along with the theory that people do not want to bid on something that they are not 100% sure of, people are much more likely to bid on an item if they like the person that is selling the item. While it certainly is not easy to convey your personality through an eBay ™ ad, it does not hurt to try!