1. The food – you are always fed ‘n’ watered well as a sponsor and attendee at Channeladvisor events. This year we had more time for the feeding process (which so happened to be in the room with all the sponsors) so as people eat they like to talk, so potential clients will wander round with their coffee chatting to other attendees and to the sponsors.

2. Other third party providers – Catalyst is always good to catch up with our fellow third party providers and competitors (Grrrrr…arrrrg) to see how they are fairing in business and exchange experiences.

In the Channeladvisor world the third party provider space is not that huge, so we all get to know one another. When you have a network of trusted service providers you can recommend to your existing clients, we all bounce off one another. Even companies who on the face of it are direct competitors, are not normally carbon copies of each other. They can offer and lend services so that the client gets what they need.

3. Other third party providers, that don’t sponsor also attend the event – I negotiated a nice deal and introduction to a newer marketplace (playtrade) that would suit the direction one of my clients is taking. He will be happy with this

4. Potential clients – it’s why us sponsors go really, to get business. The good thing with potential and current ChannelAdvisor clients is that they are pre qualified. When you are speaking to a potential they are interested in moving forward and contracting a company to make this happen.

5. Networking – Talking e-commerce with a few free alcoholic beverages in you is fun. You meet new friends and clients in a more relaxed atmosphere.

6. Ideas – potential clients are brimming with ideas, information and enthusiasm after all the seminars and speakers. They are in the MOOD, and ready to make waves with the help of us sponsors perhaps?

7. CA Staff – I spoke to lots of CA staff, to catch up with personally and to speak about clients. Lots of new introductions too. I had a demo of their new ‘salesforce’ offering which a client of mine wants us to integrate in his store and eBay design. I also got a pair of fresh eyes on a clients SearchAdvisor account because it is driving sales and traffic to a store designed by us. We want the store to be excellent in all things and we take conversion very seriously

Well that is what as a sponsor and eBay/E-commerce design company, CA catalyst means to me.

1. De-bunking the ChannelAdvisor Premium store set up process – a guide for those with little concentration.
2. Breaking down eBay’s changes for real people.
3. How to be the client in a web project (I like this one, no one ever tells the client what they need to do – and you are so important to the development process)

Thanks!

In fact next year I will have more time to devote to my crafty projects and this blog so you will be hearing more from me next year than the one just past.

Hairfreax – new site and restricting handmade hairpiece catalogue. Adding handmade rockabilly Yukata and Kanzashi, as well as funky obi and Japanese/Anime inspired fashion.

Hairfreax eBay – just a few pre-made hairpeices

Keirotech will be partnering with Createyourtemplate and be absorbed into CYT UK – eBay Design, Web Design inc ASPDNSF design, Flash programming, brick to bytes – on-line business integration and business consultancy. New site/info to come.

See you in 2010!

Seemingly not – which is why a well groomed business facebook page is where it is at!

The fan page for Blakelands Country House has been a great marketing success as well as a way to communicate updates and get those all important reviews.

Many customers have commented that they found Blakelands through friends on facebook, then came to dinner or enquired about a wedding. The new website will be live soon: http://www.blakelands.eu with a more updated design and simpler content.

I brought my rage track because facebook told me too, so use it as part of your marketing campaign. You see the power….

So I am adding two new ‘sides’ to the blog as such.

Reviews:

Just so you know what I am harking on about, this is where you can email me your reviews of any web related shop, service, software and it will be posted on this blog un-edited for all to see. People read this blog and sometimes the people who are responsible for said services. So they can sit back and smile to themselves for a job well done or jump too if they haven’t.
The only catch is your eBay shop/website will have to be included in the review. This is so said companies can address any issues with you and to avoid anonymous rants.

Reviews are so important to readers as it helps with customer confidence and also to avoid pitfalls in their own e-commerce adventures.

Support:

Have a question or quandary? Not quite sure what decision to make? We have done this on and off since the inception of the blog, but if you are stuck or confuzzled about something e-commerce, drop me a line and support will be blogged.

Ask about anything e-commerce related. Humour/comedy is permitted.

*Please note this is not a invitation for free consultancy, you can try your luck but as I am in charge I will select the questions and reviews (probably group the reviews) that appear.

Please email me:

and lets start sorting out the e-commerce world and make it accessible to all.

Preamble

Liz Glossary:

Keyword = one or two words to define an item e.g mobile phone, cricket bat, golf, socks, Addidas etc
Keyword phrase = Puma cricket bat, kids Dunlop golf clubs etc

Category Set Up:

1. Define yourself 4 main keywords per category (search for the best ones here https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal) and this include sub categories too.

2. Build and use the keywords in your category names, you don’t have to use all 4 as it probably won’t make sense.

3. Place your four keywords in your category meta keywords information in stores>manage categories a place your should know well by now!

General Store Set Up

Pick 20 keyword phrases that encompass your whole store, you have used keywords (single words/phrases like cricket bat, cricket gloves) in your categories, so now its time to use key phrases. We pick small number of keywords as SEO?marketing is a fluid beast and you might need to change and flex your keywords if they are not working. Place these in your main store meta keywords and also for your additional pages.

Store Item Titles

Still think a bit eBay when it comes to keywords as your item titles make up part of the URL for each item in store. Also make sure you have implemented your own URL for the store, it is much nicer!

Use Third Party Google Tools

Set up Google base as a standard and also Google Analytics and tracking to see if your keyword choices are being used and if you are missing anything.

If you have these elements as basics then your store should be indexed and attract appropriate customers (remember your customers in your keyword choices, they are not experts in the products like you are…what do they call things? Listen to them in emails and on the phone to how they explain the product and the language they use)

So I have a corset to sell, my only advertising is Google Adwords, Google Base, My site and My blog. This is to chart how much money it would cost to sell this item and the speed of uptake. On eBay I am going with the ’3 listings’ rule. That is the item should sell after a maximum of 3 goes at 10 days each. eBay would cost: £3.90 insertion fees, £0.45 Gallery fee and a single FVF of £6.82.

Total £11.17 for a sell time of 30 days

Lets see if Google can beat that…if it has not sold in 30 days I wacking it on ebay!

A day after payment has been taken I received an email telling me the item was out of stock. OK, well it didn’t say that on the site

7 days past after getting lots of OOS emails I enquired when the item would be IN stock. I was told the 22nd of January by their support, and I noticed a little note was now with the item stating stock available in ’2-7 days’

I wait.

I email again on the 1st Feb and get told ‘Apologies about this, our supplier have had issues getting these into the UK.’

Alarm bells ring and I cancel my order finally on the 9th Feb by phone.

I wait a week and no refund, so I ring again and I was told by a puzzled ‘supportier’ that the refund has not been done and he will pass it to the account dept today.

I wait again, then email. The response was ‘I have now done this for you’ on the 19th Feb. So it wasn’t done the second time? Third time lucky…or not.

I am still awaiting my refund from a company who had trouble getting the stock into the UK. I am going to have to get quite shirty on the phone to support now.

I could always just pop up to Huddersfield and demand to watch them refund my money or give me the cash. Don’t test me guys, I will turn up on your doorstep.

So, my first on-line ‘avoid at all costs’ scam award goes to:

Acerdirect/BuyitDirect

also known as:
laptopsdirect.co.uk
serversdirect.co.uk
projectorsdirect.co.uk
iviewcamerasdirect.co.uk
appliancesdirect.co.uk

Edited to add (25th Feb):

Rang today and was told I had never rang up and the refund will be processed today. That is 4 times they have processed my refund (I think they are lying to me) so I shall ring up in a bit to check the refund has been processed. I was also denied any evidence of refund. I will wait my 5-7 days then initiate a chargeback, I don’t feel there is anything else I can do!

Moral of the story is, as an on-line business you need to:

• Sell stock you HAVE, communicate this to the buyer prior to purchasing if not.
• Refund if you don’t have the stock
• Refund in LESS than a month if an order is cancelled
• Don’t do a swapsie on the company names and branding. After that point I wish I had not ordered, I always tell clients that consistent branding builds consumer confidence and I am so right!

Edited to add:

I finally have my refund 02/03/2009 16 working days later. (refunds are supposed to be 5 working days)

So kicking it with adwords I am advertising Keirotech. Let me run your eBay business or website while you get down to the nitty gritty of running your business. I live and breathe this world, and have for the last 8 years, so if you need a hand then drop me an email.

I am familiar with eBay automation services, and can set your account running and on its way. Ideally looking for short term projects, but will consider more long standing arrangements.

I also do learning and development (HR) related projects, but that’s not something you see as on-line freelance very often! I don’t think I will try to be a freelance on-line organic chemist….

Reason I am pimping myself out a little, it that I am getting married this year, moving house and continuing my professional development with the Open University. It all takes money, and as I don’t pimp out my blog and endorse things I don’t believe in for cash….

Honest work will have to do the trick.

I hope to get back to blogging on the industry soon, but with my mind full of code it is squeezing out everything else.

One thing I will be blogging on soon is Skills for Life, Literacy and Numeracy in e-business and why it is important to develop the workforce to fill the skills gap. I am currently managing a project around skills for life initial assessment, in which an in house initial assessment has been devised with consultancy in the target business/sector. This also includes the design of supporting technologies with the aid of a recent graduate (I don’t do desktop development yet) to facilitate the skills for life strategy.

Technology to facilitate excellent people processes. Wonderful.

I started the Hairfreax USA, store on a .net domain a year ago, to again experiment with inclusion on different country specific search engines, and targeting the currency to the audience.

It was initially received well, but as Hairfreax.co.uk was updated, and able to take credit card payments etc, customers from the states have preferred the .co.uk.

So now Hairfreax.net is getting it in the neck again. With a total overhaul on look, content and usability to further satisfy my curiosity in user behaviour and Google Search Pixies (GSP for short, you didn’t think it was REALLY done by an algorithm did you?)

With this site I hope to delve into the world of accessibility also, as these are both themes running through my university course and I need to do a whole project on this shizzle!