Plan marketing

Planning your promotions and marketing is probably the single best thing you can do for your business. To help you, here are some free printable planning sheets to help guide you on planning your promotions and marketing for the year ahead.

Address active content issues

Active content inhibits purchases on mobile devices and poses security risks.

From June 2017 eBay will not allow active content in listings. Active content includes Java script, Flash, form actions and plug-ins.

Every eBay business will need to update their listings to be compliant with eBay’s new rules. Frooition can help with this.

Look at where you can be more cost efficient

Reducing your costs automatically makes you more profitable. If you haven’t recently, look at core costs such as postage and packaging supplies and delivery. A less expensive option may be available than when you last looked. Some options may have been right for your business at the time that you chose them, but they may not be best for the business you are now, or plan to be at the end of the year.

Perhaps you have had a designer add banners and promotional graphics to your eBay store, but plan to run more regular promotions this year, and upgrading to a solution like Signature, which would allow you to quickly add these things yourself. Saving time and designers fees.

Look at where you could save time

The most common mistake entrepreneurs make when trying to take their businesses to the next level is thinking that they simply have to work harder, or work longer hours.
But the problem with that is, as Michael Gerber points out in his seminal book The E Myth, it’s not scalable. You have natural limitations on your time and energy.

If your business relies entirely on the amount of work you can put in then it will inevitably hit a wall that you will not be able to get past, regardless of how hard you work.

The beginning of the year is the perfect time to review your own role in your business, and see where you would be best directing your time to grow your business. Virtual assistants can take some more menial tasks off your hands so that you can focus on the things that only you can do. Make sure that as much of your eBay process is automated as possible. Look at time saving options like listing rescue to stop changes in eBay policy disrupting your usual schedule.

Proper preparation is always the first step to success. Set out plans now to make this coming year be your most successful yet.