Febuary 2007

Greetings / Editor's Note

Last month, hundreds of Doba subscribers just like you benefited from our premium education. From a four-part Webinar on starting and managing an eBay business, to a fun and engaging Webinar on leveraging the marketing push surrounding Super Bowl XLI, people just like you chose to further their own knowledge and understanding of the online marketplace by participating in our live and archived Web-based events.

This month, we're back at it, offering you even more educational opportunities, strategies, and tips to drive the success of your online retail business. In this month's eNewsletter, we introduce our upcoming Webinars, reveal SEO (Search Engine Optimization) strategies to drive traffic to your website, introduce our newly revamped Doba Basic Training Tutorial (now called Doba.com Orientation), give you a heads up on the upcoming Doba User Manual, reveal a little known secret about Doba's Fraud Protection Program, and use our Q&A feature to show you where to find more and better product photos and descriptions.

Although the thought of February may give you the chills, February's eNewsletter, along with the much awaited Valentine's Day marketing opportunities, promise to heat up your sales!

—Doba's Community & Education Staff


Table of Contents


Driving Traffic to Your Website with Simple SEO

SEO (search engine optimization) is a science to some, an art to others, and a necessity for any online retailer. Good SEO gives your Web pages a high profile, so when someone Googles a topic or uses any of other several popular search engines, a link to your page pops up in the search results.

You can know a lot about SEO. Many people earn a living with their in-depth knowledge by becoming SEO consultants, but you don't have to know everything to make it work for you. In this article, we reveal a few simple strategies and tips that make your Web pages easier for search engines to spot.

Doba customers can the full article in our Education center.

Featured Partner

Get the Biggest Refund you deserve

TurboTax

TurboTax is the #1 rated and #1 best selling tax product year after year. In fact, last year more Federal returns were e-filed with TurboTax than all other consumer tax software combined. TurboTax guarantees that you'll get the maximum refund you're entitled to or they'll give you your money back so get your copy today!


Upcoming Web Seminars: eBay 201

This February, Doba is pleased to present another series of eBay-related Webinars featuring eBay University Lead Instructor Steve Lindhorst. Our new eBay 201 series picks up where January's eBay 101 series left off, and is aimed at propelling the part-time eBay enthusiast into the realm of bona fide eBay-related business owner.

eBay 201: From Part-Time Hobbyist to Bona Fide Business Owner helps you smooth the transition from part timer to professional. It covers how to plan ahead, avoid the pitfalls, and master the tools of the trade, while providing you the opportunity to pick the brain of a seasoned eBay professional.

For more information about upcoming events, visit the Live Events Calendar.


Tip of the Month: New Tutorial Added to the Site

To accommodate the many changes that Doba has implemented over the past year, we have completely revamped our site navigation tutorial. Take a look at the new Doba.com Orientation tutorial in the Multimedia Tutorials section of our Education center.

Featured Partner

Quicken

Quicken

Need software to manage your business and personal finances? Quicken is easy to use, yet powerful enough to manage your small business with. Doba members receive up to 20% off retail and free shipping!


Coming Soon: The Doba User Manual

Have you ever wondered what good the Data Export Tool is to you, why you would want to add items to your Watch List, or how to best manage customer returns? With the upcoming publication of the Doba User Manual you won't have to wonder any more.

The Doba User Manual is, in very simple terms, a complete blueprint of what Doba is and how to use it to your best advantage. We cover everything from the basics, such as how to update your account information, to the advanced, such as how to do a customized data export (and what to do with that export once you've downloaded it).

Look for the Doba User Manual this March.


Did You Know? Doba's Fraud Protection Program

Did you know that Doba is the only drop ship service provider to offer fraud protection for its members?

When we hear about Internet fraud, we usually think about a con man ripping off a consumer trying to buy something. The con man takes the consumer's money and disappears into the night. But each year, more and more fraudsters target small Internet retailers. This is why Doba started the Fraud Protection Program.

In the event that you ever have a fraudulent order, Doba will cover the cost of the order up to $500. The Doba Fraud Protection Program protects you against unauthorized payments as well as claims of non-receipt of merchandise.

This is a service that you receive—at no additional cost—automatically! Every order you place is covered. Simply follow a few best practices and put your mind at ease with the knowledge that if you ever get defrauded, we've got you covered.

Learn more about our fraud protection program, or read our latest articles on protecting your business from fraud.

Featured Partner

Entrepreneur Magazine

Entrepreneur Magazine

Entrepreneur magazine is the leading small business publication that carries news stories about entrepreneurialism, small business management, and business opportunities with a circulation of 570,000. This magazine is published monthly and includes Sections like: Tech, Money, Sell, and Lead.


Ask the Expert: Member Q&A

If you have a question related to eBay, drop shipping, or running an online business, email your question to education@doba.com. If your question is highlighted in an upcoming issue of the eNewsletter, you will receive two free months worth of all your Doba-related services!

This Month's Question: My biggest concern is how generic many of the supplier's pictures are, and how most product descriptions are lacking in detail. How can a member find better pictures and descriptions for supplier's products?

Answer: Although we often encourage Doba customers to add to or edit the descriptions provided by the supplier, we have yet to discuss how that can be done. So, thank you for this question which forces us to tackle the issue head on!

Here's an article that has a great example of an eBay auction where the seller added several images and used a description completely different than the one provided by Doba (it's the second image in the article).

In this example, the seller went straight to the manufacturer's website (in this case, garmin.com) and used the description found there. He also grabbed several images from an online brochure. In other cases, we have seen some manufacturers provide a "retailer's kit", which provides several high resolution images and tons of copy that can be used in an item description.

You can also search other websites for images and descriptions. However, you want to be sure not to violate any copyright laws when doing so.

Another option is to purchase the item you're interested in selling and take your own photos of it.

Never forget, you are the owner of your business, and are completely free to run your business however you want! If you ever feel like adding to, taking away, or changing product images or descriptions that is fully your right.

Don't forget to submit your questions to education@doba.com for your chance to win two free months of service! (Please note: If you need help right away, contact our support team at support@doba.com. You may still submit your question to the eNewsletter separately for your chance to win, but questions submitted to education@doba.com will be answered only if selected for the Ask the Expert column.)