CybaSumo Blog - Entry #7

April 9, 2008

“Six easy ways to increase your SumoStores sales”

As we mentioned in an earlier blog post, you can expect more sales to your CybaSumo store because all stores are listed on SumoStores.com.

Visitors to SumoStores.com can search or browse through the site for titles, keywords, tags, or categories. Here are six easy ways you can increase the visibility of your SumoStore and make it more attractive to prospects and customers:

1. Add a photograph as your Store icon.

This will let SumoStore browsers get an idea of who you are and what you’re selling. For example, you might use the cover of one of your albums, or a photograph of your face. Remember that it’ll appear in a small size in most places, so be sure whatever you choose is visually striking.

P.S. You’ll also want to make sure any images you use for the purposes mentioned here were either created or owned by you, or that you have the permission to use. Royalty-free images also work.

2. Use a descriptive title for the item you’re selling.

Which looks more interesting - “Song” or “Beethoven’s 5^th Symphony, Disco Remix”? The more information you can provide up front, the more likely a customer is to click through to the description. Your CybaSumo store widget can handle about 40 characters (including spaces) in the description length.

3. Write a full description of the item.

Remember, people are going to buy your material online without being able to touch and feel it (though you can provide a preview - see #6, below). It’s vital for you to write a good description of your item. Think in terms of vivid adjectives and words that make your artwork come to life.

4. Include tags to describe your items.

Tags are like keywords that describe your item, but don’t appear in the title or description. For example, you may tag an MP3 song as ‘country’ or ‘funkadelic’ or ’ska.’ Think of keywords people are likely to search on. You can add or edit keywords on the Edit Product page.

5. Make sure to upload a photograph of the item.

Again, offering prospective customers something to get a sense of your work is very important. Even if it’s an eBook, you can upload an image of the cover page, or of something related to its topic.

6. Offer a sample.

CybaSumo gives you an easy way to offer a sample of your work before customers buy - without giving away the store. For songs and videos, CybaSumo can automatically generate a partial clip - you set the amount you want to share. For other product types, you can upload a file that contains a preview. It’s yet another way to make your work stand out.

With these tips you’ll be off to a great start in no time. Let us know what you encounter in the comments below!

The URL you’re on right now is CybaSumo.com. You may only have heard about us as CybaSumo. We’re more than that, though.

When we sat down to come up with a simple, profitable way to sell your digital goods online, we looked at what was out there on the Internet – what was working and what wasn’t.

There are hundreds of digital storefronts out there. For most of them, you’ve got to know they exist first – or a friend or an ad has to tell you about them.

That’s why we came up with CybaSumo: the portable store. You can use our tools to create your own store that fits in a Flash widget you can embed in your Facebook page, Web site, blog, and more.

That’s one half of the story.

The other half is SumoStores.com. If you go there, you’ll see a more traditional Web store divided into the categories we’re currently supporting: the Bookbarn, Digital Art, Music, Photography, Video, and Fashion.

Your customers have two ways to buy your products now. If they’re part of your social network, they’ll see your CybaSumo store widget on Facebook, blog, Web page, or other networking site. Or they can visit SumoStores.com to browse your storefront along with hundreds of others.

Afraid of competition? No need to be. The other sellers on SumoStores actually help you make money. Here’s how: Remember that when anyone buys something through a CybaSumo store, they have to check out using SumoStores.com (it’s just one click away). So if someone’s buying a photograph from another seller, they end up SumoStores anyways It’s an ideal opportunity for a buyer who’s already bought digital creative work to browse and buy your work.

Encourage your friends and social network to visit SumoStores.com as well as shop through your store widget. Increasing traffic to SumoStores means more prospects, more views for your store, and ultimately, more customers.

Happy selling!

Update!: Now it’s even easier to buy and sell original works - CybaSumo.com has now absorbed SumoStores.com and sports an even simpler navigational scheme. Your works are now more accessible to your fanbase than ever.