What Works Best? Should I Sell One Category of Stuff On My Website Like Jewelery or Pet Products For Example Or Should I Have Hundreds of Categories?
(AKA "How To Compete With The "Big Boys")
Let me answer this question for you by asking you a question...
When people come online and type in a search term, do they type in hundreds of different things at once or just one thing?
Well, it's usually for a single thing. People typically are online searching for something specific.
Now, people don't want to buy from a "jack-of-all-trades" and a master of none. They want to buy from an expert in their field.
Let me prove it to with the following example:
Let's say you're online looking for fishing gear. And you come accross two sites:
One site has thousands of products and a generic name that has nothing to do with fishing.
They don't seem to know much about fishing, they just threw up a couple of fishing products with short descriptions in hopes to make a sale. They also sell jewelry, handbags and everything else under the sun.
The second site you come accross is devoted strictly to fishing gear. Their domain name contains the words fishing or fishing gear in it, they have a few articles about fishing and they have positioned themselves in your mind as experts in fishing gear just by doing these simple things.
So let me as you this question?
Which site are you going to buy from? The generic site that sells everything under the sun and they just threw in a couple fishing rods and stuff and you know they probably don't know anything about fishing, or...
the site that is devoted to fishing gear - fishing gear is all they do and they are experts at it. Plus maybe they've given you some free advice on their site about fishing and related topics and helped educate you further. They really care about the topic.
My guess is that you are much more likely to buy from the site that is totally devoted to fishing even if you have never heard of them before...
Because they have positioned themselves in your mind as "experts" in fishing and fishing stuff is all they do.
Because they have positioned themselves in your mind as "experts" in fishing and fishing stuff is all they do.
- So just that tip right there gives you a distinct advantage over the competition trying to compete with the "Big Boys."
And I know what you're thinking. But the "BIG BOYS" sell everything and they do just fine.
Yes, but they are in a class of their own, well-financed, and well-branded.
I'm giving you a strategy to stand out and give you a leg up on your competition right from the beginning even though nobody knows who you are.
And trying to compete with Wal-Mart and Amazon.com is not a good idea anyway. Sure, they've made that model work but they also have years of experience and have lots of money and have gone through great growing pains -and they have lots of employees.
In my experience, the way you compete in this type of environment is to specialize in one type of cateogory. Now, if you lots of interests and want to be in a lot of different categories, then start with your favorite and devote one website to that category only and then create another website and devote it to your next category of interest.
And that way you build up an online "portfolio" of websites and are well diversified. It's a great model for newbies and experienced sellers alike.
"Remember, you don't have to beat everybody, you just have to jump in and get your share."
(read that sentence three times because it's probably the best advice you'll ever get about selling online (or offline).
I look forward to sharing a lot more valuable marketing and wholesale insites inside
Warmest Regards,
Jeff Yancey
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