It takes a Vintage Village... Newsletter 1-24-10

      If it takes a village to raise a child,
 then it takes one to grow a business too!

 

 

                                                       

 

“Word of mouth, social networking, it takes a village”

 

These 3 phrases all mean the same thing, getting the word out about a business or a cause.

Here it’s discussed in an Internet context, which is after all, the way 99.9% of you on this list have found me.

 

Since there are every day, more and more people coming online to earn a living or at least extra money in the antiques & collectibles business, there is more opportunity. Many of you on this list already have at least one sucessful website or more. Many of you may be on your first one, or are about to publish.

 

You need to know that social networking in your niche is critical to success.  

 

Social networking sites like Twitter, MySpace and Facebook have become household names. Bookmark sites like digg, addthis, Stumbleupon and others are used by Internet publishers with a fierce loyalty, you could argue that some have built businesses largely dependent on them.

 

So of course, the next big thing would the specter of doubt that surrounds any vastly popular meme. Lately, I’ve noticed the the question, “does social networking really work?” popping up all over the place.

 

Are the people asking this serious? If you would be truthful at all when you claim that social networking doesn’t work, you would have to be referring to the people and companies that abuse it with spammy overkill.

 

Since the argument has be re-hashed into a puree, all I’m going to say is of course it works, when you use these tools for their original intended purposes which are: To bookmark and group like and relevant content to your interest. The natural outcome of this strategy would be to surround yourself in efficient circles with people who have common economic/social interests. You figure out a way to filter what you don’t need and you are running at much more efficiency.

 

Here are 4 tips to help you build your social network:

 

Use bookmark sites to rate and keep track of sites important to you. Every time you do, it helps the site get boosted in  rank, and of course becomes organized as a bookmark for you. If your website is linked to on this site, double bonus! Tooting someone else’s horn draws more lasting visitors more so than if you were to only push your own sites. It shows you’ve an interest in distributing the best info you can and that you cite your sources with confidence. A tactic spammers find difficult to duplicate with ease, so it would make sense that search engines seek it out.

 

Within your own articles and blogposts, use the same tactic linking out to rich content when possible. Links to Wikipedia dot .org sites and knowledged based sites, aren’t automatic rank raisers, but rather, provide value to your readers which means they are more likely to return if you keep your site fresh.

 

Keep your site fresh: If you can’t do this, have someone do it for you, it’s that important. Of course, freshness is relevant to the topic and modis operendi of the page. Some sites will not have the need to publish more than once a week or so.

 

Be interesting: We all only have a limited time to work on our projects. Substitute being clever and interesting for long articles. People are generally after information in bits and fragments when they’re on the Internet. Even if they thoroughly cover a subject, they are likely to do it pieces at a time. Consider breaking up a long post into 2 or 3 which means you have a couple more URLs rather than the one for the long article. More chances of getting found. Don’t forget to link to the other articles in the series.

 

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Episode 91 of the AuctionWally Show is up. Show notes with links can be found posted at this link as well. Was your website mentioned in episode 91? Listen to find out.
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                                       The Prices Realized Directory

 

 

At  www.AuctionWally.com/prices-realized you’ll find a 100% free prices realized directory, no registration required.

Prices-Realized Directory.
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                              Auction in Barre, Thursday January 28th, 2010

 

 

See more details on upcoming Thursday night auctions in Barre. 

 

 We are always looking to buy and consign good quality items for these sales. If you have something to sell, give me a call at 978-636-3101 or send an email to:

wkolenda@gmail.com

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                                           Looking for work?

  If you can answer “yes” to a few simple questions, you may be able to start making good money as an antiques appraiser. I have a one day seminar that will help qualified candidates start earning between $75 and $150 per hour as a Professional Personal Property Appraiser. Find out more here.

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                                               Ask an Auctioneer

If you have a question about antiques, collectibles or auctions,  email me at ask@auctionwally.com (a few good .jpg pics of any items is essential.)

 

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Do you or need the services of a Massachusetts Auctioneer?  Want to find out how auctions work, or need help with your auction business? If so, check out http://massauctioneer.info

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                                                 The weekly contest:

                                     

Thanks to Daniel C of Ontario, Canada who was the first person to correctly answer last week’s contest question.

This week’s contest question is: give 3 first names of any characters in the Underwood and Flinch podcast. Information about the Underwood and Flinch fiction podcast can be found at the beginning of ep91 of the AuctionWally Show.

The first person to email me at wkolenda@gmail.com with the correct answer is the winner, it’s that easy. Now of course, I’ll need a way to get that package to the winner, so send your snail mail address along with your contest answers. The prize is a neat collectibles surprise envelope which includes things found in a recent estate purchase I made. Things likely to be in said envelope are vintage postcards, ephemera and who knows what?

There are a LOT of live auctions out there.

The best way I know of to search them is to use Auctionzip.com the largest live auction locator.

 

I’ve been using AuctionZip.com for years now, and I’m proud to have them as a sponsor.

 

In short, if you want to find auctions anywhere in the US, AuctionZip is an easy way to search online by zip code, the site is free to search and has a million uses within the auction business, such as:

 

• Find auctioneers
• See the prices realized section to find out the current value of items.
• Search for items coming up for sale
• Track which auctions specialize in specific genres
• Learn how to consign to auction houses

 

If you have an ecommerce business, in the antiques and collectibles genre, your link may be a perfect sponsor fit in this newsletter:

If’ you’d like to know more, please contact me at: wkolenda@gmail.com

 

                   

 

See the best collectibles video podcast at http://Collectiblescornertv.com
Tammy Kahn Fennell provides tips, interviews and news with a lot of fun.

 

 

Winter is here, and travel can be difficult. But that doesn’t mean you have to miss out on great auctions! Did you know that iCollector.com is an online portal into hundreds of auctions from live venues?

You can bid live and even contact the auction houses to see if you can send your quality consignment to be featured in an upcoming auction!

 

 

Please forward this to friends.

 

 

 

Until next time, 

thanks for reading, and remember, it’s not spam if your requested the content ;)