We English - a nation of (RSS) shopkeepers

Download eBooks and Software

Satellitedirect - Highest Converting Tv To PC Product
Don't Have A Website? Create A Money Making Website In Just Minutes For Free With Our Brand New Tool: Http://professionalcash.com/webtool

The World's #1 Lottery System For Lotto.
Ken Silver's Multi-million Silver Lotto System! 1 Minute Setup, Winning 9 Out Of Every 10 Games Since 1991. Affiliate Commission Now 75%! Earn Up To $243/sale. Low Refunds. Visit: www.lottoaffiliatecenter.com

Forex Trading Software Plug-in Averages 500 Pips A Month
Forex Plug-in Software Averaging 500 Pips A Month Since Oct. 2010. Ideal For Newbies, Simple Instructions W/6 Training Modules. Killer Conversion, Super Low Returns, Total Impulse Buy. Affiliates, Visit: Http://netpicks.com/odstaffiliate For More Info!

Surveyspaid.com
New Design Is Getting *insane* Conversions (4%+)! If You Promote Surveys, You Need To Give Our Site A Try- We Promise You Will Be Happy! We Use Geotargeting And Downsells. Converts Great With International Traffic. Email Followups With Your CB Id!

Able To Prove God, Jesus Christ, The Holy Bible To Be Fact!!!
This Book Prove The Existence Of God, The Acts Of Jesus Christ And Proves The Holy Bible To Be 100% Fact. You Will Also Learn About Conspiracies, Secret And Street Organizations, Asian/world History In One Amazing Exciting Suspense Novel.

Articles Index >> Advertising

We English - a nation of (RSS) shopkeepers

by Steve Hawker

We English are a nation of shopkeepers. Napoleon Bonaparte said so.

As just such a shopkeeper, I have to say that I do love my work. I get up early every morning to check how sales went overnight. How many customers came in? What did they buy? Did they ask for anything that I haven’t got in stock? I then check the money ‘take’ to confirm what’s selling well and what’s not. My shop, by the way, is a ‘open all hours’ Internet enterprise.

My next joys are to replenish the shelves of my shop with fresh products and remove any old stock. This isn’t a manual labour of love though. It’s just a matter of visiting several wholesalers on the ‘net (the affiliate network sites) and ordering stock. These sites offer shopkeepers like me a growing number of RSS product feeds.

I simply select the merchants I want to do business with and the products I want to stock. The degree of product selection available to me depends on the way the RSS feeds have been set-up. Sometimes, I must take every product a merchant offers me (or none at all); often I can take a group of products from various merchants; usually, I can opt for a specific product with high value to my customers.

Having made my selections (of merchant and product), I download the RSS feeds. This is an elegant process, whereby the software checks to see if I already have the ordered products in stock at the desired levels, fills my shelves if I haven’t, and removes any stock that’s past its ‘sell-by’ date. There are no delivery drivers to monitor; no pallet trucks to push; no returns documentation to fill in. What’s more, my merchants do most of the merchandising for me: offering me up-to-date photographs, product descriptions, prices and so on, as part of their feeds.

Within an hour, I’ve re-stocked my shop with fresh, desirable produce. Of course, that’s not the end of my joy. Oh no, the rest of my day is spent in gleeful bookkeeping, marketing and so on; the kind of pleasures undertaken elsewhere in retail management. Thankfully, my wholesalers do much of the data management for me, which makes bookkeeping easier. The suppliers meanwhile send me special offers by email, which is akin to entertaining sales reps. in real world shopping, I suppose.

I’ve just painted a very rosy picture of the modern English shopkeeper. It sounds like an idyllic way to earn a living. Yet, being an English shopkeeper largely reliant on RSS feeds does have its frustrations.

First, too few of the big merchants have understood the power of marketing via RSS feed and affiliation. These sluggish retail giants, many with a long-standing presence on English high streets, are missed by those of us with neighbourhood corner shops. We want to pass business their way, for a small commission. So, take note please big merchants, the costs of setting-up and maintaining RSS feeds, and paying us small commissions, are far outweighed by the value of increased sales.

It seems that some of the ‘giants’ have been caught off-guard by the cost-effectiveness of this new technology and approach to marketing in combination. It’s simply a matter of them re-writing their product lists in XML and offering the coded feeds to affiliate networks. When they do so, I suggest humbly that they seek out networks offering small shopkeepers like me an unlimited number of feeds at no cost, and that they avoid studiously any ‘exclusive’ deals.

Some merchants are quicker to exploit new technologies than others; that’s the way markets work. The most agile survive: the least agile suffer. This creates an opportunity for small and medium sized merchants who are inherently more agile than larger competitors. We English shopkeepers, need them to master RSS technology and affiliation quickly, to plug the gaps in the market left by big merchants.

Recently, for example, I’ve been hunting English merchants who can offer me affiliated RSS feeds for used and new cars. I have also been hunting merchants capable of offering me regularly updated RSS feeds for package holidays, jobs and real estate. Cars, holidays, jobs and houses are just the sort of products that would sell well in my shop, yet there are big gaps in the market there right now.

To conclude, Napoleon was right: we English are a nation of shopkeepers. Many, like me, love our work. To continue the tradition, what this particular English shopkeeper needs is two things. Additional, big merchants offering affiliated RSS feeds with broad appeal and smaller merchants offering narrower, deeper feeds that cater for niche interests.

About the Author

News on Internet Marketing

Cyberset Distinguishes Itself from Other Internet Marketing Companies with Its Dedication to Personalized Service
LOS ANGELES, Feb. 3, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --Â As the private sector aims to further exploit the many benefits of e-commerce, more businesses are seeking high-quality Internet marketing services. For comprehensive ...

Internet Marketing Company Reveals Results of the Poll, "Which Link Building Strategy Works Best For You?"
Internet Marketing Company (http://www.internetmarketingcompany.biz) Reveals Results of the Poll, "Which Link Building Strategy Works Best For You?"Los Angeles, CA (PRWEB) February 04, 2012 Internet Marketing Company, a search engine marketing company, announced today the results of the poll , "Which Link Building Strategy Works Best For You?" on the FacebookÂ® platform. ...

Internet Marketing Expert Cheryl Heppard Teaches Strategies to Attract Clients and Increase Profits
Host of Get Busy With Clients to lead monthly group coaching call for members on how to implement a strategic marketing plan that attracts clients and increases revenue.West Bloomfield, MI (PRWEB) February 08, 2012 Cheryl Heppard, business and marketing coach, will be leading a group coaching call for holistic practitioners, healing professionals, coaches and solopreneurs for members of her Get ...

An Internet Marketing Company With a Big Heart
Web Marketing Pros is Donating Internet Marketing Services to Outreach International(PRWEB) February 02, 2012 Jacksonville Beach, Florida based Web Marketing Pros is donating Internet marketing services to Outreach International, an organization which provides long-term investments to generate growth in marginalized regions and countries.â€œWe will be giving Outreach International free Internet ...

People Polled on "What is the Best Link Building Strategy to Get a High Page Rank Website?"
Internet Marketing Company ( http://www.internetmarketingcompany.biz ) Reveals Results of the Poll, "In Your Opinion, What is the Best Link Building Strategy to Get a High Page Rank Website?" on the FacebookÂ® Platform (PRWeb February 07, 2012) Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/seoservices/internetmarketingconsult/prweb9175836.htm

Audience Management and Internet Marketing
From March 22 to 23, 2012, the annual eTarget conference is taking place in Moscow. It is the premier event in Russia where businesses interested in online marketing and brand management can meet brand marketers and proven practitioners, learn and get inspired from detailed case studies.

Kerry Finch Releases 3rd Edition Of Free Glossary Of Internet Marketing Of Terms
First published in 2009, the free glossary of internet marketing terms â€˜What the @%!* Does THAT Mean?â€™ has been downloaded by thousands of IMers who want to stay in the loop with current terminology. Its creator, Kerry Finch, has just released the 2012 edition.Queensland, Australia (PRWEB) January 31, 2012 Kerry Finch has just released the third, and still free, edition of her popular glossary ...

SearchMarketMe Providing Free Class From Its Online Training Portal for Prospective Internet Marketing Business Agency ...
During the month of February, SearchMarketMe is providing free access for investigators of its internet marketing business opportunity to the first class in the Agency Owner Training Portal. The first class, "MGMT 101: The Money U," describes the proper application of the unique business model, The Money U, which helps SMM Agency Owners to succeed where other single operator businesses may fail ...

Paton Internet Marketing Recognized by Constant Contactâ€™s Corporate Office
As a Pillar Trustee and a proven leader in the community, Todd Paton and Constant Contact have brought highly successful outcomes to Paton Marketing Clients. Paton Marketing was recently recognized by Constant Contact as an exemplary business partner. Paton Internet Marketing is a progressive leader in the field of Search Engine Optimization, Website Development, and [...]

Blizzard Reservation Engine Expands Reach With NEW Escapia API
Blizzard Internet Marketing, Inc., developers of the Blizzard Reservation Engine (BRE), are proud to unveil a newly developed website for The Vacation Company of Hilton Head Island. The website features a booking engine with real-time integration with Escapia, a popular property management software used by vacation rental managers.Glenwood Springs, Colorado (PRWEB) February 07, 2012 The Colorado ...