How to Use Video Active Content in Your eBay eCommerce Sales

We all know that video sells! Whether you show a product demonstration, or just have a video (cat videos?) that make people smile.

eBay made changes in how you can use active content in your listings, and here's the workaround. I put this fun video in a listing. Below is the code for the video that I used:

<!-- BEGIN LINKED VIDEO -->
<div class="ytvideo">
<a target="_blank" href="http://www.youtube.com/embed/QtvTE3m5jpM?rel=0">
<img src="https://img.youtube.com/vi/QtvTE3m5jpM/0.jpg"></a>
<p class="yt_hd">"The Beverly Hillbillies" Opening and Closing Theme Song - YouTube</p>
<p class="yt_ft">Video will open in a new window</p>
<span class="yt_tag" style="display:none">[isdntekvideo]</span></div>
<style> .ytvideo { margin:.5em auto; max-width:480px; font-family:arial; text-align:center; position:relative; min-height:120px; overflow:hidden; background-color:#555; } .ytvideo p { position:absolute; margin:0; color:white; background-color:rgba(0,0,0,.5); } .ytvideo .yt_hd { font-size:16px; width:100%; height:28px; line-height:28px; text-align:left; top:0; left:0; padding-left:10px; overflow:hidden; } .ytvideo .yt_ft { font-size:11px; width:100%; bottom:0; left:0; } .ytvideo img { display:block; max-width:100%; border:0; } .ytvideo a:after { content:"\A0\25BA"; position:absolute; width:60px; height:50px; left:0; top:0; right:0; bottom:0; margin:auto; border:0; border-radius:10px; color:white; background:rgba(0,0,0,.6); font-size:24px; line-height:50px; cursor:pointer; } .ytvideo a:hover:after { background:#CC181E; }</style>
<!-- END LINKED VIDEO -->

If you'd like to customize your own video for your listing, head on over to this page from eBay user shipscript, and make your own!
http://www.isdntek.com/tagbot/YouTubeConverter.htm

Visit my coolebaytools.com website for more tips!

Secrets You Need to Know Before You Write and Sell Your Book

If there's one question that I consistently get from friends and online acquaintances, it is one for advice on writing a book. It seems that everyone wants to write a book. People write books for different reasons. I think I was born wanting to write a book, I majored in English Literature for that reason. For other reasons, I ended up in marketing, but the need to write a book - to help people - never went away. The most common reasons I hear from people are:

• Establish themselves as an expert in their field (does that really work?)
• Get more speaking engagements
• Satisfy a heartfelt need
• Fulfill their ego to be a "published" author

Writing and selling my books is my main job (along with constantly researching my topics), it comes before everything else, even social media and speaking. I have been writing books since 1998 and sold a million by 2007. I don't count the numbers anymore, what counts to me is hearing from my readers. I am lucky to have been writing long enough to see the impact my books have made on my reader's lives.

Wanting to write a book and actually finishing the project are two vastly different things - just ask anyone who has written one. You also need to know, writing books are not for everyone. "Long form" content takes on a completely new meaning when you're expected to write not just 1,500 words - but over 300 pages on a topic.