Dale King: Today I'm interviewing ebay PowerSeller Secrets authors, Brad and Debra Schepp. Hello Brad and Debra, how are you?
Brad and Debra Schepp: We’re doing great. Just back from eBay Live, which was held in Las Vegas this year. Lots of fun, and great opportunities for learning and networking.
Dale King: Brad & Debra, tell our readers how and when you got started marketing on the Internet.
Brad and Debra Schepp: Brad’s always been an information nut, who as a kid dreamed of an all-knowing answer machine that could answer any question. When online databases caught on in the 1980s, he came close to finding that wondrous machine and when the Internet caught fire in the mid-1990s, it really seemed he had found it. We started “going online” to find contacts and information sources for our books, The Telecommuter’s Handbook and Kidnet, both published in the 1990s.
When Brad landed as a Director in AOL’s marketing department in 1997, he stood at the feet of the online marketing masters. We like to think that it’s our research and then marketing that sets our books apart from others.
Dale King: Some Internet marketing experts advise newbies to steer clear of certain areas of Internet marketing, like selling e-books on how to make money, advertising services, SEO services, copywriting, etc., because those areas are too competitive. Do you agree with that assessment?
Brad and Debra Schepp: No. Internet marketing is always changing—there are new opportunities coming along all the time. Having your own website is still as important as it ever was, but now you should know all you can about SEO. And what about blogs and podcasts? They’re still relatively new and they offer great opportunities for marketing. Who knows what’s next?
Dale King: How is Internet marketing different now, as opposed to when you first got started online?
Brad and Debra Schepp: It wasn’t that long ago that slapping a website together was all you needed to do. Now you have to work hard to make sure people know about your website, that it provides useful information generally unavailable elsewhere, and that it’s optimized for the search engines.
Searchers have gotten a lot more sophisticated about all things virtual, and therefore less tolerant of poorly executed websites. Of course, you also have many more forums available to you. As we mentioned blogs, podcasts, and even wiki. You can also market yourself on sites like Amazon and eBay. Look around… opportunities are everywhere.
Dale King: How important has goal-setting been to your overall success?
Brad and Debra Schepp: Extremely important. We write books and you can’t do that unless you set milestones. It’s like eating an elephant. You do it one bit at a time. It’s the same for any big goal.
Dale King: How important has reading been to your overall success?
Brad and Debra Schepp: We’re both information nuts, junkies, whatever you want to call it. In the early stages of a new writing project, such as eBay PowerSeller Secrets, we’ll devour information from all kinds of sources, including websites, magazine and newspaper articles, interviews…just about anything and everything.
Dale King: If you could recommend one book that all internet marketers should read, what would it be?
Brad and Debra Schepp: There are so many good ones we honestly can’t single out just one.
Dale King: In your opinion, what technology has changed Internet marketing the most over the last 5 years?
Brad and Debra Schepp: That’s easy: The advent of widespread broadband connectivity.
Dale King: What new technology do you see changing Internet marketing over the next 5 years?
Brad and Debra Schepp: That’s not so easy. Can we get back to you on that one?
Dale King: What person has influenced you the most in your
lifetime, and how?
Brad and Debra Schepp: We’re fortunate to have had many mentors. For Brad, two writers he worked with early in his career helped him tremendously. One is Martin McPhillips, who was the first published writer he ever knew. The second was Alfred Glossbrenner, who has done more to spread the word about the value and utility of "going online," and the Internet, than anyone else. Look it up, if you want proof.
Dale King: If you could give my readers one piece of advice, what would it be?
Brad and Debra Schepp: Learn all you can about the Internet and how it can help your business and you personally, but please remember there’s a whole wide world beyond the Internet too. So remember to push yourself away from that computer.
Also, just because you know about Google, that doesn’t mean you have all the answers at your fingertips. Real-live people can also help you more than you may realize! Librarians are as important now as they ever were — maybe even more important. We guarantee that they can help with just about any research project you’re undertaking.
Dale King: Thank you very much Brad & Debra. I appreciate you taking the time to do this interview.
Brad and Debra Schepp: Our pleasure. And here’s wishing you great success with your website!
Be sure to check out Brad & Debra's book eBay PowerSeller Secrets and their upcoming book, eBay PowerSeller Million Dollar Ideas.
Their website:
http://bradanddeb.com
Warning: This interview is the exclusive property of Brad & Debra Schepp. It may not be reprinted in any format...period!
