One of the best ways to build trustworthiness amongst your readership is to be transparent. Transparency and building trust are not new topic of conversation in the blogosphere. Bloggers like Pat Flynn and Darren Rowse talk about it often. But it doesn’t hurt to cover it from perhaps a different angle.
Transparency helps your readers put a face to the name. It builds their confidence in you, the writer, in you the affiliate marketer, in you the eBook seller, in you the list builder.
Imagine for a moment, you’re walking down the street and in the shadows you see a figure. He or she is speaking to you and they are trying to sell you some kind of merchandise. Would you even stand there to listen to the pitch or would you turn tail and run. Personally, I would run. No chance I’m doing business with that blog.
Now imagine the same street, the same person only this time the street lamp is casting its light on their face and you can see who they are. You can see their eyes, now you have a better sense of with whom you are speaking. You are confident that what they are saying is worth listening to, at least. Granted you may need to see this person around a few more time, preferably in the same place at the same time. Just to see if they are consistent in what they are saying and selling. But you would be less reluctant to invest time and money. You might possibly see yourself doing business with this blog in the future.
We should take this same scenario and apply it to our blog. If we do not have a clear image of ourselves and an About page on our blog then we are simply doing nothing more than lurking in the shadows. And that my friends will cause many of your readers and potential consumers to turn around and click away from your blog.
I realize some bloggers prefer to remain anonymous and that’s okay. But, if you truly want to connect with your readers you will need to step out of the dark.
In conclusion:
Trust is paramount to the success of any business online and off. So bring yourself out into the light. Let your readers see you and get to know you. That is the only way to build genuine rapport.
You do want your readers to trust you, don’t you? What are some other ways to build trust? Please share your opinions in the comments.
Photo credit: Icatching /CC BY-SA 2.0
Article by msfreeman
Howdy Y’all! My name is Ms. Freeman; my friends call me Debo and I am from the United States of America, currently residing in North Texas. Freeman Legacy LLC-The Baby Steps of an Internet Entrepreneur is a personal journal of my rise from a 9-5 mid-level professional to a Dot Com Mogul, by any means necessary.
5
{ 19 comments… read them below or add one }
First, congrats on the first guest post! You did an awesome job.
“Relationship Marketing” as it’s been coined is the definite wave of the future. More and more people do business with people, not “companies”.
Some have stated that I tend to babble on my blog. I say I’m being personable, like I’m chatting with friends (who also tell me I babble sometimes, lol).
So be it, it works for me and mine.
.-= Dennis Edell´s last blog ..Theme Construction Part 2 – What Should Go WITHIN The Blog? This Is The FUN Part! =-.
I think many of us prefer to read posts that are conversational and real. Letting your readers in and discovery what is on your mind is necessary for good blog and product marketing.
.-= msfreeman´s last blog ..Work Hard But Be Nice =-.
Exactly right. It’s most needed barring actual “news” type sites.
.-= Dennis Edell´s last blog ..I’m Looking For Launch Partners – $20 OR Three DoFollow Links For You! =-.
This was a very great 1st guest post at Famous Bloggers Ms. Freeman.
Being transparent on your own site and in your business makes it so much easier to build a relationship with your readers / customers.
I’m with Kiesha, I loved how you painted a picture in this post to bring the example home.
Karl
.-= Karl Foxley´s last blog ..Google Page Rank Score Too Low? Keep Your Links Thank You =-.
Thanks Karl,
I think visualizing scenarios may help to get the point across…I hope. It’s not that I expect everyone to run out and post a photo of themselves online. But if one wants to make it in this industry- at all- transparency is the only way to do it.
.-= msfreeman´s last blog ..Work Hard But Be Nice =-.
Great post on a great topic.
This is all so true and I love the analogy. There are so many that just don’t get this, instead it’s “Hi, but my stuff”.
Relationship building is something that cannot be contrived, it’s a genuine regard for the other person, the readers or associates that you interact with.
You raise a good point regarding the About page. All too often folks want to hide behind the curtain and expect a flood of customers when they offer something they perceive as valuable. Allow people to have a look into your life, where you’ve been and what you are about.
Great job on a really fine post!
.-= Jimi Jones´s last blog ..What’s Your Take on Google Buzz? =-.
I strongly recommend everyone have an Abut page, it doesn’t have to be as long or personal as mine…but provide the reader with an insight like you said. Let the reader know where you’ve been and where you plan to go….
Thanks for your support!
.-= msfreeman´s last blog ..Work Hard But Be Nice =-.
About and Contact should be the first two pages to go up on any new blog…I’m working on mine as we speak.
.-= Dennis Edell´s last blog ..I’m Looking For Launch Partners – $20 OR Three DoFollow Links For You! =-.
Twitter: element321
February 12, 2010 at 2:42 pm
Great post.
I get annoyed when I see that some left their about page, and bios blank. Sometimes I get annoyed when I see an image other than their face, but if the writer is good enough, it doesn’t stop me from reading.
As for why they do this, I see where they come from. I used to blog and tweet autonomously, but now I do not, and since then, traffic on my blogs has risen.
.-= element321 @ evolutionary designs´s last blog ..Google Announces Improvements and Response to Feedback =-.
Good point I may stick around and read the posts, but I am not likely to make a purchase of any sort, and I definitely wouldn’t be subscribing to an email list.
.-= msfreeman´s last blog ..Work Hard But Be Nice =-.
Twitter: element321
February 12, 2010 at 7:01 pm
I have to agree. I won’t purchase anything or subscribe to anything like that either. To many spammers and con jobs out there.
.-= element321 @ evolutionary designs´s last blog ..Google Announces Improvements and Response to Feedback =-.
Congrats on your guest post! And a good point reiterated, seriously. When you first start your blog, you just want the traffic to come pouring in. Rush, rush rush. But after a few months, you start seeing the big picture.
Make friends in your niche, grow with them, support each other, and I t hink we can all get far this way. Keep up the good work, Ms. Freeman!
.-= Moon Hussain´s last blog ..Check-Off Friday: Where I Am With My Goals (And Where The Hell Are You With Yours?!) =-.
Thank you Moon,
I definitely agree it is a joint effort even though we all have different and separate goals.
.-= msfreeman´s last blog ..Work Hard But Be Nice =-.
Interesting article continue writing.
.-= dakota bear´s last blog ..Thursday Theme=Flight =-.
Thank you Dakota Bear!!!!!!
I will as it is a lot of fun, difficult at times but fulfilling none the less.
.-= msfreeman´s last blog ..Work Hard But Be Nice =-.
It doesn’t matter how many times a topic has been written about – using this unique and vivid example, makes it so much clearer. Some of us, in the busy scramble to post some content, have simply overlooked this very important step. I know I did, and it didn’t even become apparent to me until I stumbled upon your “About Me”. You truly have a knack for making those old light bulbs come on.
.-= Kiesha @ Highly Favored´s last blog ..Infinite Possibilities =-.
HI Kiesha!
I’m not sure why I put that phrase in this post. Probably because this is my first guest post and I was nervous about sounding redundant or like a copy cat…LOL
Thanks for your words of encouragement.
.-= msfreeman´s last blog ..Ms. Freeman’s First Guest Post! =-.
Twitter: Ileane
February 11, 2010 at 10:34 am
I agree, it’s nice to see a bloggers face or to talk with them one-on-one. It takes time to build trust and it’s also nice to have the personal touch. It’s ironic that you mention some “probloggers” I have little trust in them because they don’t relate on a personal level. You can retweet them 20 times and they never even say thanks. I have more trust in bloggers that are accessible.
Thanks for the post, nice job.
.-= Ileane´s last blog ..Plugin to WordPress at Blogging Wire! =-.
Its just so hard to build community relationships through a non-personal avatar. When four of the five senses are eliminated through blogging leaving only sight I don’t get the whole fake avatar usage.
.-= msfreeman´s last blog ..Ms. Freeman’s First Guest Post! =-.
{ 5 trackbacks }