I received
following question last week...With all scams and unethical behaviour found online, what are some of most effective ways to generate trust as a marketer?
Annette Andkjaer Vacations For Fun And Profit I'll Teach You How To Travel, Save Money... And Make A Profit! http://www.UltraValueVacations.com mailto:Annette@UltraValueVacations.com
Good question Annette and thanks for firing it in ;o)
Ok, let's tackle this issue and give you some ideas on what you can do as business owners to show you are ethical.
I've said numerous times that people do business with people they; know, like and trust. The best way to gain that trust is to share what you know. People come online to get information, information that will help them make a more informed buying decision. Whether that information is about health and nutirition, pet care or, as in Annette's case, travel.
So what sort of information can you offer that will help build that trust?
Well, of course it depends upon industry you are in. However, ummm if I were in Health and Nutrition industry I would gather information about products I was selling. For each product, I would write a little info piece about what product does, results I saw with using product myself, perhaps a couple of testimonials from others who are using very same product.
If I belonged to an affiliate program that sells leads, then again, I would write an info piece on what to look for when buying leads, importance of tracking, importance of a 2 step marketing plan, etc.
If my business was a mortgage consultant then I would again write and share my knowledge with respect to mortgages and things that people need to be aware of when mortgage shopping. I would offer an incentive - perhaps something along lines of shopping for a mortgage on their behalf.
In EVERY case it is information that will help your potential customer. That speaks volumes to them.
If you are a member of an affiliate program and if you are just sending people to your affiliate page, well...you (and your prospects) are left to reading of ad copy that your program has written. Read these pages yourself and put yourself in shoes of a prospect. How do you feel when you read copy?
The copy written by your affiliate program is written to do one thing "SELL." There is nothing there to really build trust and rapport with your prospect. THAT'S WHY YOU NEED YOUR OWN SITE. Obviously I have written about this before and this is a subject of its own...but needless to say. If you want to show that YOU are ethical and someone to be trusted in, then do business right. Get a site of your own, a site where YOU OWN IT and therefore can add to it with good quality information that people look for.
It makes doing buinsess easier for you.
Next....
Make yourself available to do business with. With new FTC Guidelines now and fact that we have to include an address and phone number, that of course helps a little for us. But, what I am talking about is what happens after a person contacts you initially. Someone takes time to email you, asking for more information should set off a few triggers for you:
1st - they are interested in doing business with you, possibly, because they took additional time to email you and ask more questions.
