Trust is a precious thing. It’s something which customers regard very highly however it is a delicate thing and can be lost at any time. How many times have you seen large companies losing millions because if being exposed for doing something less than honest? Trust can make or break a business.
Trust is very important to the success of bloggers too. I’ve spent years building up a reputation as someone who is trustworthy and doesn’t try and rip anyone off. A reputation like this is very valuable however it can also be lost very quickly. I was reminded of this a few days ago when an email was sent to my newsletter subscribers.
The email referred to a book I purchased entitled The Internet Marketing Revolution. The book explains why the real money online is in product creation rather than promoting other people’s products. I found the book really useful however the end of the book will leave a bitter taste in your mouth. The author spends the first two thirds of the book explaining why you should work for yourself and be a seller, not a promoter. He then undoes all the good advice he gave in the last third the book by completely contradicting everything he previously wrote and heavily promoting his own services. It comes across as if the book was written by two authors or someone with a split personality disorder as the tone changes from someone who is giving good advice to someone who advises you that creating your own product is too much work and you should promote his products instead.
I don’t mind authors promoting their website a little, however I don’t want to feel like I’m being offered a time share in a product I paid for. Unfortunately, many internet marketing books are like this. I’ve become so accustomed to it that I simply ignore these pages and move on.
I only email about products I use personally now or have done so in the past. One of the things I failed to do well with my last two successful blogs is monetize them effectively using products so a lot of the advice given in the book really hit home for me.
I was perhaps wrong to promote it to all readers. At the very least, I should have explained more about what the book was about.
I want to get one thing straight with all of you. I’m not going to promote products that I don’t believe in myself. Your trust is something I value highly and it’s not something I want to lose. I enjoyed that particular book and I thought it was great value at $9.95.
Please bear in mind however that many Internet marketers promote their products aggressively. You may find that someone who sells you a good product may then start emailing you frequently about something you aren’t interested in. Remember, you have the power to stop receiving email from all marketers. You simply need to click the unsubscribe link at the bottom of the email.
I encourage you all to contact me regarding anything I email or anything I write about on this blog. I am grateful to those of you who emailed me your views about the book I recommended the other day. At the end of the day, if a few of you are complaining about something I am emailing about, then I’m probably doing something wrong, therefore I want to know about it.
Please let me know what your opinion is on this subject. Specifically, do you mind me promoting internet marketing books from time to time if the product has valuable tips? Would you prefer if I didn’t recommend products via email and solely recommended them via my products page?
:)
Kevin
I take what I need and leave the rest. When I don’t trust you anymore I’ll tell you first. It may be a misunderstanding. Sometimes I don’t read things thoroughly. Sometimes I don’t pay attention.
If I get an inner nudge that something is wrong, I will re-read more carefully. If you seem adamant, I MAY decide that we aren’t a good fit. Most likely, I will continue to read every blog post. I’m too new to know what I’m doing. I may learn something valuable. Thanks for your honesty.
Focusing on one thing can be a problem. I’m interested in a variety of topics too but your blog should really focus on one or two main topics. It sounds like you are interested in nature. Have you thought about starting a blog about animals?
Kevin
Kevin, an addendum to my response to your inquiry about a subject to write about. Presently my problem is taming my thought process, because my mind thinks in multiple directions simultaneously. So discipline is definately a problem for me.
When you asked me the question…about “a subject to tackle…” you stopped me in my tracks and my mind rewound to an earlier time (1970’s), when I used to watch documentaries like Kenneth Clark’s
“Civilization” (1969) about the history of western art, architecture and philosophy), “The Ascent of Man (1973), presented by mathematician
turned biologist, Jacob Bronowski.
“Life on Earth” the first of David Attenboro’s series which consisted of a group of programs, “The Living Planet” (1984), “First Eden (1987),
“Trials of Life” (1990), “Life In The Freezer” (1993), “The Private Life of Plants” (1995), “The Life Of Birds” (1998), “The Life Of Mammals” (2002), “Life In The Undergrowth” (2005), and “Life In Cold Blood” (2008), all David Attenboro’s work. Attenboro was connected through the auspices of the BBC from “Civilization” including the mega series “Cosmos A Personal Voyage”. It was Cosmos that had the most impact on me, because it set the stage for everything that followed. Putting my thinking into perspective. So when you ask have I settled on a single subject, the answer is “not yet”, but I am struggling with it.
I am like a starving man at a smorgesborg, so much to expierience, sights, aromas, tastes, and so little time (lol!). Kevin it is all about how big is my “Why?” After all, in the end, the only thing we are, is a story!
We all have a beginning, a body, and an end. The secret is to have a noteworthy story. To make a difference, in the lives of others.
Bruce
haha Best of luck with it. :)
Joe, well said. There is a wealth of information both in Kevin’s blog, but also in the attendant commentary. I find myself sitting in animated silence, shaking my head in agreement, as I review the ideas presented here. I for one, value each and every thought, as they give birth to my own thinking. It is both stimulating, rewarding and underscores my attitude of grattitude.
Bruce
Kevin,
At this point I am doing a series of five page “sprints”, testing ideas. It’s a way for me to test out various subjects, to get a sense how each feels. I will begin to settle down soon, once I stop throwing darts at my wall (lol!).
Thanks for the comment Joe.
Delivering on what you promise is something that I think we should all strive to do. In fact, we should be trying to over deliver. It’s hard to be pleased when you have paid $97 for an eBook but the marketers do everything they can to increased the ‘perceived value’ of the product.
You’re right. There are ‘suckers born every minute’. All beginners are suckers are many respects as they are new to everything. I’d be the same buying a car. I think you if give beginners/suckers a fair price from the start, they will stay loyal to you for a long time rather than think ‘I got scammed by so and so’ etc.
Kevin
We are what we are and some of us earning our living via the Internet are this year’s snake oil salespeople. These fellows have to live with themselves and many do, quite well. I do as you Kevin and call out the phonies and scam artists. The Internet allows us entree to the greatest market ever and ‘suckers are born every minute’. What we can do is be the honorable guys and not deceive or offer product for another few pennies with a click.
For those who say they are not salespeople I suggest, “Whenever your lips are moving you are selling.” That is also true for what you publish. You are selling your ideas, opinions, experience, and shaping your brand. The only thing you really have in life is your good name and reputation.
I work at IM, coach businesses, manage non-profit organizations, and readily share what I know with interested people. In my world, a bad word can be a tremendous set back. There is no reason for me to defraud anyone. The greatest riches are in honestly offering what I have to give. I encourage everyone reading this to base his or her business on personal integrity and always deliver what you promise.
I think people are right to be sceptical as a lot of people don’t play nice and are simply looking to make a quick buck. I usually subscribe to a blog and read their posts frequently before formulating an opinion. It depends, a well written article and a lot of supporting comments can be indicative of an honest person too….but not always.
I’m looking forward to see what you launch this year Bruce. Have you chosen a subject to tackle yet?
Kevin
A very timely article and a good reminder to all of us. Everyone has to monetize the product but come on with the page after page of hard selling. I hope to never be so desperate.
Hi Darren,
I’m not a fan of underhand tactics. A lot of bloggers will refer anything if it gets them a quick buck. It’s a dangerous route to go down.
I remember an incident about 5 years ago when Joel Comm released a new eBook.. Lots of high profile bloggers said it was a great book and encouraged readers to buy it. What they didn’t warn people about was that in addition to paying $9.95 for the book, they were also sneakily being signed up for a $29.95 subscription.
I’ve not seen anything like this happen again but it’s always in the back of my mind whenever I buy something from a marketer.
:)
Kevin
Both are correct. Attraction Marketing is a fancy term that just means drawing people towards you. It’s essentially how most blogs work. Take this blog for example.I will blog here frequently to establish a readership. I can then release a product. I won’t need to go hunting for customers because my readers are already potential customers.
Kevin, just got home from work and read your post. I look at ‘trust’, this way, not all authors really know how to write well enough to tackle a subject head on, and remain true all the way through their subject. Somewhere along the line a particular bias starts to ease it’s nose under the tent, which causes doubt and confusion in the readers mind, which erodes any trust and good will that may have been developing. Readers today, are skeptics and half expect whatever they are reading will, in the end be a disappointment.
I tend to give people the benefit of the doubt. I will want to read more than one offering by the author before I begin to formulate an opinion about his content and style, not a judgement mind you, just an idea as to whether or not I want to continue to read and or follow that particular author.
To your point, I have missed a few of your posts in the last couple of days, because of my nutty schedule at work, so I may not be totally up to speed. However, the short answer is, yes I trust you, and anxiously await whatever you are writing about. I have a lot to learn, and am ingesting as much information, from as many sources as I can, packing it into my “blender” (brain), and reapidly developing my own ‘style’. Suffice it to say, I am placing you high on my list, as a good source of integrity and developing information on how to blog, write, and present ideas. Keep up the good work.
Bruce
This whole interrnet marketing thing is confusing. Some so-called “gurus” say you should post links everywhere about a product you’re selling and some IM gurus say you should use attraction marketing where you draw people to you. I don’t know!
You’ve left me with a bizarre image of you in your apartment with paper everywhere. Makes me think of The Number 23.
I agree. Whenever a company tells you one thing and does the other, it feels as if they are trying to pull your pants down and do something ungodly. Heaven forbid they could actually tell you exactly what you were buying and avoid the BS. Unfortunately, 99% of marketing is BS. Companies like Coca-Cola have made it into an art form.
On that note, I need to go and have a refreshing beverage. Can’t Beat the Real Thing!!!
Thanks Phil. Much appreciated.
To be fair to the author, he isn’t a jerk. It’s just the way a lot of marketers market products. I’m not particularly good at giving the hard sell to people so it’s not something I can directly relate to, however it’s not something I want to criticise him of either.
I love that Bruce Lee quote. That’s the way I feel about more books I buy. If I find one thing that is useful and can be applied to my work or my life, I’m content with the purchase.
Kevin
Hi Kevin
In my opinion, trust online is a massive thing to earn. Every which way you turn these days there’s someone waiting to scam you or rip you off in someway.
It’s not difficult to see that many authors and bloggers are underhand in their tactics and will try to offload the latest piece of garbage at every opportunity.
it is easy to be taken in by such methods because I feel that we trust too easily online but very rarely you come across an author or blogger and you get a feeling about that person. It’s a different feeling to the usual type, when you know that you are just being spun a yarn.
I think of it as that person having the ‘F’ Factor. F for friendly.
Although I’m a relative newcomer to your blog I do think of you as being genuine and honest and I would trust your opinion if you were recommending a book or product.
Big thanks to you and the trustworthy and believable posts that you write.
I’ve never been much of a salesperson myself, and I’m sure it’s hurt my businesses, but from a moral, ethical and philosophical viewpoint I refuse to use those strong-arm methods simply because they violate the Golden Rule.
He might not be a jerk per se but he certainly seems to like to change horses in mid-stream – not something that engenders trust, in my opinion.
I feel the same way about that quote – that’s why I have thousands of ripped-out pages littering my apartment. :)
Hey, you’re only human. It isn’t YOUR fault the author(s) was a jerk. As Bruce Lee said, we have to “take what is useful and discard the rest”.
I have no problem at all getting recommendations from you, whether by email or on your site, because I trust you.