by Jason Scott
When you're surfing around on the Web to your favorite sites, Good, reliable information? Absolutely. But you never would Trust is essential. Trust is why you didn't hit the Back button The next time you are at one of your favorite sites, think about 1. Have a clean, easily navigable, well-maintained site. Think this doesn't have anything to do with trust? Think We've all been to those sites that seem to make it as difficult There are also those sites that have dead links everywhere and a Bottom line: A well designed site is a whole other article 2. Don't over-commercialize or tell half-truths on your site. When creating the copy for your site, don't be crass and The KEY is to find the middle between boring and over zealous. Yes, you want to sell products, and you want energy in your copy, Exclamation points, dollar signs, strange fonts, and shouting all Stay away from becoming like those sites that have 26 banners What about lying or half-truths to try and sell your product? Don't be tempted to try and persuade by twisting the truth. Most Bottom line: Write hard hitting copy, but do it tastefully. 3. Make your web site and your email communication as personal The first 2 points above are very important, but I consider The most successful marketing gurus online have long know this. You may not feel ready yet to put yourself out there to that Email is the lifeline of your business. Don't underestimate its
what is it about them that makes you come back? What MAKES them
your favorite sites?
have gotten to that great information if they didn't first gain
the most important characteristic a Web site must get from you,
and what YOU must get from your visitors... Trust.
on your browser to go look somewhere else. Gain your visitors
trust and they will stay at YOUR site too.
this as you read down the page. More importantly, do this at
your own site. Put yourself in your visitors place. Does your
site convey trust? Let's look at some ways of improving the
trust factor with your visitors.
again. You've heard about maintaining your site before, but
we need to begin here. I'll just touch on it quickly.
as possible to find anything. There's probably some great
information in there somewhere, but they frustrate you by
making it difficult to find so you give up and leave.
statement along the lines of "Last updated: March, 1998." You
and I are not going to stick around to see what they have to
offer. Nobody trusts a site that is sloppy and not maintained.
indeed, but it does have its place here concerning trust. Keep
your site simple with clean navigation, regularly test all your
links, and the content up to date.
annoying. This probably seems obvious enough to you. It can be
difficult at times though, especially when you have a great
product you believe in and are working hard to tell your visitors
about it.
but don't write stuff like "YES!!! MAKE $$$20,000$$$ BY TOMORROW
WITH THIS SIMPLE TECHNIQUE!!!!!" in some obscure 48-point font.
rolled into one ridiculous statement like this is not going to
gain you any credibility with your visitors. They won't be
saying to themselves "Wow! I need to see what this is!", but
rather "Oh, brother!" and get out of there in the blink of an
eye.
with flashing lights and animation plastered all over their home
page that takes forever to download. Sites that do this do not
gain trust, but instead appear like one big get rich quick
scheme. Don't misunderstand! Affiliating with other sites is an
outstanding opportunity, but you need to do it right. Work
affiliation into your content tactfully and you will gain trust.
Quite simply, DON'T DO IT! First of all, if you feel that it is
necessary to do this, then you have the WRONG product anyway.
In this case, create or get a better product. When you have a
great product that you believe in, it will translate to your
visitors.
visitors will sense it. If they don't at first, they WILL catch
you later. You lose credibility (and their return visits), but
even more damaging is the word of mouth that can spread as a
result of it. I can think of a number of times where I've seen
an exaggeration on a site (although the site thinks they've
tricked me) that makes me go "Yeah, right". I'll bet you've had
the same experience. I've even seen this on some of the well
known guru sites. Be careful, visitors ARE able to sense it.
Expound on the benefits of your product sure, just don't cross
the line by being crass or by not telling the truth.
as possible.
this the MOST important and effective way to gain trust from your
visitors.
They let it all hang out by putting their name, address, phone
number, etc. out there and write their copy like an open letter
as if they are speaking directly to you. Think this gains trust?
You bet! They are able to convey the sense that they absolutely
stand by their product and are making themselves as easily
accessible as possible.
degree, and that's fine. The important part of this is that you
must strive to write copy as if you are talking to a good friend.
Don't attract visitors to your site and then start off with "We
are XYZ Company. We are located at blah, blah, blah..." Don't
greet visitors with a corporate like jingle. Talk to your
visitors personally first, offer yourself as friendly and
helpful, and you will begin to gain that trust.
power for gaining trust. Some of you might despise getting
customer emails with questions you need to answer. More busy
work right? You'd rather be spending time on something else.
Don't look at it that way. View it as an opportunity to gain
confidence and to develop lasting relationships (which means
repeat visits to your site, and positive word or mouth).
As with your site, compose your email messages to customers as if Bottom line: Create your web site content and write your email Use the above 3 points as a guideline for gaining credibility About the Author
Jason Scott, editor of the Marketers Edge Awards
speaking to a friend and strive to respond as promptly as
possible. Don't send a form letter like response, take the time
to write back to them individually (write your autoresponder
messages with a personal flavor as well). Also make sure that
your message is formatted and spelled correctly. Maintain that
trust by paying attention to the small details!
correspondence in a friendly, inviting manner rather than using
the usual cold, corporate sounding jargon.
with YOUR visitors. Keep your site well maintained, be truthful
with your copy, and speak to your visitors personally and you'll
be fine. Don't forget that honesty really IS the best policy.
Be honest and you will gain that trust that is essential to your
success!
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