Guest post by Alice Seba of Contentrix.com
In this day and age of the social web, you’ve no doubt heard the buzz words when it comes to online business:
- Transparency
- Connections
- Relationships
- Engagement
…and the list goes on and on.
Those are all feel-good things and even desirable things in an online relationship, but unless you keep those things in line with your business objectives…you’re going to end up with a bunch of “friends” and a still empty bank account.
But before we get into talking about your business objectives, let’s start by thing about why staying real is good for your long term business strategy:
- You're a real flesh-and-blood person...not some faceless corporation projecting a corporate image. So be a person and people will connect with you and trust you far more than any company.
- Being real cements long-term customer relationships. When you're honest and that honesty is in tune with your audience, the trust that builds has incredible value. Those customers will continue to buy from you and spread the word.
- When you’re real, you provide a consistent message for your business. If you’re fakin’ it ‘til you make it or just making it up as you go a long, inconsistencies are easy to see in your message. This damages your credibility and you may not even be aware when it’s happening.
How to be Real
That’s an odd statement, I guess. Shouldn't being real come natural? Maybe...maybe not. And unfortunately, there is such a thing as being too real.
Being real requires a good balance of sharing the right information and keeping things that should be kept to yourself to your self. You don't have to share every screw up, irrelevant details of your life because you know the saying "too much information".
Think about the blogs you read. Which ones do you connect with most? Whose advice do you trust? They’re REAL and with the right balance of sharing.
If you're reading this post, it's likely you've been reading ClickNewz.com for some time now. I've know Lynn for about 7 years now and she is the epitome of keeping it real and you can see the results right before your eyes. She doesn’t promise you the moon and the stars, but she also pushes you to be better all the time. She’s the perfect coach and knowledgeable teacher in one perfect package.
Lynn’s got raving fans. You can see this:
- From comments on her blog and in her forum
- In her Elite membership, who speaks highly of her
- Just about anytime you see a blog post or forum thread that asks, “Who is your favorite Internet marketing teacher," Lynn's name inevitably comes up.
- All those gifts and packages she receives in the mail. 🙂
But all that tells us why she's popular, not necessarily why she's successful. Because in this day and age of social media starlets, there are many people who appear successful and popular...but their bank accounts tell a different story.
When it comes to Lynn, you know she's getting RESULTS from her approach because anytime she recommends a product, you see her fans (maybe you included) taking action on her recommendations.
Sure, some of Lynn's power is in her knowledge. There's no doubt she knows her stuff. But all that knowledge is bolstered by her honest and forever being a real person. If she likes something she'll you. If she doesn't, she'll tell you why.
So we like Lynn, but why does she rake in the cash? Of course, there are many reasons and some we may never know, but here are a few things I see:
- She's a role model. We want what she has and she tells how she got it. We emulate her.
- She is not afraid to sell and mix it with her every day talk. But her selling is real. She tells exactly what she thinks about a product and doesn't hold back.
So how does this relate to your business?
Keeping It Real And In Line with Your Business Objectives
Before you add another friend to your Facebook account or make another blog post, think about what you want to get out of your efforts. If you want to sell stuff and make money, take a step back for a minute. Many people approach it from a numbers perspective. In other words, they think the more friends I have and the more traffic I have, the more money I’ll make.
Sometimes…but without a plan in place, all that popularity is going to get you nowhere.
- You need to publish content with purpose. Without purpose, there are no results.
- Hone your copywriting skills and learn how to sell with words. Copywriting is one of the most important skills you need for your online business.
- Copywriting doesn’t always mean a hard sell. Using your new found copy skills will allow you to naturally and effectively incorporate copy elements into your content.
- Study the masters: Find some writers/bloggers that incorporate calls to action into their content well (you know, like our friend Lynn). If you read their content and are compelled to act, study what they do and try to implement some of what they do. You still want to keep your own style and voice, but by implementing certain aspects… you start to incorporate things more naturally.
- Inform as you sell: It’s not either or, you can be helpful as you sell. Whether it’s a detailed product review or illustrating exactly how a product works, you can be helpful while you sell.
Couple that with the authentic you, you’ve got a winning combination. You become someone your readers can relate to, trust AND buy from. So keep it real and keep your eye on the prize. You’ll go far.
About the Author: Alice Seba is the creator of Contentrix.com. With a focus on using content to create relationships, loyalty and results from writing, she loves helping online business owners get more bang out of their content. Click here for your free Profit with Content guide.
About Lynn Terry
Thanks for presenting this outstanding article, Alice. It's true- keeping it real truly is a foundation for successful relationship marketing.
As a naturally private person, this is an issue with which I struggle often.
And if Lynn recommends a product that even vaguely matches my current endeavors, I run for my wallet... because I know that her recommendations are always real.
That last sentence is EXACTLY what I mean. It's something we see Lynn's readers do over and over again. They buy what she says because you know she's recommending the good stuff.
At first it does seem odd for someone to want learn about "how to be real" but within the context of doing business on the "social web" it makes sense.
As you say Alice, no one wants to be accused of weighing readers down with "too much information" but finding that balance of honest sharing and being strategic so that you actually can earn a living at what you do, requires some thought.
Both you and Lynn handle the balance so well which is why I look to both your sites for advice and insight for my business.
Great post!
Thank for your the kind words and thoughts, Sharon. 🙂
I think a lot people starting out are under the misconception that they need to be like everyone else in order to be successful. There are tons of "cookie cutter" personae out there.
I think many more people could become successful (and less stressed) if they leave that behind and be themselves. How stressful to have to put on a different costume whenever you are online to become someone you are not.
That`s a very good point, Angie on the cookie-cutter approach. Just because I said Lynn is a very good model of keeping it real, we shouldn`t simply try to be like her, but we can learn a lot from her approach.
I agree w/ Angie-I am still trying to find my own way-what works best for me, basically. I have to be honest is my biggest challenge I will research for hours to see how others to see what others are doing
Great post BTW-this is exactly what I needed today!!!
Hi Kelly - the best thing you can do is just move forward and forget what everyone else doing. Sure, there is competitive research that you can do, but the nice thing about the Internet is that if you`ve got what people are looking for, it`s relatively simple to carve out your own unique niche.
Well Lynn, you have to admit, Alice hits the nail on the head. I gotta say though, I think Alice is a pretty sharp cookie herself and does a pretty great job with her biz as well. You're both to be admired 🙂
Thanks Liz. I am a good carpenter. 🙂
Nice post, it really got me thinking today.
When I hear someone tell me that they are keeping it real, I tend to not pay much attention. Only because if someone has to tell me they are keeping it real, what were you doing before they told me - not keeping it real.
Also, keeping it real can be a bad thing for some marketers. Some marketers real will make a lot of their readers get upset.
I think it is important to be honest and personable and for me that is keeping it real. Of course you do not want to hide behind something you are not, especially if you are trying to build an online business.
As Angie stated above, it is too much pressure to try and be something you are not.
I really like your point about studying the masters but use you own voice. Yes, we reinvent the wheel when there are others that are successful that you can learn from.
- Rick
That`s a good point too, Rick. On the other hand, someone who may make some people`s blood boil, may have his own unique audience to connect with. Because you can`t please everyone, but I do agree with you...there is a balance.
Good post. Thank you.
In the day by day, keep your head down and focus on step 1 , step2, rinse, repeat it is so easy to forget about keeping it real at all.
Something for me to think about.
For sure, Jim. Other less personal ways work too, but it's amazing what the power of really connected fans and customers can do!
Excellent post, Alice!
From personal experience I can tell you that "being your own target market" goes a long way towards being genuine, authentic and real in your online promotions. Most of my niche affiliate sites for example, revolve around my own personal interests. So when I share resources or products, it's because I'm using them myself - which shines through in my writing and adds that special ingredient that improves conversion rates!
I totally agree. It's so much easier to connect when you're interested and part of the market.
Alice-
This is good advice, thank you!
The biggest key I picked up on here is implementation. You can educate yourself to death, and understand every word of it. But, all of that is just useless knowledge taking up room in your brain, unless you implement it.
Practice today what you learned yesterday!
Thank You-
Matthew Zinda
You bet...now get to it. 🙂
So true, so true. It's not about how many friends you get. It's about the quality of the connections. And this takes time, effort and looking at social networking in the long term.
Great points.
Certainly when speaking specifically about social networking, the volume of friends can bring lots of traffic and popularity. But yes I agree, the quality of connections and your ability to convert those connections into $ is what will get you to your business profit goals.
Hi Lynn ,
I got some questions about how to enter to be a marketer ... but I dont dont where I have to write you ...
Could you helpme to start my idea of a web page ?
my hotmail is carnunu0