How to Use the Free Tools Available to Brand Yourself as a Trusted Expert
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As I’ve mentioned before, you can’t become a Trusted Expert by buying advertising. It’s been a long time since advertising built trust, especially on the web, and we’ll never see those days again.
Now, if you were using traditional advertising theories and strategies, you would now be stumped as to what you could do to promote your business. But you’re not, you’re dealing with the online world, and you’re going to be applying new theories to this new way of reaching people. You are a Trusted Expert (or at least you will be by the time I’m done with you.)
And a Trusted Expert has tools at their disposal that they can use to establish their position in their category as an authority. And best of all, those tools are free. I’ll be going over those tools in the next few posts, starting with blogs.
Blogs
Your blog is your best resource for positioning yourself as a Trusted Expert. And you don’t even have to have your own to use it this way. Here’s how:
First thing to do – start reading blogs. (Which, if you’re here, you’ve already started doing.) Read ones in your category and niche, read ones outside of it. Bookmark and subscribe to the ones you like, and maybe even to a couple that you don’t like but has fantastic numbers. You’ll start to get an idea of what works and what doesn’t, how to reach out to readers, how to generate traffic, and how to create controversy and create publicity for yourself.
Next step is to start commenting on those blogs you like, don’t like, etc. Make sure you’ve got something reasonably intelligent to say, hopefully something witty, and link to your website. Not only will you get some additional traffic to your website from the blog, it makes Google’s search engine like you more.
Keep your eye out for comments on your category or niche; think of something useful to say (remember, you want to be a Trusted Expert!) Give people advice or help where you can. If it’s applicable, invite the person with the problem to take it to email where you can help them even more. Next time that person is looking for something you sell, chances are they’ll go to you.
If you come across a blog or comments that mentions you, your product, or your website in a negative sense, for goodness’ sake address it. Explain who you are; offer up the chance to address the problem directly. If there truly was a screw-up, admit it and apologize – in this age of “It’s anybody’s fault but mine” you’d be surprised how many people will appreciate a “Yup. I messed up; but I’m fixing it and it won’t happen again.” People will appreciate your honesty and realize that we’re all human and forgive you. And more importantly, associate you with a real human being and not a faceless corporation. (Note – they will do this the first time this happens; keep screwing up and, even if you admit it, you’ll look like an idiot who doesn’t know what he’s doing – the opposite of a Trusted Expert.)
More to come in the next post about what to do when you start your own blog….
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October 16, 2009 As I mentioned in the last post in the series (yes i am going back 4 weeks here),How to Use the Free Tools Available to Brand Yourself as a Trusted Expert, the next step in using blogs to become… Full Article At: John Cow Bookmark to: Filed under General by Tags: free tools, cow, blogs | Permalink | Print | Email
As I discussed in the last post in the series,How to Use the Free Tools Available to Brand Yourself as a Trusted Expert, the following step in using blogs to become a Trusted Expert is to kick off your own blog. So, how does one decide what to blog about? Well, you might blog about anything truly, but since this series is about the way to make your online business
Is feedbite yours?
Yes i own it.
Excellent advice, I would just add focusing on topics and niches that the publisher is really passionate about. This won’t directly help one spread their fame, but it will help ‘em learn what they need to know before anyone considers them an expert. A lot of people chase what they see as high value topics, but they’ll never make as much as if they’d chosen something they really like and care about.
Thanks for sharing your knowledge. If I win a Ticket to BlogWorld from John Chow I hope to meet you.
This happens to be one of the “blogs I like”. I’m ashamed to say I usually get my “milk fix” from inside my reader though. I’ll try to make an effort to get out into the field more often.
Does the name I entered count as being “witty”? It’s 1:13am here, so forgive me if it’s not. Heck, even change it to “Jason” if you want (my real name, and I’m Canadian too!)
Keep up the great posts dude.
Cheers
Jay
loving your blog,
I’ll sure come back more often!
keep up the great job,
Wilbur Woods
I wrote to you several times. I want to withdraw my subscribtion to feedbite and /any/ related subscription. No answer yet.
So, I repeat here: please delete all my data and no not send me new emails anymore.
That advice is very good.it is surprising as how much of these are known things, yet we do not implement it. I should rather put it as, we do not do it.
We spend so much on unnecessary things and forget the simple yet important things like reading those informative blogs out there and commenting upon them.
Step 1: Start commenting on the blogs you like…
Excellent advice. I really appreciate the service you offer to the public. I study your website and email messages to improve my own business and strategies. Keep up the good work!
Matthew Carlson
Becoming a trusted expert on a topic is nothing unless you have the business model behind it – if you want to make money online. Use a membership system like Yaro or sell products like BANS. Why spend the part time of your life writing content for the miserable pennies Google gives you! So, think of the business model first, then become the expert writer.
Blogmonies
Good point about the ones you don’t like but get great numbers. Sometimes considering what we don’t like helps us to expand our views. I am amazed at how often this becomes fodder for more ideas.
Thanks
John
Another pertinent post. Reputation is all important when building your brand and online presence so adding value in comments and interactions goes a long way to building interest and trust.
As with a few others yours is one of the blogs that I like and frequently refer to so thanks for the info.
Tom
I agree with you that getting your name out there is important. I have found that it is also a great idea to write articles. They can get you rated as an expert quickly
Wow! Great advice.
Most blogger today do blogging covering blogging tips and how to make money online where they don’t even make money from blogging yet. That’s why most of them make mistakes on sharing the ideas they gather because they don’t know the deep thoughts of the information.
I experienced this also and I admit that I am still a newbie of doing something which will work in other blogs. And I do my best to not let it happen again.
Thank you for your advice. I am waiting for your next post.
Thanks John! Always common sense, doable advice for your readers. I will give this a go.
Another good way to become a trusted expert is to write articles and submit them to article directories.
I love reading other folks blogs in and out of my niche. I have learned so much over the course of these last three weeks and I am steadily applying it.
You are right on your views on making comments & being sensible to others. It can definitely be a good way to explore your niche & understand it better for improved results. However, advantages of commenting in irrelevant niche doesn’t sound exciting & profitable either.
That is a good idea
I thought I was in MOOO-topia when I read of your honest approach to coming clean when things mess up! It’s refreshing. Jan
This is one of the best post I have read. I include it as one of my references.