If theres one thing Ive learned in my many years of doing business
online, its that credibility should be your number one
objective. If everybody know you and respect you, theyll feel like
they can trust you with their funds
. On the other hand, if
youre just starting out and no one knows who you are, youre
going to have a hard instant drumming up sales.
The best way to grab
the kind of credibility Im talking about is
to establish yourself as an expert in your field. This could be
very hard to do if youre new to the business, so I am
going to
give you a tip: spend a lot of instant on those free discussion
boards!
Discussion boards are a great way to get your title
out there.
Just conduct a search for discussion boards in your area of
business (there are a lot on MSN and Yahoo) and jump on in.
Begin by asking a question, or creating helpful suggestions when
people inquire of
for them. Make sure to leave your title
and URL on
every post so everybody get familiar with you.
Whatever you do, dont post ads on discussion boards. Most board
moderators will only delete them, and putting up ads there will only
serve to undermine the very credibility youre trying to create.
Ads placed on discussion boards are annoying, and many people
wont be
ashamed to let you know what they think of you. Believe me, the
last thing you want to do with your precious name is attract bad
publicity!
Instead of blatantly promoting yourself, just offer your sincere
help and advice. If someone desire to know the best places to get
free web sites, tell them what youve found in your experience.
If someone target
an opinion on collecting email addresses, offer
a few ideas.
Sometimes these discussion boards might
get pretty heated. If you
want people to respect you, be careful not to insult all the people or
give harsh replies. Try being a peacemaker of sorts, being as
helpful as possible without tearing down the ideas of others.
Hang out on as many discussion boards as you may, and post fairly often,
even if youre only asking for the thoughts and opinions of
others. When people respond to your questions, respond back with
a thank you and give them feedback. Youll be surprised at how
much nice
this costless method of subtle promotion can do for your
business.
