How to Establish Credibility Online

Learn More from Nicole at her blogl! → www.NicoleontheNet.com Expert Briefs: Nicole Dean Asks Successful Marketers the Questions You Wish you Could How do you Show that youre a Credible and Trustworthy Person when Running an Online Business? By Nicole Dean of www.NicoleontheNet.com© - Nicole Dean, Groovy Slug, LLC page 1 of 16

Spread the Love. Share this With a Friend or Post it on your Blog! NOTICE: THIS REPORT COMES WITH GIVEAWAY & MASTER RESALE RIGHTS INCLUDED. You MAY sell it, AND give it away. However, this report may NOT be altered in any way! What CAN You Do With This Awesome Report? − Tweet about it. − Blog about it. − Post on Facebook about it. − Add it to a Membership Site. − Include it as a surprise bonus with your own products. − Send it to your list.© Copyright Nicole DeanALL RIGHTS RESERVED.AFFILIATE DISCLAIMER. Theshort, direct, non-legal version isthis: Some of the links in this report may be affiliate linkswhich means that I earn money if you choose to buy from that vendor at some point in the near future. Yes, I amproud that I feed my family by finding the *best* learning resources on the net and sharing them with you and I amhumbled and thankful that you trust me to do so. I do not choose which products and services to promote based uponwhich pay me the most, I choose based upon my decision of which I would recommend to a dear friend. You willnever pay more for an item by clicking through my affiliate link, and, in fact, may pay less since I negotiate specialoffers for my readers that are not available elsewhere.DISCLAIMER AND/OR LEGAL NOTICES:The information presented herein represents the view of the author as of the date of publication. Because of the ratewith which conditions change, the author reserves the right to alter and update his opinion based on the newconditions. The report is for informational purposes only. While every attempt has been made to verify the informationprovided in this report, neither the author nor his affiliates/partners assume any responsibility for errors, inaccuracies oromissions. Any slights of people or organizations are unintentional. If advice concerning legal or related matters isneeded, the services of a fully qualified professional should be sought. This report is not intended for use as a source oflegal or accounting advice. You should be aware of any laws which govern business transactions or other businesspractices in your country and state. Any reference to any person or business whether living or dead is purelycoincidental.© - Nicole Dean, Groovy Slug, LLC page 2 of 16

Learn More from Nicole at her blogl! → www.NicoleontheNet.comAbout Nicole: Nicole Dean is the Mostly-Sane Marketer. (Ask anyone who knows her and they’ll say that the “mostly” part is up for debate!) Nicole loves to help online business owners to earn more money AND have more fun! She is an expert in Affiliate Marketing, Affiliate Management, “Lazy Marketing” for passive profits, Outsourcing Effectively, and Marketing with Content. But, she’s got a secret. She uses a LOT of shortcuts.Nicole juggles a lot of things, but she does it all without owning a Blackberry or giving out her cellphone number. The reason she works from home is to have the freedom when and where shewishes to work. She enjoys work very much, but lives to spend time with her much-adoredhusband, her two silly children – and also her two slightly neurotic puppies, Eddy & Einstein.Resources from NicoleLearn the secret shortcut that many niche marketers use to stop working so darned hardQuality PLR Articles & ReportsFind out how Nicole has gotten a waiting list of people who want her to steal their webtraffic: How to Guest BlogJimmy D. Brown called her Wonder Woman when she was his Affiliate Manager. Why? She gotmore done in a day than he thought shed accomplish in a month.Check it out here: How do you have a Business AND a Life at the Same TimeAre you ready to get your infoproduct out of your computer and into the Internet — where it canstart making moolah for you? Check out: How to Sell Your Products on ClickbankLearn how to Blog without Going Bonkers: Blog CPR© - Nicole Dean, Groovy Slug, LLC page 3 of 16

Spread the Love. Share this With a Friend or Post it on your Blog!Welcome It’s another Expert Briefs, where I ask really smart business owners to answer yourburning questions.Today’s question is -“What does Credibility mean to you? Is it important? How do you narrow down where you’ve got it? If you don’t have it… what can you do to get it?”And, here are our answers…Connie Ragen Green says:Credibility was something I struggled with when I first came online.Like many new entrepreneurs, I wasn’t sure that I had anything of value tooffer to others. During that first year I set about to develop my credibilityand to build a platform that would serve me for years to come.I believe that anyone can build a platform for their business. This has to do with who you are, whatyou stand for and believe in, and how you can be of service to others. We build our platform withour writing, our teaching, and our interactions with others.It all starts with you deciding exactly what message you want to get out to the world. Most of uscame online in order to share and teach others about a specific topic and idea. Use this as yourstarting point to establish your credibility. Tell the story of where you were, what that was like, andhow that has helped you to become the person you are today.People are familiar with my story of how I worked as a classroom teacher for twenty years, whilealso working in real estate in order to make ends meet. I was exhausted from working seven days aweek, and after dealing with a work related injury and surviving cancer I decided to start a businessI could run from my home computer. Now I am an online entrepreneur and I have the time andmoney to live the life I had always dreamed of. My message is that if I can do this, so can anyoneelse.This story established my credibility and laid the foundation for my platform. I then began theprocess of blogging; writing articles; hosting teleseminars, webinars, and in person workshops; andinteracting on a daily basis through social media.© - Nicole Dean, Groovy Slug, LLC page 4 of 16

Learn More from Nicole at her blogl! → www.NicoleontheNet.comGet started today. Give serious thought to the message you want to share with the world and howyou want to serve others. Then start writing, teaching what you know, and interacting with othersto build your platform.If I can do this, so can you!Rachel Rofe says:In my opinion, credibility is as important as honesty.I think anyone can make a product about anything as long as they’re totally upfront.For example, I’m in the process of creating a product about juice feasting. I’ll be writing aboutpeople who have juice feasted 90+ days, but the longest I’ve ever gone was 10 days.I will be totally upfront with people in the product. I’ll let them know that I’m by no means anexpert, but I wanted to condense all the research and knowledge I’ve found into one book.This way I don’t have to feel like I’m “lying”, but I still get to have a product about something I’msuper-interested in.Sure, I’m not a traditional “expert”, but some people are going to resonate with the way *I*synthesize the information versus how others do.Another example is with the make money market. I see so many people selling products on how tomake money when they don’t have any themselves. For YEARS I’ve been telling people they shouldstart their own blog (something like Amy Bass did with MyDebtFreeGoal.com).They could let people know they’re not experts yet, but that they have goals (pay off debt, pay forchildren’s school, whatever). They could try out different methods of making money and let theiraudience know exactly how it’s going – what they’re trying, what’s made them money, etc.This way not only do they have the public accountability of their goal, but as they start to makemore money they look like experts to others who haven’t made any yet.I think there’s ALWAYS a way to get into a niche without having to feel not “credible” enough, youknow?So Nicole, let’s go back to your PowerSeller webinar. I would say you could still totally have one justby saying you’ve researched all about PowerSellers and want to share what you’ve learned.Obviously you wouldn’t talk about how you’ve made $1,000,000 per second (in your underwear!)by selling stuff there… but I’m sure you’d still have great information.© - Nicole Dean, Groovy Slug, LLC page 5 of 16

Spread the Love. Share this With a Friend or Post it on your Blog!Anyway, that’s my $.02 on the matter.Lynn Terry says:My reply …You know what, I’m going to take the opposite angle on this topic, becausesometimes you just don’t need credibility – and in some cases it can serveyou better not to even try.Let’s say that you want to start a new website on a topic you’re absolutelycrazy about, but have no real-world hands-on experience with… yet.Perhaps it’s an affiliate site on remote control helicopters. And let’s imagine you chose that nichebecause it’s something you’ve always wanted to get into.Instead of trying to be an expert on the topic, be “the guy next door”. Be the person your marketcan relate to, and follow through the process of getting started. Let them go through theexperience with you, through every little detail.Think about it. Who do trust more when you’re looking for real opinions – your neighbors andfriends, or “the expert online”?Be transparent, fun and personable and you can easily build a loyal following of people interestedin your topic.Kelly McCausey says:Some think credibility is about having a polished presence that makes them lookawesome. Sadly, people buy into it. A new design client of mine came to me fromanother provider who had really let her down. She thought she could count on thembecause ‘they had the most beautiful flashy website’. She learned the hard way that all that glittersis not to be trusted.The longer I’m in business on the web, the more weight I place on getting a referral from a trustedperson. If someone I trust tells me that you do good work and meet deadlines, I’m very likely tobelieve it and pursue a project with you when the need arises. On the flip side, if a friend tells methat you were late and delivered mediocre results, I’m never going to give you a second look.Credibility is earned one reliable action at a time.© - Nicole Dean, Groovy Slug, LLC page 6 of 16

Learn More from Nicole at her blogl! → www.NicoleontheNet.comTony Shepherd says:Credibility is like a wife or husband.You really do need to get your own and while it can be a lot of fun if youborrow someone else’s, it doesn’t last long and invariably gets you intotrouble.Everyone has their online heroes, whose style they admire and enjoy – butit’s too easy to fall into the trap of trying to be that person.It doesn’t work.I firmly believe that credibility is not something you manufacture. I think that it simply grows on it’sown as you learn more about your trade and fall into being comfortable with yourself as an onlinemarketer.If I was trying to be something I’m not online just to achieve credibility faster or easier than itshould arrive, I’d collapse under the strain. Acting out a role is exhausting and just doesn’t work.It’s like you’ve fallen out of the BS tree and hit every branch on the way down. People can spot lackof cred a MILE away.We’ve all seen the guys who somehow just don’t ‘feel right’ when you visit their blog or buy theirproducts. Their credibility is either borrowed or manufactured.To me it doesn’t work.The good news is that achieving all the credibility you could ever want is easy.Ridiculously easy actually.You just have to be who you are. If your grammar is a bit iffy or your blog posts are full of typos –what the Hell, it’s who you are.If you’re naturally abrasive, or cynical or loving then stay that way.You ever seen people – usually eyewitnesses to some event – interviewed on the news? Theysuddenly start speaking in ways they’d never dream of using to theirmates in the pub ‘I was horrified to see that the cars proceeded to crash into each other, seeminglywithout reason. Following cars tried to avoid the mayhem but no avail!”© - Nicole Dean, Groovy Slug, LLC page 7 of 16

Spread the Love. Share this With a Friend or Post it on your Blog!NOBODY speaks like that in real life and it’s the same when you’re trying to establish your onlinecred.Credible people are more credible BECAUSE they’ve got flaws and faults, not because they’re shinyand perfect. Even Ghandi had knock-knees.Anyway for all your flaws and faults, your mum still loves you, as do your children, husband, wifeand that blonde you’re knocking off from the corner shop.And they love you for yourself. End of story.If you can be yourself online then you’ll find success.It doesn’t mean everyone will like your style – they WON’T. But it does mean that the crowd ofpeople who DO follow you will resonate much more with you than othermarketers. Because they’ve chosen you for who you are.To me that’s true credibility. It’s honest, fun and very very profitable!CheersWant more from Tony? Check out his private mentoring newsletter. • Tony Shepherd’s Private Newsletter. – Includes a monthly report. Tony is no-nonsense and a little on the guerrilla marketing side of things. I pay for his newsletter and it’s pretty cool, advanced stuff.Kristen Eckstein says:Naturally my answer will revolve around the credibility a book gives you.There is nothing quite like a hard-copy, printed, book to give you thatinstant credibility of a published author and accomplished in your field.Putting a book together is hard work, and to do it right with a quality thatreflects the quality you strive to achieve in your business is not always easy.However, when you have that hard copy book at the back of the room, itscreams, “Look at me! I know stuff that can help you, and I wrote it alldown in an easy, affordable format for you to reference. It’s like having mein your pocket all day long!” And who wouldn’t want you in their pocket,ready to answer their questions at a moment’s notice?© - Nicole Dean, Groovy Slug, LLC page 8 of 16

Learn More from Nicole at her blogl! → www.NicoleontheNet.comAnyone can create a 20-30 page PDF and toss it up online, calling themselves a published Ebookauthor. But it takes someone who’s diligent in their field, who wants to give something tangibleand real to their audience, to create a 150-250-page printed and bound book. There will never be areplacement that speaks to the same level of dedication and expertise.If you were seeking speakers for an event and had the choice between two people who wouldteach the same content with the same level of quality, but one had a book and one didn’t, whichone would you choose? Case in point.Ronnie Nijmeh of PLR.me (< -click for a special free offer from Ronnie) says:Credibility is key.It’s all about building rapport, while proving that you are someone your targetperson should trust and respect… and this is critical particularly online.Credibility doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to have a few dozen letters afteryour name, but it does mean you should have something of value to contributebased on your own experience, or the experience of others around you (i.e. interviewing anexpert).With that said, I don’t think it’s particularly difficult to become a credible source of information.Really, it’s about knowing, doing, and breathing your expertise. It’s about confidence, learning, andcontinual improvement.This reminds me of a great movie I saw recently called, “The King’s Speech”… I won’t ruin it for you,but it’s all about an expert helping King George VI overcome a speech impediment. Watch it!In one of my businesses, people know me as the “Stress Coach” because I worked hard in thatniche. I did plenty of research, surrounded myself with experts, I published a lot of great contentthat was truthful and valuable, and I wrote a full-scale book. No, it wasn’t all done in a weekend,but it wasn’t all that difficult either.Turns out… when you do all that, you get noticed by the media – and the media LOVES authors – soI found myself getting calls nearly every week for newspapers, radio stations across North America,and even national talk shows in Canada.All that media exposure just built up my credibility, especially since I embedded those video andaudio clips on my sales pages. You can imagine how that affects your perception as an expert!© - Nicole Dean, Groovy Slug, LLC page 9 of 16

Spread the Love. Share this With a Friend or Post it on your Blog!With all that said, you can gain credibility through a variety of ways: • Surround yourself with experts – either through JVs, interview series, or on your team • Constantly research and learn about your niche. • Be perceived as the go-to expert by putting out lots of great content, resources, tools, videos, webinars, and so on. (Few people do this because it involves work, which means if you actually do the work, you’ll be far ahead of the game!) • Become an author – it’s not as hard as you think, especially if you use good quality PLR, like PLR.me stuff. • Do media appearances or be interviewed by other respected people in the field, then post those appearances all over your site and email autoresponders (this isn’t a required step, but it’s helpful)Have fun becoming the go-to expert!Mark Mason says:For me, credibility is 100% about honesty, integrity and transparency. • Honesty is about telling the truth (even when it is not fun). • Integrity is the stuff that you do when no one is watching. • Transparency is about letting people know what you are doing and why you are doing it.If you master those things, then credibility follows automatically.Once you have established honesty, integrity and transparency, you can start to think aboutbecoming a thought leader or expert in your niche. This always means sharing the things that youdo know about and admitting to the things that you don’t know about.One thing to remember — if you know ANYTHING about internet marketing, you know more than Idid when I started out in 2007. I was a computer tech expert, but I did not know anything aboutAdSense, eBooks, WordPress, blogging, etc. You don’t need to know everything to share valuableinformation. If you know something that can help someone, you are an expert from their point ofview.© - Nicole Dean, Groovy Slug, LLC page 10 of 16

Learn More from Nicole at her blogl! → www.NicoleontheNet.comThe trick is to apply honesty, integrity and transparency when you share. Don’t be something youare not.For those of you following along, feel free to apply this idea in your personal life. It works evenbetter there.Jeanette S. Cates, PhD says:Credibility is the combination of a track record and believability. Andcredibility is a mix of overt and subconscious impressions.In the offline world, credibility is often based on outward appearances,both seen and sensed – a degree on the wall, your name on thebusiness, the thickness of the carpet, the quality of your clothes, thelocation of the building.Offline we subconsciously recognize credibility. But online we actually dothe same thing. A professional photo of the person, professionally designed graphics, a companylogo, a “line” of products. Even the “proof” that someone knows what they are doing – incomestatements, portfolios, the appearance of being “everywhere”, face videos, your testimonial on ahigh-selling site, your interview listed with other online well-knowns.If someone “looks” successful, whether online or offline, we assume they are. After all, that’s whatmakes for a great scam – the trappings of success.Where the rubber meets the road is through recommendations. Offline, they could be the lettersframed on the wall (testimonials), the photos with famous people (credibility through association,an implied endorsement), the personal recommendation of a friend, neighbor or colleague.Online we see the same things – testimonials on your sales page and blog, tweets, blog posts andemails recommending a particular person or product, pictures on your site and your Facebook wall,a direct referral from someone you trust.It’s the recommendation that gives you the believability. And it’s the outward symbols thatdemonstrate your track record. Together they give you “credibility.”© - Nicole Dean, Groovy Slug, LLC page 11 of 16

Spread the Love. Share this With a Friend or Post it on your Blog!Shannon Cherry says:Everyone wants it. Many say they have it. But the fact is credibility isn’tsomething tangible. Credibility is deeper than that.Credibility isn’t fame or success. I see many people confuse the them. I mean, Ibet you know someone who is famous but not credible. Yet online, peopleinterchange the two WAY too often in my opinion.Credibility has two key components: trustworthiness and expertise. If you are an expert insomething, (and I know you are!) then you’ve got half the battle won when it comes to credibility.Trustworthiness is a lot harder. It’s about being honest and working hard to gain respect frompeople. That means you need to build relationships. Building great relationships are a vital part ofearning credibility and making money in Internet marketing. Yes, this will take a little time, butworth the efforts.Susanne Myers says:Credibility is incredibly important for just about any online business.Unless you are building Adsense sites, you need to build a relationshipand trust with your readers to make money online. It doesn’t matter ifyou sell your own products, a service or if you are an affiliate for someoneelse’s products.So… how do you get the credibility? By doing what you are teaching orsharing on your site. I struggled with this quite a bit over the years. I wasdoing really well online and was making a very nice full-time income, butdidn’t think I was enough of an expert to teach affiliate marketing. I didn’t want to be yet anotherperson who teaches people how to make money online. That was until I realized that I was in factan expert and was making quite a bit more than 95% of all other online entrepreneurs.And I had done it with several different online businesses and taught my husband how to do thesame. I think that’s what gives you true credibility. First of all the fact that you can repeat whatyou’re doing with similar (or even better) results and that you can successfully teach it to someoneelse. Having that track record has given me the confidence to call myself an expert affiliatemarketer.© - Nicole Dean, Groovy Slug, LLC page 12 of 16

Learn More from Nicole at her blogl! → www.NicoleontheNet.comNicole Dean says:Holy Moley. We’re over 3000 words for this blog post already and Ihaven’t even started yet.It’s interesting. When I asked the question, I had in mind credibilitywhen creating infoproducts. Like why should someone trust youenough to buy what you’re teaching. And, how do you prove thatyou know enough about the topic in order to sell people on thatfact.But it looks like we got answers from several angles.In fact, we got so many answers from such a variety of angles that I had to go research and actuallyget straight in my head what exactly credibility was.Credibility is: “the quality of being believed or trusted”Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998,2000, 2003 (via The Free Dictionary)That’s credibility in general.I also found that there’s “Web Credibility”. Stanford University did a study on Web Credibility (Youcan see full results at Wikipedia.com.) Here are the guidelines from the Standford Study on Web Credibility 1. Make it easy to verify the accuracy of the information on your site. 2. Show that there’s a real organization behind your site. 3. Highlight the expertise in your organization and in the content and services you provide. 4. Show that honest and trustworthy people stand behind your site. 5. Make it easy to contact you. 6. Design your site so it looks professional (or is appropriate for your purpose). 7. Make your site easy to use–and useful. 8. Update your site’s content often (at least show it’s been reviewed recently). 9. Use restraint with any promotional content (e.g., ads, offers). 10. Avoid errors of all types, no matter how small they seem.© - Nicole Dean, Groovy Slug, LLC page 13 of 16

Spread the Love. Share this With a Friend or Post it on your Blog!The standards for Web Credibility were all about an actual website, not a persona. It’s a bitconfusing since most of us are building a relationship and are branding ourselves (rather than an“organization”)- at least those who I normally connect with and the members of this panel.So… if I were to take that list and “Nik-ify” it to how I’m personally working to establish credibility(believability & trust) on this blog, here’s my list of 5.Five Ways I Try to Improve My Credibility on This Blog1. My Podcast.I’m connecting with my audience in a way so that they can get to know me. Plus, I have otherexperts on my podcast, which boosts my value with the “Oprah Effect”. The Oprah Effect simplymeans that you don’t have to be an expert if you can surround yourself with those who are.Expertise is like cooties. You can catch it.2. Picture of me on the top of the page.I’m obviously not a Stock Photo model that’s on top of 100 other sites. I’m me.3. My Private life.I have photos from my private life on my blog. That’s more of a likability thing, but it shows thatI’m a real person. And, since I talk about being a wife and a mother – it’s important that I show thatI actually have kids and a husband, too.4. Expert Briefs.Yes, these compilation blog posts have several goals. One of which is to show that I have otherexperts who know, like, and trust me enough to let me borrow some of their credibility.5. Interaction.I read every single comment that I get on this blog and try to respond to as many as I can in orderto show that there’s a real person behind this website.But those 5 Things are not the same as when I’m creating an infoproduct or if I were a serviceprovider of some sort, trying to get clients.When I’m trying to sell a product, other things are more important.5 Tips for Increasing Credibility when Selling an InfoProduct1. Testimonials for Social Proof.© - Nicole Dean, Groovy Slug, LLC page 14 of 16

Learn More from Nicole at her blogl! → www.NicoleontheNet.comI like to use screenshots of Tweets for social proof. It’s public. It’s real. And, I can prove it. Forinstance, I’ve collected several, including this one that I’m proud of:2. Congruency.I wouldn’t feel comfortable teaching a course about article marketing unless I’d personally done itwith good results. Which I have.On the same note, I wouldn’t purchase a course on video marketing if I saw the person selling ithad only 3 videos on YouTube.com with only 200 total views. Show me a screenshot or video tourof your videos on YouTube including how many page views you’ve had. There should be somecongruency there.3. Honesty.I’d much rather purchase a product where the person who created it said “I could have donebetter, but I made a few mistakes – that I’ll help you to avoid” – than to be too slick and polished.But, that’s a discussion for another day.4. Guarantee & Contact Info.Both of these help increase trust when someone is deciding whether or not to buy a product. Ifthere’s no contact information, I won’t buy it. I don’t care how good the product is. I need to knowthat there will be support if I need it.5. No funny business and Be Clear.I don’t want popups flashing in my face. I don’t want the price hidden when I try to find it. And, thething that’s been driving me crazy lately is when people don’t tell you what the heck you’re gettingif you buy. There’s one marketer who I’d LOVE to buy about 5 of his products, but every time I tryto figure out what I’m getting, I get confused. I don’t know if it’s an audio course, a series ofdownloadable reports, videos, or a hard-cover book that will show up in the mail.So, be clear. Be up front. And, remember that you’re in the business of helping people, notsqueezing their money from them as fast as you can. (oops. Soapbox snuck in there.)Well, those are my thoughts. I know they’re a bit scattered, but that’s because everyone else’sresponses were so thought-provoking that my head is full of new ideas.© - Nicole Dean, Groovy Slug, LLC page 15 of 16

Spread the Love. Share this With a Friend or Post it on your Blog!Recommended Resource If you’re interested in writing a book to gain credibility, be sure to check out Kristen’s program: Finish Writing Your Book Fast: Accountability for ProcrastinatorsIt’s Your Turn.So, now, I’ll pose this question to you. Do you have any special tips for establishing credibility? I’dlove to hear your comments!Share them here: http://www.nicoleonthenet.com/7359/internet-credibility/Warmly,Nicole Dean You may certainly share this document with a friend!© - Nicole Dean, Groovy Slug, LLC page 16 of 16

How to Establish Credibility Online

by Nicole Dean on Jun 29, 2011

Accessibility

Categories

Upload Details

Usage Rights

Statistics

How to Establish Credibility Online Document Transcript