Are You A Phantom?

[Dale King]

Are You A Phantom?


I am totally amazed at how many people on this forum claim they want to be successful, yet they do everything they can to sabotage their success by concealing their identities.

No full name, no pic, no address, no phone number, no website...

If your goal is too become successful online, that's certainly not the way to do it.

Look at the top marketers. We know their names, where they live, what they look like, etc.

That's how they became top marketers. They developed a trust factor online, by opening up and revealing who they are.

They allowed us to get to know them.

And people buy from people they know and trust. That's an ironclad fact.

Hiding behind a silly avatar and screen name doesn't instill very much trust.

Who or what are you guys hiding from?

Are the cops hot on your trail?...the feds?...a psychopathic ex?

Seriously though, would you give your money to a phantom?

Well then, why would you expect anyone to give their money to you?

So many people in this forum are phantoms. Why?

Actually, a better question is, unless you are indeed running from the law, why not put yourself out there?

The more familiar people are with you, the more people will trust you, the more likely they are to buy from you.

After all, isn't that why you're in business in the first place?

I just don't get it.

Now I understand, some people just aren't very secure in how they look and I respect that. But that really shouldn't be a concern to you. Here's why:

It's not about your looks. It's all in how you present yourself. It really is.

I can tell you from personal experience, no one cares what you look like...what color you are...whether you're a man or a woman.

If you act and portray yourself as a knowledgeable professional, you'll be treated like a professional.

Let me give you an example of what I'm talking about:

Remember Ruben Studdard? He won the 2003 American Idol talent contest over favorite and runner-up Clay Aiken.

Ruben was a huge 300 pound black man. In fact, because of his size, he was nicknamed "the velvet teddy bear." But America didn't care about his weight. The only thing that mattered to the voters was that Studdard could sing his butt off.

Here's my point, if someone is going to judge whether or not they want to do business with you based on your looks, race gender or anything else, you're better off without that type of client anyway.

Associating your face with your business has proven to be extremely effective. That's why whenever you see infomercials on television, they're not only selling the product or service, they're selling the person behind the product or service as well.

Look at the television commercials of your local car dealerships. They put their faces front and center, because they understand that people buy from people they know and trust. And the more they see your face, the more they feel they know you and the more they trust you.

It's all about human psychology.

Can you imagine how uncomfortable you would feel, if your next door neighbors wore masks all the time, and you didn't know their names?

Wouldn't that freak you out? Would you trust them? Of course, you wouldn't.

Well the same premise applies in marketing.

You'll be more successful, if people trust you.

Just make sure you don't abuse that trust.

Dale King

[JosephRatliff]

Dale,

Yet another masterpiece.

And it is truth beyond measure...

But the harsh reality is...trust is only the first step.

Which makes it that much more important to gain trust and credibility. You have to start there, period.

For those of you out there that are "hiding" online...

I challenge you to reveal yourselves today.

I would like to get to know you.

[faith]

Thanks, this is great.

I recently started adding my photo to everything. (OK well, not here, my avatar makes me laugh since I run two fuel economy sites.) I couldn't put into words why, it just seemed like a good idea. I was probably subliminally catching that successful marketers publically display their images and information.

I used to try to hide that I was a woman everywhere.

In my fuel economy forum, it seemed that no one took me, as a woman, seriously. I changed my user name and put up a scary admin photo and boom! I was taken seriously and respected.

Now, I've stopped hiding. I've gained enough respect as "The one who makes things run" that it makes no difference. In all other ventures, it has only helped to get out from behind my androgynous shell.

[JosephRatliff]

faith,


Nicely done.

When the world knows who you are, you can start the process of building trust and credibility.

Way to take action.

[faith]

thanks,

I think years ago one could hide because a)everything was new and b)there really were not that many scammers out there.

My husband and I had a successful web bases business back when search engine spamming wasn't even an issue. The more keywords you had the better your ranked. Shoot, FFA pages worked then! (Pooh, now I'm showing my age too, .) I don't even remember if our faces or contact info was anywhere on the site other than email or if you completed an order.

I believe that as things get harder, SEO wise, they also get better for real marketers trying the white hat tactics and trust is a white hat tactic.

[Dale King]