Building Credibility On the Road To Success

Building a profitable business online requires trust in order to succeed. Your potential clients need to see you as an authority in your field. There are a few ways in marketing online to accomplish this goal, but you first need to realize that your mission is not to sell right out of the gate.

Here are a few ways to gain the trust and build yourself as the authority in your field:

1. Create an informative newsletter focused around your business. Start out by telling them some details of why you started your business and why you are passionate about what your have to offer. People online need to know that there is a person behind the business and not just another fly by night salesperson.

Your main goal is to have open communication with your subscribers so that they get to know the person behind the scenes. This was best reflected in an article recently posted in Business Week regarding Wesabe and how the CEO blocked out 4 hours each day to personally take calls from his clients.

2. Create and submit informative articles to 5 of the top directories on the internet. Article writing and submission has always been one of the staple marketing techniques to drive traffic to your site. By providing valuable information you will start to build yourself as an authority in your chosen arena. This is also one of the best ways to build incoming contextual links.

Below are some of the sites where you will want to post your article:

EzineArticles.com

ArticleAvenue.com

GoArticles.com

Articlefeeder.com

Articlecube.com

3. Social Marketing is another way to get the word out about your business although there is a delicate balance between information and selling. Most of your social networks frown upon outright selling so you will need to work a different angle when using this technique. Again just like the articles you will want to provide information that is of value. This could be anything from a how to type article to benefits surrounding your business.

The main thing to remember is that social media is a community of like minded individuals and are not looking for blatant sales tactics. Take some time and visit some of the top social media networks and examine the type of information that people are posting. Many of these networks are broken into groups, so take the time to find out where your site fits and then contribute to the community. Your main focus on the social media is to build relationships with like minded individuals that will be more receptive to your offerings. Below are listed some of the top social media sites to start your research:

Hubpages.com

Flixya.com

Gather.com

With these few techniques if done properly you will see your online business flourish for years to come. One key point to remember is that consumers online normally buy from businesses that they trust so it is your responsibility to get involved with your potential customers. As they say, the money is in the list, and that is so true, so by building your relationship with your subscribers you are securing your future sales.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Diane Scott provides hot topic news summaries, product reviews, and marketing recommendations. She welcomes your visit to her Online Internet Marketing Strategies blog. Stop by and leave your comments and suggestions any time.