Solve. Don't Sell! Be Personable. And Respect Others.

In today's world there exists an abundance of choice in everything! This is especially true on-line and especially true in business. So let me say this, if you have a bad business, a blog (or a website) isn't going to help!

It's become virtually impossible for a sketchy product, an obnoxious company or any bad salesperson to keep their little sad reality a secret. If you don't have a persons' best interests at heart, we're going to find out sooner than later! And if we don't like you for the bad person that you are, in today's information age it's easier to move on and find someone else who's going to deliver a better brand experience!

Here are some recommendations to ensure that you stand out from the pack:

Solve. Don't sell! - how many times are we sold to throughout the day? From the moment we wake up and tune in to the morning radio show to the moment we get home and answer that telemarketing call? The answer is A LOT! So when I come to your site because I'm looking for something, try and focus less on selling and show me how you're going to solve my problems. I could care less that you say "you're the best." I care more about how you're going to deliver!

Practice generosity. - Do you know why some bloggers have such vast communities? Because they're natural givers. They add to the conversation, they help their peers, they give and they give and they give...  And they most often do it all for free! In return they've built tight knit communities for themselves. So what's the lesson here? Don't come to the party empty-handed. Give and ye shall receive!

Be personable. And be transparent. - Success isn't about gaining maximum attention by mindlessly spewing back-links out there (leaving comments like "nice post. Thanks!"). It's about cultivating and building a community and getting help from the members of your community. We're successful because of the friendships, fans and contacts that we create. We have to be personable but we also have to be transparent. "I am what I am" used to say Popeye. Be yourself, be personable and you'll have your own little community in no time!

So I ask you: What are you doing today to deliver on the promise of a better brand experience? Is your blog personable? Or is it a medium for blatant self-promotion? (I'm sold to enough times in a day...I wanna know how you're going to solve my problems). Can we market ourselves without resorting to the hard, heavy "selling" tactics that people have grown all too familiar with? You don't have to be blogging for business to share your opinion...voice it anyway! What do you want to read/see when you're shopping for services online?
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Comments

[Robin]

Hi Ricardo

I sure know I don't like those blogs that have ads all over them. I feel those people are just interested in making money. (Don't get me wrong - I thoroughly approve of advertising on blogs.)

It's interesting that ProBlogger's ads are over on the side and don't give his blog a cluttered look - I can find what I need without being distracted by ads (and as I write this your ad for his book just happens to be right next to this box!)

Cheers - Robin

[Ricardo Bueno]

@Robin: Amen! I'm with you 100% on websites that have an over-cluttered look with ads. Like you, I'm ok with ads as a form of supplementing the site to generate some income BUT, don't overdo it please! If the ads are so prominent that I can't find the content, see ya! I'm outta here!

[Urban Panther]

Hear, hear! I want to visit someone's site to learn a little more about myself in the process through their stories. And I strive to give my readers the same experience. I have ceased reading sites that are Ra Ra Look At Me!

[Ricardo Bueno]

@Urban Panther: Re: "I want to visit someone's site to learn a little more about myself in the process through their stories." Amen! I love blogging for that! I get a lot out of reading other peoples content; granted sometimes I don't comment. But I'm still reading and I'm still gathering.

The whole "me, me, me" isn't going to fly with me.

[Cath Lawson]

Hi Ricardo - This is wonderful advice. I can think of plenty of businesses who should never have blogs. And they're probably the types who would just try to sell, sell, sell all the time.

[Ari Koinuma]

Well, it's a common concept that the most important word in any copy is "you." I think with self-improvement blogs, there's a real danger in just spewing out niceties and being generic -- so I'm trying to distill my messages into real world stories and situations. And I'm going to try keeping myself open to answering reader questions, so that I have a real-life problem to solve. I'm still in the stage where I'm explaining where I'm coming from, but hopefully as more people become aware of my offerings, they'll use me as a sounding-board to try to solve their real life problems.

ari

[Writer Dad]

I hope I'm personable. That's definitely what I strive for. I think you have to treat your audience the way you want to be treated. If you don't like to be sold or talked down to, don't do it to your audience.

[Alex Fayle]

I hope that my own experiences help people with their own personal journey, and if I can earn some money along the way, all the better... but the helping others bit is the important part.

[Ricardo Bueno]

@Cath: Hiya! Good to see you back! You know, I see a lot of businesses jumping online and pushing SEO. And that's fine! You need some good SEO to attract visitors but when it's all blatant self-promotion, you forget that at the end of the day, people still need to have their problems solved. And the whole "me, me, me" type of content isn't very reinforcing!

@Writer Dad: Re: "I hope I'm personable." Dude, no problem there...you are! Ultimately, if you treat your audience well, you'll get much respect in return. That's how positive thriving communities are built. You gotta give to get. Ya know!?

[BloggerNewbie]

Good Morning Ricardo

Good post. I agree, thank goodness for google to enable us to catch all the scams and not so good businesses.

I like to share what I have learned & help people with shortcuts in blogging (as we all know) blogging can be time consuming. Shortcuts are always welcome..

[Irene]

Well said, Ricardo! I'm all for authentic experiences and open-minded discussions ... egos just don't work for me. And if I really want to buy something, I'd buy from a business site, not a blog.

[Doug Rosbury]

Get to the top? what's the top? It's a fantasy. Just be yourself. Please yourself.
give up all the hype and just be common sense.
You can't be better than anyone else anyway
because each of us is unique. The trouble with this world is that so many people want to be the best. It's not possible. Be compassionate and awaken people to their uniqueness.------Doug

[Ricardo Bueno]

@Doug Rosbury: The top...what is it? In a word, some might say "success." But how do you define success? You can't. Each person has their own definition of success. As you said, each person is unique and as such, they'll have their own definition.

I not suggesting a definition in the above referenced quote. I'm merely suggesting that in order to excel towards our independent goals, we need to do the best that we can every day so that we may continue to better ourselves personally and professionally.

[Maya]

I'm a sucker for visually attractive blogs. If a blog for example just runs with some standard template that I have seen before I'm out of there. When it comes to ads/products I like it when they're weaved into the overall look and/or color scheme that to me shows care. I think it's great if we can all make money blogging! And it doesn't mean that content gets compromised. "It's about cultivating and building a community..." Ricardo, I agree, have to admit though that I'm a bit at a loss with that. I just started with my niche and am still trying to find my way around.

[Davina]

I don't like to see too many ads on a blog. I guess because my blog is personal and not business.

If there are ads, I tend not to look at them because I'm not buying anything. I'm looking for information, ideas and connection. I blog to share my perspectives and encourage that in the readers.

[meleah rebeccah]

I agree 100% with every single word written in this post. I especailly liked the part about being a generous blogger.

Well done post my friend!

[Steph]

@ Ricardo: I was hoping to get here sooner, but work dictated otherwise. Thanks for the comment on my site and for visiting. I'm glad I arrived here: your post was so good, so well written, so in line with my own thinking, that I started copying some of your words to paste for a quote in one of my next posts. The problem is, I couldn't stop copying and in the end I'd cut the whole thing!!

I'll just send them here to read it, of course. :)

I really like your points, and rather than just apply them to my blog I want to constantly keep them in mind for my business as well.

[Brad Coy]

Believe or not some people still like to be sold. I think it's both generational as well as a part of one's needs. This does not work well for me as a salesperson since I don't generally like the 'push' or 'hard' sell. However, it is something I need to be aware of when somebody is looking to me for my best opinion.

I'm a big believer in practicing generosity. On the flip-side, one needs to be very mindful of their time (most valuable thing we have) and people the abuse your generosity. Most of my career I've been an Entrepreneur, and if there is one thing I've learned it's that you will continue to draw the same type of clients to you over and over. If you allow yourself to be used... guess what, the user will tell their friends, just like those that are appreciative.

Recognizing opportunities. Respecting yourSELF and others is what's called for.

[Hunter Nuttall]

This all fits in very well with a definition of entrepreneur I've always liked: an entrepreneur is someone who gets paid for solving other people's problems.

[Jesse Kliza]

Hey Ricardo,

I think in many ways the openness of the web, and the democratization of information has made people who have lived with the web for most of their lives much less tolerant of the sell, sell, sell, impersonal approach that many companies have taken for so long.

However, I find that many people who have been in business for a long time still find it hard to move past that approach. I also think they've not been forced to completely abandon it just yet, because there are still people who've not been exposed to the other approach.

Great stuff - you've got my wheels turning. :-)

[Ricardo Bueno]

@Ari: Re: "I'm still in the stage where I'm explaining where I'm coming from, but hopefully as more people become aware of my offerings, they'll use me as a sounding-board to try to solve their real life problems."

rs bit is the important part.You're already well on your way! I like that you have a digested version of what you are writing available for each of your posts which I think is very helpful and unique :-P Just keep it up and keep sharing...

@Alex Fayle: Re: "I hope that my own experiences help people with their own personal journey..."

I think that every time we write something, leave a comment, share an interaction, we're helping someone if even only in a small way. And that's a very powerful thing!

If at some point you make some residual income along the way, that's fine. As long as you were never disingenuous to begin with it's "A-ok." So many people are disingenuous though, ya know!? It's those people that I look to avoid :-/

Thanks for the visit Alex!...

@Blogger Newbie: Hiya! I always keep an eye out for the fishy/sneaky types out there too...you have to.

[Ricardo Bueno]

@Irene: Re: "I'm all for authentic experiences..." Amen!

Re: "egos just don't work for me..." Meleah thinks that people who disable comments on their entries are arrogant :-P If I were able to disable comments on a post of mine, would you consider me arrogant? Hehe...I hope not :-)

@Maya: Re: "I'm a sucker for visually attractive blogs." Hey, who isn't!? If you have a slick design, you got my attention (so long as your site isn't over-crowded with ads so much so that it erases the content. So many sites out there do that :-/).

On the last point that you mentioned...you know where I stand :-) I hope that e-mail was helpful!

@Davina: I think we can all agree that too many ads on a site "sucks!" When I see something like that my instinctive reaction is "oohhh nnooo..." then [click, click] to another site :-)

I write to share perspectives first and foremost...readers come first. Everything else is a bonus.

@Meleah: Really?... Every single word? :-P I'm flattered/honored :-) Thank "you" chica!

[Barbara Swafford]

Hi Ricardo,

I agree transparency is VERY important. If we can show our readers who we are, we more apt to gain a loyal following. Helping others is of utmost importance to me. Just knowing my words, suggestions or questions helped someone, makes my day. I love to teach my readers to be informed "consumers". Too often blogs are written with false information.

[meleah rebeccah]

really. every single word.

[Mark Beckford]

Ricardo, I think you've hit the nail on the head, hard. Be genuine/authentic, solve people's problems, and GIVE. I've recently read "Never Eat Alone" and "The Go-Giver" and those same themes resonate through out both books.

One premise from these books really stuck out for me: give more to your network then you get from them. Not an easy thing to do, but the mindset that it forces you into is an important life change. Its amazing the various creative things you can do for somebody when you put your mind to it.

Mark

[Jesse Kliza]

Awesome point Mark! It really is pretty incredible the things you can do for others that to you may see as very simple or easy, but have a really profound/radical effect on their life or project/work.

[Ricardo Bueno]

@Steph: don't you just hate work sometimes? I mean c'mon...I'm trying to blog here people! (Hehe...) :-P I' m just j/k.

But really, Steph..thank you for the kind compliment! If you want to share some of the words with your audience, by all means do :-) Heck, if you wanna throw a post up there just don't forget to invite me to the party.

What I wrote is a philosophy that I live by both on- and off-line. And so far, so good...

Thanks again Steph! Great to meet you...

@Hunter: Thanks for that... I love that definition!

[Ricardo Bueno]

@Brad Coy: I think that some entrepreneurs struggle because they see their role as one that has to be overly accommodating for the consumer. And though I do believe that we should be as accommodating as possible to create a better brand experience for each and every client, you HAVE to be very specific about what your value sets & service offering is and be able to set very specific boundaries. Sometimes, you have to say "no." If you fail to set boundaries, it's like you said, your setting yourself up to be taken advantage of and your business will suffer.

[Cath Lawson]

Hi Ricardo - I hear what you're saying. I don't think ads on a website have anything to do with selling though - that is marketing. Selling is what happens when someone clicks on the ad and goes to another sites sales page.

But, I've been on blogs where folk try to sell you the moment you arrive. You ask a basic question in the comments section and they email you trying to sell as many services as possible.

I run a mile from those places. It's like they don't want to get to know you, or discover what you really want - they just want to sell you as much as they can. And it sucks.

I don't sell anything on my blog yet, although I have begun to add ads. But when I do - I certainly won't be the type who jumps on customers.

[Sire]

Ricardo, you have certainly said a mouthful. The problem is that there are probably a lot of bloggers out there who will agree with you and yet can't see that their blogs are a everything you said it shouldn't be. Heck, mine may well be one of them.

It's something that I learned as a salesman many years ago, people buy emotionally and then justify the purchase logically. I reckon it is true with their blogs as well.

[Tammy Warren]

I guess each blogger is after something different. I am not about advertising. I am getting to know many of my readers through commenting (thank you for the advice) and I am loving it. I know when I go to a blog if there is false information or if they are just writing to get the numbers up.

Thank you for keeping the discussions going in your comment section. I have found many blogs that I follow by coming to your blog. You got it!

[Ricardo Bueno]

@Tammy: what do you mean by "thanks for stopping by the slower part of the world?" You got quite the community there too my friend :-P

You know, people often talk about formulating friendships, building communities online, notions of grandeur... They sometimes forget that one of the best ways to get there is to be "present" in the conversation; whether it's in the comments of your own blog or in the comments of someone else's blog.

Anyway, thanks for being a friend Tammy!

[Natural]

If I’m reading a blog I really only expect two things to continue coming back: teach me something or make me laugh. Don’t care how you do it. As far as business, I look for competitive prices, low shipping and great customer service.

[Ricardo Bueno]

@Cath: Hiya! How have you been?

Re: "I've been on blogs where folk try to sell you the moment you arrive. You ask a basic question in the comments section and they email you trying to sell as many services as possible.
I run a mile from those places."

I definitely hear you on that! And I can't stand that either! I run as fast as I can and I don't look back.. A few times I've had to e-mail the individual more than once (they didn't have an unsubcribe button). Some even go so far as to sign me up for their newsletter without my asking! To me, that's completely the wrong way to reach out to me (a prospective consumer). To me, you've just diminished your brand value and I don't/won't buy from you.

[Ricardo Bueno]

@Natural: re: "teach me something or make me laugh." I hope that I've done a mix of the two :-P

[Ricardo Bueno]

@Jesse: Re: "you've got my wheels turning" Good! I'd hope so...

I agree that people who have been in business for that long find it hard to move past the "sell, sell, sell" approach and as Brad Coy suggested, some people still like to be "sold" to. Ya know?

For me personally, I dislike the hard sell approach. It doesn't appeal to me and I don't like using that approach at all. Online, I find people to be disingenuous when using that approach towards me and for me at least, it diminishes their brand value (or at least what I perceive it to be) and I move one to someone else who seems to care.