Building Rapport and Relationship with your Readers
Written by: Don Miller
Posted on December 27, 2007
Filed Under Starting your Online Business
Your online home based business depends on traffic. I’m sure we agree on that. My site just had the biggest week in its history. Unique visitors increased by 300% the past week and page views over 100 % . The question is ; will they come back? It is a question all online business owners must face, and must answer. The future of your business depends on it. Once your traffic pattern begins to take shape your plan to keep them should be already in place. Online relationships can be built the same way your personal relationships can, if you are willing to invest the time in interacting with your reader investigating their interests. Knowledge of these two will allow you an opportunity to introduce your product or service.
Interacting with your Readers
Blogs are popular for a number of reasons. The ease of setting up a blog, making your desired changes with a few clicks makes setting up your home based business easy. Let’s look at it from your visitors perspective. Actually you should always look at everything you do with your blog from your visitors perspective, but I ‘ll save that for another time. What makes blogs popular for visitors is interacting with YOU, the author of your article. Have you ever read a book or newspaper and said to yourself, ” I wish I could talk with that guy/gal? ” Blogs afford that opportunity for people, yet I read countless blogs that post, and let the readers and commenter’s take it from there. So what should you do?
You must be as transparent as possible, authentic people are getting to be fewer and fewer, genuine people willing to let people into their souls will be able to get into their readers hearts and that is foundational to building relationships. That is what you should do with your readers. Deceitful people rely on the inability of some to distinguish the difference between a fraud and the genuine article. You will find many who are skeptical. That is not necessarily your fault. Their view of the internet world likely has been tainted through experiences of deception. You have to become a safe haven for them. You are seeking a long term relationship with your reader/visitor. Direct your interactions to the truth, be authentic. Do you want to be a one hit wonder, or a place where your visitor can return with confidence that is rooted in your authenticity?
“If you are not authentic, you will get the benefit of just one sale, not a hundred. The cost of your deception is just too high” Seth Godin
Investigating their Interests
Don’t assume that they visited your site because you run the worlds greatest niche site on the internet. What is the most popular statement a visitor makes when wandering around a retail store? Employees always ask, can I help you? They almost always say, I’m just looking. Now you know that’s not the approach I like, as I detailed in a separate post. Same thing with your blog or website, but when a visitor makes a comment, he is inviting you to make a comment in return. Your response validates what the person has said, more importantly his existence and acknowledgment of their presence. This is your opportunity to get to know them, to build a relationship. Your chance to respond in writing , for that reader to know you are listening. Your mission should be to find out where they are, where it is they want to go, and then help them get there. They were interested in something when they came to your site, find out what that is. A word of caution here, establishing a working knowledge of a visitor’s interest may take some time.
I am convinced it can be done online just as it is done face to face, it just may take longer. Sometimes someone will volunteer the information quickly, others may be more reluctant. People only notice things that are new and different, remember the last site they visited might have ignored them all together; you have a chance to be different, act on it.
I received an email from a young man exploring ways to have a web presence for his ministry. If you have read my about page you know I was involved in ministry for 5 years. I asked him 3 or 4 questions and he wrote back a lengthy reply. I can tell you without a doubt he has passion for his calling. We will talk again. We have established a basis for our continued communication.
Introducing your Ideas
You have discovered their interests. You may have identified their wants and needs. You know your product or service can help them. So when do you introduce it to them? If you started this relationship off correctly you have already introduced your product or service. You have been sharing your story throughout your site.
If you have been authentic with your communication, the presentation of your product is already underway. I often refer to my site as my house. As does my home, my site reflects who I am, what I am about and my purpose for its presence. The other day I visited my own Technorati profile. This is what it says, Working at Making Sales and Making Money online, My hope is to exchange ideas and promote sound business principles, not a get rich quick scheme. I promote SBI because of those principles. I considered changing that a bit, but then thought, no, that kind of says it exactly how I live it. I want to provide home based business opportunities to everyone I meet. I have to believe in what it is I am promoting. At the end of the day your site visitor should be able to ask you a simple question of which there is only one correct answer.
“After I used this, experienced it, will I be glad I believed the story or will I feel ripped off?
If a product or service you are promoting cannot pass this simple test, you should consider removing it from your suggestion list. If you find out during your conversation that perhaps your visitor might be better suited for someones else’s product or service, don’t be afraid to suggest it. After all you cannot be an expert at everything, admitting that you are not goes a long way towards establishing your credibility. Isn’t that we all want? Stay The Course
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Tags:, business, home based business, home based business opportunities, niche, Personal Growth
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