How do you present yourself online?
Recently I’ve been thinking about this ALOT. So much so that when my wife put a coffee pot and table out on the curb for anyone to pick up as they drive by, I actually fixed the coffee pot and put all the peices together so it looked right. I didn’t want someone to drive by a perfectly good Senseo coffee maker thinking it was a peice of junk that didn’t work. It doesn’t matter right, because we are just getting rid of it.. But I’d rather someone else use it than it land in a landfill..
Anyways – my question to you is how do you present yourself online? There are multiple areas that you are presenting yourself. And it makes a huge difference how much business you make. Here’s another story.
My wife and I are thinking about buying our first house. We’ve been looking online at all the listings and excitedly finding ones we like. We found the perfect house, and then found out it was in the process of being sold. It was the only one that met our qualifications, or so we thought.
Then I decided to drive by another house I saw. It was in our price range, and seemed to have what we needed, but I remembered the photos were just awful (I’m a photographer..). When we drove by it, I was shocked! Now it’s not like the perfect looking house, but it wasn’t the terrible house I saw for sale online.
Next we have the whole mortgage process. My friend has a guy he’s gone with for years and recommended him to me. I checked out his website.. Ahh! If my friend didn’t recommend him to me I wouldn’t have even called. The site was that bad.
Now lets look at you. How does your website look? The photo you use for your avatar? The comments you write in forums and emails? Are you presenting yourself in a way that makes people run to you or run away?
These offline situations had something you don’t. They are offline! I can see in person that really it was just a bad photo, probably by the person who own’s the house and can’t figure out how to use the camera right. And the mortgage guy the website might be an after thought, doing more in person business as well.
But you – you want an online business. That’s why you’d subscribe to my blog. So you don’t have that. You have to depend on what people perceive you as online, whether you like it or not. I know I even make the mistake of judging people by their avatar, when it doesn’t make any difference. But it’s our nature to do that, we are visual people. So having a bad avatar is just another hurdle people have to jump through to trust you and do business with you.
So take some time and look at your site, your photo, what you post online. You might not think anyone is noticing, but it’s waaay easy to do a google search and find it all. In fact, we did searches to check out what’s going on with houses and neighborhoods and found some shocking stuff. So you may think your comments in some forum don’t matter, but it can have a huge effect on your business too!
What if? you aren’t a great web designer, or a great photographer, or a great writer? Well find someone who is! Or even just someone whos better than you. It reflects on you as a business person so stop procrastinating..
This is such a great post Tim!! I was just at my mother in laws house and saw how my blog looked on someone else’s computer. For the most part I was pretty happy with it, but yeah, I could do a better job. Thanks for the great posts!! Although this is my first comment, I am paying attention.
Phil ( philsfault ) Amess lastest blog post..To Upgrade or Not to Upgrade? … That is the Question
Very well put, Tim. I’m a graphic designer so images come across to me real quick. I’m amazed how many people put up photographs of things (not only avatars) that are just bad photos and hard to decipher – the “What is THAT?” syndrome. And what you have to say about comments is “right on” – how to destroy a reputation in 2 seconds flat.
Thank you!
Patricia
I completely agree and admit that I’m not very good at designing my own website. Funny you should bring it up, though. This evening I received an e-mail directing me to a website that sells jewelry making tools. It may have been a legitimate site, and I do design jewelry so I’m not surprised that I received an e-mail – but it was so poorly written and in such broken English that although the site itself wasn’t too bad, I would never order from them.
Parthena Blacks lastest blog post..Another Made In China Toy Recalled
Great post Tim. Very original topic. You’ve got my wheels turning. Now I’m wondering how my avatar,blog,site,etc are perceived by others.
Thanks for making me think, and once again, nice work.
Travis Millwards lastest blog post..Email Deliverability Tips
Just a quick one: I cringed when I read ALOT. This does not exist – please write A LOT.
Your English Grammar expert!
Alot is a town and a nagar panchayat in Ratlam district in the state of Madhya Pradesh, India.
LOL ok I know I know I do that a lot. I’m not the best with English. I know I know the whole post is on this stuff, guilty as charged!
Hey Tim!
I always said that You need a “sexy” picture to brand Yourself as a Traffic Exchange Marketer! :)
Awesome post! Love when people put things together in one whole idea!
Best,
Andrew Levin
LOL yeah I just thought the blue one was fun. I should probably get a better one done but I’m just like eh..
Two very quick comments:
I cringed when I saw:
ALOT (does not exist).
2. lets look at you
Sorry, but you were writing about presenting yourself online and, to me, grammar is one of the aspects which should always be correct. Yes, I know this is a blog, so maybe I should shut up!
Your English Language Expert
With “Reputaion Management” taking on a lot of steam these days it is a very relevant question. I wonder if peopel see me online as I think I am presenting myself, or do they see me completly different than I see myself!!
Branding yourself is one of the most important details of running your online business. How you present yourself goes a long way into how others will perceive you.
My tips:
Be consistent in your appearance.
Find a niche and run with it.
Build sites with good eye appeal and easy navigation.
Provide quality content that genuinely helps your sites visitors.
Over-deliver on your promises.
Don’t be afraid to try new things.
Never stop learning.
Gaty Calverts lastest blog post..Marlon Sander’s 21-Step Cheat Sheet to Profiting from Twitter
And double-check to make sure you spelled your own name correctly on blog comments even if you are just waking up and haven’t had your morning coffee, yet…. ;-)
Gary Calverts lastest blog post..Marlon Sander’s 21-Step Cheat Sheet to Profiting from Twitter
:) I thought Gaty was an interesting name…it caught my eye! Maybe that’s another way to get noticed. (jk)
All kidding aside, both you and Tim have great points to share about one’s personal “brand”.
Tim you are so right we all judge a book by the cover it is in our nature.
I would have to agree with Marianne does people see us they way we see ourself.
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Great piece.Still in the learning stage and all I am reading and hearing about is presenting oneself in a positive way will have good result. Your advice is very helpful keep it up.
Great – more stuff to do! Seriously though, good post Tim. I need to analyze this material carefully as I am moving forward.
Good post! I myself have always gone the other way. I don’t really go for the personal touch on business websites. Not saying it does not work, but for me I have always tried to mimic sites like trafficswarm, logiscape stuff, etc., where it’s all business. I also like the way Robert Puddy uses his picture- Business suit, not really personal. But, I must admit I do like the way you and others have given us a glimpse of your home life. If it works for you, that’s all that matters!
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Stephen – The market plays a big role in it too. We target small & home based businesses, which means the people usually want to see more personal looks. Thats why so many of the themed exchanges work, because people get into it.
Imagine if Google came out with their advertising network and it was all about dolphins splashing around. It just wouldn’t work! That’s because they target corporate types, so they need their site to have a corporate tone.
This is a great post, Tim. We’re taught not to judge a book by it’s cover, yet we can’t help it. Looks are the FIRST thing we see in everything, and tell us if we’re interested or not. I’m working on my own TE with the help of David Foley of Traffic Taxis. It’s not ready to launch yet, but if anyone would like to see it, just click the link & tell me what you think.
Hi Tim,
I have been following your blog closely and I must say all your posts has been really good. It really makes one sit back and review. I have a blog which I update every now and then. If anyone is free, do take a look and leave some comments as to how I can better improve it. I’d appreciate it a lot!
Keep up the good work, Tim!
Alston jrs lastest blog post..Update : Traffic Taxis
In a sea of competition on the Internet branding yourself to the masses is your advantage over your competitors.
Becoming a reputable and well-respected business owner will guarantee long-term success.
If you screw around and damage your brand early on by making drastic mistakes it may take you a very long time to recover from that.
Awesome post Tim!
Thanks.
Jimmy Adames
You’re sending a mixed message, Tim; in your post, you use examples of houses which look terrible on the net, and then you drive by them and they look great. Then in a comment, you tell someone, “I should probably get a better one done but I’m just like eh..” Same thing: you’re using a photo in which you look stoned and confused, and you don’t care that if someone drove out to meet you, he’d (probably) discover that you’re a cute little white boy who has all his marbles. Your photo is sending the wrong message, and so is this post, with that crazy-ass, stoner photo attached. Surely you have a digital camera, and the wife knows how to work it, yes? Can’t she make you smile? Can’t you make it look as if the lights are on just long enough for her to press the button?
LOL Binky I’m not denying it, I know I need a new photo. I’ve got ideas on what I want to do.
Have to smile, Gary – right now my keyboard really needs replacing and certain letters go AWOL on me randomly. I know the feeling of pressing that ‘Submit’ button and then seeing a typo staring from the page!
Patricia
Tim,
I agree with you in some ways and in others I don’t. I hope that’s OK?… I am trying to make a point here that everyone is different and we have to accept them for that. I have people in my downlines who write me once in a while for advice or just to say hi. I have others that write everyday. But my top producer is someone who has never responded to my emails of congrats for their fine work or written me for anything ever. I guess they are just to busy getting results! Yet because of their efforts my business grows everyday! I agree that image is important to some but my dad used to say something that really applies here. To those who think they are better or above others: No one is any better or different than anyone else. When we die we all are the same just dust as a result. It’s what’s in the dust, good or bad that can change the world or destroy it. Do the best you can always at everything and it will always show through. If you are sincere in the fact you are their to help. Not with the underlying intent off just making a profit off of others. Business is business but good business is rewarded by success.
If I may, tell your wife about yahoo groups freecycle if she does not know about it all ready. It sounds like its made just for her. That way the next time you won’t be so concerned by how something looks but how much it can help someone. lol Good work on fixing the pot. I would have done the same in fact I have!
Pat H.
Plymouth, Ma.
Tim,
This an excellent post and must admit I have had the same experience with houses etc.
Your recent photo had me chuckling a bit but we all knew it was Tim Linden. So it worked.
Keep up the good work
Les
Les Stevenss lastest blog post..Push Button Extreme
Excellent advice, Tim. My mother was a librarian, so I was raised using the English language correctly. Like some of the others here, I cringe when I see typos and other misuse of our language.
I usually think twice about joining a site if their front page is sloppy. If they don’t care about the image they present, what else don’t they care about?
Keep up the good work!
Carole
I agree with you that presentation is important in order to build trust with clients and fellow members of a society. Whenever I look at some of the avatars at the TEs or blogs, I often wonder: “Do I want to buy or interact with a dog or cartoon?” It does not matter if the person is not the most good looking human in the world but at least it is a human face.
Cecilia
http://www.babiesconsult.com