Profile. That’s my favorite buzzword these days. Why? Because profile means everything when it comes to sales on the Internet. Even if you have the very best item that can be sold on the net, if people don’t know who you are, they probably won’t buy from you. They don’t trust you, that’s why. You see, there are so many “get rich quick” internet schemes out there, that people are very wary of being scammed. A lot of people worry that if they use their credit card to buy something from an unknown person on the Internet, the number of their card may be stolen, and they will be out a lot more money than the cost of the item you are selling.
There is, however, a way to build trust with potential customers and make them more likely to spend money on your website. That way is through building a profile on the Internet. If you are well enough known on the Internet, the potential customer will feel like he is a friend, and he will have a lot more trust in you compared to if you were unknown.
Let’s look at me, for example. I’ve been active on the Internet for about 14 years now. I’ve had lots of web pages and such online. But, I didn’t have much of a profile until the last year or two. A few years ago, few people knew who I was. Even today, there are millions of people who have no idea who I am. However, because I am mainly involved in publishing websites about Mindanao, and about Living in the Philippines, there is a group of people who know who I am. If somebody wants to find out about Mindanao, the odds are that they will end up on my Mindanao Blog. If you go to Google and other big search engines and search for “Mindanao” my site is the number one result that comes up most of the time. If it’s not number one on that particular day, it’s number two. Because of this, most people who know about Mindanao know who I am. It’s obvious to me because when I go out in public (here in Mindanao, where I live) people come up to me and ask if I am “Mindanao Bob.” I’ve had my Mindanao site for 12 years now, but it wasn’t very active until about 2 years ago. I never updated it. I didn’t use it to build my own profile. Likewise, if somebody is interested in moving to the Philippines to live, they probably end up on my Live in the Philippines Blog sooner or later. These blogs help build my profile, they make it where people know who I am.
In addition to the blogs I have mentioned, I also operate a number of e-commerce sites where I sell goods and services on the Internet. You can see a list of some of my e-commerce sites on the sidebar of this blog. On my WowPhilippines site, I have a photo of myself, and a “message from the owner” that people can read. I get a lot of people who e-mail me and say “when I saw your picture on the WowPhilippines site, I knew who you were because I read your blog all the time. As soon as I saw you there, I knew that I could trust WowPhilippines.” I get e-mails like this every day. It’s because of my profile!
If you want to earn money on the net, you need to build a profile! How do you build a profile? Put up a site and share information with people. Your site will go unnoticed for quite a while before people find it. Here’s a tip on how you can get a quicker start – do some guest blogging on big websites. For example, for one of my blogs, I am working on building a team of people who can blog on the site with me. These people will be asked to post one post per week on the blog. In their post, they can link to their personal site, which will help them gain a profile, by letting my readers know who they are. They can build up a level of trust with my readers, by showing them that they have the knowledge, are trustworthy, and nice people. As my readers find a level of trust with these new writers, they might go over and check out the websites that are operated by the writer. It’s a great way to build a little profile quickly.
If you are serious about making money on the net, you need to get busy building a profile, so people will know who you are!
Hi Bob,
Never thought about this concept until I read your great post here and yes now I think about it your 100% correct. I suppose its why all the big marketers now just use there own name for there web sites so people will find them and trust them because they already know them
hello Bob, where did you get the name ‘wowphilippines’ because I have seen it everywhere in this country, from the embassy to taxis to tourist information? do you own the name?Also, please dont think I am being awakward again but with your page set up in this way I have noticed that I am more likely to accidently click on an advert. One more thing the gee shampoo, I had a laugh when I first saw it, the name I mean, do you own that as well? (the kids like it!)
Kind regards
phil
Hi Graham – Thanks for visiting again. For people that are well known marketers, some people will buy their stuff just based on their name, because they have a track record. That’s what profile is all about!
Hi Phil – I will make a post about how I ended up with the name WowPhilippines. It’s too long for just a comment, and it will be interesting to share that. So, watch out for that. In short, yes, I own the name “WowPhilippines.com”. And, I also own “GeeYourHairSmellsTerrific.com” as well. Thanks for visiting!
Hi again, I have visited geeyoursmellsterific.com and I am more confused now. Do you own the shampoo or just the website and the sole rights to sell electronicly or something like that? Can I buy shares in The Bob Martin Empire? please?
Phil
Hi Phil – I own the site and the domain name. I simply purchase the shampoo at wholesale, and sell it through the site. I don’t have any exclusivity, anybody can sell it online if they wish, but it is only available in the Philippines, so would be hard for people to get. My customers are mostly in the USA.
Thanks Bob, I’m just trying to get my head around how all this works and open my eyes! I presume its a product that was once for sale in the USA and now only made in the philippines? You buy it wholesale, ship it to USA and sell it on from there.
Hi Phil – you’re almost right! Indeed, it is a product that was available in the USA back in the 1970’s, but is no longer available there. It is still available here. I buy it here, and as orders come in, I ship it to customers from here in the Philippines to them in the USA. I also wholesale it to companies in the USA as well.
There are even companies who are now specializing in re-making or cleaning up people’s on-line persona or profile. It is a good thing to build up and to be careful with.
Tying into a comment I made yesterday about domain ownership and openness. When I look around at Bob’s ’empire” I see the domain registration information clearly established and in Bob’s name. I don’t know how many sites I have been on and seen the ownership/registration hidden or clearly falsely represented. I _always_ look … http://www.domaintools.com is one good service, and I shy away from anyone who hides behind “privacy services.
For those exploring this on line income world for the first time, always take look at who “owns” the website you’re evaluating … it’s not only good business practice but you’ll learn a lot.
Hi Dave – Good thoughts there. As you eluded to, your Profile is best if you don’t ever need to use one of those services to clean it up. Build it, keep building, and be careful that you don’t end up tarnishing it! That’s the best course of advice!