How to Build Credibility in Your Market

Regardless of the niche market you may have chosen, building credibility is extremely important for your business.  Building credibility in your market will go a long way to earning you that seemingly elusive online income. People want to buy from someone who knows what they are talking about (in the reader’s eyes).  You’d never go to the pet groomer’s store to get your tooth pulled, would you?

Whether you’re selling Amazon products, ebooks in the dating niche or an IM product that you’ve written yourself, you need to make sure that you qualify yourself as an authority on the subject. The very basic way of becoming viewed as an authority is quite simple…

Share, Share, Share

Whether it’s through blog posts or Facebook updates, you need to provide information that is of a high perceived value that let’s people know who you are, that you’re real and genuine and that you care about their needs, not yours. Sharing your knowledge as much as possible without trying to ram something down someone’s throat will build instant credibility if you make sense and are clear and straightforward in your approach, with no smoke and mirrors.

Make yourself available

There are a number of ways that you can make yourself available to your ‘clients’.  If you have a blog, and installed WordPress using Fantastico, you can get offer email support/help desk services with one of Fantastico’s other installations for Customer Relationship Management:

Crafty Syntax Live Help

Help Center Live

osTicket

PerlDesk

PHP Support Tickets

Support Logic Helpdesk

Support Services Manager

Using one of these options rather than a regular email account allows you to keep all the client emails/questions in one place and easily accessible, making it much easier to reply to their queries.

Skype

I’ve found Skype to be a huge tool in my arsenal for getting people of a like mind together to discuss topics or problems and let people know if there is upcoming training.  I moderated a couple of Skype rooms myself, with a number of members, which allowed the owners of the training program to go about the business of running their business and making improvements.  They knew that someone was always there to answer questions so it took a lot of the pressure off them.  And it also helped me develop my training skills.

Webinars

Webinars are basically online streaming events where you can connect with around 1,000 people who will be watching you on your webcam live.  You can talk about your niche, how to succeed in that niche, and everything that you know that your customers need to know in order to succeed.

You can do screen sharing with most webinars and can either have live or pre-recorded sessions.  The live ones are much better because it makes the attendees feel more cared for and you’re available to answer what they consider their pressing questions.

These webinars help show your visitors that you’re an authority in your niche, helping you to build your credibility tremendously. I highly suggest that you do these webinars, as they are very easy to do, and can provide for you a good amount of credibility on the topic.

Building credibility is all about showing your customers that you’re real and an authority in your niche.  Once you are perceived as the authority, trust has been established and soon, you’ll have the opportunity to begin selling things to your audience.

So whether it’s by blogging, a help desk, Skype or doing webinars, if you’re willing to put the effort into communicating with your audience, offer them things of value and establish their trust and confidence in you as the authority, you will succeed in establishing your credibility and eventually see a huge return on your investment.

The use of all of your skills and these great tools will give you an edge over your competition, so use them well and wisely.

Jane Porterfield
http://janeporterfield.com