“You have a duty to leave them inspired”
For many people they come to your blog as a source of information, whether that be for their business or personal life, so with that in mind you have a duty to leave them inspired.
Don’t get me wrong it is easier said than done, well it must be when you consider the amount of dull blog sites that are out there, pumping adverts left right and centre at anyone unlucky enough to stumble upon them – looking to win a popularity contest of some description.
So how exactly can you go about ensuring that when the reader clicks away from your site you have the desired effect on them?
A good starting point is to be the “expert” in your area, you have to be the authorityin your field, back up what you are trying to explain with credible information and of course avoiding posts that bear no resemblance to the headline.
Reference other known experts – never ever be afraid to link to another blogger’s site, this in turn will add credibility to both yourself and the other site.
Set out your post to help others, a great example of this is how Pat Flynn’s smartpassiveincome website does exactly that, he is without doubt an expert in his area, as a bi-product he is making a tidy living to boot! He actually goes on to explain how he makes his money – talk about being honest and upfront.
“Helping others to succeed”
Fundamentally each and every post Pat puts out is about helping others to succeed, he doesn’t particularly bang on about different affiliates schemes that he uses, but what he does do is build up trust by being the expert, and with that trust I guess people are also happy to click on some of the products that he recommends.
Similarly Darren Rowse of problogger does much the same as Pat, he is clearly an authority and sets his blog site up to help people reach their own personal goals.
If you haven’t been onto their sites then go now, take a look. I am certain you will see some fantastic information.
On the subject of recommending products, it would be nice to think that people only recommended the products that they used themselves and that will actually be of benefit to others, I know that might sound strange especially at the expense of maybe missing out on slightly higher affiliate commissions by not pushing a particular product. You have a simple choice here and as far as I’m concerned I am far happier to promote something that I use and like myself, rather than make a quick buck!
As always comments are appreciated and encouraged, cheers.
