issue #7 - March 2004 - 5 ways to increase your business credibility

Dear Colleague,

first of all I´d like to welcome all new subscribers. Remember that this is your newsletter, so if you want to have a special marketing topic covered here or need any kind of help, you just need to let me know and I´ll do my best to help you.

In this month´s edition of TheJungleMarketer´s internet marketing ezine I´ll give you 5 tips how you can increase your business credibility and finally discuss the results of my latest seo experiment.

When searching the net for potential link partners I often notice some very common mistakes many online business owners still make on their web sites, thus hurting their credibility.

1) contact information.

It seems some people try to do business online anonymously. If you want people to buy anthing from you or just subscribe to your list, then you´d better put your full contact information ( mailing address AND phone number ) on your web site. People want to know whom they are dealing with.

2) name(s)

On my search for new link partners and joint venture partners I often come across web sites that have at least their mailing addresses and a contact email posted, but that´s not enough. I mean, when I want to contact someone, I´d like to know at least the first name so I can personalize my emails and talk to a real person instead of saying: dear "company name" or dear "webmaster".

And the other advantage of having your name on your website is that you know when someone who tries to contact you to offer a business partnership did their proper research. I get these emails saying "I´m trying to contact the owner of thejunglemarketer.com". Try again, dude. If you had only looked once at my homepage you´d know who I am.

3) testimonials

If you are selling products or even have only a newsletter, testimonials are a very important factor in inreasing your credibility. Try to get as much as possible, at least a dozen or so. Sometimes you get them automatically by just delivering a great service but often people are so busy that they forget to thank you for it, so you should remind them to do so or even offer them a gift.

4) answering your emails

You should answer your emails as fast as possible, within 24 hours. By doing so you´ll give your business partners the confidence that you / your company is working fine and caring well about your partners. Even if you are not interested in an offer (f.ex. link exchange request or joint venture), then you should decline politely.

5) business seals and awards

I personally don´t like awards very much, because they are overused and also the main purpose of most of them is to build a list of web site owners. Everybody can throw up an award graphic and invite website owners to join a mailing list in order to win that award.

But a really good way to show you´re doing serious business online is to apply for certain quality seals like the BBB (better business bureau) and iCop (international Council of online professionals).

These seals stand for high standards and ethics in business practices and only web sites who comply with those practices are allowed to display these seals.
Visit i-Cop.org for more information

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Disclaimer

I accept no responsibility whatsoever for the content, profitability or legality of any published articles or advertisements contained within articles published on my web pages.

And, although all of the guest articles have been selected for their content, the publishing of such articles on this website does NOT constitute a recommendation of the products or services mentioned or advertised within those articles.
Be responsible! Always do Due Diligence before responding to any offer.

If you found some information to be out-of-date, please contact me and let me know it.
support #AT# thejunglemarketer.com

Sincerely Yours,

Guido W. Stiehle
TheJungleMarketer

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