In this post Daniel Scocco gives some tips on letting others do the talking about you.
Example 1
Aaron Wall is one of the most famous search engine optimizers on the Internet (and consequently in the whole world). His book on the topic has sold thousands of copies, and he is able to pull a $500 hourly rate when he has time to run consulting projects.
Quite a mouthful, huh?
Yet, if you visit his website, you will not see the words “expert,” “guru” or “rockstar” anywhere. Here is the first paragraph of his “About” page:
SEO Book.com is a leading SEO blog by Aaron Wall covering the search space. It offers marketing tips, search analysis, and whatever random rants come to mind. ;)
Example 2
Copyblogger, with over 35,000 subscribers, is the leading authority when it comes to online marketing and copywriting advice. Brian Clark, the author, has created several successful websites in the past (some of which sold for big bucks), and he also performs consulting work.
With these credentials you could expect an epic “About” page, right? Well, not quite, here is the how he described himself:
Brian Clark is an Internet marketing strategist, content developer, entrepreneur, and recovering attorney.
I could go on with dozens of examples, but you probably got my point already. In one sentence: let other people do the talking. Do not brag about your achievements, do not highlight your qualities excessively, do not claim to be an expert, guru, rockstar, popstar or similar. Even if you really are!
If you are a real expert or guru, other people will do the talking for you. They will let others know the depth of your knowledge or abilities. They will call you with these terms, and the praises will be genuine and valuable.
Again, even if you really are an expert or celebrity on your niche, I would refrain from self-proclaiming that. It might sound that you are trying too hard to convince others, having an overall negative impact on your credibility.
Faking to be an expert or star when you know you are not, on the other hand, is almost guaranteed to result in failure. Some people argue that the “fake it till you make it” strategy works. It might in some cases, but it might also end up damaging your reputation for good.
What is the takeaway from this post? Stay humble and focus on doing your thing, regardless of how successful you might think that you already are. If your work is to be praised, other people will do it gladly.
Daniel Scocco is the blogger behind Daily Blog Tips .
