Lately there’s been a lot of talk about Trust here on ProBlogger. Over the weekend we published a post on how to develop bulletproof Trust – last week I talked about Trust as an essential part of good affiliate marketing – the week before we linked to a great book coauthored by Chris Brogan on being a Trust Agent – in fact as I look back on my archives form the last two months I see I’ve talked about Trust inadvertently 10 times in posts.
Today I received an email from a guy who I trust a lot – (I’m not alone in trusting him).
Many of you already know him – he’s built a great name for himself over the last few years and who has walked the fine line as someone who makes money online yet doesn’t sell out. While many bloggers go for the quick dollars with little regard for their readers – this guy has consistently delivered value over the years while also building a very successful business.
The email that this blogger illustrated perfectly the way that Trust and Credibility do pay off when building online businesses.
You see he’s about to relaunch an amazing membership site and has begun to talk about it on his blog and offer a few great free bonuses for signing up to the early notification list.
The site is supposed to launch in the coming week but based upon numbers of those on the pre-launch list it looks like the site’s going to be a sellout before they even open it up to the public. This is the power of Trust.
The blogger is Brian Clark of CopyBlogger – the site is TeachingSells.
Chris Brogan, Brian Clark and Myself – Image by technotheory
Brian has worked his butt off over the years to build value for his readers and it’s about to pay off big time with the sell out of TeachingSells. But it’s not happened by accident and it’s not happened over night.
Brian has offered valuable content, free reports, he’s spoken at conferences, he’s networked and he’s promoted others for little or no return. Yes he can write copy like few others and has one of the best marketing brains going around – but watching the relaunch of TeachingSells and seeing the results he’s getting – there’s something much deeper going on here than Clever Copywriting or Marketing.
Underlying them is Trust, Credibility and Authority. It’s no wonder people are scrambling to get involved in the things that he does.
Note: TeachingSells (a course on how to build an online business through teaching others) launches later this week but is likely to sell out before it goes to a public launch.
To ensure you get the opportunity to join (and to get some of the best free reports, interviews and videos that I’ve seen) you need to signup to the pre-launch list. As mentioned – this gives you access to some great free content that I’m seeing a lot of people utilizing already with real effect. I personally am really getting a lot out of the case studies Brian uses – there’s so much food for thought that I’m seeing great ways to extend my own blogs that I’d not considered before.
I have already signed up!!!. Trust, Credibility and Authority is something every blogger out there must put into work but we all have to know It is not a day job. It takes time.
I’m on the pre-launch list and I am definitely looking forward to seeing what Teaching Sells is all about. Thanks for always providing great information that bloggers can trust.
Thanks for the kind words Darren. This means a lot coming from you, because you’ve worked just as hard for years building up trust with your own readers on multiple blogs.
You’re welcome Brian. Best of luck with the launch of TS!
signing up now. Thank Darren.
I’ve seen some of the teaching sells videos, its good stuff. I liked what he had to say.
As a writer, CopyBlogger has been one of my favourite sites to visit, and I’ve recommended it to many.
I totally agree that people respond to integrity.
Will love to see what you’ve come up with in your new venture, TeachingSells, Brian!
Just signed up – thanks for the awesome content Brian! And thanks for the heads up Darren!
I’m late for work, but this free content is worth it!
:)
I follow all you guys on Twitter…just seeing how your real interaction is online has made me more comfortable on the internet. Before that…I felt like I was in a lost maze of a lot of shouters that I didn’t have that good feeling to trust.
I look forward to seeing what Brian has to offer.
I’ve been reading Copyblogger for a while now, and absolutely agree that his is trustworthy and has amazing content. I am really looking forward to what is in-store for us with TeachingSells
Blake Waddill
Today I’m just wondering how come on your poll you have sooo many people who don’t even have a blog… maybe they trust you with life issues as well, Darren? ;-)
Denise – ProBlogger has a lot of beginner readers – PreBloggers :-)
Recently i joined Copyblogger, and found it very interesting.I also learned allot of important things there.
Great post Darren,
I’m actually still new to this but I beginning to realize that a lot of this is real hard work.
Enrik – it sure is a lot of work – gets easier as you go along though eventually. It’s about getting momentum going.
His funny and informative video sold me!
@Blanca Stella Mejia
I totally agree that seeing the day-to-day thoughts on business and the personal through Twitter has made Copyblogger’s Trust factor much more accessible to me.
interesting post and you are looking good
http://teratips.com
It sounds like a good membership site. It looks like it is the year of membership sites. Greg Ellison
Awsome partnership of trusted bloggers.
It does take time and one has to be willing to put the time in and not cut corners. There are some bloggers out there that scream TRUST ME! and as we know if you have to tell someone to trust you then they probably shouldn’t.
Trust is hugely important in the online world because there are so many scams out there and you usually can’t physically pick up the product you are buying and check its quality.
Building trust takes time but it’s worth it. I implicitly trust Copyblogger and Problogger (and Yaro) because they have gained my trust with quality content, training material and honesty and transparency in their writing.
Great article i loved reading it i am going to sign up
for the pre launch report!
http://dailycashsaver.blogspot.com/
Is it just me, or does the guy in the middle (“Brian Clark”) look exactly like Jeff Daniels?
I did teaching sells the first time it was on offer and learned so much from Brian and his team. It is an amazing resource!
Both Darren (Problogger) and Brian (Copyblogger) have built Trust, Credibility and Authority among their readers and non-readers. I think it had been a huge amount of work.
Keep up the good work and I wish all the very best for future endeavors.
Brian is a great guy, but so are you, Darren. I have read, watch, and listen to all the Teaching Sells free materials. And I should say that I’m impressed by, not only the contents inside, but also Brian’s teaching style. It’s just clicked with me and I was able to absorbed it pretty fast. Definitely would sign up for the early-bird list.
Brian always delivers quality–which is why he has my trust! In fact I always read these two blogs back-to-back. You’re doing your readers a service by promoting him.
Hey there Darren.
Thanks for introducing me the Teaching Sells.
Seriously the content provided by Teaching Sells are really superb.
Very interesting.. hope there’s still available room for one more signup..
I’ve read copyblogger quite a bit it’s a great and helpful blog
Every day he releases a new pdf, which is like a treat man. If the free stuff is so good, the paid will be mind over matter :)
Brian is good at copy. The credibility problem with teaching sells is that he doesn’t know much about teaching. He knows lots about selling though. So if you want to make money from selling your teaching he is well worth listening too. But don’t expect to learn anything about teaching.
I have an amazing book on my desk callled the Speed of Trust by Stephen M.R. Covey (not the Covey, but rather his son). It addresses this very issue in a complete and amazing way. Trust and being trustworthy is of course right and ethical; BUT it is also INCREDIBLY useful and valuable….
Nice post Darren. It highlights a very important issue.
A blog without an author is like a children that didn’t have mother.
Excellent post. I really like the idea of teaching people online. I think that if you first provide consistent value, you’re users will trust you more (and $ will follow). I really trust the content that Chris and Brian put out their not just on blogging, biz, etc., but on everything!
I have signed up and I’m amazed by the amount of content.
Brian is “walking through” the concepts of “Teaching Sells” for the initial module.
I’m really excited on learning how to build “interactive learning environments” from an Authority (Brian) in this area.
no not an overnight thing but something that you really work hard for.
Darren,
i’m surprised you reply to comments.
Before we had a wrong notion about maintaining blogs and websites. Many of us think that the more we post the more will be the traffic and the more money we will get from the work. But with the passes of time, we must learn that building a blog is about building a brand name, Trust and community.
Regards
Rajput
Thanks brian, i actually inspired by seeing your work, i appreciate you on this knowledge sharing efforts
Trust is really very important. The world revolves around trust. When we can trust each other, there can be collaboration. It is about building a brand and a respectable image.
It is like when you trust someone, you will want to do business with him. When he is trustworthy, you will want to be friends with him.
I recently thought about this: Do rich people tends to be more trustworthy than poor people? I personally think that the rich accumulated more trust than poor people. What are your thoughts?
I’ve written an article about trust being the foundation of money, check it out at http://www.diaslu.com/becoming-a-money-magnet-2-the-foundation-of-money
Dias
http://www.diaslu.com
No, the rich are no more trustworthy than the poor. The factors are independant of wealth.
There is now good evidence that low trust in a culture affects the health of all members of that culture (as does inequality).
Money is a fiction – we agree to pretend that this representation is meaningful. Which means that money is a form of trust.
Such a usefule blog. thx !!!!
I agree that Trust is always a major factor for the success of the blog or any website. Thank you for this post and I will definately sign it up.
Giving trust is awkward.. but in online business you need to. I always ask money in advance, 50% to be exact… and 50% upon completion. I guess that’s fair.
Trust really builds bond