Get a Little Closer…Now Don’t Be Shy
August 28, 2007
I recently had a disagreement with someone who said that you shouldn’t share personal stories with your subscribers and that you should be professional and stick with business only. Actually, I’ve had this disagreement a number of times in my online career.If you’re going for the full on corporate image, you might hold back the reigns a little more tightly, but being personal is how you gain trust and show that you’re a company run by real flesh and blood humans that have real-life experiences and valid opinions. Of course, don’t go yammering on endlessly about taking your dog to the pet spa, but there are many instances when stories are a perfect fit for a newsletter. Here’s a few:
- Stories are good learning experiences, especially when they relate to the topic of your newsletter. For example, if you have a motivational newsletter and you went swimming with the sharks on the weekend…personally, I’d think you’re crazy…but that story can relate to what you’re saying.
- Stories show that you are walking-the-walk and are knowledgeable about what you do. For example, if you have a parenting website and you share your experiences with your own children, it shows you are living what you’re talking about.
- Stories can illustrate how you used a product that you are recommending; your honest experience will go a long way.
This allows your subscribers to relate to you. If you can find some common ground between you and your subscribers, they will feel like they know you, trust you more and turn to you for advice and recommendations. And isn’t that what Internet marketing is all about?
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I totally agree Alice. I enjoy reading personal stories. Especially when it’s someone you communicate with only online. It gives you more of a sense of who that person is.
You definitely can’t please everyone. I like personal stories myself.
I to am for personal stories. It makes the connection with someone so much more ‘real’. And like you said Alice being personal is how you gain trust and I so believe that 100%!
I think a personal story is just fine, as long as you’re not TOO personal. I mean, I don’t want to read on your business site that you and your spouse are on the outs and are heading for divorce. That would be wrong. However, as Alice said, if the story pertains to your main purpose for the page, I don’t see a problem with it.
Definitely Mara. There are some people who don’t know when to draw the line whether it’s in business or just socializing.
Now, talking about your pending divorce might be okay if it were relevant and it could serve as a wake up call for your readers. I shared something similar, but it was after my spouse and I reconciled to share what can happen when you let things get away from you. It was a tough experience for me, but the positive outcome could be inspiring to others.
But yeah, venting about marital problems, etc for no apparent reason…that’d be kind of bad.