By now everyone knows that when it comes to building an effective website, content is king. And I bet we all agree that we talk about unique and useful content.
If content is the king - the ability to inspire trust is a crown prince. Just think - before you buy anything usually you usually want to be sure that you are buying a decent quality product that will be delivered in a timely fashion, and that the person who is selling it is not some fly-by-night operation.
You want to know that if anything is wrong - you can get help or even get your money back. If it is something that could require repair, you want to know you have good service available. You want to know as much about your vendor as possible. Right? Of course you want to know that you can trust vendors promises.
However, the reality on the web is different - the vast majority of sites don't even give a name of a contact person other than webmaster@domain.com!
It seems that the majority of websites fall into one of the two extremes - talking about themselves so much that people get turned off and leave their site from boredom (those are the sites boasting right from the beginning how long they are in business and bragging about their awards, credentials, associations, and you name it). On the other end of spectrum are those telling too little or nothing at all - and that hurts their business just as much.
One of my pet-peeves on the web are people who hide behind the facade of a supposedly large business, the WE-symptom. They talk about OUR website, OUR business, We sell, WE answer - while it is actually a one-person business where one person wears all the hats.
People do that because they think they inspire trust in their visitors. Actually they do just the opposite and hurt their business in the process. Sadly, by making this false claim - they make all their other claims unbelievable...
It is not only about giving them your real e-mail address and your real phone number - this is just a bare minimum. To build trust and relationships with your clients tell them the truth about yourself. It is called self-disclosure.
And don't be afraid of being vulnerable - people will really respect you for admitting your flaws. The more truthful you are with your prospects and customers, the more comfortable, safe, and non-threatening they feel with you. And in turn they are more likely to purchase your products and services.
Tell them who you are and how you arrived at what you are doing. Show them your picture so that they know it is a real human being behind your operation. It is not about HOW you look. It is about creating an impression of closeness and connection - just as during the face-to-face meeting. Here is example of how Jim Daniels tells his story how he left his corporate job to become a full time internet marketer http://www.bizweb2000.com/howiquit.htm
Multimedia Marketing Group (known from famous I-Sales list) is one of the few larger companies I know who introduces to visitors their entire staff: (no wonder they are so good - they DO know marketing!) check this:
http://www.mmgco.com/team_mmg
And if you don't want to use a photograph - you don't have to. Especially if you can tell a story as well as Jim Heath, one of my web friends, professional copy writer from Australia http://www.viacorp.com/jim.html
On the web one thing is sure: the more you tell (and the closer to the truth it is), the more you sell!
Just in case you wonder - here is how I tell my visitors about myself
http://www.loska.com/successconnection/aboutme.html
Click Here to Email Bob Smith