Unfortunately, we’ve all bought a product or two that didn’t stand up to the advertising hype. Some would say that’s to be expected with late-night infomercials, for example. Keep in mind that any online business consulting firm will tell you that if you want your online business venture to be around in three years, build real relationships through integrity.

Integrity

It’s a word that some online business owners know nothing about. These people are known to promote anything in order to make some money. On many occasions, the journey that the customer has to take after purchase is irrelevant to them. More than most of us would like, their websites pop up one week and disappear when the heat gets to be too much, only to resurface under another name.

There could be a reason for that. Could it be that they know what people want, but instead of trying to provide it, they are just in the business of exploitation? A shining example of this would be those “selling the dream” of how to make millions, quickly and easily, online.

Integrity means that you have to keep your promise in business terms. Believe it or not, readers really scrutinise businesses online. It could be because there is no physical body to put with the company that the eyes watch a little closer. The end result would have been the same: those that do not come through will end up losing both readers and sales.

One area where readers learn to mistrust is use of their personal information. The worst thing that the business can do is to sell the names of those who have opted in to other mailing lists, or worse yet, to indulge in spam. You won’t get what you want from these people by treating them this way.

Testing, Testing, Testing

Do you sell products online? There are a lot of variables with that, especially if it is a physical product. Before you start, you should test the market to see if people actually want such a new product. If there’s no market, you won’t make anything. This is a crucial step which you should never overlook.

When you sell a digital product, your testing process requires you to be sure that the advice you are including will work for anyone who buys it. For example, if you sell an e-book about setting up an affiliate program easily, then everyone who reads this should be able to duplicate the procedure.

The same goes with affiliate marketing. Only upsell affiliate products or services that you know are legitimate and deliver what is promised. The money that you make will not help if your reputation is in tatters. If you’d like some help to get things moving fast, hire a virtual assistant now!

Truthful Content

Before readers become customers, they will visit your site over and over again. They are reading your content. Everything needs to be true and unique to your site. There is enough bad information floating around and you can’t build a relationship of trust on false information.

You don’t have to make big boasts to get readers to keep reading, just make good on what you do offer them. This kind of trust takes time to build up, but the relationship will survive between you and your readers for many years.

Who wouldn’t want to be viewed as an expert in their field? This can lead to increased traffic, additional sales, enhanced credibility and more visibility. The readers that you already have and your activity with social bookmarking services and sites can really help you out.

When you find something that you love to read, you want to tell everyone. You want to remember where it is located, as well. That is part of what a social bookmarking site is all about. When you provide good quality content, your readers are happy. They are sometimes so happy that they will bookmark your content on their favourite social bookmarking site.

You can come across social bookmarking services and sites for everything under the sun. Readers can tag the written word, photographs, videos, etc. You can create your own account with these sites and add icons to your blog or website content pages. These sites are not duplicating your content, but are providing a link to it whenever somebody bookmarks. This content or media is assessed by other members, who will vote on its merits. You could even be featured on the front page. Your inclusion here could bring you more visitors.

There is one crucial point: Readers won’t bookmark your stuff if you don’t try to build relationships with them. Listen to what readers say in surveys and make changes on your site or to your products. If people know they are being listened to, they will respect you.

But, don’t stop there. You might find that some of your readers also write. Take the time to find out what your visitors really like. If you find that they have their own blogs, visit and interact. When you come across some of their posts that you like, bookmark them. If you see any of their bookmarked content, leave comments when you vote.

Reply when readers post on your blog. Use your responses to start a conversation with them. It can be as much a fact-gathering mission as curiosity about those who read what you write or buy your products.

Your material may end up being bookmarked on certain sites, such as StumbleUpon or Digg, where people may vote for you. Social bookmarking is one way to drive traffic to your site and help build expert status. Choose social networks that cater to your type of content.

If readers like and trust you, they may be more inclined to use social bookmarking to interest others in your work too. Reciprocate by visiting their blogs or websites and tagging their work. Again, the reader/business relationship has proven to be mutually beneficial. If you’re looking for an expert to take care of the details for you, to get the ball rolling, consider hiring professional virtual assistants to get it all done, fast.

Blogging

Chances are, at least one third of your readers have some sort of presence in cyberspace. The majority of these will likely be blog sites. They could be fully fledged businessmen like you, blog in their spare time or be classified as a “professional” blogger.

Find out about them by visiting their sites. If you maintain a blog in your business, have a section that you can allocate to talk about readers and their news. Offer free products or discount coupons when they volunteer to give their blog or website address to you.

Now, go to their blogs. Read what they have to say and the kind of topics they talk about. Leave helpful comments that show you actually read the posts and not just wishy-washy “I came to visit you to say hello.” Really get involved.

If you have an RSS reader, you can include all of their sites in it so that you will be notified when there are new updates. Act like a participant, just like their other followers. Everyone will appreciate the quality interaction.

When you look at your statistics, you’re always looking to see how many unique visitors you have to your website development. To see those numbers go up every month, you need a method for attracting new readers. This method should also ensure that current readers return. So, what is it?

Readers visit your website each day. They are looking for information to begin with. They may return because they like what they see, they believe that you are charming or witty, or they want to get to know you more before they buy anything from you. You could help this process by letting them know you are a real person and visiting their site as well.

Essentially, we are all REAL, but sometimes we don’t come across as if we are. Business owners who appear to be “above” their readers are likely to get a hostile response and negative comments. They are like royalty in ivory towers – high and unreachable.

Remember that you are only one side of the online business development equation. Your visitors, as potential clients, represent the other side. If you don’t have traffic, how can you make a sale? Unless you build relationships with the readers, they won’t see any reason to stay loyal to you.

Do they know who you are?

Everybody needs to know that they matter in the eyes of others. They must matter to friends, families and also the people that they engage in business with. Why do you think barber shops and hair salons are so popular? The business is based on delivering a finished product AND building a relationship.

As an online business owner, your readers want to know that their presence matters. They have come to you looking for something. Again, what is it?

Don’t think for a moment that people visit your blog or website because of you. They may not have known your name before they clicked on your link in the search results. Will they remember your name when they leave your site if you don’t do anything about it?

What do you want?

Think of your interests. The reason you started your online business is because you had a passion for something. Your readers have these passions, as well. The material that you provide could be very valuable to anyone who is trying to become an entrepreneur, realise the dream of homeownership or buy a new vehicle, for example. The best way to find out what you readers want is to take an interest in their likes and dislikes. If you need some support to get it all done fast, consider hiring expert virtual assistants!

While your website is essentially about the development of your business, if you know something about the people who are visiting, this can only help your business to grow. As an example, the information you provide may be about how to organise your life and your business, but most of the people who visit your site are looking for information on personal coaching. Starting a personal coaching line of products will meet their needs in a new and more focused way because you took the time to find out about their interests.

How may I help you?

Here are a few ways that you can get in touch with your reader’s interests:

• Surveys
• Offer contests for guest blogging spots
• Create a “reader spotlight” or a “customer spotlight” on your website
• Send out feedback emails with purchases

You must find out about the interests of your readers as this is important. When you have all this information and know how you can help your readers, use these tools to find out about their needs. Then, give it to them! You will certainly see more readers, new customers and increased sales, just because you made the effort to really find out about them, what they wanted and then provided it to them.