Copyright 2005 Willie Crawford

When people on the Internet read your webpages, or email promotions, they don't believe you. Before they even connected to the Internet, many had heard horror stories of people being ripped off, losing their entire life savings... or worse.

That disbelief is what you have to overcome before you can even "begin to hope" to make sales online.

In some niches, such as Internet marketing, where people also know many of the marketing "tricks," overcoming that skepticism is even more difficult.

Before you throw up your hands in defeat, I'll share with you the most powerful tool you have for overcoming that distrust... that disbelief. It's very simple. It's proof. It's proof that what you say is true. It's proof that others have purchased what you are selling and got fantastic results. It's proof that you have great customer service. It's proof that all you say in your marketing is true.

Your customers want to believe your claims. They want to purchase your products so that they can gain the promised benefits. They resist doing this because of fear and distrust. Prove what you say to break down that resistance!

Let's look briefly at ways to provide that proof.

One of the first methods that springs to mind is to use testimonials. It's natural for you to say nice things about your product. However, when someone else says the same thing, it has much greater impact and believability.

In order for testimonials to be effective, they should be specific and complete. They should tell specifically how the person giving the testimonial benefited from using your product. They should provide complete information on WHO the person giving the testimonial is. Otherwise, they could appear contrived.

A testimonial with a complete name, city and state, and perhaps website URL or occupation, is much more credible that one with just a first name and initial.

A testimonial with a photo is even more credible. It shows that there is a real person behind the name.

A scanned copy of a handwritten testimonial is even more credible still.

The scanned testimonial is so powerful because it's difficult to contrive. Pictures of any element of proof are very powerful because they are perceived as being not only proof of what is being said, but proof of the proof itself.

Other ways that you can use pictures in your copy, to lend credibility, include:

- Screen captures of webpages showing earnings or sales.

- Scans of checks that you earned or paid.

- Photos of you enjoying the benefits of doing what the product teaches.

- Before and after photos.

- Photos showing you associating with industry leaders (these photos imply that you are one of them).

Photos can also communicate another very important message. They can communicate that people "just like your prospect" are benefiting from your products. Another element of doubt that you have to overcome before you can make the sale is that your prospect can do it too. They may believe that others can do it, but doubt that THEY can do it. Therefore, you need to show them that others "just like them" are doing it... using your product and experiencing the promised benefits.

This last type of proof is often referred to as a form of "social proof." Man is a social creature, and we take our cues from those around us. We make our decisions partly based upon what others around us are doing. This removes some of the risk, and makes it less work to make routine decisions.

If others are doing it without any adverse effect, that's a good indicator that it's safe for us too.

If others purchased the product we're contemplating buying, and it "worked" for them, that's a good indicator that we too will get the desired results.

If others that we respect or trust saw it as a wise purchase, then we feel safer buying the same item. Since others, whose opinions you respect, consider it a prudent decision, you feel less foolish making the same decision.

How powerful can the element of social proof be?

I recently listened in on a tele-seminar where five very successful Internet marketers each attributed "social proof" as being a very big factor in their successes. Each of these marketers had released "big ticket" products in the Internet marketing arena, and each had sold hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of dollars, worth of their product. One had sold more than $1 million in less than 24 hours.

Listening to those experts explain exactly how they presented and used the element of "social proof" reveals a lot about how we, as creatures of deeply engrained habits, behave.

Dr. Robert Cialdini, in his landmark book, "Influence - The Psychology of Persuasion," explained how social proof works. He explained that we respond to environmental cues. He explained that our responses to these cues are automatic, and that we often don't even give conscious consideration to those responses.

Dr. Cialdini gives many excellent examples of inviolate social "laws" that we all adhere to as strictly as we adhere to the law of gravity. I recommend any serious student of marketing grab a copy of his book. I've had one for YEARS! You can pick up a copy of Dr. Cialdini's book from online bookstores for less than $15.

The marketers in the tele-seminar revealed how they applied Dr. Cialdini's principles in the Internet marketing arena. The tele-seminar focused primarily on one of those principle - social proof - but touched upon several others that can make your online promotions VERY powerful.

You can get a free copy of the recordings from that call, both in PDF and MP3, from my friend Jeff Walker, the host of the call. To get these, simply visit Jeff's site at:
http://productlaunchformula.com/quicklaunch/
I recommend you get a copy of the recordings right now. Then set aside several hours to listen to the recordings, or to read the PDF transcripts - several times. It will deeply increase your understand of how to apply the element of social proof on your websites, and in your email marketing.

I opened by telling you that without proof, you will make few, if any, online sales. I'll close by encouraging you to grab the free recordings, at Jeff Walker's site, that demonstrate how effective proof can be at increasing your online sales. Practice and master using proof as taught by these marketing experts, and you too can join them in the arena of the six or seven-figure online income earners.


About the author:
Willie Crawford has taught PROVEN Internet marketing techniques to thousands of successful Internet entrepreneurs since late-1996. Subscribe to his free weekly ezine, which helps you cut through the clutter and time-wasting hype. Subscribe now by visiting: http://WillieCrawford.com