So, I was reading the social networking whore (I have vowed to use the word whore in his anchor text for at least six months) the other day and saw him make a comment that he had trust for several people in this industry and I was listed as one (thanks babe, feeling is mutual). Then, I found the new Tropical SEO blog and saw a post of his where he mentioned a few names from his “trusted 25” of which I was also listed (thanks again).
After reading these two mentions and thinking of other allusions to trust given in various forms, like Rand’s list of the best fifty blogs in the search space, I got to wondering…
Why do you follow or trust those that you do?
- Does trust come from conversation and friendship, online or off?
- Does it come from meeting someone in person and gaining a “vibe”?
- Does it come from reading various works by the person and finding them to be in sync with your own beliefs?
- Does it come from transference (meaning that someone you follow also believes strongly in another person and the trust simply transfers)?
- Does it come from perceived celebrity status (everyone always talks about the person, so they must be good)?
- Does it come from credentials held (speaking at conferences, moderation at forums, articles published)?
So tell me… Why the hell are you here reading this post? And why are you reading everyone else you read? How did you end up finding your favorite people to read and what made you decide to follow, read or trust them on a regular basis?
About the Author
Rae Hoffman-Dolan aka "Sugarrae" is an affiliate marketing veteran and an (extremely) occasional Houston SEO consultant specializing in SEO audits and link building strategies. She is also the author of the often controversial Sugarrae blog and the SVP of Marketing for Speedy Incorporation Services. You can connect with Rae via Twitter and Facebook.
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Sugarrae runs on the Thesis WordPress Theme
If you’re someone who doesn’t understand a lot of PHP, Thesis will give a ton of functionality that you wouldn’t be able to obtain otherwise with a simple control panel instead of having to alter code. For the advanced, Thesis has incredible customization possibilities via Thesis hooks.
For those "in between", like myself, I’ve created "dummy" guides for Thesis hooks that allow us to make more professional customizations than we ever deemed possible. The theme is not only highly customizable, but it has allowed me to run Sugarrae more professionally, with a much more targeted focus on monetization than it ever has been able to achieve before. You can find out more about Thesis below:
- Thesis Website and Demo
- Thesis Theme Review
- Thesis Tutorial: Hooks for Dummies
- More Thesis Tutorials on Sugarrae
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