The Trust Factor

I hustle to get the word out about my books, bringing them to events, doing signings at bookstores, and sticking them in supermarket cereal boxes in hopes that people will think it is the coolest prize inside, ever. And yet, at the end of the day, it doesn’t move many books. But if Seth Godin blogged about my books (he hasn’t), the books would sell like wildfire. Why is that?

Because people buy based on trust. They need to trust my product (books) before they’ll buy it. If they don’t have experience with my products, they’ll only buy it if someone they already trust suggests it. For me, that means when I deliver a speech or meet people at a bookstore, my job is to establish trust, and that may sell a few books. Conversely, a guy like Seth has worked hard at building trust with hundreds of thousands of people, and he, with a simple email or post, can persuade countless people to buy a product.

Obviously if Seth did this for everyone who wanted it he would quickly lose trust. So he doesn’t do it often and when he does, he does it very selectively.

For my books to get the exposure I want them to have, I need to build trust – faster and broader. I need to win the trust of each reader, so they will recommend it to the people who trust them. I need to win trust with every blog post I write and every speech I deliver. And, without a doubt, I need to win the trust of the people who have already earned the trust of others.

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