You are not the hero
Too often I see websites of companies that are telling a STORY about THEMSELVES. They show their company off with photo's and video's of the buildings and offices as well as their team.
They also write selling texts that are all about THEM doing great at this or that. That the customer should hire them, because they are the HERO that will solve all of their problems.
They completely lose their customer already with this, because customers use a primitive need to figure out whether they need you as a company or not.
Be The GUIDE
Customers don't need another hero. THEY want to be the HERO themselves and all they want from YOU (the website / business / company) is a bit of HELP to achieve that hero goal.
Therefore you need to be the GUIDE instead. Not just a guide that shows them the way, but you need to show EMPATHY and UNDERSTANDING about their situation, while showing AUTHORITY in being the solution to the problem they are experiencing.
There is more to it, but that is for another day. I will just let this sink in for a moment. This is definitely a very important theme for you all. It doesn't matter whether you got a regular business with website going or whether you got an authority niche oriented website going, to every one of them the same can be applied.
With every blog or review you write, you should take these things into account. Be the guide, not the hero.
Please give me your thoughts in the comments below!
Read my next post in this new series: Abraham Maslov's Hierarchy of Human Needs
Recent Comments
16
I agree with you on presenting oneself as a guide not a self made hero. :) A true Hero is a humble person who helps others without blowing his own horn in a 'look at me' kind of way. Paramedics and Firefighters are examples I can use, because in our family, we have three of them.
They help others everyday, they save lives some days and watch others die on other days. All of them are instructed regarding confidentiality, for the privacy of patients, so all the finer details seldom get told. They do not blow their own horns, yet they are heros. Their uniform means something to all who see them.
Likewise, an authority niche website, should be informative and helpful without coming across as 'look at me, I am fantastic'. I visit a lot of websites, as on line shopping is my first choice as opposed to getting in my car and driving over an hour to the nearest city.
What sways me the most in whether I am going to order a product or not, is accurate information and (if possible) the reviews of real customers. I want to know how other customers are using the product before I make my decision. If the writer of the post and or review on the website comes across as honest and authentic, I am far more likely to order a product through a link or their store page.
A website's content that is based on real experience and or very thorough research becomes an authority that converts to trust that further converts to sales. By real experience, I don't mean someone should rattle off all their degrees, careers, jobs, talents etc., that's boring to me. That is what I mean by blowing your own horn.
When searching for information,I love a website that has content that is a 'guide' to what I am there to learn about. I want to be helped in my research. I do not want you to tell me how great you are, I could care less. As a customer, I can't say I want to be the Hero, but I do want a solution to a problem. If the website has been able to help me, I am more likely to bookmark it and return another day.
I
I really like to read customer reviews too, and will surf a long way from the source to make sure a product is what I want. You know, it could be a fabulous product, but just a little outside of my needs. So, the trouble people take to share their experience really matters.
At the same time, I'm troubled by the fact that there are enough actors playing a dirty game of ecomm out there, to be paying not only for hundreds of great fake reviews, but also numerous bad reviews to sink their competitors. The worst of these behaviours (and more) I've seen so far is on Amazon. It's appalling.
This minefield of shoddy business behaviour makes it hard for us to distinguish quality, expertise, and wisdom in the noise. It makes it all the more important for us as consumers to develop a good trust relationship with the businesses we engage with. There are some bloggers from whom I will never hesitate to buy recommended products.
I'm sure plenty of people have written at length about what inspires trust or attraction in consumers, and that if it were a straightforward thing to cultivate, learning how to do any kind of business would be easy. Everyone would be a ecomm millionaire.
Back to those I like to buy from (and there are few!), one of the things that really does it for me, is consistency. When someone's advice is consistently good, the products they recommend always fab, and their writing of a consistent quality, I have no hesitation clicking into Paypal.
So, whether you take the tack of the hero or the guide, I just like to have faith in what I'm getting because of a good track record of consistent quality.
You're off by a bit, everybody is a hero who goes after what they want. Also, people look up to heroes because they want what they have. My job is to show them how I got it so that they can see why they should listen to what I say. Being a guide takes all the power out of it and looks average. My goal is to make sure I stand out and don't do the same job as all the other average "guides" out there do.
Remember that you are not the same as me and that goes for giving advice. If you want to settle for less and just be a guide that is up to you. I am a risk taker willing to put it out there so you can find the best solutions. When I don't settle for less than neither should you.
Eric.
My understanding from what you say, is that you probably misunderstand what I tried to explain to you all. I will deepen this one out in the coming days. I got it from a book and it definitely isn't nonsense.
You can definitely be the best guide, while not being the best hero or Hornblower as Maddy pointed out so nicely.
Steven
I like that you want to do a better job than all the average efforts. Don't ever change that! So much of the internet is a turgid maelstrom of derivative, useless, faff. And worse still, most people don't even know the difference between average and great.
So how do you let your customers know they're getting something more than average? I've seen writers, even here on WA, audaciously re-spinning others' content for praise and position. If you're going to the extra effort of building something special for your tribe, how do like to communicate that?
I am in the personal development/self-improvement niche and instead of repeating the same false advice as others, I take the time to do the journaling activities myself. I track my own progress, I try out many solutions and courses so that I am able to track my own thoughts and questions.
This means that I can offer more depth into each post and eventually turn this into a coaching service or design products that have me there to assist with any and all problems.
There is quite a lot more to this then just writing a blog post that gives a definition, a list of steps or skills to learn. What I was hoping to get across in my comment was that it's okay to provide a guide experience because that is one of several roles you will be playing to help your readers.
What I believe isn't clear in the post is that you want to be your own superhero, and that does involve showing the reader what you have done that makes you the best. I try to do that with adversity stories, course certifications, and the progress I make.
The entire point of learning is to do everything yourself so that you can know whether what you read or hear is the truth. I only repeat something when it's the best that I have found and am always open to see any other angles. But to do that you must challenge everything and that includes other peoples blogs :-) That is the way I learn to find the truth myself.
Eric
It's not that I don't understand something, it's that I likely need you to show more proof that what you suggest is correct. There are going to be lot's of opposing evidence to anything and that this post was a bit too short for what I need to see to believe that the advice is solid.
And there are certainly good points you included but there isn't anything that says you are playing one role vs a set of roles, there isn't a real benefit to the mindset of being a guide vs a leader, and there is more opinion than fact as to why it's better. i.e
What sites are using this strategy and gaining the type of followers that stick around because the content is phenomenal? What you suggest is as you said not the whole story but there are useful tips that will help you look less ego-driven than just saying "take my word and buy this because I am happier with it. Here are my achievements.
There are many successful businesses that have a true brand story that isn't all bragging, it's about the why of the reader because it been that same thing for the author.
Eric
As a general rule, people forget what you say but will always remember how you make them feel. Great post Steven!
Regards,
Mike
Mike, I actually used this quote (from Maya Angelou) in my VD speech at uni. I've always loved it! A friend of mine had shared it on FB in the fortnight ahead of ceremony, and I just couldn't get it out of my head. She was so excited when she heard it included, it was pretty funny.
Steve, I agree with the premise of what you've said, but I can see how it's going to seem at odds with some of the 'origin story' advice that people receive for PR. I really look forward to your unpacking the idea further in the coming days.
You've also reminded me of something I heard in a business lecture about service and value - that the most prosperous businesses are those that *help people to become a better version of themselves*... Be that through fitness, learning, beauty, financial success... anything. Such a simple notion, but like that quote above, it's really stuck with me.
I like this approach....it'll keep readers interested and keep them coming back for more.
Debbie
That is one thing we can hope for, but what is so important in this technique is to make the best first impression, before they even decide to come back. The first impression will be about your bounce rate, will they bother with you or not.
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Hi Steven
I love this concept and how you presented it! If we can make our reader the hero, they feel part of the story, important, and enjoys it... which means that are likely going to be more easily follow our Call To Action (whatever that may be).
Thanks for sharing, this is very valuable!
Sharlee (Chocolate IceCream)
You are very much welcome!
Steven