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7 Ways to Trip Yourself up When Building an Online Reputation

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My name is Mitz and I am a serial full-time blogger. I started out with one website many years ago and it went so well, I sold my businesses and began living the internet dream. Since then I have been perfecting the system of blogging to earn money online and I will never stop learning. This is an ever changing business and I love the challenge. Please feel free to download my favorite FREE REPORTS if you are interested in improving your blogging business or starting one from scratch.

Mitz Pantic has written 30 articles for ComLuv.com
I normally write at http://www.wordpress-websitebuilder.com

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Trip Yourself up When Building an Online Reputation

Building a great online reputation is one of the most important things you can do when you are starting your new home based internet marketing business. Everything you do on the Internet is creating a footprint of who you are.

Word of mouth has a new meaning in the online world and when people are talking about you, it really needs to be all good news.

Massive corporations are hiring professionals to manage their online reputation because they have finally realized that the Internet is the biggest “word of mouth tool” there is. Previously a disgruntled customer had no way to voice a complaint, however the internet has exposed every business to the hard core bone.

Obviously running a home based business is not a major corporation and probably does not require that you hire an online reputation management company. This does not mean that your online reputation is not important though, because it is!

Unfortunately working from home means that you are in charge of your own online reputation and you need to take this part of your business very seriously.

Online reputation management – what not to do

These are things you just shouldn’t do when trying to build your online reputation.

#1. Lying your lungs out!

It is not recommended that you lie in any type of business, however it is even worse when you’d lie to people online. On your website you might comment about how much money you make, or maybe you say you have 100 websites when you only have one. No matter what the lie is, people will be curious and often dig around to see if such statements are true.

The problem is that it is very easy to find these lies and find the actual truth.

#2. Being up yourself

Do you think you are better than everyone else? If you do then you will not get very far in business. Becoming successful enough to make money online requires that you respect other people and see the value they have to offer. You can learn something new from anyone everyday.

Unfortunately some ignorant people think you need experience or a degree to have a knack for something. Open your eyes and ears and use other peoples talent to your advantage. Do not belittle and tear their arguments down because you think you are better.

#3. Not networking in your niche

If you do not network with people in your niche then you are missing out on a whole load of customers. Online business is extremely different to off-line business as there is a lot of sharing and caring going on amongst online businesses. For example, Webmasters often complement each other and send traffic to other websites.

#4. Weak passwords

Having weak passwords means that people can hack into your accounts and sabotage your online reputation without you even doing it yourself. This is still a bad mistake on your behalf and this is why you need to always create strong passwords.

Never use the same password, your children’s name, date of birth, and all the other obvious ones that people use. Try adding an _ (underscore)or an ! in your password. What about &^%$#()?

#5. Not checking what others are saying

People might be saying bad stuff about you and you don’t even know it. You need to keep your finger on the pulse and watch what people are saying about you. You might even find some compliments and it is always nice to respond to them and say thank you. If you find negative comments about you then it is better to know about it and deal with it quickly.

Set Google alerts for your name. That way you will know when someone mentions you. DiTesco has a great post about online reputation that lists more tools you can use.

#6. Running out of real names

Once you have damaged your online reputation using your real name it is getting far more difficult to assume an alias or pen name. For example Facebook and Google Plus expect a real name to setup an account.  Of course you can do it but do you really want to live a lie?

#7. Not coming out of the closet

Show yourself for who you are. Do not hide because you think people will not like you. People do not care what country you come from, what color your skin is, or what you look like. They only care if you have something different and interesting to share and I guarantee that 99% of your visitors will think that way.

Make an about me page and be proud of yourself. Don’t go overboard though…Check out my about me page for an example.

The moral of the story

Bring you and your personality out for people to see. Behave with your best manors and respect other people on the internet. If you can do this your online reputation will be something to look up to.

What tips can you share about Building an Online Reputation?

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Comments

  1. David
    Twitter:
    says:

    Great advice — Too many people try to hide behind a persona.

    PS — the image around point 6 / 7 made me laugh out loud, at work!
    David recently posted..Is cloud computing really possible?My Profile

  2. Sanjeev says:

    Not only in online business, online reputation has started to play a in offline business also.

    Now employers has started checking out candidates online social profiles before hiring. So it doesn’t matter what you do online, everything counts.

    and well said…nobody wants to run out of real names…:)
    Sanjeev recently posted..How to block list in TwitterMy Profile

  3. Prachi says:

    Some good points are made, i like the one about lying.
    I totally believe in providing some genuine stuff..
    Building a reputation online is very difficult as the world around is huge and you give your best to be recognized.
    Prachi recently posted..How To Backup Your Facebook And Twitter DataMy Profile

  4. sandip
    Twitter:
    says:

    Great tips. It’s all about being yourself! Be real and aim to deliver great value and you’ll be on track for success
    sandip recently posted..WongaMy Profile

  5. Niche networking is a great point as you can blog about what you know to people who are interested in what you are saying. Going outside the niche to a bigger audience will dilute the strength of your comments.
    Corporate Photographer recently posted..Event photography LondonMy Profile

  6. Karan Lugani
    Twitter:
    says:

    Building online reputation is a slow procedure and building a great reputation needs constant hard work. Yes, I did commit various mistakes while building one but I think now I am on the right path. Also, there is a spelling mistake in last line ” Behave with your best manors” …….ie. manners and not manors. Please correct it. Nice article.
    Karan Lugani recently posted..See How Easily You Can Target Keywords for AdsenseMy Profile

    • Mitz Pantic
      Twitter:
      says:

      Hi Karan
      I think we all committed some mistakes in the beginning. When we realize how important building an online reputation is, then we start to take note of what we are doing.

      Sorry about the spelling mistake but I am only human! :) (cannot correct it now) At least I know you read it!!!
      Mitz Pantic recently posted..18 Link Building TechniquesMy Profile

  7. Rob Boirun
    Twitter:
    says:

    Networking is probably my fav. I’ve built up more clients and learned way more by networking in my niche.
    Rob Boirun recently posted..Samsung SE-208BW – A DVD Burner With WiFi and DLNAMy Profile

  8. Paul Profitt
    Twitter:
    says:

    Your about me page is really important. Because it is where you make a real connection with the people who read your blog. I would always advise people to fully complete their profile pages on web sites. such as Twitter Google+ and Facebook.

    Profile pages helps build trust and can send a lot of traffic to your web site.
    Paul Profitt recently posted..What’s Still Works In Getting Traffic 2011My Profile

  9. “Mitz” can i add this one – Not even thinking on what your your doing ( many people shoots and shoot aimlessly). I do believe that quality informative stuff creates a big impact on internet marketing. Making a name for yourself or your product takes allot of effort but the process is still best than the success itself…
    Timothy Smith recently posted..DoUpTo- The Fastest Way to Make Money Using Your Talent updated Tue Jul 26 2011 1:56 am CDTMy Profile

  10. Prachi says:

    I just read an interesting stuff about management and online reputation and that points to Facebook, which can be a role builder for many….
    Prachi recently posted..Facebook Testing New Summary Email FeatureMy Profile

  11. Bedashree
    Twitter:
    says:

    Hi Mitz,
    All the points are great, being what you are certainly helps in building up your reputation everywhere, be it the virtual world or the real world. I think not being accessible will also hamper your online reputation. You have networked hard, and when its time for individuals to reach you, you are not accessible. That’s really mars the hardwork you have put in to build up your reputation.
    Bedashree recently posted..F-Commerce- The new buzzwordMy Profile

  12. stevescottsite
    Twitter:
    says:

    Mitz,

    This is some good stuff. An online reputation is worth it’s weight in gold IMO. I have even had repercussions from breaking one of these in my career.

    #4. Once I had a weak password for my blog. Sure enough it eventually got hacked and caused me all sorts of grief. Now I make sure my passwords have well over a trillion combinations Caps, special characters,letters numbers the whole nine yards.

    Reputation needs to be managed very carefully. It only takes ONE “Oh S**t” to ruin the work of hundreds of “great jobs
    stevescottsite recently posted..The Pomodoro Technique: Internet Productivity 25-Minutes at a Time?My Profile

  13. Chad Nicely
    Twitter:
    says:

    Great Job Mitz!
    I just love reading your posts. You nailed a lot of things on the head here. I think Honesty and Integrity were the two big ones. I really love the idea of setting up Google Alerts with your name on it. I had a developer that I had to fire, because he was not showing up for work. Well I then found about 150 blogs with a complaint in my name, and some big fictitious story. It would of really hurt me bad. Luckily the outsourcing company straightened him out real quick. Thanks for the good reading.
    Chad Nicely recently posted..Submit Your Guest Post On A Site That Gets 300,000 Monthly Views!My Profile

    • Mitz Pantic
      Twitter:
      says:

      Wow that’s another one to add to the list… I have always been worried about that.. Outsourcing and letting people into your business. I have given people FTP access etc and it has made me wonder about what they are doing..

      Luckily I am paranoid and prepare for the worst with backups and so on…

      Making blogs in your name is a worry because they do not conduct business like you..

      I have someone scraping my content everyday and they are taking the whole page with authors pictures and all… I checked to see if the blog was indexed in google and thankfully, in their eyes it doesn’t exist…So if you see me posting on junk websites, I didn’t do it!
      Mitz Pantic recently posted..What do Search Engine Bots See When They Crawl your Website?My Profile

  14. Brian says:

    While I agree that the best news and information about your company should be good news, I also think there can be benefits to having “the negative” as well. If you’re going to be truly honest then you know you can’t please everyone. If someone writes a blog post with something negative, respond to the comment instead of deleting it. This gives you more SEO opportunities and it will show that you’re not afraid to deal with some of the difficulties that arise with your product or service.
    Brian recently posted..Six Clean New Site StylesMy Profile

    • Mitz Pantic
      Twitter:
      says:

      Being honest includes showing your mistakes and having your negative opinions but you must be open to others opinions as well…

      I definitely do not delete a comment because it does not suit me.. A little bit of controversy goes a long way..It’s how you handle all this that counts..

      I also agree to face the problems with your product or service asap because if you do not it will come back to bite you in the bum! :) Big shots are realizing this now as they have always been used to getting away with it!
      Mitz Pantic recently posted..7 Reasons Why your WordPress Website is not Making MoneyMy Profile

  15. Dale Green says:

    I especially agree NO.1.Reputation is based on honest.Lies is lie.It can’t be truth. These tips are useful.Thanks

  16. Latief
    Twitter:
    says:

    Very very good tips Sister. I don’t like to create a connection whit false name and false picture. How can I trust people with super hero picture profile? Thank for sharing the article, really love it!
    Latief recently posted..10 Ways To Build Your LinksMy Profile

  17. These are great tips Mitz. I believe business should be an extension of your values, and so being truthful and real on line is vital. Starting out of course you want to look successful but it is far more endearing to show your personality, share your real story and experience and earn people’s trust this way. Thanks for sharing this post.
    Rachael Slorach recently posted..How to be REALLY ineffective at Lead Generation! The importance of a Balanced Marketing PlanMy Profile

    • Mitz Pantic
      Twitter:
      says:

      Great points Rachael.
      People do not care if you are successful and like to see the success develop as they look on. People often presume that others only follow successful people…Not true.. Everyone is an individual and they will gather their own followers who will be loyal to them..
      Mitz Pantic recently posted..18 Link Building TechniquesMy Profile

  18. Ray says:

    Be yourself and communicate with others whether on your own site or the social networks is good. I do believe in being social, but I depending on the situation I don’t know that you need to disclose every detail about yourself whether it be on your own site or facebook and that type of thing. So if that is a running out of name thing I am not sure. Provide enough info, but I don’t see the point of offering all your details and info either. Just enough.
    Ray recently posted..Starting a website or blog cost concernsMy Profile

  19. Leanne L says:

    Hello Mitz,
    Just wanted to let you know how helpful I found your post. I am fairly new to Internet Marketing and am still trying to find my way. I have decided to stop buying any kind of program to help me make money online and concentrate on learning how to do the things that need to be done.
    LOL even though I think this blogging stuff is lots of fun I am quite new at it. I guess I have learned more than I thought because 3 months ago I wouldn’t have had a clue how to do this.
    Again I just wanted to say thanks for the info, it will go in my file of things I need to know…
    Leanne
    Leanne L recently posted..Nearsightedness – Naturally Improve Eyesight To Treat NearsightednessMy Profile

  20. Jin
    Twitter:
    says:

    One of some advice above especially for point number 5, sometimes people are lazy to check what other people comment, by respecting what people think and comment is important part of making a good reputation, reply every comment and answer it.

  21. Joey Thomas
    Twitter:
    says:

    Nice simple points that are all very valid. You’ve got to be so careful that everything you say can be backed up because you can be pulled to threads within the virtual world, to a much larger extent to the real world.

    Also think it’s really important to focus in on your niche. Not try to be friends with everyone or attract everyone to your website. Focus in your efforts, content and product are so important.

  22. Shiva
    Twitter:
    says:

    Well, I used to use an alias when I first started out with online money making but I also could not resist in using my real name at some places so both of them got interconnected and thus my online reputation and online persona was all totally mashed up. Later on I decided to use my real name in everything so that I could build up my real online persona and I think right now everything is well and good. You are right when you say that monitoring the online reputation is important since some people maybe be writing something bad about you and that may in turn come up in the search results and thus causes you damage in your freelancing or online business career.
    Shiva recently posted..Things You Must Know Before Start BloggingMy Profile

  23. sanjay
    Twitter:
    says:

    Always check your name on the Search Engines, you can use Google Alerts for that so when a new article or something about your name come up you’ll be notified. Great article!
    sanjay recently posted..How to display list of authors in WordPress without a PluginMy Profile

  24. Some great tips. Definitely you need to be honest.
    Chris R. Keller recently posted..Increase Business Sales – Utilize Your Most Valuable AssetMy Profile

  25. sue says:

    Great tips in this article. I agree with the last tip..I’ve always thought nobody would like my posts because of who I am and such, but I think people would appreciate it more if they knew a bit about the writer.

  26. satrap says:

    I think one of the biggest things in building reputation and having others trust you is being yourself. Having your own unique voice helps you to stand out from all the other competitors and gives you more credibility.
    satrap recently posted..Get Paid to Complete Free OffersMy Profile

  27. Ricardus
    Twitter:
    says:

    Respect others in the internet is by far the most important thing here.
    Ricardus recently posted..How to trigger ideas to write new articleMy Profile

  28. Maria Pavel says:

    As an example, I’ve seen a person who choose to use pen names in building his online reputation only for a particular site. Honestly, I don’t see anything wrong about it unless he wants to build a better online community, I think he actually needs to go out his way and reveal his self for real.
    Maria Pavel recently posted..Hospital CNA TrainingMy Profile

  29. Jennifer Rai
    Twitter:
    says:

    I completely agree with all points mentioned above, especially respecting other talents. Yes, there will always be someone better then us out there, and we could actually learn a thing or two from them and incorporate that in our business for improvement. Thank you for sharing this informative article!
    Jennifer Rai recently posted..Speaking in Public…A Journey Into Being SeenMy Profile

  30. Jerrick
    Twitter:
    says:

    There are poor and slow feedback on comment of customer complain.
    Some company even worst that they do not reply and delete those customer complain to make sure the bad comment to not influence their online reputation.
    That not a good move.
    I hate those companies respond to their customers.

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