Comments on: 4 Ways Web Workers Can Show That They are “Real” People

By: Trina Roach

Trina Roach — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 16:22:57 +0000

Although I guess as an executive coach and trainer I’m not officially a web worker, because I do a lot of telephone coaching, as well as offer teleseminars to promote both my tele-coaching and ‘live’ open workshops, I am discovering how much a social networking presence makes a difference. It’s not as true here in Europe where I am based (yet), as it is in the States. Many people in my core target market here in Germany haven’t been early adopters when it comes to depending heavily on social networking as a major way to establish credibility. Because I’m only in the States periodically, though, I am finding it easier to connect and remain relevant as I continue to build my target market there via places like FB. That’s why I’ve increased the emphasis on social networking (esp. in North America) in this year’s marketing plan.

By: Alex

Alex — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 15:35:13 +0000

I am also a web worker. I am working on Elance, Getafreelancer and Scriptlance. I really appreciate you effort to write this article. I specially agree with your last point, to provide a Land line or atleast a Cell number will put you in a much more trust worthy position. However third party profiles also play a major role. For example, those profiles may display the number of projects you have completed, your rating and your clients feedbacks. Portfolio is one of the most important factors as well.

By: Mike Sullivan

Mike Sullivan — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 02:39:52 +0000

I am a web worker of sorts, but not a developer, so I needed to hire a developer. I found someone through odesk who was doing all the right things… had photos of himself & even his wife on various websites… he had a nice website with samples of work… etc. But there were enough quirks that made me reluctant to hire him. Also, he was from a country that’s rumored to have unethical web business practices. He had only been on odesk for a few days. Most of his websites that he featured on his site were no longer in existence, intranets that I couldn’t easily verify, or were older versions. But his work was really nice and he understood the process. But I just couldn’t get over the fact that he was from a country notorious for scams. A friend of mine even warned me… he was using developers from that same country for months and they still hadn’t actually gained his trust. He said their behavior was often odd or downright questionable.

If he had a longer term web footprint with a big network… he would have had a better chance. Without it, he had no chance.

By: Rayanne Langdon

Rayanne Langdon — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 20:58:26 +0000

Hey Celine, thanks for the follow! You can check out my websites here and here. Haha, kidding! There’s nothing worse than coming across people who join your “network” only to get your attention for a brief second and nothing more.

I’d say it’s important to be careful about getting too excited about social networking, though. I agree that you have to keep your appearances up, which gets increasingly harder when you’re a part of too many and don’t have the time to be a part of every “conversation”.

By: Chris Ritke

Chris Ritke — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 21:49:08 +0000

I’ve found that another great way to show that you’re a real person is to call people back when they send an email – especially if their number is in the signature. And calling them back within an hour or so is even better!