Lack of trust is the biggest problem marketers have on the internet, or better yet, the biggest opportunity.

The power in this lies in the fact that affiliate programs have given us easy access to a huge variety of products and services that we can present to potential buyers, opening up an endless number of possibilities.

And really, you?re not limited to affiliate products. Many businesses would be happy to compensate you for bringing them sales.

But too many people have no reason to believe that out of the multitude of marketing messages they see every day, yours is one they need to pay attention to. You have to provide them with something they?d have a hard time finding elsewhere.

Usually, the easiest, most effective, and most permanent way to first is to earn their trust - that something they`d have a hard time finding elsewhere.

Here?s the key thing you must remember...

Your readers can only benefit from you and you can only benefit from them to the extent that they can trust you!

These days, not many marketers handle this well. Not because they don?t know enough, or don?t have certain skills, it`s just that, their focus is in the wrong areas.

That?s where you come in. You can grab an early advantage, but marketers will always adapt. It?s part of the process. And when they do adapt, it won?t be as easy to stand out anymore.

Not only that, but the ones who don?t take advantage of this aren?t likely to survive. So the sooner you take advantage of this, the better.

Everyon(e) has the ability to earn trust, that is, if they?re worthy of it. By following these tips, you?ll put yourself in a position of influence with your subscribers... and that?s a powerful thing!

1) Keep your focus as narrow as it has to be for you to bring the most value. In other words, focus on those areas where you have something unique to contribute. What your readers will probably read elsewhere... let them read elsewhere.

2) Find ways to over deliver, exceeding people?s expectations. This creates the element of surprise. People will tend to remember this, and by association you. That means better recognition and more influence ? a recipe guaranteed to make sales.

3) Make your subscribers feel like they know you. By doing this, you make it much easier for them to trust you. It?s like adding a third dimension to your marketing. It helps to complete the picture. And no matter how many people you write to, always use a personal, one on one type of style. It should sound like you?re talking directly to them.

Let yourself show through in your marketing, including your opinions, insights, stories, humor, etc. and your intentions will show through, whatever they might be. If that?s a bad thing, then you?re reading the wrong article.

4) Don?t try to please everyon(e). This is the biggest mistake you can make. You?ll forfeit anything interesting or unique about your marketing if you do this. In other words, you lose your edge and your marketing becomes ineffective. Don?t worry about the subscribers that drop off. You?re better off connecting with a smaller group on a deeper level.

5) Through your actions, you have to demonstrate to your subscribers that you don?t sacrifice their best interests in the name of profit. Become their trusted advisor. Do what you can to steer them in a direction that?s right for them, as individuals. Educate them to be able to make better decisions on their own.

These are powerful elements, and yet most marketers make compromises or loose sight of them because they see them as a conflict of interest with other profit seeking motives. The problem is, these things will lose their power when any one of them has been compromised. And earning the trust of your subscribers is never a conflict of interest.

The benefits of a responsive list are tremendous. To start with, you`ll make more sales with more profit in each sale. Then, word-of-mouth marketing, always the most effective method, becomes easy, and even more effective. You also put yourself in a position to sell bigger ticket items. Translation - a lot more money from a lot less effort.

If you have a passion for or enjoy learning about the things that your market values, then developing the kinds of relationships you need to make these sales won?t seem like work at all.

All the while, you?ll be growing and becoming more influential.

All of these things will work together to build your influence at an exponential rate, and your incom(e) is sure to follow. Essentially, if you use your power wisely, you?ll continue to have more of it in the future.

And that?s for the long run, because these relationships will still be there no matter what might happen with your business in the future. In fact, these relationships really ARE your business.

Copyright 2004 Laurence Baker