Hello,

I feel like it will help establish trust if I put a photo of myself in the copy that I write for our own products. Anybody have some testing data regarding this?

Also, if writing for someone else (as a ghost writer) do you ever suggest that they put a photo in (of whoever is responsible of the product or service)?

I will test this, but I would love to hear other's experiences.

All the best,

Tim

I'm testing this right now with my new website (see "forum notices"). Anecdotal evidence suggests that adding photos, to at least the testimonials, increases response.

I'll let you know once I get more numbers.

I'd be interested in hearing too -- from personal experience I agree and think photos can definitely help response...however from personal buying experience, I will add that "it also depends on how the person in the photo looks" ...

eg there's websites where I would not buy because the picture of the person didn't look credible or professional, eg didn't pass my "would you buy from this face?" test... so having a photo cost them a sale (in quite a few instances, I should add). eg the person looked like a used car salesman or other untrustworthy, or simply not credible for me to buy from. Having documented testimonials with specific numbers would help offset that, though, most likely.

so, it's possibly a two-edged sword - if the person looks credible for their industry and has a solid professional appearance, then a photo would help. Having the seller look like the buyer can help, but a mismatch, may hurt the sale.. it would be interesting to hear from others, esp. split test results.

there's also obvious red flags (eg photo of overweight person selling a diet product, or a young person's face selling retirement plans, or a thin cook, etc etc that causes dissonance and lost sales)

ken

Good point. We are all human after all, and though we have been engrained with such thoughts as, "don't judge a book by its cover", I know I can't help but having an idea of an individual just by looking into their eyes.

I know that I don't look like a used cars salesman, and generally from what others tell me, I inspire trust, but I might fall into the category of not looking professional enough for some folks, eg, I don't wear ties, I have a beard and long hair.

The challenge with an online endeavor is that you have just words and images (I suppose one could use audio and video as well), so the judgement that can be passed can remain on a more superficial level.

I run an offline business, and I know that when I first meet professionals or potential clients, I'm sure that they have some doubts as I don't fit the stereotype, but almost always, after a brief conversation, they understand that I am very highly qualified, and they are happy to work with me. I just landed a half a million dollar job. I have never spent a cent nor a minute on marketing, my work comes through referrals - I have to refuse work. Its a little more challenging in the online world...

I will simply have to test, and not take it too personally if my photo hurts rather than helps, my goal is to simply inspire trust and eliminate any "fly by night" sort of thoughts that visitors might have, letting them know that I will be there to serve their needs. That's my hope anyway.

All the best,

Tim

hi Timothy, agree -- because of the speed at which most of us scan for resources online, an initial bad first image impression will likely cost more sales than in the offline world, where someone at least has a chance to hear you talk at first, in addition to the physical appearance, to gain credibility ...

as a side note, the use of audio (and video for that matter) is a big boost, I would personally put more weight into the content of what someone says, how they say it, their word choice (level of specific words/better, vs general comments), than the photo..


ken

Funny

I have given this one a lot of thought. You see a pic is a strong proof online for sure but then if you look like a pigs backside well ... you know what I'm saying .

Back to my point then. I have noticed in the states the online pics are usually very formal, shirt tie, suit etc. Question I wanted to really ask is this: Is this an expected standard over there when "seen to be professional"?

Where in the UK if we see a pic like that online it can actually put some people off as people expect entreprenuerial type to look different not like a guy in the office.

I was thinking of posting a picture of myself up on my site with just my bathing suit on and a snorkel! ...whaddya think...

Just kidding for sure dont evacuate the web yet. I would like some feedback though on expected dress codes please.

Hi Everyone,

This is a difficult one for me aswell. I'm not particularly photogenic and I can't afford a professional photographer at the moment.

Me and my boyfriend went out with a digital camera a few months ago and took loads of pictures of me for my website, but none of them are really good enough. Either bad lighting or I just don't look too good. I'm also nervous about putting up a picture because I'm overweight, and have facial piercings.

Tim - this is probably a similar scenario to you. You may not look the way people were expecting, but once they hear you speak, they believe in you. I'm very much the same. I speak fairly well, and despite my slightly unusual appearance (for a consultant), most people are willing to listen to what I say. I picked up two clients at a networking meeting after talking to the assembled group for 2 minutes on the dos and don'ts of setting up a website. They are fairly conservative people, so my conclusion is that something that I said, and probably more importantly, the way I said it, struck a chord with them.

I agree with Alan in that a good picture can probably boost response, whereas a bad picture will decimate it.

I met a very pleasant man at a training course yesterday - a fellow copywriter. I decided to have a look at his website last night, and he has the most goofy picture of himself on it. In real life he has cross-eyes (anyone remember Clarence the cross-eyed lion from Daktari?), and his picture emphasises the cross-eyes and he's kind of grimacing, so he looks very odd. As Tim said, first impressions count.

Back to Alan's point about how to dress and what impression to give. I would say it is yet another aspect that depends on the target market. If you're target market is the music industry, then you probably need to look trendy, casual and young, if not plain weird. If, on the other hand, your target market is conservative business people, then presumably you have to look like them - suited and booted.

So the question becomes: will the target audience relate to the person in the photo? Will they trust that person? Does that person look the way they expected them to look?

Here's another example. There is a person online who has a very slick website selling their software product. It follows all the rules of long copy etc. and is aimed at the small business/internet marketer market in the US. So far, so good. However, once you've bought the product you get a popup with a photo that shows him as a goofy programmer - tousled hair and beard. The whole layout of the popup is pants - using serif fonts and any number of other internet crimes. It didn't bother me, although I did feel some "cognitive dissonance". You see, he uses a photo (probably from a stock photo library) on the main website of someone else entirely. I assumed it was him. Clearly, it was not. So, one minute I'm dealing with this slick business, and the next I get this hairy programmer with his not so good-looking popup.

I'm probably of the opinion that "if in doubt, then don't" on this one.

I have now successfully talked myself out of putting my photo online - I think I'd rather put some audio on there instead.

To be honest, a lot of the time when I see people's photos online I wonder if it's really them anyways. A case in point is Alexandria Brown, the Ezine Queen. I couldn't help wondering if the site wasn't yet another offshoot of someone else's empire, and they'd got a picture of a model and used that to lend some credibility.

I guess you know it's really Alexandria. Because it is. I know her personally (and yes, she's that beautiful in person, too

See http://SuccessDoctor.com/news/ for pictures of her and me.

Michel,

Having heard her on her own website and then on one of Jason Potash's gigs the other night, I accepted that it wasn't another Corey Rudl or Marlon Sanders spin off.

But do you get the point? You say it best yourself that perception is far more important than fact. My perception was that it might be a fake. That is only my perception - I cannot speak for anyone else. Why did I think it might be a fake? Because of the photograph.

I never thought that of Debbie Wiel though. I'm now asking myself what the difference is. "Jane, what's the difference?" "Hmm, I guess it's that Debbie looks like a believable, middle-aged professional woman, whilst "the Ezine Queen" looks like a model".

Further to this, I'd be concerned to put a photo of myself on the net because although I'm 37, I look closer to late twenties or early 30s and that's just not as credible as someone older.

I find it extremely interesting all these thoughts.

Alan, as usual, you keep us laughing!

Regarding your question as to what's the proper "attire"... one would think that if you are going for a "professional" audience, or a hippy audience, or a geek audience, etc. then do as the Romans do. Become a chameleon. Except, I don't buy it.

I feel much more comfortable with an individual as they are, or how they would be in a more relaxed environment. How many "professionals" actually enjoy dressing up for work? Probably not too many, at least I don't know many.

Michel, I enjoyed looking through your photo blog archive, it is always a trip for me to see individuals that I have come to know online through words (and made a mental image), then see a photo - sometimes it's shocking!

I'm not referring to you - I had seen your photo a long time ago. But I have to say, I much prefer your relaxed "with friends" photos, to the one you use for your homepage with the serious look and suit.

The photo I plan on using will be how you might find me day in and day out, my intuition tells me to go that route. I'm not selling training for bankers, so I am fairly confident to get away with it.

I guess I'll be a kind of guinea pig here - I'll keep you all posted on my testing results down the road. I'm already happily married with a lovely Italian wife, so I guess I can take the rejection if my tests fail and I find that my picture hurts sales... at least I hope I can take it.

I can hear it already... I'm not buying anything from that guy! Gulp.

Tim