Should You Share Your Business Secrets?
It’s natural that in the competitive photographic industry you want to hoard away your secrets and strategies that made you successful. You probably feel that sharing your secrets means that others in the industry will learn your tactics and potentially rob you of business. However withholding your secrets might be hindering you from major business opportunities and the chance to boost your company.
SECRETS SHOW YOU AS AN EXPERT
By sharing your valuable experiences, strategies, secrets and tactics validates your credentials and experience in your industry. For example if you are a photographer and have experience using Instagram, sharing helpful tips and tricks on your blog about how to take the best Instagram pictures, will showcase your expertise and legitimise your talent.
If you’re blogging for your business this aspect of transparency has the potential of being very beneficial. Potential clients will feel less anxious about working with you because they will see that you know what you’re talking about, that you should be taken seriously as a major player within your industry and your audience will begin to ask questions and reach out to you for advice and opinions.
HELPS YOU CREATE VALUABLE, HIGH-QUALITY CONTENT
By sharing tips, insights and wisdom that you have found beneficial yourself, there’s a big chance you’re readers will find it valuable too. This is great, because valuable content automatically leads to high-quality content which is what we should all strive for on our blogs.
SHARING YOUR SECRETS MAKES YOU UNIQUE
It’s easy for blogs to merge together when they’re all offering similar content. But by sharing your secrets and revealing your tricks means that you stand out among others in your field.
ALLOWS YOU TO HELP AND SUPPORT OTHER BUSINESSES
By sharing the wisdom that you’ve acquired through the years and the tools you find useful, you have the amazing opportunity to benefit others and have a positive impact on those just starting out. It’s incredibly difficult to get your footing in an industry without a little help along the way. It’s easy to view business as a competition where everyone has to fend for themselves, however there is plenty of room for everyone who has original and unique ideas.
BUILDS TRUST AND BRAND LOYALTY
We tend to trust people who have our best interest in mind, and this carries over into business. Wouldn’t you rather work with a business that wants to do their best for you than make you fit in with their business model? When your customers know that each blog post is geared towards benefiting them – not just you – they will begin to trust you and value your opinion.
SHARING YOUR SECRETS DOES NOT MEAN…
- … that you aren’t selective about what you share. You don’t have to share everything you know. It’s fine to be picky on what you share and how much you share.
- … you share things that you’re uncomfortable with. If you’re not comfortable talking about a certain aspect of business, such as finances, personal posts etc then don’t.
- … you have to share about blogging or business. If you haven’t been in the industry for very long or feel uncomfortable talking about business then consider revealing things that have helped you become successful in a certain field – client experience, editing, organising, productivity etc.
I understand it’s hard to get over the hesitation to share you secrets and knowledge for fear that others might take your strategies and surpass you in the industry. However we often underestimate ourselves, our creativity, and our talents. If you’re doing something unique and original, the only thing you’ll have to worry about is ‘copycats’. If you’re working hard and consistently, they’ll always be one step behind you anyway.
Do you share your secrets with your audience? Do you find it beneficial to your business?
