I see the rhetorical humor in Jeff’s comment, and thus saw no reason to comment. Since you’ve brought it up, I will respond anyway.

Jeff, I never write sponsored posts on this website. I never mention current clients’ names, and I never intentionally sabotage anyone’s reputation. Privacy is important. Honesty is important.

Anyone can accuse anyone of anything. A bad news story is published. I can accuse the unknown saboteur for trying to damage a company’s rep. A positive story is published, and I can accuse the writer of taking money for a positive spin.

The Web world we live in is going to get much more confusing before it becomes more simple. Sabotage and impersonation will proliferate until a universal ID is levied on the world, which may never happen given the apocalyptic associations with such a process.

Let me just say that my point to you was that we set the standard with what we write. Lists of how to repair reputation are fine if presented as reputation repair. To call these lists “how to’s” for ORM is misleading, because ORM is not reactive only.

I have had clients that are proactive, and clients that are reactive. There are surely far more reactive companies out there looking for solutions, but they are not the only ones.

I provide several web marketing services, which allows me the opportunity to explain proactive ORM to clients originally interested only in SEO, PPC, blog consulting, or social media marketing. Not everyone can see beyond their assigned budget, and not everyone is willing to spend marketing dollars as an investment. Such is life. We wouldn’t have thought leaders if everyone were equally stategically involved.

To sell any client, I listen to them first. I want to know who they are, what they want, and what they think they need. This frequently opens doors for me to introduce strategies and insights they weren’t anticipating, and sometimes I just plant the seed for them to think about. But ultimately, I only present services that guard, protect, and build my clients’ businesses, so there’s no ultimate logical reason to not buy into what I tell them.

In a much less shady way, it’s like selling life and health insurance to newlyweds. Not everyone will take the bait, but those who do are prepared and face life’s challenges with more confidence. And the costs are minimal when compared to the costs they avoid.

As for blogging with or without ads on your site, that is a personal choice for each person to make. If I provide value to other marketers who then repeat what I’ve said to their prospects, I don’t mind making a little profit from their visit. There’s a “moral highground” some people take in every industry, claiming to be purists of some sort or another, which may or may not be true, and ultimately proves nothing because every person’s motivations are uniquely their own.

I watch prime time television. The ads shown during these shows may or may not have any relevance to my life, but their presence doesn’t detract from the quality of the show. Ads are ads. When it comes to blogging, the presence of ads does not change the quality of content one writes. Their presence can be more or less distracting, but the written content is what it is, no matter what. I see no reason to believe otherwise.

I can’t speak for Dan, but there’s no pay-off going on when I write about a company (heck, I won’t even have Google ads on my site because I think they totally compromise the value of information presented).

I do it because it interests me, because I have expertise in that area and because the blogging platform allows me to create content that will bring in readers and/or potential prospects.

That said, Dan, Jeff’s question is a valid one. I came here today via a Tweet you sent me a little while back commenting on a post I made about the basics of online reputation management.

You pointed out that my post listed ‘reactive’ steps to managing a reputation online and that you took a ‘pro-active’ approach with your clients.

I’m interested whether you think Jeff’s question needs a response (from your own online reputation point of view)? My advice to clients would be that it does.

In response to your Tweet, I also take a ‘pro-active’ approach with my clients – but have you noticed how very few actually become clients on a ‘pro-active’ sell? Most people that I work with come to me when they’re in pain – when they’ve been stung, and it hurts. Up til that point, ORM is a bit ‘academic’.

Does your experience bear that out? Or are your clients forward thinking enough to hire you before they run into any issues?