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Does Gender plays role in IM?

by cookingdiva
37 replies
I have seen young as 13 and mature men and women in IM field, so I am thinking gender and age should not play a role, but it kind of does.

I have a cooking blog which I love to do in real life, and my blog is under google dance right now, still indexed but not on top 100 pages. So, I decided based on suggestions from all of you wonderful warriors that I should diversify in niche. I started a blog about blogging and blogging tips blog and I am finding as a woman, I might not be taken seriously as blogging niche filled with great male experts (I am sure there are few great females are there too).

Should I use a male pen name? Or eventually people come through? What to do? Thanks.
#gender #plays #role
  • Profile picture of the author aaron_nimocks
    I would stay who you are. With a blog like that you are branding yourself, might as well be yourself and not someone else.
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    • Profile picture of the author shabit87
      Originally Posted by aaron_nimocks View Post

      I would stay who you are. With a blog like that you are branding yourself, might as well be yourself and not someone else.
      I would have to agree, be yourself. While some niches may be better presented by a certain sex, I think in the end it comes down to you as a person. Can you help your visitors, do you have the solutions to their problems.

      I'm sure a neo nazi wouldn't mind buying a bottle of water in the Sahara from a homosexual if he was thirsty enough...okay probably not a great example, but I hope you get my drift. If you have what someone is looking for and you can prove that. It almost doesn't matter who you are as far as sex, race, and age are concerned.
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  • Profile picture of the author flavius333
    that's what pen names are for..

    but eventually.. it depends on the perception of the market; I mean - I'm not a discriminatory person - I'm really proud of women who make it in male-dominated areas of activity; but then, what do you know? from my perception - there aren't many people who think alike..

    p.s. I own a yeast infection blog - which is not by far a male territory - and I use a pen name so that I'm not discriminated ... people discriminate against their will sometimes.. but I'm with you in trying to fight this..
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  • Profile picture of the author Sergiu FUNIERU
    Originally Posted by newnoob View Post

    Should I use a male pen name? Or eventually people come through? What to do? Thanks.
    It depends on what you want to do.

    I know someone who doesn't watch Dexter Laboratories and Jimmy Neutron since he heard that both boys' voices are female. So much for different gender aliases.

    But, if you want to create a brand for yourself, I suggest you to use your real name. If possible, get YourRealName.com website (or .org, or whatever). If you have a name that's not very common - even better. When people will see it, will associate with your work.

    Sergiu FUNIERU
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  • Profile picture of the author mikeevee
    I'd agree. If its a main site then use your real name and build up yourself as the brand. After all that is something that no-one else can copy.

    On the other hand, for quick traffic boosts, I set up social networking profiles and use Twitter. In that case I always use a female name, with an attractive stock photo, because it definitely gets loads more traffic. If I set up a "female" facebook account with a nice photo I get 100+ friend requests within a couple of days!
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  • Profile picture of the author EmmaPowell
    Its a lot of work being someone else ;0)

    Be yourself......but in saying so, use discretion, perhaps if you feel your sex or pen name is playing a role in your success, do what every good IM does...SPLIT TEST

    Luck!

    Em
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  • Profile picture of the author sbucciarel
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    I wouldn't ... I think women can get as much attention from a well written blog as a man can.
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  • Profile picture of the author WD Mino
    Never worry about being something you are not.
    Put a picture on your blog brand yourself make quality posts that people want to read this will help to get repeat visitors and can also help to generate a buzz.

    People like to be able to connect with the writer don't sweat the small stuff men have just as hard of a time as women it is all about the persona of yourself and the connection you make with your readers.
    cooking blogs are awesome. keep at it and I am sure you will do well, in fact there are a few warriors here who are experts in this particular niche hopefully they can chime in here as well.

    I wish you much success
    -Will
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  • Profile picture of the author LauraJames
    I highly recommend that you do not use a pen name. Be yourself and be proud. I always keep in mind this quote by Eleanor Roosevelt: "No one can make you feel inferior without your consent."
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  • Profile picture of the author CDarklock
    Originally Posted by newnoob View Post

    I am thinking gender and age should not play a role, but it kind of does.
    Welcome to reality! Some of us live here.

    You're facing the same thing C.J. Cherryh faced when writing science fiction.

    Your choice is simple.

    Hide behind an ambiguous or outright misleading persona, or buck up and fight the power.

    One of those is easier than the other.
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  • Profile picture of the author InternetWriter
    You'd be surprised, in marketing, sometimes an attractive expert can be more successful because of the majority of men out there.

    Don't take offense but it is the truth, Sex Sells.
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  • Profile picture of the author gskesavan
    I forgot the name of the female internet marketer who wrote about squidoo and now is a reputed internet marketer with lots of subscribers to her blog. You should probably check it out. She started only 2 years back and is now very popular.

    Gist: If you provide the right information to the right people at the right time it doesn't matter whether you're a woman or a man, or even a kid, people will read your blog and follow your strategies if it works. Don't think too much about it. Just work on providing the right information
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  • Profile picture of the author Kate C
    Just be yourself and remain true to yourself. You have to have confidence in yourself first before anyone else does. Remember, people are looking to buy good products from anyone who sells them and it is not about the person's age or gender. Put your product out there in all its glory and that is all they ask for. By being yourself, you maintain intergrity and therefore build trust.
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  • Profile picture of the author Matt Morgan
    Originally Posted by iAdvertise4You View Post

    I say it is equal. Don't go around saying that only men are the big guys that make millions.

    Women do make millions, they probably keep to themselves
    Of course women make millions.

    There are enough business women millionaires, and even billionaires.

    Then again there are other women who marry a rich man, and inherit their millionaire husbands wealth
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  • Profile picture of the author ryanbiddulph
    Hi,

    Take your first sentence and fully believe in everything you say up until the point...."but it kind of does."

    The thoughts you consistently choose and the acts you move in to on a daily basis determine your success as an internet marketer. Your gender has little to do with the thoughts you choose and actions you decide to take.

    On another note, whenever you are dishonest - for any reason - expect a karmic backlash. Hiding your true identity only causes problems. If somebody doesn't out you I guarantee nothing good will come out of hiding behind an identity. It always catches up with you in some way, shape or form. That's the way karma works.

    All the best,

    RB

    RB
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  • Profile picture of the author cookingdiva
    Thank you everyone. I think I am going to be myself and see how it works out. Using pen name for me not about dishonesty but protecting myself. Internet can be scary, I had one weird over-friendly guy started following me during college days and since that day I am very careful to tell everything about me.

    Besides as most IMers, we can not expert in "all" field. Like Bill Platt said, when he started writing about history in his real name, people did not like it as much they loved his IM tips, so now he writes under pen name. We all have our reasons.

    Thank you again.
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  • Profile picture of the author claudemai
    Gender is not a hindrance to become successful in internet marketing, as long as you are willing and always ready to take the risk.
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  • Profile picture of the author paulie888
    It shouldn't matter, and I don't think you should get a pen name just for the sake of changing your gender!

    Just be yourself, and people will respect you for your knowledge and insight that you impart. As long as you know about blogging and are passionate about it, people will not discriminate based solely on your gender.
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  • Profile picture of the author gekko2.0
    I personally think the quality of the work overrides any gender bias that there may be
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  • Profile picture of the author Dave Rodman
    Banned
    It definitely plays a role, both for men and women. Me personally, I just prefer to learn from males. I think mostly it tends to be because males are a little more direct and a little animated when they tell stories, which helps to drive home the point. People like Dan Kennedy, Tim Ferriss, and Chet Holmes would be examples of that.
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  • Profile picture of the author JonAlfredsson
    It’s better just to be yourself. You’ll be able to point out your perspective better since you don’t have to be on someone else’s shoes especially in terms of posing as a girl or guy. Everybody's equal.
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  • Profile picture of the author Fazal Mayar
    I doubt it plays a big role but a attractive women will get more support and attention though.
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    • Profile picture of the author ladywriter
      Originally Posted by Fazal Mayar View Post

      I doubt it plays a big role but a attractive women will get more support and attention though.
      Not always true. It really depends on individual circumstances. I know a cop who was treated really poorly by her peers because they didn't think she should be there. They certainly weren't going "aw, let us help you hun." She did get more attention, but as any pretty girl can tell you, that's not always a good thing.
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  • Profile picture of the author ladywriter
    At the end of the day I think most people do value the work, but people DO have pre-existing notions. If you could offer an article on mySQL to Candi Hottie or Brandon Parker and you don't know either of them, which would be the safe bet?

    Read about James Chartrand/Men with Pens. She has a great, great story on this issue.

    And it's not just gender. It's age, race, clothing, etc. etc. Offline everyone knows exactly what message they're giving off when they walk in a room and online it's no different. You gotta know how to work it to your advantage.
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      • Profile picture of the author Gail_Curran
        Originally Posted by BIG Mike View Post

        This is an older thread - the idiot I quoted is posting one liners to them to build his post count.
        THANK YOU! This guy has already racked up at least 50 worthless posts. Let's keep reporting this type of forum abuse, please.
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  • Profile picture of the author Hamida Harland
    Originally Posted by cookingdiva View Post

    I started a blog about blogging and blogging tips blog and I am finding as a woman, I might not be taken seriously as blogging niche filled with great male experts (I am sure there are few great females are there too).

    Should I use a male pen name? Or eventually people come through? What to do? Thanks.
    If you can prove that YOU'RE an expert and you know what you're talking about, then there's no reason why you wouldn't be taken seriously. Look at women like Lynn Terry, Tiffany Dow, Maria Gudelis etc.

    Everyone has to start somewhere, and even the male experts have to prove themselves in the beginning.
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  • Profile picture of the author Kael41
    IMO. there are a bunch of "female" IM personas that are anything BUT female. There are some (savvy I guess you would call them) marketing pros in the field that take on the persona of either young people who are getting into IM or attractive females who are participating in IM

    Now, as to whether gender plays in this area? I think it just comes down to if you know your stuff or not. I don't care if your 10 or 80, female, male, androgenous or whatever. If you've got a hot little nugget of info that will actually help ME make more money, i'm down for listening.
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  • Profile picture of the author ProvenViral
    In terms of marketing gender can play a role if you're doing face to face marketing. Other than that, it doesn't matter if your a talking highly intelligent cat and still be able to make money on the internet.
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  • Profile picture of the author CDarklock
    Originally Posted by cookingdiva View Post

    I am finding I might not be taken seriously as blogging niche filled with great experts
    Fixed that for you.

    This has nothing to do with your gender. Blogging experts are a dime a dozen. You will need to brand and position yourself as something more than just another blogging expert.
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  • Profile picture of the author Claire Sharp
    I don't think so. It doesn't matter if you are male or female or a kid. As long as you can do everything in IM. And if your niche is extremely interesting, for sure no gender plays a role in IM.
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  • Profile picture of the author AdwordsMogul
    Yes, it does matter.

    Will it affect how much money you make? Not necessarily.

    Will it affect who you attract as clients? Yes, definitely.

    As everyone else pointed out, we judge people by the cover. ALL OF US DO!

    So race, accent, looks, hair color/length, clothes, and your financial status will affect how people interact with you, and your business.
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