It doesn’t need a second thought that Internet is the best thing since sliced bread. It has broken all the artificial boundaries created by humans, has empowered the Average Joe to have his voice heard and start a business that competes with Fortune 500s with virtually zero capital.

However, this extreme ease of start-up means that every Tom, Dick and Harry will start offering what you have to offer. Chances are that if this was real world then you may never deal with them cos perhaps they look or feel unprofessional. But this is Internet so you can’t do anything about them. Right? No.

Remember that old adage that you can feel a smile on phone. The same way, it is very much possible to feel professionalism on the Internet.

Read on to see how can you create a professional impression of yourself on the Internet, influence people and get an edge over people competing with you.

1. Mind Your Communications. Let’s face it — on the Internet you are nothing more than the words you type. Most people will never see or hear you. All that they will do is read what you write. And, that is your chance to influencing them and create a professional image.

All these years successfully conduct business on the Internet, I have developed some rules of thumb for all of my e-communication. Perhaps you could take a look at em and use them directly if they suite your requirements (most probably, they would).

a. Full words and proper grammar please. Here’s a small quiz for you — how much professional do you think the person writing these lines may be?

hiee…how r u..??
b in contact..
whr r u presently??

Well, that was a comment left by one of my friends on a social networking site that I am a member at. Reading this comment might make you feel that she and professionalism are arch enemies, however, she is one of the most brilliant people I know and I can safely say that she would make a wonderful employee — and oh, she is extremely professional to deal with “in real life”.

So, why does she give an impression of being unprofessional online? Reason : She tried to use the so called Internet lingo. :-/

Well, here’s a news for you — Internet lingo is something that only teens or your fellow aliens understand; forget people who have spent their whole lives in corporate culture reading finely crafted messages.

If you will never send a message like to someone in real world, then why do it online? What you have to realize is that people who you will deal with online are the same flesh and bones that you will deal with offline.

Now how much effort does it require to use full words and proper grammar? A fair bit, to be honest. But the end result it that differentiates you, gives the right impression to the person and shows that you have put in some effort for that person.

You make make a mistake every now and then. It is acceptable as only humans make mistakes. But, intentionally making mistakes is not acceptable.

This effort, that you put in for typing full words and using proper grammar, is very much worth it and something that you should really consider making your habit.

b. ‘Relax Zone’ is an urban legend. It isn’t that I keep my opinions to myself or just blog about them. I talk to a lot of people about them. However, when I talk to people about using full words and correct grammar, I get to hear just one response : Com’on dude, this is the Internet! We can at least relax here.

Here’s a fact folks – The ‘relax zone’ is an urban legend. And, just like the lost city of Shangri La, you are never going to find it.

You are meeting real people on the Internet and doing business with real green cash, just as you would be doing in the real world. Getting what I am trying to say?

c. Show that you have put in some effort. If something matters more than reality on the Internet (dare I say real life too!) then it is perception.

No matter how much effort you put in researching a reply but if it doesn’t “look” as if you have put in the effort then it doesn’t matter.

So again, mind your formatting, spellings and grammar.

And, if you can indeed give a hint that you have put in some effort in sending the message, then, by any means, give that hint!

d. Stop. Think. Now Send. Do I need say more?

2. Show a taste of choice. Yes, your taste of choice matters a lot! The way your site & your social networking profile is designed, the the tools you use to deal with your customers and the way your messages are formatted — they all matter!

If your online presence looks like that of an emo kid then people will think you to be an emo kid and if your online presence look like that of a professional then people will think you to be a professional. ‘nuff said.

3. Learn to take responsibility. They say that a real man keeps his word (sorry ladies, I can’t change the saying just to appease you). On the Internet it gets even more important to keep your word because the word about your incompetence or sub-par service gets spread and cached faster than you can blink.

Take an example – Do you think that after reading this post by Jon (who I know and have talked to a few times) will I ever hire frozentoast.com ever?

Unfortunately, people talk about bad things more than good things that happen to them. But human natures is something that neither you nor I can change. So, gulp it!

However, I have never-ever seen bad-mouthing anyone who gave them a quality service and delivered what was promised. Having no bad reviews of you does help.

And oh, asking your satisfied clients directly to actually recommend you to their contacts and give you a nice testimonial is an excellent idea actually.

4. Give your identity a Human Face. Let’s face it – on the Internet you are not the flesh and bones that you really are but just bits and bytes. What makes you different from the artificial bots is the emotions that you can express or feel.

By giving your identity a human face I don’t just mean that you should attach a mugshot to it (which is an excellent idea in itself; but make sure that it isn’t the snap which was taken at 2 AM in the morning and you completely drunk ).

The best way to show a human face of yourself is to show genuine interest in the other person. Computers can’t do that but only humans can.

Now, you should not go around asking them about who they went out with last night but you should indeed talk about their family, their interests and their place of origin (it goes without saying that you should read each situation individually and then optimize your conversation).

Oh, remembering wishing them on their birthday, their kid’s & spouse’s birthday, their anniversary and Christmas is a good idea. Customizing each message with a reference to something that proves that you did not just mail-merge but put in some real effort sending them this wish is an even better idea.

Like I said in the starting, these are just rules of thumbs and that too just mine. You will need to customize them for yourself. However, I do hope that you understood what I was trying to get at.