Recommendations

How Do I Choose Which Brands Make It On To My Recommendations Page?

Well, not just any brand is one that I can standby. Less than 2%.

Sadly, just about everyone is selling you the same boring thing.

Whether that’s a course, a piece of software or an experience.

And one that doesn’t lead to any tangible, real-world benefit to you.

Most commonly, it’s something designed at a price-point.

They’re cheap and nasty, and sadly, that leaves individuals stranded.

Trust me – you don’t need any more of those. It’s time to do it properly.

Because I’m done with cheap and nasty, and you should be too.

Best-In-Class Recommendations

On my blog, I decided a long time ago that I wanted to help others in their online journey.

Today, a good part of what I do is product curation. I’ve spent hundreds of hours looking at online business solutions globally to bring you just a handful of the very best in class.

These hand-picked options live up to my values, and make our world a better place.

Thus, they’re what I’m proud to have partnered with after much scruteneering.

Yes, I’ll throw in affiliate links below but I assure you, these are hand-picked for your benefit, not mine.

Before something has a chance to make it here, these are the characteristics I look for:

Playing the Long Game

Individuals have a bad habit of switching from one thing to the other.

That’s not a game I play, and not one you should play either.

It’s popular modern-day thinking, popularized by social media addition.

…and it needs to change. Or else, you’ll never win out there.

I’m in deep work and believe in sticking to one thing for 10,000 hours.

In my case, that’s content publishing for websites and brands.

Essentially, anything I recommend should have extensive longevity in mind.

Here’s what I look for:

  1. Do people need it? If I don’t think a brand or their product is needed by individuals, then you probably wouldn’t find it on this list.
  2. Is it here-today-and-gone-tomorrow? The internet marketing industry has been battered with overnight success stories, whereas I look for long-term and sustainability.
  3. Have they been around? Whoever is behind the brand should’ve been around the business area for a few laps before they make it on this page.

When I speak of the long game, I’m looking at 5, 10 or even 20 years.

I plan my journey in decades, not weeks, months or years.

High Quality Ethics

It’s important to me that brands are vastly superior.

If you’re paying more for it – then you’ll get a better experience.

A bad experience could set you back years, so please, do avoid the cheap shortcuts.

Competing brands may sing the praise of “But we’re cheaper!” but the price to me is merely a minor element for the right individual.

I look for value but before that, quality. Seriously high quality. Mint, even.

Brand Experience

Design aesthetics and brand experiences are a special thing.

Not only do I believe in effective branding, but I also build brands.

See, I’m not into selling generic products with some fancy brand name.

I’ll partner with brands that make exceptional online products. I’ll stand with a brand who has strong values, a solid team and one who pays attention to customer success metrics.

Most importantly – are they doing deep work? Does the brand align with myself and my audience? Are there passionate people behind the brand?

Brands like Reliable Education, Authority Hacker, Marketplace Superheroes and Helium10 are doing excellent work in this space, and a true joy to work with.

Their users are taken on a journey through world-class content, products and brand experiences.

That experience makes the world a better place.

Love, Passion and Enthusiasm

Love, passion and enthusiasm are important. They’re not just corporate buzz words either.

In my experience, internet brands simply chasing profit or playing the volume game run out of steam real fast. This is evident in sloppy workmanship and poor customer retention.

When looking at a brand, I ask myself: “Do I really love this?”

When I initially found any recommendation on this page, I went “Wow, that’s seriously well done!” and clearly backed with a team who shares a lot of passion and enthusiasm.

They put a lot of love and passion into the user experience, paired with strong morals.

Those are brands that find their way to this highly curated list.

It’s been almost 10 years since I started this blog and I’ve seen it all in the industry.

Today, very, very few brands make it here, and I’m determined to keep it this way.