No matter what type of blog or business you run online, trust from your readers is crucial in order to maintain growth and have long-term success. Last week, I wrote a post (Be Your Own Boss) about the importance of having side projects in your daily life, and the huge payoff you can get back by investing a few hours a week in a side business. This week I wanted to take it one step further and give everyone some key steps in building your side business up once you have the groundwork setup.
Brandon Mendelson over at Mashable.com recently published a list of things you can do to build trust with your audience. I have read through it and selected what would probably be the top 5 from that list. These are the ones you really want to remember:
- Tell us who you are - How can we trust you if we don’t know anything about you? Honesty is key!
- Own your subject – You don’t have to start out as an expert, but you should aim to become one.
- Don’t be fake – Be honest and straight forward with your audience. Don’t try to stretch the truth.
- Write for the web – Keep postings on the shorter side and to the point. Don’t overdue it.
- Answer every message – Treat everyone like they matter and you’ll be surprised how far it goes
…and ONE MORE added by me: - *Give credit where due – People work hard to produce useful content. Show your thanks and support where appropriate.
You might ask yourself why your readers need to trust you and how much of an impact does trust really make? Well, the answer is simpler than you might think. All we have to do is look at our own internet browsing habits. Think about the blogs and sites you go to on a daily basis. How many of us would keeping going to a site where we doubted the source of material or questioned the motive of the author? This would be a deal-breaker for most of us. So it is important to remember that while social media sites like Facebook and Twitter have created huge communities to share information and interact with, they can never be used to their full potential unless the users trust the content and the author. Be sure to comment and let me know what you think about the subject.
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