On the web, trust is hard to come by. Especially if you lack the budget for expert opinions or celebrity endorsements.
But there are tricks to creating credible content that slices through readers’ cynicism. Try some of these ideas from Chip and Dan Heath’s credible compendium Made to Stick:
Cite an antiauthority
Everyone listens to doctors.
But sometimes, patients dying of a disease are more credible than specialists diagnosing it.
What does this mean for you? Find a few exemplary examples of people that your offering has helped.
Then let them tell their tales.
Apply the Sinatra test
If Sinatra could make it in New York, he could make it anywhere.
And so can your message.
Provide even one example so credible that is covers everything else you claim.
Describe your most serious success and you’ll silence the skeptics.
Include details
Urban legends always include details.
Like the location of someone’s scar after their kidney was stolen. Or the exact amount of money you’ll make for forwarding an email.
Details make things more real.
Relatable details—like the well-known local restaurant where someone met their kidney thief—are particularly powerful.
If your readers can relate to just one part of your message, the rest becomes more credible.
Challenge your audience
Double-blind studies can make your message trustworthy.
But so can saying, "See for yourself."
Challenge your readers by making them the guinea pigs.
Your confidence will come off as credibility.
Try more of our content tips for yourself. Learn how to write compelling copy with our free 25-page e-book, Breakthrough Web Writing.
