Kendal England
Earning trust builds a loyal blogging community.
Every penny you earn depends on people trusting you.
People need to believe you in order to buy in literally and figuratively.
Why does anyone follow a blogger?
Folks believe the blogger to be credible. Bloggers build loyal followings of trusting readers.
How do you gain blogging credibility?
How do you earn reader trust?
Tell the truth!
Tell the truth by letting your intuition guide you.
Be transparent.
Teach bloggers how to succeed based on your level of success. For example, a new blogger who refrains from making specific claims definitely tells the truth because said newbie has not reached any specific outcomes-based goals. Every blogger begins at zero. However, since 1 or 2 people have visited your blog you can teach readers how to drive blog traffic. Why? Absolute results back up generic claims. Be generic at the outset to keep your credibility.
As you advance, explain what goes into reaching specific goals. Be hyper transparent.
For example, I wrote and published 3 blog posts since I emailed you my last newsletter yesterday. You may assume that I invested less than 24 hours to get the job done; you’d be enormously wrong.
Why?
I practiced blogging for 15,000 hours since 2008. THAT time frame – not 24 hours – and THAT work load made me skilled enough to easily write and publish 3 blog posts in roughly 3 hours. Yeah; my actual workload is about 1 hour per long form blog post.
During my article writing days, I once wrote 35 articles in one day. How in the heck did I write at that clip? I spent 10,000 hours of my life – until that point – writing. Do anything for 10,000 hours to make it easy.
How many bloggers write for 10,000 hours? Almost none do for a laundry list of excuses; this is why blogging seems difficult for the masses. Almost no one really practices blogging for an appreciable stretch of time. I’m spilling the beans here; who will do it if I do not? Most bloggers publish only content to try to get easy traffic and money but a chunk of these folks are not sharing with full transparency what goes into driving organic traffic and blogging income.
Blog for 10,000 hours. That’ll do it. Even if that number scares off most bloggers….good. That’s how I sleep well at night. I frighten deluded bloggers with the truth and those who want freedom, success and peace more than being horse-shitted left and right decide to stick around.
Being transparent means revealing the rest of the story. Being highly credible involves explaining how much practice it takes to make blogging easy. Not many established pro bloggers share this reality. I do it as a service to you. My readers love me for it. Some despise me for blowing up their pipe dreams. But at least you understand now.
Funny Observation
I find it funny how the reputable bloggers of the world become the most successful based solely on telling the truth yet oodles of bloggers struggle because they do not tell the truth. Anyone with eyes to see easily understands how gaining blogging credibility is a matter of:
- following your blogging passion
- practicing your writing
- creating generously by solving reader problems
- connecting generously by serving fellow bloggers
for a long time.
But during this process fear seems to dominate the minds of most bloggers. Fear calling the shots? Bad idea. At best, you struggle, fail and quit blogging. At worst, you begin lying to create an image of success you have not honestly achieved on your own.
Anything I teach, I experienced. However I guide you, I achieved it myself. I explicitly created and sell courses and eBooks based on personal goals that I teach; readers implored me to explain in vivid detail how I became a full time blogger or landed features on world famous blogs. I achieved. You asked. I created premium resources for sale for me (to build an online business) and for you (for trusted guides to follow so you can replicate the results yourself).
Fear-Based Internet Marketing Is a Road You Do Not Want to Travel
Some internet marketers allow fear in their mind to influence them to not tell the truth. The split second these individuals omit or hide the truth – or outright lie – resistance begins to form. Critics wait in the cyber weeds, attempting to skewer you for each truth omission.
I have seen this happen many times during my 17 year career online. Someone experiences some sweet success, begins lying or simply hiding the truth, and their success partially or completely vanishes due to lying-related resistance. Bloggers appear to skip on easy street for a while. But greed and delusion influences them to bend the truth. Troubles follow. Credibility dissolves. Trust disappears. These bloggers disappear sooner than later, too.
Avoid the Nightmare
How do you avoid this nightmare? Tell the freaking truth to gain credibility. Be transparent. Claim what you personally achieved. Claim nothing else. Share the highs and lows of blogging. List your wins and losses. Tell the rest of the story to clue in readers. Be fallible. Be an open book. Be vulnerable.
I am far from perfect but I do not lie when it comes to my blog and business. I cannot recall even embellishing or hyping up the truth once during my 17 year career online. If I did, I heartily apologize but even so, I built up my karmic brownie points by being brutally honest about my wins, losses and all in between. I truthfully explain how anyone can become a blogger who circles the globe but this is hard, sometimes highly uncomfortable work to put in daily for many years of your life.
Be credible by telling the truth. This sounds not like rocket science but you may be surprised at how scared people driven by fear, greed and desperation begin not telling the truth to squeeze money out of people. No one succeeds long term by lying; most fall flat on their face pronto.
Conclusion
Tell the truth.
Be honest
Share only your accomplishments to be genuine.
Build blogging credibility.
