Writing Tips: Ways to Gain the Trust of Your Online Readers

As an online writer, gaining the trust of your readers is important as it helps create a loyal following for your work and increases your page reads. As well, you can learn a lot when your readers open up to you; you can gain inspiration from their comments and feedback to revise your articles to make them even stronger.

Gain the trust of your readers by creating a consistent online presence and following writing rules for your language.

Your writer’s voice is the style in which you write. Some writers prefer a casual approach while others are descriptive or narrative in approach. Pick a style and your readers will come to identify you with that voice, at least on that particular website or network.

A Helpful Read from Rebecca E. of HubPages:

Writing 101: Writers, Create Your Voice And How Creating It Will Help You As An Author

If you change your voice, you risk alienating readers. This point is especially true in the blogging world, where followers often form emotional relationships with the blogger for a site. If the writer begins a new style after a year of posts, readers may feel abandoned if they have no warning of the changes to voice.

For writers who do wish to change their voice or style on a particular site, they are best to give readers a heads-up of the upcoming changes to keep readers’ trust in both the writing and the site.

Another way to gain the trust of your online readers is by consistently posting fresh content online. While daily posts may not be a realistic goal, writers should aim to update their sites three to four times a week as a way to keep their site fresh in the minds of readers. Remember that your site is likely not the only one that is followed by your followers.

With consistent writing, your readers will begin to trust you as you appear committed to the website. You are investing time into the venture and that leads readers to believe you are not about to call off the venture. With fresh content and a stable history of posting, you gain the trust of your online audience.

Your use of language does play a role in the trust factor. Ensure your spelling and grammar is correct for the language in which you write. Despite your best efforts, you likely will publish a few posts with minor errors. That happens. The point here is that glaring errors need to be avoided as best as you are able.

Proofread your work prior to pushing the Publish button and remember that your work is a reflection back on you. If you write a blog about the evolution of the English language and there are spelling mistakes consistently in your posts, your readers are less likely to take your writing seriously. You have an uphill climb to gain the trust of your online audience.

Another tip for gaining trust is to link your online how-to and fact-based articles to secondary sources. If you write for a content site such as HubPages, you can link to articles by other writers that back up your points. Find articles that lend statistics to your written argument and cite them in your online article.

By linking to content of other writers, you add credibility to your article. You are putting forth an argument and backing up your statements with credible sources (ensure you use trustworthy links). You add authority to your article and, in turn, gain the trust of your readers who see you are not pulling ideas out of thin air without support.

Gaining trust is not a fast process. You have to gain the trust of your online readers by establishing a consistent online presence, linking to secondary sources, and correctly using language. With trust, you engage followers and develop a loyal audience. In turn, your page views can grow in hand with your online earnings.