How to Become a Trusted Blogger

What a lot of bloggers fail to understand is becoming a trusted source to readers and brands takes time and patience. You will not be an overnight sensation and suddenly everyone stops what they’re doing and trusts what you have to say about fashion, food, health, business, etc. You have to work your way up to that status one blog post at a time. And it will happen as long as you take these next few paragraphs into consideration.

This is a no-brainer: the quality of everything you put out is a reflection of what you represent as a blogger, business person, or otherwise. People are not going to trust someone who puts out crap quality, sorry not going to happen.

Notice all the successful bloggers use a high-quality camera for high-quality pictures, (by the way this can totally be achieved via your iPhone, comment below if you want more on editing iPhone pictures). All successful bloggers also edit their photos, write a blog post, make a collage, etc. for hours.

Creating quality content isn’t a snap and post type deal, it is a long process that takes time to perfect. You want to stay on brand and consistent while delivering value to your readers/followers.

Quality doesn’t just stop at creating content. You have to have quality across the board. Your website must be quality, your emails must be quality, your social media presence needs to be quality, etc. And if you can’t do it all, then don’t. It’s better to have a few super high-quality things than a bunch of mediocre content.

It’s not rocket science but some people just think they can put in minimal effort for maximum results. They’re always looking for a shortcut. But remember… If you only put half-ass effort into something you’ll only get half-ass results.

patience

As I mentioned above, you will not be an overnight blogger success, unless you quit your job, buy followers, hire a team of professionals, and put in super high-quality work every day. Even in the case that you are on the fast track to success you have a higher chance of coming down just as fast as you went up. So for the rest of us who blog as a side hustle, your followers will trust you after you’ve put in the time and work.

I’ve talked about the 100 rule before in that if you put in 100 hours, 100 blog posts, or have 100 sales, you can consider yourself an expert. I’m not sure how true this is but what I do know is the longer you’ve been doing something and it’s working, the more people will trust you. It will show in your work. The proof is in the pudding!

Think about it, you’re not going to trust a fashion blogger who’s only been blogging for 6 months. You’re going to trust a blogger who has been blogging for years whose content is quality and it shows in their overall growth.

credibility

When you’ve been blogging for some time you’ll hopefully have a few collaborations under your belt, with brands, bloggers, and other industry experts. This shows your readers that other people put their trust in you so it must be ok for them to put their trust in you too.

The more people you have backing you, the better.

You know when an author has a book release and they get people to say something about the book on the back of the cover, and they sometimes get a well know person to write the preface? That’s backing.

So as a blogger your backing can come in the form of guest blogging, asking other bloggers for a recommendation, or getting testimonials from brands about their experience working with you.

This is such common ground for bloggers, celebrities, and brands alike to do when they’re launching a new product, service, or even trying to self-promote. All a Kardashian has to do is take a picture with a new product or new blogger and that person is an instant hit, like Sugar Bear Hair. They can’t keep those little blue bears on the shelves because now they’re a trusted hair supplement thanks to the backing from the Kardashians.

A great example of bloggers who back bloggers is SomethingNavy backing We Wore What during the launch of her new denim line. Another example is of Fashionlush supporting The Skinny Confidential (my faves) in her workout guide and cell phone case launch. Clearly, pro bloggers see the power of backing… so you should too!

Key takeaways: You have to give your best so you get the best. You have to be completely authentic and stick to what you know for sure so you can become an expert in your field and a trusted blogger to your readers.

What bloggers do you trust (big and small)? Tell me in the comments, I’m always looking for new people to follow!

xx

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