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When you are first starting out, trying to establish credibility can be tough.
We all have self-doubt and say things like:
“I don’t have the experience.”
“I’m too young.”
“Why would people listen to me?”
You want to be a leader in your industry or be seen as an expert. But how do you establish the credibility to gain the respect of others and make them listen?
In this guide, I’ll go over 71 ways to build your credibility and help establish yourself as an expert.
The Credibility Ladder
Credibility is built over time.
Education, experience, and training create the base for your credibility. From here, there are tactics that you can utilize to distribute your knowledge and exponentially increase credibility.
This system is based on five steps.
- Foundation - Creating Something Credible
- Creation - Putting your thoughts out in the open.
- Borrowing Credibility - Utilizing other’s credibility to build yours
- Showcase - Showcase your credibility markers
- Promote - Get eyeballs on your ideas
Foundation | How to Build or Find Your Credibility
Everyone has to start somewhere.
Perhaps you already have credibility, and you just don’t know it.
Perhaps you have to build it from scratch.
Building a foundation of credibility is the first step to becoming an incredibly credible person. All other ideas and tactics are based on your foundation.
It can be as simple as crafting a great story or a lifetime of experience in the trenches.
Here are some simple techniques to build your foundation of credibility:
1. Authenticity | The Power of Your Story
Your story connects you to your audience and can be the most powerful way to build credibility.
Define your WHY in the most authentic way as possible. What is your story?
Simon Sinek is a master of WHY and breaks it down here:
Your goal is to tell a story that both moves your audience to care/take action and provide a level of trust.
Here are a few examples of the most used storytelling frameworks for business:
- The Hero’s Journey
- Rags to Riches
- The Quest
- The Journey
2. Develop Knowledge
It is possible to become credible without knowledge but the charade will not last long.
Develop a deep understanding of your subject if you want to truly establish credibility.
- Buy & read 3-5 of the top books in your industry.
- Head on over to Udemy to take a course on practically anything
3. Develop Experience
Having deep domain expertise is great. Developing a track record and experience will clearly demonstrate your credibility through action.
Experience gives you a track record, case studies to pull from, years of lessons learned, and stories to demonstrate your expertise.
Here are a few ways to develop experience
- On the job - 10 years of experience in an industry
- Consulting - Can be done for free to build a track record
- Get a Mentor - Have someone who has done it before guide you
4. Develop Confidence
Confidence is almost as important as expertise. You cannot expect your audience to believe in you if you do not believe in yourself.
Fake it until you make it. Generally, I don’t believe in “faking it until you make it.” EXCEPT when it comes to confidence.
Confidence is one area where faking confidence can actually help you as your building your experience and gaining confidence along the way.
It’s all about the little wins!
5. Appearance
Look, if Warren Buffet came over, dressed in flip-flops and a Hawaiian shirt, to tell me he wanted to personally invest my life savings, I’d say yes in a heartbeat. He’s already built his reputation.
It is almost always better to dress for your audience when you are just starting out.
Talking to C-level professionals or lawyers? Perhaps you’re giving out financial advice? Wear a suit.
Are you working the startup crowd? Dressing a bit more casual is probably a good idea.
Bucking the Trend
In 99% of cases, you should dress for your audience for immediate perceived credibility.
Yet, the rare individual can pull off their own personal style if it works for them or is their gimmick. Sometimes authenticity is more important than expectations.
Vin Clancy did a good job of wearing outrageous outfits when presenting his growth hacks and personal branding talks. If this is your authentic you, go for it!
6. Establish Credibility with a Home Base
What is the first thing you do when you find an incredible person and you want to learn more?
You head straight to Google.
You need a home base if you want to establish credibility.
Most times, this will be your website. Similar to my landing page.
Your website is important because YOU OWN IT. It can’t be taken away, shut down, or suspended. You control your users, your emails, and you control the reach.
But, you can still build your home base elsewhere.
Plenty of people have built their audience on other platforms.
- Facebook Groups
- YouTube
- Niche Forums
- Niche Communities
Find the platform that is best suited for your talents and go all in!
7. Professional Photos
First impressions matter. And digitally, photos put a face to the name.
Professional headshots or lifestyle photos aren’t too expensive and will go a long way to make your website or social media profiles look more professional.
8. Get a Physical Address
Remote work and working from home is becoming much more commonplace in today’s world. Yet, a physical address still provides a sense of comfort that you have a real business.
If you’re living the dream of working from home, you can still get a PO Box or a UPS Store box and list it as your address. This will make it look like a real address if you word it correctly:
John Doe
11111 Awesome Street
Suite “YOUR PO BOX NUMBER”
Houston, Texas, 77551
By leaving out the PO Box or UPS Store, it looks like a standalone office.
Or, you can use a Virtual Office which typically has a downtown address, receives, and forwards your mail to look even more corporate.
9. Care
Caring, and I mean really caring about your customers is one of the top ways to gain credibility in any field.
When you really care about your mission, your customers, or your cause, it shows in everything you do.
Create | Publish Your Work for Fun & Profit
Let’s face it, you can’t become known or establish credibility if you do not stand for something. You need to get your ideas or art out for others to see.
It doesn’t matter how good you are if no one ever sees your work.
It’s time to share your expertise.
Getting your ideas out into the world is where the credibility snowball really starts to build up steam.
Here are a few ways to get started:
10. Start a Blog
Blogging is a powerful tool to build your credibility and can turn into a lead generation machine through the use of lead magnets.
Writing is a lot of work, but if this is your cup of tea, I personally believe blogging is the king of all publishing techniques.
Why?
Google.
Blogging provides long term SEO benefits that will continue to generate traffic for a long time (or at least until the next algorithm change).
The key to blogging is to write remarkable content - content so insanely valuable that it cannot go unnoticed.
Brian Dean
Get Started: Additional Resources
11. Start a Podcast
Podcasting has exploded in popularity over the past couple of years. According to Edison Research’s 2019 report, an estimated 32%, or 90 million people now listen to podcasts monthly.
Source: Infinite Dial
If writing is more difficult for you, podcasting can be a great way to start building your credibility, get your ideas out there, or borrow credibility by inviting established experts onto your podcast!
John Lee Dumas
Get Started: Additional Resources
Need some help getting started? Check out John Lee Dumas’ guide:
https://www.eofire.com/how-to-podcast/
12. Start a YouTube Channel
Similar to blogging and podcasting, the idea is to get your ideas out into the world.
YouTube is the 2nd biggest search engine, after Google, and according to Statista, 81% of 15-25 year olds in the US use YouTube
Source: Statista
Like Podcasting, it is a great way to establish credibility, especially if you do not like writing, or if you are good on camera.
The visual element also provides an additional element of credibility. Seeing your face gives a bit more of a personal touch where your users feel they know you.
Erika Viera
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13. Self Publish an EBook
E-books are a low-cost way of getting an author credential.
In today’s marketplace, you can easily create and self-publish an Ebook to a number of platforms including:
- Amazon KDP
- Kobo
- NookPress
- Itunes Connect
E-book popularity continues to grow:
Source: Statista
I’ve seen several eBook offers claim “Amazon Best Seller” status, which provides instant credibility - even though in reality it was only in a very narrow niche.
Spencer Haws
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14. Write a Book / Get a Book Deal
A major leap from Ebooks, getting a book deal and writing a hard copy book gets instant credibility.
In fact, many coaches and speakers use their book as a highly credentialed business card.
Writing a book can be a major endeavor, lasting months or even years. But, once you have a real book in hand, you can claim to be a published author.
Tim Ferriss
Get Started: Additional Resources
15. Teach a Class
Teaching a class provides instant credibility to all of your students - unless you blow it by not knowing your topic.
As a teacher, others will assume that you are a leader in your field.
Teaching also provides a deeper learning experience for the teacher. You have to learn how to break down your topic in detail in a way your students will understand, and you’ll get questions from the class that further your own thinking.
Don’t be afraid of not knowing your topic well enough to teach. You only need to know more than your students.
For example, you could teach a beginner’s Excel class. You don’t have to master Pivot tables and data visualization, if your class is only interested in basic functionality.
You can teach a class at a local community college, offer a class for your clients, for local meetups, or even partner with a person or business with complementary customers.
16. Create a Course
Similar to teaching a class, the role of teacher provides instant credibility in your subject area of expertise.
You can create a course on your chosen topic and publish to sites like:
- Udemy
- Skillshare
Another benefit to creating a course is that you can earn money from the students who purchase your course. The video below describes how 10 instructors Earned $1.6 million:
17. Host an Event
Let’s say you don’t really want to teach or you’re uncomfortable being in the spotlight.
You can cheat, have others do the work for you, and still be the hero!
Hosting events is a great way to gain credibility as a leader in your chosen area of interest.
Invite experts to speak to your group. It’s a win-win. They’ll get exposure to your audience, and you provide value to your members.
By being the host, you’ll still get the exposure in the community and get loads of credibility by being associated with the experts.
There are many ways to start an event:
- Utilize Facebook or LinkedIn Groups
- Utilize your customer list, and host events at your office
- Utilize an online service like Meetup.com
- Webinars
Navid Moazzez
Get Started: Additional Resources
18. Host a Dinner Party
In Never Eat Alone, Keith Ferrazzi popularized the dinner party hack - hosting a dinner party of high-value individuals.
I know, you don’t know anyone interesting to invite, right?
Don’t sweat it. The idea is to punch above your weight getting high-value people to attend. You’ll have to climb the ladder, but all you need is one VIP to say yes to get the ball rolling.
Once you have one high-value anchor guest, your other invites will more readily say yes!
Here's some tips from the Godfather himself:
19. Create a Facebook Group
Many would argue the organic power of Facebook died a long time ago and now it is pay to play.
Yet, some marketers are still killing it with Facebook Groups.
To get your Facebook group off the ground, you’ll need to seed it with initial members. It helps if you already have an email list, but if not, invite people that would have a deep interest in the topic.
The key to Facebook Groups is engagement. You need your members to engage with your posts by liking and commenting. This takes some creativity. If done correctly, you’ll show up in more member’s feeds.
20. Answer Questions on Quora
Many experts got their start on Quora.
Quora is simple. Someone asks a question. Then, as an expert in that topic, you answer.
There is even a handy "Answer" tab where Quora queues a list of questions it thinks you'll be able to answer:
The best answers are upvoted and seen by the masses.
Si Quan Ong
Get Started: Additional Resources
21. Publish Content on LinkedIn
LinkedIn is THE social network for business professionals.
Currently, LinkedIn is getting fantastic organic reach and is one of the top platforms to reach decision makers in the business world. LinkedIn published a study (admittedly, it could be a bit biased) showing that Linked is by far considered the most effective for B2B lead generation:
Publishing content here can establish you as a thought leader, and at the same time, your message may spread by your target audience on the platform.
Like Facebook Groups, engagement is the key to spreading your message. Early likes are essential to seeding top posts.
To be perfectly honest, many of the top LinkedIn marketers utilize automated tools and are in groups (pods) that help them get their first few likes.
Ilya Azovtsev
Get Started: Additional Resources
22. Develop a Following
Whether it is video, writing, speaking, or social media - it doesn’t matter.
Find your favorite platform, and go all in. Build a following.
It doesn’t matter if it is Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn or any other platform. New platforms are emerging all the time. Sometimes it is better to jump in the beginning before it gets filled with noise.
Choose your favorite medium and go for it.
23. Ultimate Guides
Content marketing is getting tough. Everyone is trying to publish their own blog.
One thing that is really working is Ultimate Guides, resources that go above and beyond a normal blog post to explain a topic in depth.
Ultimate Guides are often length (5,000 or even 10,000 + words). These lengthy guides often rank better due to their length and links gained if promoted correctly.
Ramit Sethi
Get Started: Additional Resources
24. White Papers / Conference Papers
White Papers are an excellent tool to present a specific problem and solution in depth.
Having your name on one of these reports shows your expertise.
Even better, submitting papers to conferences in your industry has the added benefit of putting you in front of your industry peers and the stamp of approval from your industry organization if accepted - huge credibility markers!
Need help finding relevant conferences?
Head on over to 10Times to search trade shows & conferences in your industry or just hit up the Top 100 Events.
25. Tell Stories
Study storytelling. Understand the Hero’s Journey.
Many people may not have credentials. But they’ve lived it in some form or fashion.
Learn how to weave your experiences into a powerful story and your credibility will skyrocket.
PIxar has mastered storytelling. Luckily for us, Emma Coats broke down PIxar's 22 Rules of storytelling to guide us:
26. Original Research
Original research, surveys, and data are great credibility boosters.
Publications love citing data and if you’re the source, you will get all the credit.
You can utilize surveys if you have niche specific data available, partner with someone that has the data but isn’t doing with it, or utilize public sources like Data.gov:
Data.gov provides publicly available data sets and statistics for different US industries. It is up to you to figure out how display this data in a new and interesting way!
27. Create Art
Publish. Create. Photograph. Record. Paint.
What is your art? Whatever it is, just create.
Hone your craft. Become the expert.
There is a great story about Brooke Rothshank. She decided to paint a miniature painting every day for one year. She now has almost 80k followers on Instagram.
Nothing says credibility like a great body of art.
28. Get Published
Van Gogh’s Starry Night or Michelangelo’s Statue of David would not be the most famous pieces of art in the world, if they were kept from the public eye.
To be valuable, your art has to be put out into the world.
If you are an artist, submit your artwork/designs to websites relevant to your craft.
If you’re a musician, get your music in front of people. Offer royalty-free use to people with large audiences. Play in front of people.
If you’re an expert, get your opinion published on blogs, magazines, newspapers, or on television.
Go where the fish are.
Getting published can be utilized in 100’s of different ways. Be creative.
Borrowed Credibility | How to Leverage the Credibility of Others to Grow Your Own Brand
What is Borrowed Credibility?
Borrowed Credibility is when a person or organization that is more credible, vouches for your and effectively lends you their credibility and support.
Borrowed Credibility is the fastest way to grow your credibility.
Why work tirelessly building from scratch, when you can utilize credible sources to vouch for your credibility?
In sales, Borrowed Credibility is one of the best techniques to overcome the initial trust barrier.
Have you ever bought something off a friend's recommendation?
Multiply your borrowed credibility by utilizing multiple credible sources
Here are a few:
29. Guest Blog
High-quality blog posts are a great way to build credibility. You know what’s even better?
Publishing high-quality content on high trafficked blogs!
Guest blogging has long been a staple of SEO link building. And that works.
But, a lot of these are low-quality articles on low-quality blogs.
The secret to Guest Blogging is to get published on high trafficked blogs which expose you to whole new audiences.
QuickSprout Blog
Get Started: Additional Resources
30. Volunteer at Industry Meetups
Industry events and associations are often frequented by high profile individuals.
In Alex Banayan’s The Third Door he recounts an interview with Tim Ferris of how he initially built credibility as an unknown in San Francisco.
Alex Banayan
Excerpt from: The Third Door
31. Speak at Events
Up to 75% of the population has a fear of public speaking.
But. There is something magical about speaking at events.
Because the event trusted you to represent their event or conference, the event basically lends you their credibility.
When you step on stage, you automatically have the attention and respect of your audience.
Grant Baldwin
Get Started: Additional Resources
32. Collaborate with Experts
Collaborating with experts is an easy way to borrow credibility from more experienced or more notable people in your line of work.
A few examples:
- You could co-author a conference paper.
- You could collate the expert’s data into a study.
- You could offer to do a video series on some body of their work.
While we are “borrowing credibility,” we don’t want to be selfish. You have to offer something irresistible to the expert so that they want to work with you.
A lot of times, the expert is short on time. So if you can do work that they otherwise can’t get to, they may be happy to share some of the credit if you put in the work.
33. Reference Studies in Your Work
A simple way of borrowing credibility is to reference a study within your material.
Make sure to reference the work or hyperlink if it is web-based.
This tactic will not give you major credibility but will show your audience that you’ve done your research and are utilizing well-researched sources.
34. Quote an Authority
Utilizing quotes from established authorities in your niche will lend a small amount of borrowed credibility to your work.
Ali Luke
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35. Join Associations
Joining industry associations has several benefits.
The association will have a large group of people as part of that particular industry so there are obvious networking benefits.
CareerOneStop has a handy search engine to find professional associations.
For credibility, you can add the name of the associations you are a part of to your bio, social media profile, or email signatures for a small credibility boost.
36. Become a Hub of Industry News (Email Roundups)
A simple industry-specific hack to gain credibility is to do weekly or monthly email roundups.
Collect the top relevant news articles of the week or month, and collate them all into one email that you send out to your contacts each week/month.
GrowthHackers takes this a step further by sending a roundup of their own best content:
Since you’re not creating the content, this is a much easier way to borrow the credibility of others to still be seen as a leader in your niche.
37. Celebrity Testimonials
If you have a product or a service used by celebrities, celebrity testimonials are very powerful.
Not only because you have a famous person’s endorsement, but also because celebrities have more reach.
This could be a formal arrangement with a true celebrity or even something as simple as influencer marketing.
38. Take Photos with Celebrities
While celebrity testimonials are a very powerful way to build credibility for a product or service, taking photos with celebrities can help with personal branding.
39. Interview an Expert
Interviewing Experts might just be the most powerful credibility builder on this list, and with the advent of podcasting, it has become much easier.
Experts want to reach new audiences.
Platforms such as blogs and podcasts have given everyone the opportunity to have a voice. The larger your audience, the more access you have to bigger names.
There is an amazing story of how a man bartered his way to a house, starting with only a paperclip.
The paper clip barter story is similar to the technique you'll use to get interviewees, especially if you’re starting from scratch.
You’ll start interviewing small names and constantly trade up. Utilize your previous interview to get a bigger name as your audience grows.
40. Get Referrals
Referrals are a fantastic form of borrowed credibility as you gain all the credibility of the referrer.
The person referring you puts their name on the line when making the referral.
Any referral is as powerful as the trust between the person giving and the person receiving the referral. If there is a lot of trust between the two, then the referral can be one of the most powerful techniques in your arsenal.
DropBox famously used a referral program offering 500 MB of additional space by inviting a friend, so in this case a referral plus incentive.
A very powerful technique indeed!
41. Join a Board of Directors
Joining a Board of Directors may be a harder one to pull off. Just remember that there are neighborhood level and small organizations that do have a Board of Directors.
Volunteer and show interest in helping these types of organizations, and you may just be able to pull this one-off.
Listing a position on a Board of Directors, no matter how small, does sound impressive.
42. Partner & Cross-Sell
A great sales technique is to partner with a similar but non-competing businesses or persons to sell to their customers.
You get the credibility of the partner’s recommendation, and you get to reach a whole new audience.
Showcase | Increase Perceived Credibility by Showcasing Your Credible Assets
As you built your Foundation of Credibility, you’ve also developed a number of assets that can enhance your credibility.
You should showcase these credible assets to further enhance your perceived credibility.
Here are some great ways to utilize these assets in your credibility marketing:
43. Case Studies
Case studies show results. Results show instant credibility.
Utilize case studies from previous clients to highlight the results that you have achieved.
Your potential clients will visualize the results in their own business.
“If they can do it for them, they can do it for me!”
Cast studies are a very powerful credibility indicator.
Scott Barker
Get Started: Additional Resources
44. Free Session
If you’re just starting out or perhaps if you’re ROI allows it, free introductory sessions or free (or highly discounted) products are great ways to establish credibility.
When you don’t have a long track record, free trial sessions are a good way to have clients experience your work.
You can also negotiate the requirement for the client to allow you to use their results in a case study.
Kristie Purner
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45. Free Product
Have you ever walked through the Costco and had one of the free samples? Did you buy or just keep walking?
Costco has done the math, and we have a sample courteously of the Atlantic.
Marketing Guru, Jay Abraham, utilized a similar strategy with IcyHot.
Jay added $21 million in revenue to IcyHot's annual revenue by giving away product. Jay knew his numbers and understood that the average customer ordered 7 times a year. He'd recoup his money on back-end sales.
Imagine a service or product so credible, they were willing to give it away because they knew you'd like it so much you'd come back for more.
Charles Gaudet
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46. Demonstrate Your Product
So you can’t give your product/work out for free?
No sweat. You can provide a detailed demonstration of your product or service via your webpage or through video.
One of the greatest examples of this strategy is in the home appliance sector.
Imagine you were launching a new line of blenders. How would you set your brand apart in this commodity market?
How about a series of viral videos blending just about everything you can imagine?
Blendtec's Will it Blend video campaign increased sales by over 700% utilizing this product demonstration tactic and catapulted Tom Dickson's personal brand. And talk about credibility. What could be more credible than seeing a potential margarita machine blending an iPad?
47. Credentials / Certifications / Professional Designations
Credentials are awarded after advanced education and rigorous testing. Credentials are a great way to show credibility.
Sometimes, these credentials may be required for your desired work. Other times, they simply lend enormous credibility.
Look at other professionals in your space and see if there are any commonalities in terms of coursework or credentials.
Wikipedia has a huge list of professional designations for more than 20 different occupational areas:
Scott Weiss, a financial planner in New York, has utilized the credentials and designations within his LinkedIn Headline. His clients will see that he has continually invested in his financial education and can be trusted to know his stuff.
48. Awards
Have you won any awards in relation to your line of work?
If so, show them off on your marketing material.
If not, start searching for publications, industry events, governing bodies, etc. which may have awards in your industry. Once you have a list. Start applying!
Executive leadership coach, Lolly Daskal, expertly utilizes awards on her personal website.
She utilizes a scrolling list of awards gained over the years - which seems to scroll forever!
49. Develop a Portfolio / Track Record
Showcase your talents, previous experience, or finished product with a portfolio showing your work.
- Real estate investor: Show your properties
- Logo Designer: Show your best logo designs
- Website Designer: Show finished websites
If you don’t have a product to show off, consider developing a track record listing the clients you’ve worked with and the work you’ve completed for them.
I watched a friend of mine, Joseph Bramante, start his multi-family investment firm, from scratch. His first few deals were remarkably hard to put together, but now he can leverage his portfolio to show potential investors that he is the real deal.
50. Before & Afters
Before & Afters follow up on the portfolio method and case study methods. This is a powerful credibility builder because it is so visual.
Show what something looked like before your work. Then, show the end result, after you’ve created your masterpiece.
Jeff Cavalier of Athlean-X grew a massive following with his YouTube videos.
I became aware of Jeff, while searching for answers on how to fix a nagging shoulder injury. He built credibility with me through his videos. After binge watching more videos, I visited his personal website, and I found he had a workout program. I was intrigued but didn't buy.
Then, I saw some of the transformation photos. Jeff's credibility from the transformations built on top of the credibility from his YouTube videos made me whip out my credit card!
And actually, The way Athlean-X gives options for sorting its transformations is pretty incredible. You should check it out.
This is a great technique for visual storytelling, especially for designers.
51. Guarantees
Offering a guarantee alleviates some of the fear that your prospects may have with working with someone new.
If your product is good, there is little risk in offering a guarantee,
For a client on the fence, a guarantee may be enough to push them over the edge and buy as the added credibility shows that you believe in your work.
Derek Halpern
Get Started: Additional Resources
52. List of Notable Clients
Have you worked for some big name clients?
Develop a list of well-known companies or clients you’ve worked with in the past.
These clients lend credibility because if they trusted you, then so should your client
Cynthia Zhai is a top voice coach, speaker, and trainer. She expertly lists a plethora of "Big Name" clients that she has previously done work for in training and coaching capacities.
Imagine if you were in charge of selecting a speaking coach for your business. How confident would you be bringing this to your boss after seeing she's worked for Google, Bank of America, Hyatt, and dozens more? If they trusted her, surely you can too!
53. Testimonials
What could be more powerful for your credibility than a list of notable clients. Testimonials, of course!
Nathaniel Gerdes, a photographer, social media expert, and coach, has demonstrated expert use of testimonials on his About page.
Nathaniel has asked some of his famous Instagram clientele to provide video testimonials. But get this, one of the videos talking about how amazing he is also garnered 150,000 views. This is what you get when you mix social media marketing expertise, a unique niche, and expert use of testimonials!
Gather testimonials. Period.
No, really. Do it. This can make a huge impact on your credibility and ability to close sales.
Prominently display testimonials on your website and marketing materials for a huge boost in credibility.
Not sure how to do get testimonials? Check out this additional resource below to learn how.
Jennifer Bourn
Get Started: Additional Resources
54. List of Press Mentions
As above, have you or your brand been mentioned in the press? Was it good?
Unless it was a mugshot, make a list of press mentions or have an “as featured in section” on your website.
Anna Sweeney, owner of Whole Life Nutrition, is a Registered Dietitian who has built up quite a name for herself. She has a great example of a simple listing of press mentions on her website.
Her credentials should be proof enough but her lists of podcasts and other press mentions provides further proof of her expertise.
55. Reviews
Like testimonials, reviews are often shorter snippets acquired by a third party service and displayed on your owned media or on third-party sites (Yelp, HomeAdvisor, Google,etc.)
Here's a good example from a local service company I've used in the past, Garage Door Doctor. With 600+ Google reviews, this service company is clearly putting a focus on collecting reviews for this platform. If fact, they followed up with me to leave a review after servicing my garage door.
Ensure you are getting reviews, respond to bad reviews, and try to include them on both owned media and third-party websites that your customers will visit.
Promote | Take Your Credibility to the Next Level by Promoting Your Work
You’ve worked hard to build your credibility, but do you really want to have to convince each new client that you are the real deal?
No! You want to be so incredibly credible that people are flocking to work with you!
By promoting your work, your credibility will take on a life of its own.
Here are a number of ways to help promote your credibility:
56. Create a Press Page for Your Website
A Press Page is a section of your website that provides contact information head shots, photos, your bio, company logos, and important press mentions for other reporters that are looking to write about you.
This organizes all the relevant information in one place, making it easier for a reporter. And we know making things easier for reporters will get you more press.
So let's see an example.
Brittney Castro is killing it in the financial planning space, and her Press Page is nothing short of spectacular:
Honestly, this page is fantastic. Let's break it down:
- Header Photo - The header photo is a "behind the scenes" image of Brittney being interviewed. Why have the camera in the shot? Because it shows that she is comfortable behind the camera and experienced in video interviews.
- Highlight Reel Video - This 2 minute video shows Brittney in a variety of situations: on camera, being interviewed, and public speaking. It is a quick credibility builder showing potential interviewers that she can do it all.
- Official Bio - The last thing a reporter wants to do is click every button on your website to find all the info needed to put together a relevant bio. Brittney's official bio gives the reporter everything needed in one place. She also gets some control of the narrative.
- Approved Photos - Head shots are great. What I like here the most is the variety of photos. The reporter can choose the photo that best represents the story.
- Press Kit - Brittney has an amazing press kit. You should check it out. I would suggest to make the press kit more prominent.
- Video Interviews - Once again, this shows off Brittney's ability to speak on camera.
- Media Mentions - Here, she shows all of the magazine and print articles she's been featured in. Seems pretty credible to me!
- Contact Info - What if a reporter has more questions? Brittney's contact info is below so that she can easily be reached for additional information in any upcoming story.
- Certification & Awards - I can help but mention the certifications and awards at the bottom of the page.
57. Sign Up for Services like HARO, Muck Rack, or ProfNet
HARO, Muck Rack, and ProfNet are services that reporters use to find sources for stories.
Join so that you can be notified when a reporter wants to write a story about your expertise and is ACTIVELY looking for a source. Which could be you!
This is one of the easiest ways to get your name or business featured in the news. Then, you can display the news outlets that featured you for even more credibility.
Jared Carrizales
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58. Get Featured in Magazines
It takes a lot of work to get featured on the cover of a magazine, but features within magazine content are pretty easy to come by.
Look for magazines that closely match your industry.
Find a writer/s that covers similar stories as your proposed topic, and make the pitch.
Industry magazines are great because it spreads your message among the magazine readership, which for magazines, can be nationwide or even multiple countries.
David Meerman Scott
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59. Get Featured in Local Newspapers
Local newspapers are great sources of credibility within your own community.
Getting featured in the local paper might be easier than you think. If I can get featured in a half-page photo op because of a funny job ad I posted, you can find a unique story idea, too!
Local newspapers are always looking for local human interest stories.
60. Get Featured on the TV / News
News Stations are also constantly on the lookout for new stories.
Your job is to figure out how you fit.
Are you an expert on a trending topic? Reach out.
Do you have an interesting human interest story? Charitable work? Feel good story?
Can you provide commentary on fashion, landscaping, wellness, dieting, etc.?
Find your angle!
Sabina Hitchen
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61. Feature Your Testimonials / Reviews / Celebrity Endorsements in Email Flows
Do you have an email list? Have you built in automation sequences?
When a reader signs up for your email list, something has piqued their interest. But, it doesn't mean they are ready to buy.
You may need to build a level of trust and credibility before they consider making a purchase.
Utilize screenshots of testimonials, reviews, or celebrity endorsements in your email flows to ensure your readers see what others are saying about your products and services. They were hard earned, and your email funnel is a perfect place to show them off.
62. Press Releases
While the Press Release has long been considered dead, you can still get good results when done right.
Press releases are perfect for:
- New product launches
- Investment rounds
- Industry studies
- Hiring Sprees
- New Offices
- And More
The key to Press Releases is to have an interesting story and headline that will instantly grab your target reporters’ attention.
Daniel Doan
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63. Brand Ambassadors / Affiliates
Utilize Brand Ambassadors or Affiliates to help promote your product or services.
You’ll get a borrowed credibility effect, and an active promotion.
Often, these will be paid posts or commission-based.
64. Go on a Podcast World Tour
Many well-known authors are absolute masters of book promotion.
While press and television are still large parts of their strategies, the huge increase in popularity of podcasts has opened up a new channel for book promotion.
Take a page out of the master’s playbook, and promote yourself through podcasts.
There are podcasts for just about any niche, and they are hungry for guests.
Taylor Pearson
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65. Mentions in the Press & Media Appearances
After all the hard work of collecting these mentions and appearances, you need to publicize them on your owned and social media channels.
Press mentions are great for getting in front of new audiences.
You should also promote these press mentions to your current audience to raise your credibility with your followers.
Andy Crestodina
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66. Show Your Numbers
Numbers are a credibility gold mine. As you build your credibility, share important numbers in your brand’s growth.
- Hit 20,000 email subscribers? Share it.
- Made your first million in revenue? Share it.
- 100,000 visitors to your website per month? Share it.
Post them on social media. Email your list. Write a detailed blog post. Hell, shout it from the rooftop!
Bonus | Game Changing Credibility Enhancers
67. Learn to Speak
Public Speaking is a great credibility builder.
Learning to speak is a game-changer.
Here are my three main goals for learning to speak.
- Getting comfortable with speaking.
- The art of storytelling
- Ability to inspire / influence
David JP Phillips provides 5 of his top speaking tips in this stellar TEDx talk:
If you want to improve your speaking skills take a course or join an organization like ToastMasters.
68. Master Body Language
You’ve probably heard the importance of first impressions.
Mastering body language is so much more important than just first impressions.
According to a study by Albert Mehrabian on Nonverbal Communication, 60% of communication comes from body language, while only 40% is verbal.
Not only can body language change people’s perception of you, it can also boost your confidence as well.
In this Ted Talk, by Amy Cuddy she explains this in detail and how it can impact your chances of success.
69. Get Media Training
If you really want to step up your TV game, media training is a great idea.
Live television can be difficult. Bright lights can make it difficult to concentrate. You may be put on the spot. You may be asked difficult questions.
Media training will teach you how to present yourself. But more importantly, how to reign in the conversation back to your talking points so that you can get the most out of your appearances.
Media Trainers are located in every major city so there should be one near you.
70. Get Verified
Getting verified on social media channels is mostly vanity but does give a bit of credibility.
Each channel (Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.) has its own guidelines.
Since they are constantly changing, we won’t list the process for each here, but they can be found with a simple Google search.
Andrew Kunesh
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71. Learn the basics of Photography
In today’s social media world, photos are important.
I recommend professional photos for your website and headshots,
On social media, selfies rule. Take some photography classes to learn how to take great photos of yourself for social media, and your fame could skyrocket.
Jordan Dyck
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What Do You Think?
Alright, your turn.
Which credibility builder from this list was your favorite?
Or maybe you have a tip that I didn’t cover here.
Either way, let me know and leave a comment below.
Very well presented. Every quote was awesome and thanks for sharing the content. Keep sharing and keep motivating others.
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