Does your audience trust your content marketing? Discover how to create content that builds authority with these ten essential rules.

1. 10 rules for
creating content
people can
TRUST

2. Does your content
build trust with
your audience?
Use these 10 rules to
help ensure your
audience views you as
a trustworthy resource.

3. Interview experts and seek
outside sources to communicate
a complete, comprehensive story.
1
Include
other
voices

4. An assumption is an
idea you accept as a
fact without proof.
2
Question
your
assumptions

5. Any time you wander into
absolutes (always, never, all,
etc.), question the accuracy
of your statement.2
Question
your
assumptions

6. Provide the results of
experiments, observations,
research, and tests.
3
Support
your
claims

7. Never go scavenging through
your analytics or database
looking for patterns. That's
called “data pillaging.”4
Approach
data with
a theory

8. Instead, drum up a hypothesis,
and then discover if your theory
is true through existing research
or your own.4
Approach
data with
a theory

9. You see the “curse of
knowledge” when a
content marketer accidently
assumes his audience
knows as much as he does,
which leads to confusion.
5
Avoid the
“curse of
knowledge”

10. Use clear language,
tell simple stories, and
assume nothing about
your audience.5
Avoid the
“curse of
knowledge”

11. Hold your sources
accountable so
that you produce
accurate content.6
Remember you’re
the reader’s
advocate

12. Don't fall in love
with a source and
fail to challenge
his assertions,
assumptions,
and claims.
6
Remember you’re
the reader’s
advocate

13. Put yourself in your
audience members'
shoes and anticipate
the questions they
will ask.
7
Anticipate
questions your
audience will ask

14. When you answer
these questions
before they’re asked,
your audience
members will feel like
you understand them.
7
Anticipate
questions your
audience will ask

15. Paint a complete picture by
linking to appropriate articles
or sources in your content.
8 Provide
context

16. Resist publishing content until you
have performed enough research to
present a unique angle — and can
move the conversation forward.9 Avoid the
obvious

17. Point out your own
weaknesses and
encourage discussions
with people who have
competing opinions.
Act against
your own
self-interest10

18. Click here to read
10 Rules for Creating
Content People Can Trust
on copyblogger.com/blog
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