The First Law of Writing Online (It's the Fastest Way to Get More Views)
Apply this when you're just getting started
My first few online articles should have come with a warning label.
“Word Vomit.”
I wrote like I was turning in a college essay, which made sense because I had just graduated—I didn’t know any better. I would dive into a topic with long-winded, beautiful paragraphs, assuming that’s what people wanted.
Writing online requires more gamesmanship than that.
Copywriting matters.
Spacing matters.
Most importantly, credibility matters.
How to establish credibility without 1,000,000 followers
It's important to remember that readers are asking themselves:
Where is this information coming from?
Why should I care?
Why should I trust you?
Think about it. You do the same thing when reading an online article or watching a YouTube video.
You don't need to be an expert in a topic. No one is asking you to get a PH.D in physiology to write about exercise or become President of the United States before writing about politics.
Anyone can establish credibility using these two strategies.
1.) Tell personal stories
You see this strategy with YouTubers and TikTokers, but it works just as well with online writing.
Tell your story.
That’s instant credibility.
My girlfriend and I follow Kara and Nate on YouTube. They’re travel vloggers who saved their money, quit their jobs, and make videos about traveling on a budget.
They’re big into physical challenges, too. Last year, they biked across America with their friends on a trandem. No joke!
Here’s the thing: they’re not experts. They’re a normal couple with crazy travel stories. They make the same mistakes we would make and try the same things we would.
They’re credible because they’re describing experiences from their point of view, and they’re not shy about it.
With their videos, you get:
The lessons they learned.
Mistakes to avoid.
The tips and tricks that worked for them.
Their videos offer real-world lessons through personal stories.
That’s all the credibility we need.
2.) Write about someone with credibility
The majority of my articles follow this strategy.
Since I can't claim to be an expert, I'll borrow credibility from someone who is.
I'll take an article, TikTok, or YouTube video from a credible source, highlight something interesting, and examine it further in my article.
Here's an article I wrote about Chris Martin from Coldplay. The article features an interview with Conan O'Brien, in which he talks about his creative process.
Now, Chris is a credible artist. He's the lead singer of one of the biggest bands in the world. In the interview, he talks about how limitations become strengths.
"I'm not going to be the best singer of all time. I'm not going to be as fast on guitar. I'm never going to dance like Tina Turner.
"But maybe I can make things weirdly me… I don't claim our music is the best, but maybe it's the most… us."
I could write something similar, but let's be honest, it's not going to carry the same weight.
Instead, I could borrow credibility from Chris and share a personal story about how his wisdom directly influenced and improved my writing career.
This personal connection makes the content more relatable and engaging.
If you think about it, borrowing credibility accomplishes two things:
1.) You're curating the information the reader is looking for. Basically, doing their homework for them.
2.) You're reframing information by telling a personal story, which gives you more credibility.
Everyone is a credible writer
I hope this article helps you realize that you don't need to be Barack Obama or Mr. Beast to be a credible writer.
I promise that's not how online writing works.
Get emotional, tell stories, and write about someone who inspired you.
Write something you would want to read.
You've given me lots of ideas. Thanks :)