How to Build Credibility Online as a Writer or Business Owner

Clear your doubt about "Why build online when I'm making money?"

Aug 08, 2025

Why should you build credibility online, especially on social media?

It's because social media is the first place people think of when they hear about you. They want to check your work, confirm your expertise, and form an opinion from there.

That is, they want to be sure you’re who you claim to be (or that people say you are).

Imagine this: A friend tells you about a hair brand that sells luxurious but affordable hair.

What next? You’d want to see the hair and learn more about the vendor.

So, you ask, “What’s the vendor’s IG handle?”

You see? It’d be impossible for you to trust the brand without some sort of assurance first. Ask Davido or maybe Chioma.

You get the point, right?

The Consequences of not Building your Credibility Online

✅ People outside your circle won’t know what you do.

✅ People won’t be able to trust you.

✅ People won’t be able to access your work or expertise in your absence.

✅ People won’t be able to attest to your competence or reliability.

✅ People won’t be able to buy from or refer you.

You and I can agree that none of this screams ‘good.’

You might say, “Oh! Well…I’m making money already. What else do I need to build?”

Making money now is great, but building means creating a reputation, systems, and a presence that keeps bringing in opportunities.

What do you call that? Life insurance or Life assurance? I’ll let you choose.

3 Ways to Build Credibility Online as a Writer or Business Owner

1. Share Value

Create educational content for your audience. Teach them what you know. This attests to your knowledge, expertise, depth, and authority.

For example, I am a content writer, and I share value consistently through my writing brand’s pages on social media @The Kopytent.

I do the same on my profile, too. I share my knowledge, processes, and journey on content writing, strategy, management, and marketing.

2. Showcase Reviews

Always share the commendations you get about your service with your audience.

Let’s say you wrote a blog post or did business that left your client over the moon. In their excitement, they send you a text telling you how much they loved the job.

Take a screenshot. Share the review online.

It demonstrates expertise and positive results.

Don’t be like me, who used to smile, keep the review, and later lose it.

I’m starting a 5-day email course on ‘The Consistent Content System: How to Plan, Create, and Post Without Burning Out.’ Subscribe to my Substack to get it straight in your inbox when it lands.

3. Share Case Studies or Success Stories

Case studies and success stories are real-life challenges you’ve solved. Show the problem, your solution, the current state, and the results achieved.

This helps people trust your expertise and ability to deliver results.

For example, I manage a personal brand, and the initial issue I spotted was zero online presence (in terms of building credibility online as a finance expert

Then, I offered content marketing services. Now, my client is showing up online and getting positive reviews about his posts.

Also, he got his first consultation session from his social posts and is now building his WhatsApp group, which already has 18 members.

3 Types of Content to Build Credibility Online

1. How-to Guides and Tutorials

Use these to share value with your audience. They could be articles, newsletters, reels, podcasts, videos, ebooks, or checklists.

2. Case Studies

Use these to show results. They could be downloadable PDFs, slide decks, videos, or audio.

3. Behind-the-Scenes Process Breakdowns

Use these to show how you achieved your results. They could be videos or image-backed articles.

In Conclusion

Building online does not mean the world will know who you are in a few days. It just means that you’ll be visible to those who matter.

You don’t have to repeat my mistake of not building online at the beginning of my career. Start today.

If you’re confused about where to start building online. You can get this checklist that shows how to start using LinkedIn.

Want to explore other platforms instead and need help with creating any of the above-listed credibility-building content? Send me a message or drop a comment.