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In fact, on the Internet, it’s actually the opposite. In some cases, you might be the expert

—you’ve been doing something for 10 or 20 or 30 years, know it inside and out, and are
ready to share your knowledge with the world. But in many other cases, you might be
the one curating the thoughts, stories, opinions, and perspectives of experts. Or in some
other cases, you might just be sharing your personal thoughts on a subject—but your
opinion matters because you’ve personally experienced the thing you’re writing about.

These are the 3 types of credibility online:

I’m the expert

I’m curating the experts

I’m just speaking from personal experience

A good way of thinking about credibility is: imagine you are at a dinner party. Someone
comes up to you and starts telling you about something random, like fly fishing.
Eventually, you are going to ask, “How do you know that?” At which point they are going

to give you one of three answers:

“I’ve been fly fishing since I was in middle school. I actually won a fly fishing
competition when I was in college.” (They’re an expert.)

“My dad loves fly fishing and I’ve had to listen to him talk about it for years.” (Their

dad is the expert, and they’re curating their dad’s insight.)

“Honestly? I’m just obsessed with watching these fly fishing shows on Netflix.
They’re so fascinating.” (They’re just speaking from personal experience.)

That’s really all credibility is, and can be communicated in a single sentence.

Here is another example:

Expert: “I am Roger Ebert and Don’t Look Up was the best movie of 2021.”

Curating Experts: “According to Roger Ebert & 9 other famous movie critics, Don’t
Look Up was the best movie of 2021.”

Personal Experience: “I’m no Roger Ebert but I have watched over 900 Netflix
movies and shows, and I think Don’t Look Up was the best movie of 2021.”

So don’t overthink it.

Just let the reader know where the information is coming from, so they have context.

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How To Start Writing Online: The Ship 30 For 30 Ultimate Guide