Welcome to Creating Trust

The Trust-Attention Strugglebus

Let's address the elephant in the digital room: we're drowning in a sea of content designed to hijack our attention at any cost. Bold, declarative statements. Divisive hot takes. Sensationalized headlines.

And honestly? That shit works.

But it works for generating attention, not necessarily for building trust. And if you're selling high-ticket B2B services, trust is your actual currency.

I've watched too many brilliant consultants and experts try to fit their square-peg expertise into the round hole of attention-optimized content. The result? Content that feels uncomfortable to create and inauthentic to consume. You know the type—those cringeworthy LinkedIn posts that sound nothing like the actual human who wrote them.

That's because there's a fundamental mismatch happening:

The attention economy is built for businesses that need maximum eyeballs. Your business needs maximum trust from the right eyeballs.

These are different games with different rules.

Business Model Drives Content Strategy

B2B experts with high-ticket services have a fundamentally different business model than most of the people dispensing content advice on the interwebs.

You don't need thousands of customers. You don't need viral content. You don't need to be everything to everyone.

What you need is relevant attention that converts to deep trust.

If you're a fractional CMO charging $10k monthly, you need maybe 2 to 5 clients a year. Your challenge isn't reaching the masses—it's reaching the right decision-makers and establishing enough trust to justify your premium.

Yet most content strategies still push the volume-based approach designed for businesses selling $27 e-books or $50 monthly subscriptions. When you apply these strategies to your business, you end up creating content that feels like an awkward suit you borrowed from your Uncle Jerry who sells cars.

Think Like a Media Company, Not a Marketer

I spent the early part of my career in journalism, and there's something powerful that content creators can learn from the traditional editorial mindset: the wall between editorial and advertising.

While that wall has become increasingly porous in media, the principle is gold for thought leadership: Approach your content as a service to your audience, not as a vehicle for self-promotion.

When the primary goal of your content shifts from "look how smart I am" to "let's explore this interesting question together," something magical happens:

1. The content becomes less cringeworthy to create

2. It becomes more valuable to consume

3. You build genuine authority through your thinking process, not just your conclusions

This approach builds more trust and ultimately drives more business than the thinly-veiled sales pitch ever could.

This media mindset gets you acting like a researcher, rather than an expert. But over time, as you explore the topic and exercise critical thought by communicating your learnings, you become more of an expert.

Pretty cool little virtuous circle, huh?  

From Expert Statements to Content Questions

This brings me to what I believe is the core transformation needed in thought leadership: shifting from statements to questions.

Most thought leadership programs begin with a declaration of expertise:

• "I will teach you how to scale your business"

• "I will show you how to optimize your marketing funnel"

• "I will help you develop a winning strategy"

These statements put enormous pressure on the creator to have all the answers. They position you as the all-knowing expert and your audience as students. That dynamic creates distance rather than connection. Plus, copywriter tip - try to avoid starting sentences with first-person pronouns.

What if instead, your thought leadership centered around a Content Question, similar to how researchers approach their work through the scientific method?

A Content Question:

• Removes your ego from the equation

• Invites collaboration and discussion

• Provides a clear focus for exploration

• Allows you to be both guide and fellow explorer

• Creates an endless well of content ideas

My Content Question for Creating Trust

The question at the heart of this newsletter and my broader thought leadership program is:

What is the role of trust in high-ticket service transactions and how can B2B experts create high-trust content?

This question gives me permission to explore, to not have all the answers, to share what I'm learning along the way. It lets me bring in outside expertise, research, case studies, and examples without feeling like I need to be the ultimate authority on everything. All in service of my readers (that’s you!) and the B2B experts who follow me on social.

I'll be your guide on this journey, sharing insights, asking more questions, bringing in research, and exploring trust-building in content from multiple angles.

Some weeks I might dive into the neuroscience of trust. Other weeks I might analyze examples of high-trust content. Sometimes I'll share frameworks and models I've developed. But always, I'm approaching this as an ongoing exploration rather than a finished doctrine.

Building Your Own Audience on Your Own Land

One final note that ties this all together: building trust at scale works best when you own the relationship with your audience.

Social media platforms are brilliant for making connections, but they're rented land. Your carefully cultivated audience is actually their asset. Your thoughtfully crafted content feeds their algorithm.

That's why this newsletter exists - it’s a direct relationship between us. A place where we can explore ideas more deeply than a LinkedIn post allows. A space where the content serves you, not an algorithm.

In future editions, I'll be exploring how to create what I call a "High-Trust Pipeline"—a system where your owned media (like this newsletter) works in concert with your social presence to build visibility and nurture deep trust with potential clients.

Join Me on This Journey

If you've read this far, I suspect you're feeling the same frustration I am with the typical approach to thought leadership content. Maybe you've tried to follow the standard advice and felt like Uncle Eddie, or Jerry, or whatever his name was. Or perhaps you've been hesitant to share your expertise because you don't want to come across as a know-it-all.

Thanks for joining me on this journey to explore a different approach to thought leadership. One based on curiosity rather than certainty. On service rather than self-promotion. On trust rather than pure attention.

Each edition of Creating Trust will include:

• A main feature exploring an aspect of our Content Question

• A case study or example of high-trust content in action

• Practical tools and tips you can implement right away

Here’s to figuring shit out together.

-Angie

Your turn: Does the phrase “thought leadership” make you cringe? Want to hide? Roll your eyes? Why?? Reply and share in the name of research!

P.S. If you forgot why you subscribed or who the heck I am, here’s a summary: I’m a publisher turned marketer turned Fractional Head of Content for story-driven brands. I also own a boutique content agency called Suite Ghost that helps B2B experts get seen and build trust without being cringey. I dig stories, dogs, craft beer, and my kids, not in that order.