They are watching. They have been watching for months.
They like your posts occasionally. They open your emails. They have been to your website more than once. But they have never reached out. Never booked a call. Never sent a message.
This is your lurker audience — and it is almost certainly larger than you realize.
Lurkers are not uninterested. They are unconvinced. There is a gap between following someone and trusting them enough to spend money with them. That gap is filled by one specific type of content: trust posts.
Trust posts are not about selling. They are not about reach or engagement in the traditional sense. They are about building the kind of credibility that makes someone finally think: okay, this is the person I want to work with.
Here is how to write them.
Why Lurkers Exist — and Why They Matter
Before you can write trust posts effectively, it helps to understand what a lurker is thinking.
Most lurkers are not avoiding you. They are evaluating you. They are asking themselves questions like:
– Is this person’s work actually as good as it looks?
– Has she worked with someone like me?
– What happens if it does not work — do I feel safe taking that risk?
– Can I afford this, and is it worth it?
– Do I trust her enough to have a real conversation?
These are not objections in the sales sense. They are normal human questions that anyone asks before investing in something. And the people who answer those questions most clearly in their content are the ones who convert lurkers into leads without ever feeling pushy.
Research from Edelman’s Trust Barometer shows that trust is the second most important factor in purchasing decisions, just after price. For service-based businesses, it often outranks price entirely.
Trust Post Type 1: The Results Story
The most powerful trust post is a specific, concrete story about a result you helped someone achieve.
Not a vague testimonial. Not “she was amazing to work with.” A real story with a before, a middle, and an after.
This format works because it answers the lurker’s most pressing question — has she helped someone like me? — in narrative form. Stories are processed differently than bullet points. They create emotional resonance and memory in a way that a list of services never does.
A good results story includes:
– Who the client was (industry, stage of business, situation) — use a first name or a role if needed for privacy
– What problem they were facing when they came to you
– What you did together
– What changed as a result — specifically
Keep the focus on the client, not on you. You are the guide in this story. They are the hero.
Trust Post Type 2: Behind the Process
One of the biggest trust gaps for service-based businesses is the mystery of what working with you actually looks like.
Potential clients often hesitate not because they do not believe in the outcome, but because they do not know what the experience will feel like. They do not know if they will be judged, overwhelmed, or lost in jargon.
Behind-the-process posts pull back the curtain. They walk people through what a session looks like, how you structure a program, what the onboarding experience involves, or what a typical client’s first month looks like.
This type of trust post lowers the perceived risk of reaching out. When a potential client can picture themselves in your process — and it feels manageable and clear — the decision to contact you becomes much easier.
You can find content frameworks for behind-the-process posts and other trust-building content types inside the WBRC Insights library at getbizsavvy.com/insights.
Trust Post Type 3: The Values Stand
Buyers today are not just buying your service. They are buying your worldview.
A values stand is a post where you share something you genuinely believe — about your industry, about your clients, about the way you do your work — that might not be universally agreed upon. It is specific, honest, and sometimes a little uncomfortable to write.
Examples:
– “I do not believe six-figure launches are the right goal for most small business owners — here is why.”
– “Most business coaches tell you to niche down immediately. I believe that advice is actively harmful in your first year.”
– “The networking advice women entrepreneurs get is almost always wrong for how we actually build trust and relationships.”
Values stand posts repel the wrong-fit clients and deeply attract the right ones. They build trust because they signal that you have thought carefully about your work, that you stand for something, and that you are not just telling people what they want to hear.
Trust Post Type 4: The Honest Lesson
One of the most disarming things a business owner can do is share something they got wrong — and what they learned from it.
Vulnerability, when it is genuine and professional (not performative), builds extraordinary trust. It says: I am a real person. I have navigated real challenges. And, I am not selling you a perfect story.
An honest lesson post follows this structure: Here is
– something I tried / believed / did
– what happened
– what I learned
– how it changed the way I work / what I now do differently
The lesson does not have to be dramatic. It can be a small shift in how you run your programs, a pricing mistake you made and corrected, or a belief you held early in your business that experience has updated.
What matters is the honesty. When your audience sees that you can own a mistake and grow from it, they trust you more — not less.
Trust Post Type 5: The Direct Ask for Questions
This one is underused, and it works.
Posting directly to your audience and inviting their questions — genuinely and openly — signals confidence, accessibility, and care. It also surfaces the exact objections and concerns your lurkers have but have never felt comfortable voicing.
Try posts like:
– “What’s the one thing you wish you understood better about [your area of expertise]? Ask me in the comments — I read every one.“
– “If you have been thinking about [working with me / joining WBRC / starting a program] but have a question you have not asked yet — this is your moment. I will answer every reply.”
– “What’s the biggest thing holding you back from [the outcome you help clients achieve]? Tell me and I will give you my best thinking.“
When you respond to every comment thoughtfully, the exchange is visible to your entire lurker audience. They watch how you engage. They see you take questions seriously. They get their own questions answered without having to ask.
Make Trust the Foundation of Your Summer Content
This summer, as you plan your content calendar, build trust posts into your weekly rhythm. Aim for at least one trust post per week — a results story, a process window, a values stand, an honest lesson, or a direct invitation to ask.
Over time, these posts do something remarkable. They transform your audience from a group of passive followers into an active community of people who feel they already know you, already trust you, and are simply waiting for the right moment to reach out.
Ready to lead your business at a level where trust and authority are your most powerful marketing tools?
The WBRC C-Suither program – Pathway to Success is WBRC’s premium leadership and business development cohort for women entrepreneurs who are ready to lead visibly, grow strategically, and build a business where clients choose them before they even see the price.
