"Trust is one the hardest things to build into the 'blink' factor on a website," says Patsi Krakoff in a recent post at the Writing on the Web blog. "It's one thing to grab readers' attention with great headlines and clever tag lines. It's another level of challenge when the stakes are serious," she notes.

Krakoff was recently inspired by the website of Dr. Frank Lipman. "[R]ight away ... you are drawn into reading his key quotes, and you know exactly what kind of man this is, and what business he's in," she explains. "This is how professionals can build trust on the Web."

Based on the lessons she learned from studying Dr. Lipman's site, Krakoff developed a brief exercise for B2B marketers to help ensure their Web content is inspiring prospect and client trust. She asks that you complete a few sentences, including these:

• I see myself as a partner in my client's...
• There's no greater joy for me than to see a client...
• When people are given… they can… and the results for the organization are...
• The first step is to help people see...
• I often see this happen after I've been working with someone for a while...

Krakoff suggests you apply the insights gained from this exercise to create fresh Web content. "Write out some key sentences that sum up your philosophy and beliefs as they apply to working with your clients," she suggests. "Add them to your blog or website and see if you can improve your trust factor."

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