How to build trust without 10,000 reviews
8 practical ways to increase credibility
Hi there,
I’ll admit it… I’ve definitely felt that pang of review jealousy when I land on a website boasting thousands of 5-star ratings.
It’s easy to feel like you're missing out, especially when working with smaller brands that haven’t built that kind of social proof yet.
But here’s the thing: trust isn’t just built on review counts or press mentions.
There are plenty of smart, budget-friendly ways to build credibility, even without a massive audience.
In my latest article for Convert, I dive into 8 practical ways to earn trust without relying on reviews.
From showcasing customer success stories to offering simple, clear guarantees, these are easy-to-implement tactics you can start using today.
Technique 4/8: Invest in customer education
One of my favorite trust-building tactics from the article is customer education. It’s especially powerful if your product requires a bit more knowledge or consideration before purchase.
Take an herb e-commerce store, for example. If you share helpful content on how to grow herbs, you’re doing more than just promoting products.
You’re positioning yourself as an expert and genuinely supporting your customers’ success. (And honestly, I could use that kind of support, as not a week goes by without me accidentally killing one of my poor herbs.)
The best part? Educational content doesn’t have to be guesswork. A tool like Also Asked (shoutout to Juliana Jackson for suggesting this) is great for inspiration.
When I search “growing herbs,” it returns a whole list of real, user-driven questions that could easily become blog posts, videos, or even Instagram Reels.
Want to dive deeper into how you can do this? Check out the article where I break down all 8 strategies and share more examples.
Recommendations
Convert, an incredible testing platform for Shopify, sponsors this week’s newsletter. If you’ve got the traffic to run A/B tests, they’re a great platform to use.
I’ve really enjoyed writing for them over the last months. Definitely check out some of my other articles, along with the rest of their blog, for more tips on CRO and growth:
The Real Reason I Bought That Dog Tracker: A JTBD Framework for Your Ecommerce Funnel
Small Margins ≠ Small Profits. 6 Ways to Optimise for Low Margins
So next time you feel a bout of review jealousy coming on, don’t stress.
Even as a startup or B2B brand with a smaller customer base, there are plenty of ways to build trust and credibility, without requiring thousands of reviews.
Till next week,
Daphne