There was a time when businesses thought they needed to stay completely neutral and not ever take a side or have any opinion at all. Times have changed, and consumers now like and trust businesses that they can relate to and have opinions they support. It's really about looking for ways to build trust with potential customers and consumers by building them up and giving them information that is empowering.    Margot Bloomstein is a content strategist, author, and keynote speaker. She's been a content strategist for more than 20 years, and she's consulted with clients from a wide range of industries and backgrounds. Margot is the author of Trustworthy: How the Smartest Brands Beat Cynicism and Bridge the Trust Gap and Content Strategy at Work: Real-World Stories to Strengthen Every Interactive Project. She’s also the principal of Appropriate, Inc., a brand and content strategy consultancy based in Boston.    We tackle some of the concepts in her new book and look at unique ways that brands can build trust that just may not fit traditional methods. We also talk when there is a place for novelty and a place for comfort. Margot explains how voice, volume and vulnerability play significant roles in the trust equation. We have a great discussion about how to help your audience and create an environment they can identify with.    And be sure to subscribe to The Self-Employed Life in Apple podcasts or follow us on Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts so you don’t miss an episode.   Everything you need can all be found at jeffreyshaw.com    Margot Bloomstein thank you so much for being here!   Remember, you might be in business FOR yourself but you are not in business BY yourself.  Be your best self. Be proud and keep changing the world.   Join 17,000 subscribers looking to do "business with a soul" and sign up to receive my Self-Employed Nutshell Newsletter! Sign up here!   Highlights –   [01:59] Margot is really excited about promoting her new book Trustworthy: How The  Smartest Brands Beat Cynicism and Bridge the Trust Gap. She's really excited about the friends and mentors that have been helping to guide the process. [04:58] Sales can fall flat when audiences don't trust their own knowledge. People need courage in their own convictions to do the research and make the correct decisions. [06:21] We need to rebuild our customers' confidence before building their confidence in us. [09:55] Socially responsible businesses do well.  [14:22] The people we want closest to us are the ones that build us up and make us feel smarter in the world, not those who tear us down. The same goes for businesses. [18:31] Tapping into our customers aspirations. People purchase things from a point of optimism. [21:44] Creating trust through voice, volume, and vulnerability. [22:33] You empower the consumer by making your brand distinct. They understand who you are and how you are by your voice. [23:09] Voice is the consistent and familiar way that you engage in with your audience. [23:54] Understand your goal and then you can make choices around the words you choose and your color scheme. [26:42] Having balance between consistency and novelty. This may not be the time for brands to reintroduce themselves or launch a new logo. People may be surrounded with enough novelty currently.  [29:05] How trust and comfort play nice together. [31:37] Precision in language is not as important as being approachable and familiar. Familiar can be more valuable and useful than precise. [34:12] Use language to meet people where they are, but also introduce other terminology and perspectives to bring them where they need to go. [36:44] Volume. There are different levels of detail visually and verbally and it all goes back to whether you are putting a burden on your audience or helping them. [39:59] You know you've said enough when your customers feel good about the information they have and can make decisions based on that. [41:43] Vulnerability. Different points of vi