Or do you share your knowledge widely and freely so that others might learn from your experiences?

I’m sure people can make a case for both, but I’m a believer in sharing widely and without concern for “What’s in it for me?”

Sharing is caring

Here are just a few good reasons for sharing what you know as an author:

• It’s easy to do.
• It will make you feel good.
• It will make others feel good.
• By demonstrating what you know, you’ll help develop essential author credentials.
• It helps you build a platform.
• Figuring out how to look helpful without actually being helpful takes too much thought and time.
• Karma.

I’m sure you and I could both add more to this list. We might also agree that the “why you shouldn’t share” list is shorter.

Everybody loses when there’s no sharing

A few years ago, after admiring a friend and colleague’s skill with a specific publicity-generating tactic, I asked if she would write a guest post explaining how she did it.

She agreed to it immediately. We are friends, after all. Friends support friends.

The resulting article was heavy on why you needed to master this tactic and light – very light – on how to do it.

When I asked her to get more specific about how to do it, she balked. “Oh no,” she said. “That’s my little secret.”

So be it. I didn’t use the article because it wasn’t what we agreed on and wasn’t in line with my blog content.

Who won in that situation?

Not me. I had to write a replacement article – and quickly.

Not my readers. They would certainly have benefited from learning more about this topic.

Not the expert. In fact, she lost the most. She lost the time spent writing the article, and she lost the opportunity to introduce her skills to people who might have hired her.

What it looks like when you share your knowledge

One of the best examples of someone who shares freely without looking over her shoulder is Stephanie Chandler, founder of the Nonfiction Authors Association.

On the association’s “free reports for authors” page, Stephanie offers anyone – anyone – almost two dozen free content downloads. Each report has substance. Read just one or two of them, and you’ll think, “This information comes from an authoritative source.”

And that’s exactly the point.

You are sampling the association before joining.

It builds trust

Similarly, when you want to learn how to do something related to authorship, you probably Google the topic. Most of the time, you find at least some of what you need to learn – and you do it without spending a cent.

If you’re like most, you’re grateful to the person who taught you what you wanted to learn at no charge. You appreciate that person or company’s generosity.

That builds trust, and trust is valuable.

Authors being generous

Authors have a number of opportunities to be generous with what they know. They include:

• Doing podcast interviews
• Blogging on their websites
• Sharing tips on social media
• Offering sample chapters from their books
• Speaking at conferences
• Mentoring others
• Contributing in online groups
• Guest blogging

You might know that I recommend guest blogging as a way of connecting with your ideal readers. (Be sure to download my free “Guest Blogging Cheat Sheet.”)

When you write a guest post for someone else’s site, you’re introducing their audience to your knowledge and writing skill. That’s a win-win.

Still, an author-to-be in an online group argued against guest blogging as a form of book promotion, saying she’d never write anything “for free.”

From my perspective, you aren’t writing for free. It’s true that you aren’t paid in cash, but you’re rewarded with exposure to readers who might buy your book.

It’s an attitude

Mr. Rogers once famously said, “When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.’ ”

People who read what you write are always looking for helpers. You can be a helper – or not. You’ll do fine either way. You have to be true to yourself.

If you’ve never thought about how you might share some of your knowledge, I hope you’ll considerate it now.

You might find that such generosity brings rewards you wouldn’t have imagined or anticipated.

What’s one thing you can do this week to share what you know with someone else? Please tell us in a comment.

A fabulous guest post by Mitt Ray of  Social Marketing Writing on JeffBullas.com has the answers my friend needs — and they’re answers you and I need, too.

“How to build a credible blog that people trust” is based on responses to Ray’s seven-question survey of business owners, marketers, and bloggers:

1. What factors add credibility to a blog?
2. How do you measure social presence or influence of a blog?
3. Which social networks add most credibility to a blog?
4. Do multiple or single authors add more credibility?
5. What types of blog content add most credibility?
6. What category of blog content is most credible?
7. What factors destroy blog credibility?

What authors can learn from this

The survey results are fascinating. I encourage you to read the post so you get all of the helpful details, but I’ll summarize my take-aways for authors here.

You need a blog on your website. More than two-thirds of the respondents said blogs help build credibility. While the resulting authority is more important for nonfiction authors, it’s important for novelists, too, especially for brand building.

Your blog posts must be interesting and well-written. “Quality” ranked twice as important as the next factor, “good design,” in the survey results. This is even more important if you’re a writer. Each blog post is a preview of your book, even if it’s on an unrelated topic. Collectively, your posts tell potential book buyers whether or not you’re a good writer. Nobody wants to read a book that’s loaded with errors.

Social shares give your posts credibility, which, in turn, enhance your credibility. You must have a social sharing toolbar so that people can share links to your individual posts with others. And, according to survey results, the toolbar you use must show the number of shares. (Discover two good options in “3 tips for better author blogs.”)

Links to your content from Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter, in that order, give your site more credibility than links from other sites. The logical conclusion, then, is that you want to build your social media presence with those three networks. I feel compelled to point out, though, that where you should put your effort depends on your target audience. If you write business books, you’ll do best with LinkedIn. If you write YA novels, you’ll want a strong presence on sites like Tumblr and Wattpad.

Articles are the most credible form of blog content. That’s easy enough for authors. You’re writers, after all. So keep on writing. If you want to add something to the mix, add e-books, white papers, guides, and reports. There’s obviously no reason for an author to not have a credible site considering how much people value written content.

Case studies are the most credible, followed by how-to articles. This is particularly helpful information for me because I tend to focus on how-to articles. My case studies are usually “how I did it” guest posts, but this research tells me that I have to include more of this, whether I write the case studies or they come from guest bloggers.  You’ll want to keep this in mind, too, especially if you write nonfiction.

Bad content and bad design will hurt your credibility. So will “fake social media followers,” but how does anyone know if your followers are fake or real? And who are those fake followers, anyway?

Focus on great content delivered in an attractive, easy-to-navigate design that incorporates a social sharing toolbar and you’ll get plenty of “real” followers. (And be sure to visit Mitt Ray’s site and thank him for sharing!)

What one thing can you change or do differently today to make your website and blog more credible?