There are so many men and women in the world who want to have a successful entrepreneurial career, but the only thing stopping them is themselves. It’s not a lack of time or effort holding them back – it’s the self-doubt they’re mired in, making them believe they’re not good enough to compete and lead their audience to great things.
As an online marketer, you can’t just give details and specific lessons and expect people to follow you. You have to project an air of confidence so that others feel comfortable with your expertise and authority.
This does not mean you have to have a PhD or Master’s degree in your chosen niche topic. It just means you’re genuine in your concern for others and have a desire to share what you know to help them find solutions to their problems.
It also doesn’t mean you have to have perfectly succeeded yourself just yet – or done it with a flawless journey. So it’s time to throw out everything you thought a leader had to be and learn exactly what it is your audience really wants from you.
Do You Suffer from Imposter Syndrome
There are some men and women who have been brave enough to get going online, but who have stalled out along the way. They picked a niche, built a domain, and started creating content.
But at some point, they allowed their lack of confidence to seep into every task, and it made them begin doubting if they should even be presenting themselves as a leader at all.
After all, there were people competing with them who had done more, done it better, and faster than they had. This is all well and good, but just because someone else had a different journey, or is at a different place, it doesn’t negate your usefulness to the community who needs you and your insight.
Imposter syndrome is when you suddenly feel like you’re making yourself out to be something you’re not. If you’re actively lying to your audience, then we can all agree that’s not good business sense.
But that’s not what most people get hung up about. They simply start comparing themselves to other marketers in the same niche and begin feeling like they don’t measure up to them.
Think of five people you admire in the same niche. For example, maybe you’ve been inspired on a self-help journey by Tony Robbins, Oprah, Eckhart Tolle, Bob Proctor, and Stephen Covey.
If you were then asked to rank those five people from best to worst, even though all five of them contributed to your self-improvement, would that mean that numbers 2-5 had no value to you?
Of course not. Regardless of what niche you’re in, or where you are in your journey, someone will benefit from what you have to say. Another example is in the weight loss niche.
You might learn a lot from someone who has always maintained a fit physique – someone who is slender and toned and has never suffered from eating disorders. But you also might learn from someone who has “been there, done that,” and maybe they’re still going through it and can share some solutions about setbacks they encounter.
People need a variety of leaders, not just one. So set aside your imposter syndrome. As long as you’re telling the truth, which you should always be doing as an ethical niche leader, you don’t have to worry about how you measure up to someone else.
Another thing you can do to negate imposter syndrome is to embrace continual education. Always be learning more so that you can better serve your audience. You can read books, take courses, test and track things – all tasks that elevate your knowledge.