A friend of mine is applying for jobs on Upwork, and her proposals have been met with no response.
“I’ve half a mind to plug my words into an AI and let it turn them into internet-marketing speak crapola! It’s all anyone seems to want these days.”
In the sea of social media sludge, what stands out? And more importantly, how do you?
Let’s say you’re Insta-scrolling and come upon a post about a topic you help people with and the information shared is absolutely 💩. Yet they have 17,342 likes.
You have something valuable to share – you’re dying to respond to the 💩 content with a rant of your own – but what’s the point if no one notices?
So you stew in the juices of comparison-itis and say nothing.
I’m not going to bat my sugar–coated, pink eyelashes and sweetly whisper about how you have no competition because you’re a unique snowflake.
While it’s true that there is only one you, and that no one can compete with that, in the battle for the social media-verse, everything is competing for your audience’s attention.
Other creators compete for views and clicks. The platforms themselves compete for user attention and engagement with dopamine-inducing dings and badges to keep them online as long as possible.
What’s the way out?
This is how it looks to me:
Forget about trying to stand out. Care deeply about what you do, while recognizing that it doesn’t matter.
Thinking about the number of likes or followers can’t matter when it comes to putting your message into the world. It means nothing about you or the value of what you have to share, and if you buy into the competitive landscape, you’ll burn out or give up before you even start.
What other people do doesn’t matter.
What they think about what you do doesn’t matter.
What you think about it doesn’t matter, either.
All that matters is that you share the message in your heart.
When you do this, you will learn. Your message will get clearer. You’ll notice what works and what doesn’t.
Over time, your voice will mature and connect with those you’re here to serve. But you need to stay in the game long enough for the beautiful learning curve to take you to competence.
Thoughts about the competition aren’t a reason to stop sharing.
Yours in love and play,
Steph
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