Finding your voice on the internet takes at least 1 year.
I am still looking for my voice, but I have curiosity about many things. This is more like the game of delayed gratification.
But there is some good news!
You need to have only 1,000 true fans to make a good living. The Internet has more than 2 Billion (With a B) users, is it that difficult to find like-minded people?
It’s simple but not easy because you need to master your consistency game.
So here is how it works:
Be Your Leader
I’ve met many people, friends, and relatives constantly in their comfort zone.
They are not even trying to grow, learn, and use their mind effectively. Most of their time is spent on social media, relaxing, worrying about the past, or dreaming about the future.
People become leaders when they first try to master something for themselves. Then after they’ve discovered a path for themselves, they share their knowledge with others.
It starts with your personal growth but then transitions to contribution.
Your knowledge + Your story/ideas = Unique teaching
You can gain knowledge by consuming books, YouTube videos, life lessons, listening to podcasts, etc.
Whether you like it or not, the patch to success starts with your personal growth.
All type of businesses works because somebody made it work.
If you have started a business and that didn’t work for you is because you are not the person to make it work. Nothing wrong with the business.
You need to become that person or vehicle to reach your goals.
Position Yourself as an Expert
But I’m not certified to teach anything or be an expert?
Your results are your certification.
When I was in high school, there was a guy who used to teach other students on the same level and make pocket money out of them. He organized classes after hours as a way to help slow learners.
All he had to do was read one chapter ahead of the students.
You don’t have to be the most knowledgeable person in the world on your topic, you just have to be one chapter ahead of the people you’re helping.
There will always be people in the world who are more advanced than you.
That’s fine.
You can learn from them, but don’t let it stop you from helping the ones who are a chapter or two behind you.
All you have to do is lead people to walk on the path that you have walked already. They are close behind you, and they can relate to you, because they know with little effort they can be same place as you are now.
Build Authority
When I was starting, I didn’t know anyone successful around me. I didn’t even know someone who knew someone successful.
I had no friends, and no connections to help me out or build authority.
You need some level of authority or credibility in this vast ocean of the internet for your voice, and message to be heard.
Fortunately, there are ways around it.
Nicolas Coles in his book: The Art and Business of Online Writing mentioned them.
There are 3 types of credibility:
- Implied
- Perceived
- Earned
Implied credibility is when you have high-quality content and value to deliver, without many followers. People follow you because of the quality of your content.
Perceived credibility is when you get mentioned by big media or publications. Like CNN, Forbes magazine, etc.
But the one that is the most powerful and useful of all and is achievable via the internet is “Earned” credibility.
This is when, you consistently keep on posting, improving, and building your followers. People respect you for your effort and for showing up daily.
They know you are around for a long time, keep delivering values and you are trustworthy. Plus you are a human not a corporate and others can connect with you.
Stay consistent and build your tribe.
Find Your Hill
There are many hills on the internet that others took dumps there. It’s dirty and saturated and competition is high.
You need to find your clean, unsaturated hill and start building there.
There are many markets, submarkets, and niche markets. For example, let’s talk about one person’s business or solopreneur.
Market: Wealth
Sub-Market: One-person business
Niche:?
Many people on the X Platform or here on Medium are talking bout how to build your one-person business, few people got into niche markets like audience building, email marketing, copywriting, etc.
Your niche or message should complement the other players in your market, not compete with them.
If you do this correctly, all your big “competitors” will almost instantly become your best partners.
Look for the areas that can be improved, books you wish to read in a submarket, and products or messages you wish to buy in your submarket.
Solve a problem and deliver values.
Build Your House
Once you find your hill, you need to start building your house.
There are many platforms on the internet: X, Facebook, YouTube, Medium, and Spotify.
Some of you are good at writing, blogging, and writing is the vehicle to deliver your message. Others are better when they talk or record videos and will likely use platforms like YouTube or Spotify.
The platform is less important than the consistency of your sharing.
It’s important to understand that when you first start, you are not posting these for your audience you’re posting them for yourself to find your voice, to learn more, and to practice delivering messages.
Eventually, people who resonate with you will follow you and start connecting.
Publishing daily is important because you will quickly see what topics and ideas people respond to and what they don’t. You need to gather as much data as possible and as soon as possible.
Analyze your data, see which messages stick more with your followers, and double down there. That’s your unique voice.
The game of the internet is all about speed, not perfectionism.
Gather Your Tools
To build a house you need tools, to build a business online you need skills.
Along the way there are bumps, maybe you don’t know how to write an email copy, or how to engage on a platform, edit videos, be consistent, etc.
Learn and overcome all those bumps.
All of these are skills that you need to learn, it’s a never-ending learning path.
The good news is, that skills are learnable and you get better as you practice them.
No one is smarter than you, no one is more talented than you.
They just learned skills, practiced enough, and stayed consistent.
Action: Start building on the internet, be a citizen of the internet, not a traveler, you got million dollar message and idea in your head, start sharing it.
