JUNE 13, 2023

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Welcome to The Tilt, a twice-weekly newsletter for content entrepreneurs.

Which Imposter Are You?

Self-doubt affects most content creators at some point in their business journey. Is this the type of content I should be creating? Will my audience engage with it? Do I even have an audience? Will I ever be good enough to be a full-time content entrepreneur?

Questioning your thinking can be a good thing – it helps you critically examine what you’re doing and why you’re doing it. But questioning yourself can reach an untenable point that prevents you from growing your content business – or even getting it started.

That’s when you know imposter syndrome has set in.

Through her research and work, Valerie learned imposter syndrome doesn’t always show up in the same way. That led her to identify five types of imposter syndrome:

• Perfectionist: Focuses on “how” something is done – how the work is conducted, how the work turns out. A minor flaw in an outstanding performance prompts imposter-syndrome thinking.
• Expert: Focuses on the “what” and “how much” they know – the knowledge version of the perfectionist. A minor lack of knowledge leads to feelings of failure and shame.
• Soloist: Cares primarily about “who” completes the task. It needs to be them and them alone because needing help is a sign of failure.
• Natural genius: Thinks about “how” and “when” accomplishments happen. Competence is measured in terms of ease and speed. Struggling to master a topic or not achieving success on the first try equals failure.
• Superhuman: Evaluates their competence based on “how many” roles they can excel in. Falling short in any role evokes shame because they think they should be able to handle it all easily.

Want to know which one you are? Take this short quiz from Grammarly – just scroll down to the quiz image.

So how can you overcome imposter syndrome to finish that content project, add a new revenue stream, or just publish your first asset?

At the moment when you feel imposter syndrome rise up, follow the SBNRR technique outlined by Better Up:

• Stop: Allow yourself to stop in your tracks and take a moment to pause.
• Breathe: Give yourself a deep breath and let your thoughts go and not be attached to them.
• Notice: Notice your feelings, your body, your surroundings, your peers, the situation, your reaction, and anything else that you can notice.
• Reassess: Evaluate the situation and why you felt a need to fall into the imposter syndrome.
• Respond: React intentionally. It can be more informed and composed now that you have calmed yourself.

Another tip to minimize imposter syndrome? Stop comparing yourself to other content entrepreneurs.

Author, podcaster, and business coach Chris Ducker tells The Tilt: “I think it’s just very, very wrong for people to paint themselves with similar brushes of individuals that have been in the industry for so long.

“We shouldn’t be looking to compare maybe our seventh or eighth step on our journey with somebody else’s 70th or 80th. They’ve been around a lot longer. They’ve seen a lot more. They’ve learned a lot more lessons, had a whole bunch of wins.”

– Ann Gynn

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Entrepreneur: Adrian Stewart

Biz: Coffeehouse Crimes​

Tilt: Solved and unsolved strange true crime

Scene: YouTube (1.71M), Patreon, Instagram (43.7K), Twitter (6.1K)

Snack Bites:

• Adrian turned a saturated topic – true crime – into a hit through unique production (original footage connected to the crime news) and storytelling.
• Though he is most interested in missing-person cases, his audience isn’t, as he learned through community polls. So he programs the content for them, not him.
• After two years operating the channel, he left his full-time mechanical engineering job.
• Built on a third-party platform(YouTube), Adrian also has a Patreon page to attract paying subscribers with whom he can have direct content.

Why We Stan: Adrian knew he needed a way to stand out if he published content around a ubiquitous topic like true crime, and he did that. He also crafts one of the best business-focused formats for each video page that we’ve seen which also nicely serves viewers.

– Ann Gynn

​Read Adrian’s true-life business story.​

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• Joe breakdowns a newsletter landing page and what you need to have on it to be successful. (Content Inc.)
• Apple launches the Vision Pro. Will there be a long-term market for the product? (This Old Marketing)
• Discover how to build, grow, and monetize any digital content. Subscribe today to Niche Media Publishing and enjoy coverage of everything to do with online media for small independent publishers.*
• ​Resist TikTok for business advice. (Entrepreneur)
• Ready to go? Start with this start-up checklist. (Small Business Trends)​

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