Leadership Challenge #3 - Beating impostor syndrome
Happy Saturday,
Welcome back to my weekly newsletter on the future of leadership.
Every week, we do one challenge to help you develop your leadership skills as a remote leader. The ultimate goal for all the challenges is to enhance your leadership presence online.
The latest challenges so far:
This week, we are beating impostor syndrome together by taking the first step in creating content online.
As always, you will get the context (why) and 5 actionable steps (how) to complete the challenge at your own pace, DIY. The total time investment is around 3-4 hours. Let’s go.
Why do you need to start now?
If you are following either these challenges or anyone who creates professional content on social media, you would know these facts:
On almost all social platforms, only a handful of 2-5% of the people create content, and the rest are passively consuming it.
The quality of content has almost zero correlation to the increase in key figures for these creators in revenue, hiring, new opportunities, networking boost, etc.
Sure, it's hard to keep up with content production, refine your content for your audience, and stay focused. But starting to do it is harder.
We all fear judgment. Everyone has the same thoughts:
I’m not interesting/unique enough to publish my thoughts publicly.
If I publish something, it might backslash my business.
I am overwhelmed by advice and strategies.
I know, I’ve been there.
I’ve been publishing daily content on LinkedIn for the last 2 years.
It was the best thing that I could have done for my business.
But I had these same thoughts as you might have now.
Today, you will get five actionable steps to beat these and start publishing online.
But first, let’s address these 3 thoughts separately.
I’m not interesting/unique enough to publish my thoughts publicly.
That is not true. If you are leading an online team, all your learnings (good or bad) are super useful for the community.
If they are similar to others’ learnings, that's good! You will get to know like-minded leaders. It's an amazing option for networking.
If they are different from others’ learnings, that’s also good! You will have the chance to teach others some important lessons.
If they are controversial to the status quo, that’s even better! You will build up a loyal follower base fast.
If I publish something, it might backslash my business.
Content creation is inherently different if you are a freelancer/solopreneur, founder/entrepreneur, or team leader. The goals are different, so your angles on content should be different.
I have one simple trick to address this.
If you are responsible only for yourself (freelancer/solopreneur), you don’t need to care about this. Take the risks. You can change your content angles anytime. Just go ahead and do it.
If you are responsible for others (you have a company or work for a company), do the necessary research before jumping into the jungle. In the previous challenges, we addressed finding your voice and showing empathy - those are good enough to get you started.
Lastly, ask yourself: what if I NOT publish something? What opportunities will I miss for my business? The need to do this should be stronger than your fear.
I am overwhelmed by advice and strategies.
Yep, that’s a reasonable fear, as there is a lot of noise about how to create content online.
I will give you 5 steps to help you focus and start. But before that, let’s set the foundation for focus. Do these steps first:
Ignore all the social media platforms for now. Focus only on LinkedIn. That is a professional network, B2B, that is best for businesses talking to businesses. You can use any other platform once you are comfortable on LinkedIn.
Ignore all the tools. Don’t sign up for social media management, analytics, or content creation software. You can’t wing this with resources. You only need a document, time, and your brain to write. Maybe put some music in the background.
Ignore all the advice and planning. When should I post? What is the best copywriting technique? Do I need to use pictures or video? Should I sign up for this course to learn how to create content? All these will keep you from the most important goal: start.
Now, let’s see the 5 steps that can help you to get started.
The steps are not interchangeable this time. Do them one after the other.
Day 1 - Check your values
On our first challenge, finding your voice, you have created a document highlighting your values, beliefs, most important identity traits, and aspirations.
Get that document in front of you again. Pick 5 topics that you are most excited about.
Create a sheet.
Column 1: your 5 topics.
Column 2: the copy that you will write about them.
Take the day to write the copy in your head. Let it sink, evolve, nurture.
Day 2 - Create a basic content strategy
The difference between a plan/tactics and strategy is that strategy is all about goal setting, while the plan is the tactical implementation of hitting those goals.
You don’t need a plan for now. As said above, it just distracts you from the most important goal: starting.
But you do need a strategy.
Have your sheet from day 1. Somewhere above the columns, put three sentences:
What is my most important goal for creating content? Have one goal only. Write it down. E.g., “I want to find investors for my business,” “I want to hire better people for my company,” or “I want to get more clients.”
What is the tone of voice of my content? Be honest with your aspirations. E.g., “Controversial but funny,” or “Dry, professional, but insightful,” or “Inspirational, motivational, and thoughtful.”
Where do I want to drive my audience from LinkedIn? You shouldn’t create content without driving people to take action. The best action is to drive them somewhere. It can be three things only:
To my DMs (either LinkedIn DMs or email).
To my website (either a page or a blog/content).
To my content platform (newsletter, podcast, etc.)
Put these three sentences on top of your content sheet. It serves as a reminder for you: this is your strategy.
Day 3 - Write 5 content pieces
Don’t overcomplicate it. Text always works. If you want to use a picture, use a simple selfie. But focus on the text.
Have your content sheet with your 5 topics. Write a content piece for each topic.
Follow some basic copywriting rules when writing. Here are the 5 most important ones:
Plain English > Complex English. Write how you would explain it to your partner or non-industry friend. Simplicity over complexity.
Short > Long. Use one comma per sentence. Use a maximum of 7-10 words per sentence. Use short, simple words.
Make it easy to read. Use line breaks. Use bullet points. Readers skim through content; your LinkedIn update takes 3-5 seconds.
Structure your content into 3 sections:
Attention: a short sentence that grabs the attention. Questions, numbers, or bold statements always work.
Takeaway: the actual content piece that you wanted to write anyway. Longer, informative, whatever you prefer.
Action: a short sentence that drives action. Remember your strategy: drive people to your desired exit point.
Don’t overcomplicate. Use a max of 1-3 emojis or hashtags (if any), and tag only those who will respond.
Day 4 - Clear up your LinkedIn profile
Before publishing, let’s clean up your LinkedIn profile. When people read your content, the first thing they do is check your profile. You don’t need to do much, just the basics. You can change it along the way.
Have a sharp profile image. Professional, with a visible face. It helps if you smile. Selfies and pictures from vacations won’t cut it.
Create a LinkedIn banner. There is unused and free ad space above your profile pic. The basic approach is to explain what you do and where you drive people to. Do it in Canva; it takes 5 minutes. City skylines won’t cut it.
Write a tagline. Follow the basic approach: I do THIS to help THEM with THAT. Your title alone won’t cut it.
Unlock your Creators Account so people can follow you, and you can get more options from LinkedIn. Sign up for the Premium. Fill out the profile according to their instructions.
Tidy up your CV section. It is often ignored, but people do check it. Less is more, especially if you are an experienced leader with a long track record. Add an About section where you describe your tagline in more detail.
Your LinkedIn profile is your landing page. Treat it as one. You can enhance your profile with even more stuff, but completing these basic steps is good for now.
Day 5 - Hit publish
It is time to publish your content.
When, you may ask? Depending on our target audience and their geographical location, we should aim for their mornings or their lunchtime. 1:00-2:00 pm GMT is a good approach as it covers a lot.
You can publish manually or schedule it for later publication on LinkedIn. It doesn’t matter. Respect your schedule.
The first week is the hardest. It is the first step.
If you’ve done all the steps, you have a content plan to replicate for the next weeks.
Feel free to tag me if you followed this challenge so I can see if you did these steps. I’ll respond and serve you some initial engagement with your content - it helps with the algorithm.
If you have any questions, do let me know. I’m happy to support you.
Next week, we will tackle a more internal challenge: building authentic online connections with your team. See you there.
Until next week,
Peter
