Sometimes imposter syndrome can just hit you. The more you know, the more you do, the more you can really doubt yourself and your skills.

But, my friends, now is not the time to doubt your skills, talents, and contributions to this world. We need you!

I’m telling you this today, but let me tell you — it’s unnatural for me to sell myself. In fact, it’s one of the biggest ooops moments in my career and I still cringe thinking about this moment.

A few years ago, me, my CEO and our senior team met up with a new VIP partner, and of course, we did the rounds of introductions.

When they got to me, I completely downplayed my entire resume and track record. I think I said something about freelancing, then joining this company, yada, yada — yep, I skipped over all of my accomplishments, projects, work, and achievements from the past few years.

Now, I am super proud of what we’ve accomplished, but I was playing nice.

When my CEO jumped in and said, “Amy! You’ve done a lot more than that.” I woke up. I have never forgotten that moment of clarity. I told myself that from that moment on, I was not going to have to rely on someone else to run down my accomplishments.

Okay. Yeah, I’m super lucky to have a CEO that cares and didn’t make me feel like a total noob in that meeting, but this small moment taught me a lot.

And, I think about this when I’m reviewing applications for new hires because my friends, we’re really, really bad at selling ourselves.

I like to think I’m someone who hires unconventional choices. More than most, I spend time digging into a candidate if they show some care and passion in their application. And, most of the time, when I really start looking, the candidate has undersold their accomplishments — not oversold them.

And, there are a ton of reasons for that.

In today’s digital world, there seem to be a lot of bro marketers who make big promises, and brag about all of their accomplishments (or exaggerate them); for me, that’s a turnoff.

I have been burned by some big internet promises and spent thousands of dollars working with those so-called ‘experts’ who promise you the world, some new strategy and I swore if I ever had a platform, I wouldn’t do that.

We’ve been told “underpromise and overdeliver” a million times, right?

While that might work if you are working with clients, there comes a time in our lives when we just need to brag about our accomplishments.

Whether you want to land that next job, get a new client, or build your own digital authority online — if you want to stand out, you are going to have to start bragging.

The good news is that this can still be genuine, authentic, and truthful.

If you want to stand out — start keeping track. Don’t rely on someone else to brag about you. Keep your own score and remove that inner critic that tells you it doesn’t matter because it does.

Keep a running tab of your accomplishments (small and large) and do it daily. I take screenshots of all the times my team has a win or shares a breakthrough. (This is also a very motivational list to review on those rough days).

Today, we get to build our own digital authority, and it’s important! So, get out there and sell yourself!

Some Quick Tips for Building Your Digital Authority

Remember, it’s not about faking anything!

If you are going to establish yourself as a known expert, you don’t have to fake it. The best experts are clear and straightforward, telling their followers what they do know and what they don’t know! It’s okay to not have an answer to every problem. And, if you are one step in your career, you’ve already accomplished something to share. Remember that.

You shouldn’t have to pretend to be passionate. That should come from a natural place.

Real experts don’t hold back and love to nerd out. If you can’t find the passion in your area of expertise, you might be in the wrong niche. Find something to love and dig in there. The love and nerdiness will flow from that. That passion is what is going to drive you as you get out in the world as a known expert as well. Believe me; we can tell when someone is faking passion.

Find ways to show off your expertise and experience.

Share your tips on social media, write a guest post for a blog you love, and answer some Reddit threads. Get growing your digital footprint, and don’t hold back. There are a lot of ways to share your unique knowledge and experience as well; here’s a great LinkedIn post to give you some ideas:

Build relationships in your field and connect with others who will share opportunities.

We often overlook this step in our own digital authority, but making real connections helps so much. I can’t tell you how valuable my Slack groups, colleagues, and friends are for my life and career! I’m the first to hear about new opportunities and have made a ton of warm intros for my friends as well.

Make sure you get attributed!

If you write some content in your niche, ensure you get that author bio. If you write something and it gets published, you’ll want that byline, every time. And, make it easy for editors to add your bio by being proactive and giving them your full bio when you submit your work!

Some Things to Read and Ponder

Here are some dig-in resources that I hope you’ll love!

Some great tips here if you are a freelancer! I love the idea of creating repeatable processes for your business — that’s how you get more done!

Worried about the impact of AI on our industry? Who isn’t? Read this comprehensive resource with real data and decide for yourself.

Have some time to ponder E-E-A-T; you’ll want to grab a drink and spend some time with the GOAT Lily Ray in this talk from the Resignal e-commerce conference.

My Favorite Tweets of the Week

Okay, so my tweets are a bit snarky this week, but they serve a purpose.

Reading these tweets about not finding great talent, quitting content marketing, or the follow-up discussion on Upwork yay or nay tells me that there is still ROOM for us that want to grow in this industry.

Yes, we have to get scrappier and deliver, but there are still a ton of opportunities for us.

I hope this newsletter lights a fire under you to get going. While we would all love to hide away and come back in a few years, a sudden success, that’s just not the reality in our digital age.

We have to get out there, and I’m totally down for that.

Feel free to send me anything you want me to share with my audience as well — let’s be here for each other!

And have a great week.

Cheers! Amy

Some Bonus Newsletters You’ll Love

If you really want to get into the weeds on these topics, here are a couple of newsletters to subscribe to.