I remember on more than one occasion staring at an almost-finished draft in Google Docs. I’d spent hours (maybe even days) poring over the details and making sure it was… well, really good. But I still didn’t publish it. 

Before I could share it with the world, a little voice kicked in and told me that someone smarter had already said it. That I would just be parroting someone better, more established, more of an expert. 

So I closed the tab and never looked at it again. For a while, my G-Drive was a graveyard of these drafts that probably won’t ever see the light of day (even now). 

I think a lot of creators get stuck here for the same reason I did. You’re learning in public and the internet has a funny way of making it feel like everyone else has more credentials and more chutzpah. 

But there will always be someone with more years under their belt and more proof. And, if you continue to wait until you’re no longer a “beginner”, you’ll just get even more left behind. 

Easier said than done though, right? With the creator economy set to double over the next couple of years, there’s a lot of competition. 

So, how do you stand out when you don’t feel like you have skin in the game just yet? 

“Expertise” isn’t the real barrier 

Most creators aren’t struggling because they don’t know enough. That’s rarely the case. It’s the mindset that they only feel “qualified” to publish at the end of the journey that holds them back. 

I relate so hard to this. For a longer time than I’d like to admit, I thought I could only show up when I had fully formed ideas with airtight opinions. Buuuut that’s not how creators grow. How are we supposed to know what works and build that expertise if we’re not actually out there doing it?! 

After years watching and moving in creator circles, I’ve noticed three key phases every creator goes through: 

1. First, you’re a learner. This is when you consume content and experiment. 
2. Then you become a translator. You share what you notice, explain things from your own perspective, and connect the dots. 
3. Eventually, you step into authority. This is when people actively seek out your viewpoint. 

The mistake is thinking you’re only allowed to publish in that last phase. 

One of the clearest examples of this is MrBeast (yes, the YouTube phenomenon). He very much did not “pop off” overnight. From 11 years old, MrBeast (a.k.a. Jimmy Donaldson) was openly figuring things out. He obsessively studied YouTube, tested formats, and talked about what he was learning as he went. 

“A lot of my earlier videos, they sucked,” he says. “Because I just wasn’t entertaining back then, I was stupid. Every night before bed. I’d just be like, it sucks. It’s a lot of work. And I feel like I’m not getting anywhere, but if I just do it long enough, eventually it will click, eventually I’ll figure it out.”

The most notable thing is that he didn’t wait until he’d “made it” before sharing content. Instead, he built credibility by showing the work. And that’s the part most people skip. 

Claim your position and get off the pedestal 

It’s easy to think that to stand out you need to be “above” everyone else. You know, be more confident, more certain, more finished. That usually leads to one of two things: sounding generic or staying silent. 

A better move is to claim a credible position instead of trying to build a pedestal from thin air. In laymen terms, this means being clear about what you’re doing, thinking, or testing with the humbleness that comes with knowing you still have a long way to go. 

Early on, there are a few positions you can safely and confidently own: 

All three positions work because they’re not relying on you being an authority.

Have a “spiky point of view” 

Another quick and easy way to stand out when you don’t have decades of experience is to stop being neutral.

Wes Kao calls this having a “spiky point of view”. As she puts it, a spiky POV is a clear, opinionated stance that not everyone will agree with – and that’s the point. 

She writes that strong points of view “create contrast” and make it obvious who something is for and who it’s not for. This matters even more if you’re not an “expert” yet. Most new creators default to safe content which is usually driven by fear (the fear of being wrong, fear of pushback, etc.). 

But expertise blossoms when you make your own judgments and refine them over time. 

You can form a “spiky point of view” by paying attention to friction:

• What advice in your space feels incomplete?
• What “best practice” hasn’t worked for you? 
• What do people repeat without questioning that you’ve learned to push back on? 

You don’t need to present your findings or opinion as a universal truth. You can anchor it in context, including what you’ve seen or noticed, what you’ve tested, and what you’ve learned so far. 

Wes talks about how strong creators aren’t afraid to say what they believe right now, knowing it’ll probably evolve and warp over time. But it’s the willingness to take a stand (and update it as you go) that builds credibility in the long run. 

Why showing your process builds more trust than polished expertise 

Founder of Creator Science, Jay Clouse, explicitly reframes “not being an expert” as a reason to publish, not an excuse to stay quiet. 

He challenges creators to interrogate the belief that they must be experts before they help anyone, and points out that people don’t actually need an authority figure, they need someone who can help them move from where they are to the next step. 

If you don’t feel like an expert yet, your biggest asset is the work you’re already doing – and we’re not talking about the outcome here, we’re talking about the process behind it.

Most of the time, finished work is the least interesting part. The useful (and interesting) part is everything that happened before that point.  

Here are some processes you can share: 

• Decision making as it happens. Share what you chose, what you ruled out, and why. This could be how you structured a project, picked a tool, priced something, or said no to an opportunity. 
• Experiments you’re running. Share what you’re testing this month, what you expected to happen, and what actually happened. These experiments can be anything from trying new workflows or adjusting how often you post. 
• Things that didn’t work. Share what you tried, where it fell apart, and what you’d change next time. I noticed a lot of content only shows the wins, so this type of content can be really helpful. 
• Evolving thinking. Share what you used to believe, what challenged that belief, and what you think now (even if that thought isn’t fully-formed yet). This could be about a strategy, habits, tools, or advice you no longer agree with. 
• How you’re learning. Share books you’re working through, ideas you’re exploring, and things you’re applying to real life.
• Processes behind your outcomes. Instead of sharing the end result, walk people through the steps that led there. 

In the below example, I shared my own personal experience of staying fully booked as a freelancer. No one else has had the same experience as me doing that, so in that respect I am kind of an expert. 

Experience beats expertise (and it always has) 

Look, you don’t need to be the most advanced or qualified person in your niche to be useful. You really just need to be one or two steps ahead of the people you’re talking to. 

If you’re in an industry where knowledge and skin in the game equals more power and status, remember that most learning doesn’t happen from people who are miles ahead. Instead, it’s far more relatable to be someone who was just there. 

What sets you apart from other creators is your own unique experiences, thoughts, and opinions. Lean into those and you’ll find that trust and credibility will follow soon after.