{"id":5095,"date":"2026-01-13T20:26:15","date_gmt":"2026-01-13T20:26:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stan.store\/blog\/?p=5095"},"modified":"2026-04-17T14:29:11","modified_gmt":"2026-04-17T14:29:11","slug":"learn-in-public","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stan.store\/blog\/learn-in-public\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Stand Out as a Creator When You Don\u2019t Feel Like an Expert Yet"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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TL;DR<\/h2>\n

You don’t need to be an expert to stand out as a Creator\u2014you need a clear, specific point of view and the courage to share your process. This guide shows how to build credibility early by learning in public: sharing your process, claiming a narrow position, and developing a POV that’s distinct enough to attract the right audience. The Creators who build authority fastest aren’t the most experienced\u2014they’re the most willing to show their thinking.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

I remember on more than one occasion staring at an almost-finished draft in Google Docs. I\u2019d spent hours (maybe even days) poring over the details and making sure it was\u2026 well, really good. But I still didn\u2019t publish it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u2019t ever see the light of day (even now). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I think a lot of creators get stuck here for the same reason I did. You\u2019re learning in public and the internet has a funny way of making it feel like everyone else has more credentials and more chutzpah. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But there will always <\/em>be someone with more years under their belt and more proof. And, if you continue to wait until you\u2019re no longer a \u201cbeginner\u201d, you\u2019ll just get even more left behind. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Easier said than done though, right? With the creator economy set to double over the next couple of years<\/a>, there\u2019s a lot <\/em>of competition. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, how do <\/em>you stand out when you don\u2019t feel like you have skin in the game just yet? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cExpertise\u201d isn\u2019t<\/em> the real barrier <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Most creators aren\u2019t struggling because they don\u2019t know enough. That\u2019s rarely the case. It\u2019s the mindset that they only feel \u201cqualified\u201d to publish at the end <\/em>of the journey that holds them back. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I relate so hard to this. For a longer time than I\u2019d like to admit, I thought I could only show up when I had fully formed ideas with airtight opinions. Buuuut that\u2019s not how creators grow. How are we supposed to know what works and build <\/em>that expertise if we\u2019re not actually out there doing it?! <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

After years watching and moving in creator circles, I\u2019ve noticed three key phases every creator goes through: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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  1. First, you\u2019re a learner. <\/strong>This is when you consume content and experiment. <\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Then you become a translator.<\/strong> You share what you notice, explain things from your own perspective, and connect the dots. <\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. Eventually, you step into authority.<\/strong> This is when people actively seek out your viewpoint. <\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    The mistake is thinking you\u2019re only allowed to publish in that last phase. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    One of the clearest examples of this is MrBeast (yes, the YouTube phenomenon). He very much did not <\/em>\u201cpop off\u201d 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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    “A lot of my earlier videos, they sucked,\u201d he says<\/a>. \u201cBecause 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.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The most notable thing is that he didn\u2019t wait until he\u2019d \u201cmade it\u201d before sharing content. Instead, he built credibility by showing the work. And that\u2019s <\/em>the part most people skip. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Claim your position and get off the pedestal <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    It\u2019s easy to think that to stand out you need to be \u201cabove\u201d everyone else. You know, be more confident, more certain, more finished. That usually leads to one of two things: sounding generic or staying silent. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    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\u2019re doing, thinking, or testing with the humbleness that comes with knowing you still have a long way to go. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Early on, there are a few positions you can safely and confidently own: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The Practitioner<\/strong><\/th>The Curator\u00a0<\/strong><\/th>The Translator<\/strong><\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
    You\u2019re in the work. You share what you\u2019re doing in real time, what\u2019s working, what\u2019s not, and what you\u2019re going to do differently. You build trust because your stories are rooted in lived experience.<\/td>You pay attention across your niche and connect ideas that others consume in isolation. You highlight patterns, contradictions, or emerging trends.<\/td>You take something complex, vague, or overly technical and break it down in a way that\u2019s usable. You explain things from the perspective of someone who has recently been confused themselves.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    All three positions work because they\u2019re not relying on you being an authority.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Have a \u201cspiky point of view\u201d <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    Another quick and easy way to stand out when you don\u2019t have decades of experience is to stop being neutral.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Wes Kao calls this having a \u201cspiky point of view\u201d<\/a>. As she puts it, a spiky POV is a clear, opinionated stance that not everyone will agree with \u2013 and that\u2019s the point. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    She writes that strong points of view \u201ccreate contrast\u201d and make it obvious who something is for and who it\u2019s not <\/em>for. This matters even more if you\u2019re not an \u201cexpert\u201d yet. Most new creators default to safe content which is usually driven by fear (the fear of being wrong, fear of pushback, etc.). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    But expertise blossoms when you make your own judgments and refine them over time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    You can form a \u201cspiky point of view\u201d by paying attention to friction:<\/p>\n\n\n\n