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43 Comments

Am I the only one not naturally inclined to posting online?

I'm a software engineer/develop/programmer and it's what I spend most of my days on, and I love doing it. In this indie hacking world, we need to put ourselves out there. But this does not come naturally to me, it feels like a chore that I need to do.

Anyone feel the same way? How do we go around this?

  1. 12

    Same here.

    I try to get used to posting online through:

    1. Commenting on other peoples posts ;) -> less pressure on me to do the first step
    2. Coming up and writing down an actual strategy -> this clears up why I should post online.
    3. Researching and testing if posting online (and what and where) actually helps me with my business. My current assumption is that I should spend way less time on Twitter and more time on writing long form blog posts.
    4. Forcing myself to post daily for a while. -> For me posting daily became easier after 1-2 weeks, which helped me a lot.
    1. 4

      Commenting on other peoples posts ;)

      I think this one is the hardest for me. I'm not from the US, so superficially being nice does not come natural. And to pretend to be interested in something I'm probably not (which applies to 99.5% of projects here) is also disingenuine. But I guess marketing in general never really is genuine and honest, is it?

      1. 3

        I am fully aware of the culture issue (I am German, too), it's something the "less cheerful" and less outgoing cultures all apparently are struggling with.

        The only thing that helped me here is posting more and then reflecting on each post if what I posted was actually authentic me, or just cringe-worthy stuff that my marketing plan demanded that I post as a soulless marketing engine.

        Took less then a few days to realize that my mental health was not worth being inauthentic. If I am not interested, or don't feel like it, I don't post. If the project is not interesting (and lots of projects on IH, sorry guys, are boring to me) I don't care.

        1. 1

          This comment was deleted 5 months ago.

    2. 1

      Nice advice, I have to try #4, maybe i'll get used to it by then.

      For #3, you can hit two birds with one stone - you can summarize your blog posts into twitter threads :)

  2. 7

    I feel the same way from an entirely different direction!

    Since writing content is a large part of my job, writing about side projects, personal growth, or really anything 'non-work' related feels like, well, work 😕

    What have I done about it? First, accepted it and not "beat myself up" cause I didn't tweet enough or whatever.

    Second, really take off the filter for personal posts + engage when I do have the urge to write. If I have some idea and think 'oh, I'll think about this some more and post it later' — there's a 99% chance I'll forget about it and never do it.

    Hope this helps and no, you're not alone!

    1. 1

      Man it's like doing work after work hours huh 😅

      I can relate with the second one too. We overthink about what we put out there too much.

  3. 6

    Oh man, I relate to this so hard.

    My take on this is - if you feel like content creation is a chore, you're going to struggle to make it work for you. There's too much noise on social media these days and being inauthentic is the best way to drown in it.

    To do well on social media, you definitely need at least one of these two factors:

    1. You're really in love with your niche, whatever that is. You're good at it too.
    2. You enjoy sharing your story/writing and connecting with people.

    If you check both the boxes, you're set. If you're checking only one, you can use that as your strength. Use it to build your process, and you will enjoy it over time.

    I'm generally not a social media person. But that's because most of my traditional social media (Instagram, Snapchat) is filled with people whose interests don't align with mine.

    I'm super active on Reddit (and occasionally IH). Because this is where I feel at home, talking to people about things I love. Since my product is a B2B tool for founders/team leads, my audience aligns well with my interests.

    My advice - work on something that aligns with your interests and focus on platforms where you find your tribe. You'll have a lot of fun when you do content this way.

    1. 2

      This is really helpful, thank you. It does feel like a chore when you're not being yourself, maybe I'm also overthinking too much and putting a filter on myself most of the time. It's better to have fun with it 😄

  4. 5

    I feel that way so much, that I focus nowadays on anything BUT programming -
    problem is I actually like it.
    I focus on video production, whether it is humoristic videos for programmers, or serious and informative ones, and I just released my first course on Udemy.

    I also produce much more video content for my existing product since this is the most capturing format (pun intended)

    I got to a conclusion that once you got organic marketing / audience / people / views / subscribers, you can leverage it to your benefit and product, so why not getting an audience first, and then developing a product? (I still don't have the answer)

    1. 1

      That's encouraging, Mike. I've been thinking of video production but I'm a little uncomfortable with appearing on screen. Was it easy for you to show up on video? Not sure how to overcome this introverted feel, I feel like people would judge me and maybe I should just start with publishing written content first.

      1. 2

        You don't necessarily have to be on screen with a camera. It depends on the content.

        If it's more of a vlog style thing you probably would need to, but if it's more educational style content it's not necessary at all.

        What is necessary is getting acquainted with a good video production platform (e.g. Adobe Premiere), learning about editing, and how good video content tends to flow. Good cuts and transitions, a solid script, and most importantly having really good energy.

        The last bit can be a little difficult if you're introverted, totally understandable. But public speaking is a learned skill. Some of the best speakers of all time were introverts!

        I honestly think video is one of the best formats for getting the word out. It's so easy to share a video, they're much more engaging and fun than written word, and honestly for my product at least, video just seems to convert so much more.

        I've made it a mission this year to focus much more on video for my particular product and niche. I've noticed that YT is where some of my best conversions have come from.

      2. 1

        As Weaves mentioned, you don't even have to appear on screen.
        E.g. in all of my course classes I do not appear, my focus is on the script, which has to be interesting enough, and flow in a good pace, and my voice, which involves getting a good mic and simply practicing.
        The visual parts were very simply made with texts and images, changing every a couple of seconds.

        In the opening clip I DO present myself in front of the camera, and that is to gain the trust of the students about who is going to teach them. The advantage is that you can try the same shot for a whole day! Until you get it right.
        Same goes for voice recording - you repeat the same sentences over and over until you get a good result.

        So the most important thing in my opinion is an engaging script. If you can get some humor and punchlines, even better.

        Another note about "appearing on screen" - as technology evolves, you can now download Snap Camera, as appear as a character instead of yourself, it works amazingly well, this is a parody I've made using these filters: https://youtu.be/MVduaVD1YE4

        Good luck!

  5. 5

    It's funny for me to relate to conversations with friends who maintain instagram and facebook accounts. I just didn't see the point of leaving a trail online. For now I've limited to just whatsapp, atleast the status updates are realtime and last only 24 hours

    1. 1

      100%. They make me feel like a weirdo from another planet.

  6. 5

    I feel the same, Gabriel. It's difficult to post sometimes because it feels like "I have to do it". For me, it's important to be authentic in my online presence, so posting out of "I have to" seems kinda annoying to me sometimes.

    To make a "deal" with my mind, I try to post things that I really feel like posting, find interesting, and want to share with the world. Even asking people questions I genuinely have difficulty with, works well. People here on IH and PH are so nice and engage a lot, you may also find people with problems like yours. It's happening here right now with this post.

    Baby steps are okay, even writing a comment or replying to someone on twitter that they did a good job or their post was useful is an action too.

    Don't be too hard on yourself and start with small things.

    1. 2

      This was the warmest advice I read on this post 😌Thank you. Authenticity and just taking it slow, I'll apply these now.

      1. 1

        wishing you the best of luck ⭐️

  7. 5

    Same here, I'm working on it! The easiest for an indie hacker seems to share the different stages of his projects, and connect with people who do the same.

  8. 5

    Totally relatable to this!
    Ik have the same and just started to change this. My idea is to take babysteps, not to start with a thought provoking 12 page essay, but started responding to a few tweets I had an idea about.

    Even responding to you here is a start.

    With those conversations, see what clicks and what gives inspiration to do more of.

    1. 3

      Same here. Decided to stop lurking and start sharing my journey in 2022. And one step at a time is the way to go as I've noticed ambitious goals only overwhelm and intimidate me.

      1. 1

        Congrats on acting on it! This inspires me to go out of my comfort zone as well :)

        1. 1

          Same for me, super inspired!

          1. 1

            Alessandro, you build mobile?

        2. 1

          Thank you, Gabriel, let me know how it goes!

  9. 5

    Don't worry you're not the only one - plenty of people (including myself) are in the exact same place!

    1. 1

      This is really good to know. It sucks that this doesn't come to us naturally, but I hope we eventually find fun in posting/sharing online to make it a habit

  10. 3

    Posting online is like pushing code upstream. It puts it in a place where others can see it and critique it. For most of us, in our effort to stay safe - we stay out of sight and avoid getting feedback. The big question is, how is that serving us in the long term?

    I am so pleased we have these platforms to talk about this and normalise it. You are not alone in this. As you can see in the comments there many others and most of them never responded. :)

    Know that putting yourself out there is a skill that you can get better at it. As you practice it becomes easier and more natural.

    It's worth noting that there are different ways of putting yourself out there. Some like creating videos, podcasts, blogposts.

    If you love what you are doing, it makes the effort feel light. You still have to put effort which means you will value it but it doens't have to feel like a chore.

    1. 1

      Yes seeing it as something I can improve on. It is true, we avoid getting feedback to stay safe. I guess this year I should step out of my comfort zone more :)

      1. 1

        it's worth the "trouble", you get so much more back.

  11. 3

    Yeah I definitely feel this. I feel like a lot of posting online is self promotion which I am very hesitant to do. I am working on getting over that because I see that is important to be successful as an IndieHacker.

    1. 1

      Were you successful at overcoming this? Thanks!

  12. 3

    Same here :)

    I'm a full-time developer and spend the vast majority of my time coding!

    I don't know about you, but English is not my mother language, so I realize online posting is not something very natural to me.

    I'm starting to use my Twitter account this hahaha long way to go

  13. 2

    I despise it, I'm not great at small talk and chatter in general. However there is little one can do without developing bonds. This requires a protracted verbal handshake. The discussion doesn't have to be very profound or unique. Public discussion is strange in that you have 10-1000x more viewers than participants. It is dominated by a minority who probably don't represent the majority.

    Anyway I'm no expert, but here are things I find help for talking in public. Of course I haven't stuck to them.

    1. Avoid deliberate cleverness
    2. Don't make authoratative statements on subjects you don't have years of experience in
    3. ???
    4. Focus your worries on your business/project failing and the real pain that will cause. Not what some perceived experts think of you.
    5. Remember your audience is much larger than participants (including up/down voters) and doesn't share their opinions
    6. Switch between platforms e.g Reddit, Twitter, IH
    7. Cut out certain topics
    8. Remember that participants are the wierd ones. We're unusually motivated.
    9. Avoid feigning interest (a topic in itself I guess)

    I feel fine talking about this because I've made it clear (IMO lol) that I'm not an authority on this. Also I find "imposter syndrome" starts to feel laughable when juxtaposed with a wasted year on a failed project.

    Note that I'm talking here about Twitter and Reddit which are totally public. I think there are different dynamics in more private groups.

  14. 2

    If you don't like it, then don't do it.
    Ever heard of photopea?
    Photopea earns more then 500k ARR and the founder Ivan is like posting 5 times a YEAR on twitter. So whats your reason to put yourself out there if you dont like it.

    Or what about systeme.io, they make like >3M yearly revenue and the founder isnposting 3-4 times a month
    all i want to say is keep cool, nobody cares if you post or not

  15. 2

    I used to have this problem too. Fear of being judged was something that held me back. But I gradually let go of it.

    One way to make our products stand out, would be to sell it ourselves. So I started by interacting with founder's posts and gradually making at-least 1 post a week if I had something valuable to share.

    Build in public helps build a lot of momentum too.

  16. 2

    Hey Andrew,
    I feel the same, man.
    Offline, I am super social and really like humans. But when it comes to Twitter (or any other social medium) I feel I "have to do it". The whole community implicitly tells you" you have to". So what I do instead - I just don't push myself to do it. That way I feel more relaxed. If I am relaxed and calm then I can be more productive. Usually people try to gather Twitter followers cause some part of those people become early customers of their products. Which is awesome. So the flip side of being active online is just to still become a good marketer so your products/services reach your desired target group. That is what I will focus on in 2022. In a way you start to #buildnotinpublic which is fine as long as you still market your shit properly.

    1. 1

      Oh yes, I am still actively engaging with other people's content, it's just that I don't produce my own content so much.

  17. 2

    I tried posting once a day for 100 days when I was building my charity a few years back. It was really gruelling and probably took too much time, but it did give me a reason to make sure I made some progress on my project each day - so maybe that's one reason to do it. That said, it definitely didn't help me get into the habit of posting, I still find it really hard and struggle to find time or focus to write content. I probably will post 5-6 proper posts over a whole year, and instead join the conversation through comments.

    How do you feel about audio or video? I kind of wonder if maybe people would post more if they could just record their thoughts for 5-10 minutes and share it with everyone. I'm a bit self conscious for that, but I see some people find that a viable alternative to the chore of writing :)

  18. 2

    I think it's important to listen to the part of you that doesn't want to post. There's a lot of pressure to put yourself or your project out there, but there really are risks to it. It's not always safe to make yourself authentic and vulnerable on the Internet.

    In my own explorations on this, my feeling about posting online completely changes as I change parameters like: where I post, who I'm posting for, what part of myself makes sense to present publicly, what topics don't need to be shared with the world, etc etc.

    There's a way forward through this for everyone. It just takes some work to think through it.

    You don't have to settle for posting online in a way that feels bad.

  19. 2

    Only about 2 - 3% of users participate in any online communities actively.

    There are many ways to promote your product other than talking about it: Buying ads, hiring content managers, listing in marketplaces, etc. Play to your strengths and let professionals fill in the gaps.

  20. 2

    Read lots of post / responses and at some point you will start to develop a view point. It's like working out, takes a lil while to get into the groove so don't rush or pressure yourself.

    Start out with responding to comments. I wrote all the blogs for https://retroteam.app/blog in the beginning it was tough and took me multiple hours but now it's not as bad and am building up to becoming better at it.

    I bet you have opinions and ideas around the code and technology you work on everyday. Start with that....don't focus on the grammar just write - use online tools to help with grammar

  21. 1

    Yep, I hear you.

    If you're an engineer and you find that coming up with text-based content is difficult, just share images or videos of what you're working on instead. I've found this comes a little easier than crafting opinions or ideas and it's worked well for marketing wrap.so on Twitter.

  22. 1

    yep. I dislike it to the moon n back.

  23. 2

    This comment was deleted 2 years ago.

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