When it comes to writing, “fake till you make it” is just bad advice.

If you pretend to be an expert, your writing becomes overly complex and robotic. There are some subtle hints in your writing that will make you sound fake. For example, people will notice when you force jargon after jargon into your writing.

Forcing credibility destroys whatever little of it that you have.

This mistake leads to other negative outcomes (which is why you should avoid it):

1. Bland and uninspiring content (just like ChatGPT)

When you try to imitate other experts, your writing can come out as soulless.

So not only will people think you’re a fake, but you’re also a boring fake 🥱.

And boring content is easily forgettable.

2. Slower audience growth

Nobody wants to read content written by a fake.

Nobody wants to engage with a fake.

Nobody wants to follow a fake.

3. Missed opportunities to explore your own genius

Spending too much time pretending to be someone you’re not = less time to tap into your own authentic self.

You’ll struggle to find your own voice and your writing skills will become stagnant.

The Reason This Happens

People mistakenly think that being an expert is the ONLY way to create content.

You think you need to have exhaustive knowledge before you can produce good writing. That’s how you accidentally set a ridiculously high standard for yourself. Then you start to overly rely on ChatGPT to save you.

And that’s how you start sounding just like everybody else who pretends to be an expert.

But there are other reasons that lead to this mistake:

1. Comparing yourself to actual experts (who have bigger accounts)

You’ve definitely seen bigger creators everywhere in your feed, sharing expert advice via:

• Posts
• Videos
• Threads
• Podcasts
• Carousels

That led you to believe that if you sound like them, you’ll have a big audience too.

But here’s the caveat: THEY’VE GENUINELY EARNED THEIR EXPERTISE!

If you’re not an expert (yet), you’ll need to change your approach in the way you write (more on this later).

2. Underestimating your own knowledge

You may not realize it, but you have valuable insights to share even if you’re not an expert (you just need to do it in an authentic way).

3. Fear of criticism

I used to be terrified about receiving negative feedback or criticism (OK I lied, I still do).

But you know what’s scarier than getting criticism from readers?

…Getting them from other experts! *gasp! *

I bet you’re no different. I bet you’re afraid too.

How to Fix It

“But Adam! Isn’t this a chicken-and-egg situation?”.

”How can I start writing if I’m not an expert?”.

Well, it’s a lot simpler than you think. It’s so simple, that I wish I had figured this out earlier.

The secret to writing about a topic without being an expert is…

…honesty.

”Well duh, Sherlock!”.

Hang on, let me explain!

You need to reframe your approach from being an expert → a curious learner.

Let’s go deeper:

Borrow credibility from others

Sure, you haven’t reached the destination, but there’s nothing wrong with taking people along your learning journey (just don’t declare yourself as an expert!).

By being a curious learner, you’re sharing what you’re learning from OTHER EXPERTS and the content they’ve produced.

Here’s how:

1. Search
2. Consume
3. Take notes
4. Summarize
5. Share with your audience

Doing this unlocks a few benefits:

• To the reader: “Wow you’ve saved me time and effort!”.
• To yourself: “Wow I’m learning so much, I’m posting consistently and I can retain information better!”.

Speak to the person behind you

There are two enemies you need to defeat to make this reframe work:

• The Curse of Knowledge (not remembering what it’s like to know nothing)
• The fear of not being knowledgeable enough

And the secret weapon that will defeat them both: sharing what you know with the people who are a few steps behind you.

Doing this unlocks a few benefits:

• To beginners: “Wow thanks I didn’t know that!”.
• To experts: “Oh yes this is basic advice, but it’s correct”.

You have more knowledge than a beginner, but not enough (yet) to be an expert. So share ONLY what you know and be honest about what you don’t know (told you honesty was the secret 😉).

Write to beginners, not to experts!

Share your point of view

In the beginning, you’re mostly just summarizing what you’ve learned (and that’s OK!).

But after you start applying what you’ve learned, you will naturally form your own opinions and insights on the topic. You’ll also start comparing different perspectives from different experts.

When you combine these with the other methods, it will make your content unique. This is something that other people (even ChatGPT) can’t replicate or steal.

This is your unfair advantage!
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What's next?

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See ya😁

Adam