The reason proof of work is overrated in the online world today is that your online presence — if you’re good enough, is the proof of “work”.

You see, as creators — we build our following online for fun because we genuinely like the process. We sometimes forget how much “work” that process actually is. Only when we get offers to be paid for it do we actually realise how much “work” we’ve put in.

Clients trust you when they see that you’ve already written a whole library of great content for free.

1. Try out different things until you find something you love doing.
2. Once you find what you love doing, prioritize it.
3. Go a few months at the very least without getting any money or attention in return.
4. That’s why you have to really love what you’re doing — in order to keep going without any validation and reward in the beginning.
5. Practice in public and get good at it.
6. Focus on getting better and don’t think too much about the returns.
7. If you’ve stuck to it for long enough and gotten good, opportunities will finally start coming to you without you having to go looking for them.

Pitching, scouring freelance platforms for gigs, and trying hard might work — but they’re extremely boring and demotivating. Rejections hurt.

Building your personal brand online takes boredom and rejections out of the equation.

You won’t get bored because you’ll be doing what you love. You won’t get rejected because they’ll be coming to you.

• Everyone likes talking about themselves, that’s all you really have to do when it comes to building a brand online.
• ‘Building a content brand’ is just a fancy way of saying — speak about yourself in a way that will help your audience.
• If you do this with patience and persistence, you’ll get all the rewards you can possibly imagine.