Sponsored by Demandwell 

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Exit Five readers can get a free Keyword Feasibility Assessment from Demandwell - they'll show you the top queries and clusters for you audience, and a tailored SEO workflow for your success.

Schedule your free assessment at demandwell.com/keywords/.

Pushing Through Imposter Syndrome

One thing I love about the Exit Five Community is that people are open, vulnerable and authentic. 

I felt the same way about one of Dave’s recent LinkedIn conversations about imposter syndrome. Even on a public forum, people were engaging with a vulnerable topic that so many of us deal with.

I started wondering…do B2B SaaS marketers struggle with this more than others because we don’t often have a degree that relates to our profession? We’re learning on the job no matter how senior we get, basically. That must have an impact. 

Here's the post from Dave:

It's Just a Fear, Stare It Down

A few people chimed in that imposter syndrome should be repositioned as just another fear. It never goes away, we always have to face it, but it's just fear. 

As kids, we're afraid of the dark. As adults, we're still afraid of the dark, we're just better at being tough about it 😂 ...right? 

I used to have to imagine myself as a boxer in a ring, staring down at whatever was making me feel scared - first board meeting, messed something up and have to tell the CEO, etc etc. That boxer isn't afraid of a board meeting, the board meeting should be afraid of her. She might have a black eye but she's got a lot of power left.

To Dave's point - you build the muscle of facing the fear however you need to, and it becomes more natural to do so.

It Means You're Self Aware That You Have Learning To Do

I love this reframe. What if we made a list of all the things we don't feel qualified to do and turned it into an action plan to acquire the remaining skills? Share it with your manager in career growth conversations, they'll be blown away by the proactivity and maturity. They might even say you're more qualified than you think 😉

It's A Sign That You're on The Right Track 

Every time you feel this, it means you're pushing into a place you haven't been before. Which is the goal, right?

A quote from a cycling great which I love: "it never gets easier, you just go faster." 

When you're striving, it might feel the same level of difficulty as a year ago, but when you look at your GPS watch, you see that you're going faster, putting out more power, and leaving past-you in the dust.

Everyone Has It (Even Albert Einstein, Apparently) and It Doesn't Go Away (Sorry)

There were Ph.D.s, VPs, CMOs, and Partners chiming into this conversation - let that sink in.  

If you ever need a pep talk, drop us a line. We'll hype you up. You've got this. 

Keep striving,

Shauntle and Zula

PS. Are you reading? Reply back and let me know, I love getting replies... 

PPS. Zula believes in you too

🎧 Podcast #105: 100% Organic - How Three Marketers Use Content To Drive Revenue

In this episode, Dave is joined by Lashay Lewis (Authority Plug), Ben Battaglia (Your Money Line), and Rachel Saltsgaver (Seismic) to talk organic content and using SEO and content marketing to drive a real impact in a B2B SaaS business. They cover:

• Content marketing as sales enablement
• Using content to push people through the sales funnel
• The relationship between paid ads and content marketing
• Gating content vs not
• An example of how Seismic uses SEO content to drive prospects to their site

Listen To The Episode Now on Spotify

Or find it everywhere you listen by searching "Exit Five" podcast

Join the Exit Five Community

Please join us in the new home for Exit Five (and our dedicated iOS + Android app). We have officially moved our community to Circle - our own private community on the web, with a dedicated mobile app for iOS and Android. It's bumping over there already and we've been loving the feedback from members so far.

Here's a video overview from Dave breaking down the new Exit Five community. You can join the community right now for free with a 7 day free trial and then choose monthly or annual billing (or to not join) after your trial. Hope to see you in there.

Thanks to the 2023 Exit Five presenting sponsors Demandwell (SEO) and Zapier (Automation).

Want to sponsor a future newsletter or learn more about other sponsorship opportunities with Exit Five? We're now planning sponsorships for 2024 - fill this form here.

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