How to Show Up Online Even When You Feel Like No One is Watching
If you knew success was inevitable if you kept going, wouldn’t you keep creating?
Building online has felt like a roller coaster—highs of excitement, lows of frustration, and plenty of loops in between. I used to think I had to figure everything out at once, but that mindset only led to burnout and occasional quitting.
Here’s what changed: I’m ready to accept where I’m at—and with this comes major clarity.
If you’re in a hurry because you feel like no one is watching, here’s an article for you.
My approach to building online
I’ve started a separate newsletter called The Pitstop where I plan to include a blend of email marketing, entrepreneurship, and lifestyle content while sprinkling in some content from my platforms.
The platforms I’ll be writing on are Substack, LinkedIn and X.
On Substack I’ll do this:
Quick thoughts that I randomly get
Personal insight or challenges I’ve had
Lessons I’ve learned
Behind-the-scenes things
How it’s going with my daily workflow
Tips for mindset shifts
Reflections on the week and the wins or struggles I’ve had
Casual things
On X I’ll do this:
Key takeaways from my Substack articles
Threads on email marketing strategies
Quick, actionable tips
Mini personal stories
Lifestyle and business insight
Engaging questions
On LinkedIn I’ll do this:
Posts where I repurpose my Substack articles
Why email marketing is important for personal trainers
Solopreneurship or personal trainer content
Lead generation posts
Quick tips
Lifestyle/business posts
On Substack I’ll write articles about entrepreneurship and lifestyle stuff. LinkedIn will be where I do a lot of networking and also repurpose some of my Substack content. On X I’ll post repurposed content from Substack and LinkedIn.
While I do all of this posting, I’ll be creating offers (free and paid).
Oh, and I’m also doing YouTube. But the purpose of creating videos and vlogs is to have fun and build up an audience. In other words, it’s my way of not burning out online.
How do I want to come across (e.g., authority figure, regular blogger, etc)?
I’ve always wanted to have online business work for me. When I first started, I got burned out a lot because I wouldn’t see the results I wanted. I was focusing on the wrong stuff with the wrong mindset. I knew I should have been learning a skill right off the bat, even while trying to build an audience–instead, I only created content with no true strategy or system in mind.
But going through those times showed me how I want to come across as an entrepreneur online today.
I want to come across as someone who is completely vulnerable in sharing their journey. Mainly because I know how “frustrating” it can be to really want something, not see results, and really badly not want to give up.
So instead of saying that I want to come across as an authority figure, regular blogger, content creator or whatever, I’m just a regular guy sharing what I’m going through online. I hope that with the writing and resources I put out that I can help you start your own journey with building online.
Think about what you have gone through and how that will encourage you to show up in a specific way. What challenges give you authority over something you can talk about? What stories do you have that can inspire you to write about something? What skills have you built along the way that can serve as great ideas to create products or services with?
Keep these things in mind when you first start off building online
When I first started building online, I didn’t know how to think about things despite consuming thousands of posts from other entrepreneurs. I thought that I already had it all figured out. But you do need some sort of guidance. Cause for me, it wasn’t enough to just hear things like “just do what you want/like, build an audience and create products or services from it”.
I needed some more structure, at least in terms of how I should be thinking about building an online business in the beginning when you don’t know much about what to do or how to build any systems.
Here’s a couple of foundational things to think about or ask yourself when building online as a beginner solopreneur.
What are your intentions with what you want to create?
What do you want your routine to look like?
What type of content do you want to push out?
Who am I trying to help, and what specific problem am I solving for them?
What skills do I need to develop to grow this business long-term?
What’s the next small step that moves me forward?
Am I focused on progress over perfection?
Asking these questions regularly keeps you intentional, adaptable, and aligned with your goals.
Which one stands out to you right now? Let me know.
Why it’s normal to have less people consume your content in the beginning
Everyone has their own voice in their head with its own unique narrative trying to keep that specific person safe.
So whether or not you have thoughts of not being able to start a business because no one is watching right now, I’m telling you that that doesn’t matter.
You can choose to believe me about this or not. But the difference between people that actually achieve their goals is simple: those that achieve the results (or very close) of what they want just got really good at not giving into their own limiting thoughts.
Which everyone has by the way.
So even if no one is really consuming your content in the beginning, you are not supposed to let that discourage you! You’re supposed to just grind through it.
On the plus side, there’s benefits from those eras where people aren’t really consuming your content.
The first benefit is that you get to figure out whether or not you really want to fall in love with the process of starting a business.
The second benefit is that you realize that it’s just a weed-out period you’re going through, but the difference is whether or not you’re going to stop early like the majority of people.
What to actually do when no one is watching
When no one is watching, get comfortable with sharing your process of building online and how that’s going for you while no one is watching.
Others likely will find this helpful because they’re also building online alone. It’s also an opportunity to invest time into building products or services for the audience you’re in the process of attracting.
More specific things to do:
Reframe the mindset: You’re in the reps phase. Every piece of content you produce is a set in the gym.
Focus on one real person: Even if just one person engages, write or create for them. Treat them like they really matter. When others see this, they will see that you actually do care about adding value to your audience.
Make content you wish existed (my favorite one): Think about what would’ve saved you time, given you confidence, or made you take action a year ago. Make that content.
Engage more than you post: If no one is finding your content, go find them. Comment on posts, join discussions, and network with people in your niche. This builds relationships over time.
Improve with each post: Look at what’s working (even slightly) and double down on that. Elaborate more on the content that has gotten more attention.
Keep remembering why you started: Freedom? Impact? The challenge itself?
No matter what, just keep on creating. This is all just a matter of how much you can hang on and keep adding value somehow.
Even if you don’t know how everything falls into place, just keep it up.
If you really want it, you will.