46
33 Comments

How I overcame imposter syndrome with one Indie Hackers post.

Let's hop into it.


A long time ago, in a galaxy far far away... ✨

I had 5 followers here on Indiehackers.com.

I wanted to get more followers so more indie hackers could see what I was working on. However, even reaching 100 in a month sounded impossible.

So I wrote a post titled "Send me your landing page and I'll give you pointers"

(Shameless plug): you can check it out here

Post title

I was still new to the platform and just wanted to do something nice for a handful of indiehackers.

Notice how I said a "handful" 😅

So throughout the night I replied with some feedback to a few indiehackers.

Again, didn't expect much. Just wanted to offer a helping hand.

I went to bed and woke up the next morning to this: 😨

27 notifications

My heart skipped a beat. what... is happening?

I saw how much people had requested feedback. 😱

So without hesitation, I answered all of them. After an hour or so, I was done. However, the word must've spread about my post because then I had a couple dozen more. 😐

By the end of the day (don't worry I was not there for hours at a time. I took breaks. I'm human.), it slowed down. That was nice. But what did I get out of it?

My popular post

Yep. That's a lot. And that was only 3 days. It reached the all-time top list and stayed #2 or #3 for about 6 months.

Super cool.


Posting that changed my life as an indie hacker.

I recently had joined this community a few days before, so 0 people knew who I was.

Now at least some people show up when I post something new. 😆

But the thing is, stats don't matter.

Followers don't matter. Likes don't matter.

What matters is confidence. I gained lots of confidence after that post.

I did not know a little nobody like me on the platform could make something hit the top charts on the all-time indiehacker list.

This great feeling drove me to post more and more on IndieHackers.


So start the goal of posting often on IndieHackers.

You never know where it might take you.

  1. 5

    That's awesome Brayden. Keep doing good work!

  2. 2

    Great job overcoming imposter syndrome. I used to have the same feeling when I first joined Indiehackers in the beginning of 2020. Keep it up!

  3. 2

    Congrats Brayden , I think imposter syndrome is the bigger obstacle for every indie hacker here, I have many problems with it.

    1. 3

      Mateo, thanks. It honestly helps to take those little steps every day. Just like @jasonriedel said a bit earlier:

      I promise you everyone struggles with imposter syndrome unless they are delusional.

      It will happen for as long as you live. Remember. If you are the smartest in the room, you are in the wrong room.

      1. 1

        Thanks a lot for your message!!

  4. 2

    This is a lovely post Brayden. I am a CTO, but I promise you everyone struggles with imposter syndrome unless they are delusional. It is normal to doubt ourselves, but generally when you try to add value to what others are working on you will find that you are valued, and you have a lot to offer. Great post!

    1. 1

      That’s so true. Of course I never said I don’t face imposter syndrome, but every time I post on IndieHackers, I feel that much more confident.

      Thanks for sharing!

      1. 1

        Yes, imposter syndrome is cyclical in my experience, it's good to continuously defeat it through action that establishes confidence like you did. It's a great formula, to put it succinctly, Nike - Just Do it :-)

  5. 2

    I feel like I just had a similar moment. Had a idea for my first ever digital product - while listening to a IndieHacker podcast (Run With It).
    Right now I'm not sure if it's just the dopamine talking, of if I get my ass up and actually do it - but for the moment it feels great :)

    1. 1

      It sure does ;)

      Thanks for sharing!

  6. 2

    A bit off-topic but, are followers on IH useful?

    I only see them appearing in the "Following" tab, which I never visit anyway.

    1. 1

      They could be, it really only delivers your posts as “priority” to those followers.

      The point of this article wasn’t really about the followers. More so about me gaining confidence that I can do it! 💪

    2. 1

      This comment was deleted 8 months ago.

  7. 2

    Well said. Confidence is key. Fighting imposter syndrome in the product world is a daily battle. Best way to overcome it is keep providing value. To lead, you must serve after all.

    1. 2

      Truer words have never been spoken 👍

      The thing is that if you can get that first post out there, the next one will be easier, and easier, and easier.

      1. 2

        That's right Brayden! I'm convincing myself of this as well :). Keep going.

        1. 1

          You’re welcome. Have a great weekend!

  8. 2

    Thanks for writing this! I've been thinking about how founders can get people to know about them and their product when they're starting from 0 (0 people in your network, and/or 0 dollars for advertising). It seems like a universal problem. This lays out a good strategy to overcome that problem (offer something for free, in this case free feedback).

    1. 1

      So true! I think everyone should know that you don’t need the biggest fan base or wallet to get an audience.

      Thanks for sharing!

  9. 1

    Well said. Very nice advice. Thanks for sharing this.

  10. 1

    I have a landing page for you to look at in a bit 😎

  11. 1

    It's really interesting how this can work!

    My main issue is that I never feel that I have much relevant information/knowledge to offer, this most (if not all) of the time stops me from saying anything on these kinds of fora. It is partially imposter syndrome and like you said lack of confidence. The only real key here is to just put something out there and see if people pick it up, nothing much to lose either way 🤷‍♂️.

    Thanks for sharing!

  12. 1

    I feel you. I just made a post about how successful founders find their idea and there were a lot fo good responses. One thing that I have understood is that if you are trying to be genuinely helpful, people are willing to cheer you on in your journey,

Trending on Indie Hackers
How I grew a side project to 100k Unique Visitors in 7 days with 0 audience 48 comments Competing with Product Hunt: a month later 33 comments Why do you hate marketing? 28 comments $15k revenues in <4 months as a solopreneur 14 comments My Top 20 Free Tools That I Use Everyday as an Indie Hacker 13 comments Use Your Product 13 comments