I talk about AI, AI Tools and teach AI to anyone from Fortune 500s to charities. My face has been on NASDAQ, FT, and Forbes. DM for Business.
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Joined September 2022
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I'll end it here.
Although I don't agree with the statement, it seems that a majority of people do.
"If everyone says it, it must be true."
That level of perception is what's driving growth, decisions, and more at the moment.
You have to find your "everyone".
Look, I feel better after typing this out.
The one thing I want you to take from this thread is to gather an audience. Gather influence.
Do not be shy. That will destroy your career.
Find your interest. Talk about it. Attract your people.
Yes, I am certain you could argue that the talent/skill will rise to the top. It may very well do.
But the top is a tiny platform.
The odds of you making it to the top without pushing yourself and putting yourself out there is painfully slim.
On the other side, you have a crazy amount of untalented people out there.
But why do they "make it"?
Because they have attention on them.
There are a crazy amount of talented people out there. Not just in AI but in all fields.
Why do they never "make it"?
Because they don't have attention on them.
So if you suddenly have thousands of people saying "Yeah! X is the best at Prompt Engineering!", the chances of you getting a contract/job increases dramatically.
Especially in situations where companies are still wrestling with AI.
Because of positioning.
If you look across the spectrum of people in AI Influencer positions (think top 10) and strip out anyone who's a CEO of an AI company, you're only left with a handful of people.
People who know how to do the job you're looking for.
However.
You need to GENUINELY be good at your job.
Understand why certain words do X and not Y. If you're going technical, why temperature matters and the other stuff.
You will need a portfolio, case studies, and so much more. And so on.
But why does audience matter?
I want to address the elephant in the room however.
I know. I am a Prompt Engineer.
I work as one. Offer ebook advice on how to get a job as one. Even talk about it publicly.
Can you make $100,000+ as a Prompt Engineer? Absolutely.
And yes, there's a however.
Now there are exceptions to this.
Yes, there are celebrity consultants. Think Tony Robbins, etc.
Though you are paying more for their clout, not for their actual service.
Unless you can compare with Robbins, or similar, you will get kicked out of the building.
Just for reference, a Senior Client Facing Consultant who is a specialist at one of the Top 4 charges around 拢1700 per day.
How do I know this? Because we/I've hired them.
With highly niche (Deloitte US now) capping at $1200 per hour.
We're in a position now where attention can matter far more than the actual skill someone brings or legitimacy of their opinion.
We still have influencers who claim you can make $8500 per hour as an AI Consultant.
Or $5000 per month selling chatbots to SMEs.
All scams.
Yet they're still landing the contracts/business.
Why?
Audience and perception. For instance, we know factually that Gemini is better than ChatGPT and yet a majority of people default to ChatGPT for their AI needs.
All because a majority know ChatGPT. Not because it's better.
This is why most AI Influencers at the top are never seen actually working or proving their skill beyond "entry level" without the aid of ChatGPT.
Because all they have is an audience.
Not the skill to back it up.
No case studies. No anecdotes. No nothing.
This seems like a good time to say this.
The attention you have will get you into the room. But your staying power is determined by your skill level.
You may be famous and popular but if you don't know your craft without access to AI, you will be kicked out.
With a large audience, you'll:
- Easily gain media coverage from huge networks
- Be perceived more valuable because of network
- Have an easier time landing business because of clout.
And yes.
- Get VIP Treatment.
All because of attention.
This is why you see larger accounts landing huge brand deals. Sometimes even myself.
Yes, obviously, the impressions and conversion rates matter.
But what matters more is that someone influential is advocating for your product.
When you're brokering a deal with an AI company, you're suddenly "famous" and have enough pull or thought leadership to make their product a success.
The conversions don't necessarily matter.
Because if "Person with thousands of followers says it", it must be true.
But there's another layer to it.
That audience becomes influence and arguably power.
When you're brokering for press with prestigious legacy media to strengthen your reputation, you suddenly have the ability to drive thousands of clicks of traffic to their stie.