Episode 316: How to Stop Being Invisible Online: The Real Work Behind Getting Found
You’re Doing All the Things—So Why Can’t Anyone Find You?
You’ve been showing up. Posting consistently. Writing newsletters that take hours. You’ve got the degrees, the certifications, the experience. But when someone searches for what you do? You’re nowhere.
I get it. I’ve watched so many women entrepreneurs work themselves to exhaustion trying to be visible, only to feel like they’re shouting into the void. If you’ve ever thought, “I’ve tried everything, and nothing works,” keep reading.
I sat down with Carrolee Moore, founder of the Podcast Pitching Society. She’s built a multi-six-figure business helping women entrepreneurs stop being invisible and start making money from their expertise. But here’s what makes her approach different: she’s not just teaching tactics. She’s helping women become visible to themselves first.
We talked about why so many smart women stay invisible, what’s really happening with AI and creativity right now, and the data-driven strategies that actually convert to revenue. This isn’t surface-level stuff.
Watch the full episode
The Corporate Performance That’s Keeping You Broke
Here’s something Carrolee said early in our conversation: Corporate America trained us to perform. We learned the “right” words. The professional tone. The acceptable way to present ourselves.
Then we became entrepreneurs and wondered why we can’t connect with our ideal clients.
“We are taught that there is a preferred way of writing, of speaking, of dressing. And so essentially the longer you’re in that, the more you have to put on, and it becomes this thing that you wear, and it’s a performance.” — Carrolee Moore
We’re still performing a version of ourselves that was designed to survive a corporate environment. Not build an authentic business. This performance becomes a costume we wear, and honestly? It’s exhausting.
Even worse, it keeps us from the very people we’re meant to serve.
What Visibility Actually Requires
The real work of visibility starts with getting visible to yourself. Not your LinkedIn profile self. Not your resume self. Your actual self—with your real perspective and the opinions you’ve been too afraid to share.
Carrolee spent 15+ years in corporate America at places like MIT. During the day, she talked about robots and computer science. At night, she moonlighted as a graphic designer and social media manager because she wanted to be in the storytelling part of business.
Eventually, she realized she was splitting herself in two. So she went all-in on what she really wanted to do. But even then, she had to break free from the performance mode she’d learned.
Why “I’ve Tried Everything” Usually Means You Haven’t
When Carrolee works with clients who say they’ve tried all the things, she asks them to break it down. What did you actually do?
Here’s what she finds: they posted on social media twice a week for a month. Maybe they sent one email newsletter. The blog on their website hasn’t been updated since launch.
That’s it.
“You tried to do the thing that you thought was going to work, which was social media. And because from your very limited effort, you didn’t see the big hoopla you thought you were going to see, you got discouraged and stopped doing everything else.” — Carrolee Moore
But here’s the harder truth. There’s usually an internal battle happening that’s impacting how you show up online.
The Two-Part Problem
Carrolee identifies two main issues:
First, you’re having an internal battle that impacts how you show up. When you’re not confident in who you are and what makes your voice unique, you blend into the noise. Your ideal clients can’t find you because you’re not actually speaking to them in your authentic voice.
Second, you’re probably not trying as hard as you think you are. That’s tough to hear, but it’s important. Posting 12 times and being done isn’t a strategy. It’s you figuring out what people are even looking at and whether you’re using your real voice or someone else’s.
The AI Trap Making Everyone Sound the Same
We spent a good chunk of our conversation on AI, and I loved Carrolee’s take. She uses AI as an assistant. Not as her creativity tool. It doesn’t think for her.
“We’re seeding our creativity to AI, and we should not be. AI is my assistant. It doesn’t think for me.” — Carrolee Moore
Right now, business owners are using AI to generate content without any real input from themselves. The result? A massive wave of copycat noise that all sounds exactly the same.
But this actually creates an opportunity for those of us willing to do the work differently.
How to Use AI Without Losing Your Voice
Carrolee’s process is brilliant. She records her morning walks, capturing her stream-of-consciousness thoughts on topics in her industry. Maybe it’s a particular part of podcast guesting she’s obsessed with at the moment. Whatever it is, she records that actual thought process.
That audio becomes the foundation for her content. Those are her actual thoughts, stories, and perspective. When she feeds that into AI, it’s personalized data. It’s not pulling information from all over the internet, trying to sound like her. It’s pulling her actual words and helping polish them.
“I don’t use AI as my creativity tool,” she says. “I use it as a polishing tool.”
As long as you’re showing up consistently as a real person with a real perspective—especially one that’s different—you will stand out. Your people will find you easier because they’re trudging through all the generic content looking for something that feels human.
The Test That Proves Everything
Here’s a test I give people: go ask AI what your unique point of view is. Go ahead. Try it.
It can’t tell you.
AI cannot create something new. It can only aggregate from what already exists. This is why you cannot outsource the one thing that makes your business truly unique—your ability to think and create from nothing.
We’re the only species that can do that. I’ve never seen a vacation poster made by an elephant, because they cannot conceive of anything beyond what they see. Don’t give away that superpower.
Stop Being Nice and Start Being Real
Carrolee made a point that needs its own section. Too many people are scared of just being themselves because of judgment. We’re caught up trying to be liked by too many people.
Here’s the freedom: for the most part, nobody cares.
“You’re going to be trolled by bots. You’re going to be trolled by someone who is bored out of their minds and is not doing anything with their lives. For the most part, no one is sitting on the internet waiting for you to post something so they can be a jerk.” — Carrolee Moore
People are so wrapped up in their own lives that they genuinely don’t have time to obsess over your content. Eventually, you start feeling sorry for those people instead of being scared of them.
Who’s Really Criticizing You
The only people who will say something negative about what you’re creating are people who are behind you on the path. Think about it.
Anyone in front of you who’s done the work will always reach back and pull you forward. They remember what it was like to be where you are.
Once you understand this, criticism just bounces off. You can see it for what it is—someone else’s fear projected onto your courage.
And about needing perfect hair and makeup before you post? You don’t. As a business owner, your biggest concern should be data.
Everything Is Data
You post seven times across three platforms and analyze what performed best. You listen to yourself on a podcast and notice where you rambled, so you practice for next time. You try a new angle in your messaging and see how people respond.
All of that is data. Failing is data. There’s no such thing as wasted effort when you’re learning what works and what doesn’t.
Real Thought Leadership Requires a Real Perspective
Carrolee doesn’t mince words on this. “If you don’t have a perspective, then I think that there is something wrong with you calling yourself a thought leader.”
A real thought leader has a distinct perspective that people know them for in their industry. They can speak on their topic extensively from different angles because they’ve researched, experienced, and had enough conversations with people who disagree with them.
What Actual Expertise Looks Like
Real experts know the other side’s perspective. They’ve done the work. They can bring statistics and facts to the table. They understand opposing viewpoints and can address them thoughtfully.
This is why Carrolee only works with established experts. She can confidently tell podcast hosts that her clients will show up prepared. They’ll teach the audience something valuable, not just agree with everything the host says.
In fact, Carrolee shared an example of a podcast where the guest and host disagreed. They had a real conversation about their differing perspectives. “That is gold,” she says. Because that’s where learning happens.
The Courage to Disagree
We’ve lost the art of disagreeing about something and actually talking about it. We’ve forgotten how to have those beautiful, rich conversations where someone says something you never thought of and you lean in, asking them to say it again.
If you’re afraid of trolls telling you you’re wrong, know that it’s going to happen regardless. The question is: do you have enough conviction in your perspective to stand behind it anyway?
Your Visibility Must Make Money—Not Just Noise
Carrolee runs a business, not an influencer account. She’s clear about this distinction, and it’s one many entrepreneurs miss.
“If your visibility is not making you some sort of money, I argue that it doesn’t make sense. I’m not in this to be popular. I could care less about people coming up to me at the airport. What does my bank account look like? Can I pay payroll every single month? That’s what matters.” — Carrolee Moore
Too many business owners are trying to run their visibility and marketing strategies like they’re influencers. But you’re not doing lifestyle content. You’re running a business.
The Influencer vs. Business Owner Mistake
Even if you share something personal, tie it back to the mindset shift your prospective clients need to work with you. Carrolee is open about this. She’ll do her morning devotional, and sometimes something really touches her. She’ll want to share it.
But at the end of that post, she ties it back to a mindset shift she knows her prospective clients need in order to work with her on visibility. Because at the end of the day, she’s sharing strategically.
“Unless we’re friends in real life, just know my social media is business. Period.”
The Good Morning America Lesson
Carrolee shared an example that illustrates this perfectly. Her mentor was featured on Good Morning America and made zero dollars from it. Zero.
Meanwhile, she has clients who went on smaller podcasts with way fewer listeners and made multi-five-figure contracts from those appearances.
The difference? Intention.
When you know “to what end” you’re pursuing visibility opportunities, you go in with a plan to actually convert that visibility into revenue. You’re not just showing up to be seen. You’re showing up to serve your people and invite them to work with you.
The Currency of Visibility Starts With You
Before you can be visible to other people, you have to do the work to be visible to yourself. This is what Carrolee calls “the currency of visibility,” and it’s the foundation of everything else.
Understanding What Makes You Different
This means understanding what makes your voice, your perspective, and the way you do things unique to you. It means being confident enough in your approach to clearly articulate your value to potential clients.
When you’re not able to truly understand what makes you different, it’s really hard to communicate that to someone else. And when you’re trying to do this online without that confidence, you’ll start comparing yourself to everyone else. You’ll get scared and recede even more.
The Visibility That Actually Converts
Carrolee had to figure this out in her first agency. She was surrounded by other marketers—throw a rock and you’d find another one. Beyond price, what was the differentiator?
That exercise helped her sit confidently across from someone, ask for $25,000 to build their website, and explain why they’d want to pay that rather than $5,000 down the street.
The same principle applies to your visibility strategy. If you can’t articulate what makes you different, you’re just adding to the noise.
Getting Started: Your Path Forward
The work of getting visible online starts internally. It’s not about posting more or showing up on more platforms. Those tactics matter, but they’re meaningless without the foundation.
Here’s what actually works:
- Start by breaking the bonds of performance you learned in corporate America. Find your actual voice, not the one you’ve been trained to use. Develop a real perspective that might make some people uncomfortable—that’s how you know it’s yours.
- Track your data relentlessly. Show up consistently as a real human being with real thoughts, not as a polished version of what you think people want to see.
- Use AI as your assistant, never as your brain. Feed it your actual thoughts, stories, and perspective. Let it help you polish and organize, but never let it think for you.
- Stop trying to be liked by everyone. Speak to your actual people—the ones who need what you specifically offer in the way you specifically offer it. Let everyone else scroll past.
The Transformation That’s Possible
When Carrolee talks about her work now, money is great, but it’s not what drives her. The purpose work that came through her initial thought of just getting experts on podcasts is what matters most.
“I get to actually have the opportunity to walk alongside people as they break sometimes generational blocks. As they break chains in who they thought they were, identity level, as they go into full purpose and find the power within their own voice.”
That’s what’s possible when you do this work. You don’t just become more visible—you become more yourself. And that’s when your people find you. That’s when visibility starts converting to revenue. That’s when you stop being invisible.
Ready to Build a Business You Love?
If you’re tired of being invisible and ready to build a business that reflects your authentic voice, let’s talk. Book a free call with me to discuss your business and explore how working together could help you move forward.
This isn’t a sales call. It’s a genuine conversation about your business and your goals.
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About Sarah Walton
Sarah Walton is a business coach, podcast host, and mentor who helps women entrepreneurs build businesses they love. She's the creator of the Abundance Academy, Effortless Sales, and the Game On Girlfriend® podcast. Sarah's mission is to put more money in the hands of more women while teaching authentic, heart-centered business strategies.
About Carrolee Moore
Carrolee Moore is a Jamaican-born entrepreneur, speaker, and founder of The Podcast Pitching Society. She helps overlooked experts get paid for what they know, not just what they do, through high-impact podcast placements and long-form visibility strategies.
After being laid off in 2020 and moving cross-country, she launched her first business from an air mattress in an empty apartment. She transformed that rock-bottom moment into a multi–six-figure agency in under two years – built without ads, SEO, or social media marketing.
She is the creator of the Currency of Visibility™ movement and the visionary behind the C.A.K.E. Podcast Guesting Method, helping founders turn podcast interviews into content and contracts. Her work has been featured in the Dallas Morning News and on popular platforms like the Speak Your Way to Cash® podcast. In 2025, she was inducted into Who’s Who of America for her contributions to marketing and communications.
Free Gift for our Game On Girlfriend® Podcast Listeners:
Carrolee is offering a self-guided, 4-week email podcast guesting course for experts. Get started here.
She’s also offering 30-minute visibility strategy sessions where she’ll create a personalized plan to grow your visibility in 2026. You can book your session here.
Connect with Carrolee:
Related Episodes You’ll Love
If this conversation about visibility and authenticity spoke to you, here are three more Game On Girlfriend® Podcast episodes you’ll want to check out:
Episode 214: Coaching the Unconscious Mind: Unlock Your Genius with Jenn Beninger
If Carrolee’s point about becoming visible to yourself first resonated with you, this episode goes deeper into uncovering and releasing the most vulnerable judgments you have about yourself. Jenn explains why that inner work is the number one thing stopping you from anything you want to do in your life. Listen here.
Episode 188: Social Media is NOT a Marketing Strategy with Ruthie Sterrett
Carrolee talked about how people think they’ve tried everything when they’ve only posted on social media a few times. Ruthie breaks down why social media is just a container for your marketing strategy—not the strategy itself—and gives you practical steps to create content that actually drives revenue. Listen here.
Episode 134: An Honest Conversation with My Podcast Agent, Julie Fry
Want to learn more about podcast guesting as a visibility strategy? Julie Fry, Sarah’s podcast agent, shares insider tips on how to pitch yourself to podcast hosts, what makes a great guest, and her #1 tip for your call to action at the end of episodes. Listen here.
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