I’ve been doing a lot of soul-searching lately…

Because on the outside, it looks like I'm living the dream entrepreneurial life:

• A business generating 6-figures per year

• Freedom to travel whenever and wherever I want

• A loving family

But I’m still not content.

I still feel like everything can be wiped away and as though I’m not doing enough (even though everyone around me complains I’m always glued to my laptop).

So I thought back to a time when I felt unwavering drive and assessed the difference in mindsets from then and now.

And here’s what I concluded:

Most entrepreneurs don’t get what they truly want because they’re too scared of losing what they currently have.

This has definitely been my case.

And it stems from something psychologists call approach-avoidance orientation.

It’s a psychological concept that describes the underlying reasons people pursue goals and how they evaluate success.

The way you’re oriented can have a major impact on what you can achieve in the long term.

So, in this episode, I’m going to unpack everything I’ve learned about approach-avoidance orientation to help you live a more fulfilling life

Subscribe now

The two orientations

People generally tend to operate from one of two motivational orientations:

• Avoid orientation

• Approach orientation

Those motivated by avoidance are running away from an undesired outcome.

For example, they want to avoid:

• Rejection

• Financial insecurity

• Letting people down

As a result, they seek certainty before they act.

Their decisions are driven more by preserving what they have than by pursuing what they truly want.

So they end up compromising what they truly want to ensure they don’t realize the undesired outcomes they are desperately trying to avoid.

This is where I’ve been in the past few months (and I’ll show you how I got here).

In contrast, those motivated by approach are running towards a desired outcome.

They have a clear vision they are pursuing.

For example, they may want to:

• Build a $1M business

• Write a bestselling book

• Become financially independent

As a result, they live life on offense.

They’re willing to risk their current position for the opportunity of a better future.

They do what they must do to achieve what they want.

So the difference between avoid-oriented and approach-oriented people is where they direct their attention:

1. Avoid-oriented people are conditioned to focus on what they don't want.

2. Approach-oriented people have trained themselves to focus on what they do.

And as Tony Robbins said, “You get more of what you focus on.”

The origins of avoid orientation

Last year, I made my first $100,000+ in business.

I thought when I got here I’d push on towards $1M with no qualms because the legendary investor, former Berkshire Hathaway vice-chairman, and Warren Buffett’s best friend, Charlie Munger, once said, "The first $100,000 is a bitch, but you gotta do it."

The first $100,000 was definitely a bitch for me (it took 5 years to do it), but things have been stale since then.

Now it’s easy for me to say, “It’s because I got comfortable,” but I wanted to understand why so I could avoid it happening again.

And here’s what I’ve found…

One of the brain’s primary jobs is to conserve energy.

Rather than consciously evaluating every situation from scratch, it creates shortcuts based on what you’ve repeatedly experienced and what it believes is important.

Over time, these shortcuts influence what you pay attention to.

In other words, when you haven’t trained your brain to focus on what you want, your environment and experience tell you what’s important.

So if you’ve had difficult experiences in your environment before (as we all have), you’re more likely to focus on what could go wrong and divert your energy towards ensuring it doesn’t, to avoid going through the pain of it going wrong.

This is one of the ways comfort can quietly become dangerous.

You avoid taking risks because you feel like you’ve reached a point where you’re no longer in survival mode.

This is what earning over $100,000 did to me… it took me out of survival mode.

The problem with avoid-orientation

The minute I exited my survival mode, I got comfortable.

Everything became about maintaining what I’d built.

The majority of my energy went towards making existing clients happy, to the point where I stopped making an effort to get new clients and grow my business.

And this is the problem with avoid-orientation…

You end up building your life around avoiding pain instead of embracing growth and learning.

You become uptight, and your mind becomes dominated by questions like, “What if it fails?”

This is where I’ve been for the past few months.

• Scared my long-term clients will randomly terminate one day

• Scared I’ll run out of money

• Scared everything will come crashing down

So I’ve been overcompensating…

Even though it makes me feel like an unfulfilled piece of shit.

Loss aversion also plays a major role here.

Once you've attained something valuable, your brain treats losing it as far more painful than the excitement of attaining something even bigger.

So preservation becomes your primary objective.

And this is a dangerous place for an entrepreneur to live.

Businesses don’t grow through preservation.

They grow through creation.

You have to keep taking risks.
Keep experimenting.
Keep building.

So the moment your primary goal becomes protecting what you’ve already built, you stop building what you’re capable of.

Become approach-oriented

Basically, I’ve been feeling miserable for the past few months because I never gave my attention a direction.

I allowed it to be conditioned by my environment and experiences.

And now I’ve ended up here.

But this soul search has shown me this problem can be solved by simply diverting my attention to what I want rather than staying focused on what I want to avoid.

And there’s an Albert Einstein quote that’s inspiring this transformation:

“Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world.”

So here are 5 steps I’m taking to shift my attention and reorient myself toward an approach-based mindset.

#1 Setting a big, scary, measurable goal

Your brain needs a target.

If the target isn’t clear, it’ll default to preserving your current position.

So set a goal that’s specific enough to measure and ambitious enough to make you uncomfortable.

For example:

• Sign 10 new clients.

• Reach $500,000 in annual revenue.

• Hire your first employee.

• Launch your first product.

The goal should be big enough that your current habits are incapable of achieving it.

This is how you force yourself to grow.

#2 Daily affirmations & journaling

Your environment is constantly telling you what to think about.

Journaling gives you the opportunity to take that control back.

Every evening, I write down:

• What I want.

• Why I want it.

• Who I need to become to achieve it.

Then spend a few minutes visualizing myself already living that reality.

The more often you do this, the more your attention shifts towards creating that future.

#3 Defining my ideal day

It’s not enough to define the destination.

You also need to define the life that gets you there.

So I also make an effort to detail:

• What time I wake up

• Where I work

• Who I’m surrounded by

• What problems I’m solving

• How I spend my evenings

The clearer the picture becomes, the easier it is to identify what belongs in your life and what doesn’t.

#4 Acting as my future self

Stephen Covey famously said, "Begin with the end in mind."

I’ve taken that one step further…

Rather than asking, “What should I do?”

I ask myself, “What would the person I’m trying to become do?”

#5 Review my progress every week

Our lives are rarely determined by one big decision.

It’s usually down to hundreds of small choices we make.

So small course corrections every week are far more powerful than dramatic changes once a year.

Every Sunday, I ask myself, “Did my actions move me closer to what I want?”

If the answer is the latter...

I adjust.

Final thoughts

For the past few months, I’ve been feeling like shit.

Because without realizing it, I compromised the future I wanted to protect the life I already had.

In doing so, I robbed myself of the ability to imagine what was possible.

Instead, I became driven by fear.

And it severely limited me.

So if there’s one thing I want you to take away from this article, it’s this:

Train your brain to focus on what you want.
Not what you’re scared of losing.

Because entrepreneurs don’t build remarkable businesses by playing defense.

They build them by relentlessly pursuing a vision that’s bigger than their current reality.

That’s where your focus belongs.

Because where your attention goes...

Your actions follow.

And eventually...

Your life does too.

Thanks for reading!

Subscribe now

In the last installment of this series, I told you I’ve written 600+ Medium articles.

That started in January 2020.

But back then, my motivations were a little different…

My goal was to better understand AI concepts because I was the only person working on AI in my organization, and I had to give weekly debriefs on what I was building.

On more than one occasion, I was told nobody understood what I was saying because of all the complex language I was using - I thought it made me look smart.

So my line manager suggested I write about what I’m building to help me connect the dots, gain clarity, and simplify my explanations.

Looking back, this was a polite way of saying he didn’t think I understood what I was talking about.

And he was right.
Hence, I took the advice…

So the purpose of my blog for the first few months was to clarify my thinking by sharing what I was learning.

It was all about me, me, me.

And the results showed it too…

People hardly followed until April/May.

What happened in April/May?

• The first national lockdown in the UK was announced on 23rd March 2020.

• I was put on a government scheme to pay 80% of my salary so my company didn’t have to lay me off (but I couldn’t do any work for them while on this)

• I had a bunch of free time.

• I realized I could be laid off once the scheme ends.

All of this forced me to change my motivations

I was now looking to find potential employers in case I was made redundant.

Here’s what it taught me about content creation…

Read more

In 2025, I adjusted my offer & made over $100,000 in 8 months writing on LinkedIn.

But there’s some nuance…

I had already been a writer for 4 years prior.

I had published around 600+ blog posts on Medium.

And my articles accumulated well over 20M views.

On top of that, I’d also written 100+ blog & LinkedIn posts for clients such as:

• DataCamp

• Nvidia

• Neptune (who got acquired by OpenAI)

• And several personal brands.

Basically, I already knew how to write before I came to LinkedIn.

I didn’t need the 2-3 years most people need to reach competence because I wasn’t starting from 0.

The main thing I had to learn was the nuances of writing on LinkedIn (e.g., formatting, the see more button, etc.).

In other words, I had a competitive upper hand over many who were just getting started in the space.

This is where I believe everyone must start when creating content…

With your unfair advantage.

What are unfair advantages?

Read more

Over the past 6 years, I’ve had the privilege of working with companies like NVIDIA, DataCamp, and Neptune AI (which was later acquired by OpenAI), to name a few.

I’ve also worked closely with founders, consultants, coaches, and creators who use personal branding to grow their businesses.

At first glance, these customers may look completely different.

But as I’ve worked with more and more of them, I’ve noticed they all share one thing in common:

They have an audience that trusts them.

An audience that pays attention when they speak.
An audience that is ready to buy when they launch something new.

In other words, they have a brand.

The kind that makes people choose them over competitors who may be cheaper, bigger, or more established.

And stay loyal.

After studying hundreds of successful creators, founders, and businesses, I started noticing the same patterns appear over and over again.

The strongest personal brands are not built by accident.

They’re built through a series of deliberate decisions.

And I’ve decided to distill those deliberate actions I’ve observed into a practical series.

So whether you’re a freelancer, founder, coach, consultant, or creator…

These are the 5 steps to building a personal brand that attracts attention, earns trust, and creates loyal buyers:

1. Leverage your unfair advantages

2. What’s in it for me?

3. Content pillars and themes

4. Content calendar buildout

5. Distribution strategy

Let’s walk through what you’ll learn in each lesson…

Subscribe now

Episode 1: Leverage your unfair advantages

There are things you’re uniquely qualified to speak on that I am not.

You may have earned it through years of experience in a specific area of work.

Or you could’ve inherited through circumstance, network, geography, education, or status.

To be honest, it doesn’t matter where this advantage you have came from…

What matters is that you know it exists and you’re using to your benefit.

So in this episode, I’ll show you how to identify your unfair advantage using Ash Ali’s MILES Framework.

Then I’ll show you how to use this advantage in your positioning strategy.

Because the easiest way to stand out online is to lean harder into the things that make you difficult to replace.

Go to Episode 1

Episode 2: What’s in it for me?

Your audience scrolls the internet with one question in mind:

“What’s in it for me?”

In other words, people only follow you when they believe you can help them achieve something they want (or if they’re your mom and good friends).

If they can’t gauge that what you’ve created is for them within the first 3 seconds, they’re gone.

And they may never return.

So in this lesson, I’ll show you how to use psychology to capture your audience’s attention fast.

You’ll learn about concepts such as:

• How the brain filters information through self-interest

• How to beat those brain filters

• How to identify your minimum viable audience

Go to Episode 2

Episode 3: Content pillars and themes

If you’re struggling to produce content ideas, it’s likely because you lack structure.

You should never have to wonder, “What should I post today?”

This question is a symptom that you haven’t clearly defined what you want to be known for.

So in this lesson, I’ll show you how to build a content ecosystem using pillars, themes, and topics.

You’ll learn:

• The difference between pillars, themes, and topics

• How to create constraints that make content creation easier

• How to define the areas you want to be known for

• How to generate an endless stream of relevant content ideas

Most importantly, you’ll learn how to create coherence across your content.

Which means I’ll show you how to stand for something.

Go to Episode 3

Episode 4: Content calendar buildout

Once you’ve identified your pillars, themes, and topics, the next challenge is turning them into a repeatable publishing system.

Knowing what to post is one thing... posting consistently is another.

You can’t rely on motivation or inspiration to strike, because there’s a good chance it never will.

So in this lesson, I’ll show you how to build a content calendar that removes guesswork from the process.

You’ll learn:

• How to organize your content pillars into a publishing schedule

• How to balance educational, personal, and evidence-based content

• How to batch ideas so you’re never starting from a blank page

• How to create a system that works even when you’re busy

Go to Episode 4

Episode 5: Distribution strategy

Creating content is the easy part.

Getting people to see it is where the real challenge begins.

Most people treat content like a one-off event.

They post something.
It underperforms.
Then they move on to the next idea.

But if you want to maximize the return on your effort, you need to think like a distributor.

In this lesson, I’ll show you how to extend the lifespan of your best ideas and systematically increase the odds of your content reaching the right people.

You’ll learn:

• Why distribution matters more than creation

• How to use short-form content to test ideas before investing heavily in them

• How to turn successful posts into long-form content and vice versa

• How to apply the scientific method to improve your content over time

• How to leverage copywork and proven formats to accelerate growth

Go to Episode 5

By the end of this series…

You’ll have far more than a personal brand.

You’ll have a system.

A system for identifying what makes you unique.
A system for attracting the right people.
A system for creating content consistently.
A system for distributing your ideas effectively.

Most importantly, you’ll understand how to build trust at scale.

And become the obvious choice when someone needs the thing you provide.

Whether your goal is to attract clients, sell products, land opportunities, or build an audience around your ideas...

This series will give you the framework to do it deliberately instead of hoping it happens by accident.

Thanks for your support.

P.S. Would love to hear your feedback :).

I bootstrapped my online service business to 6-figures in 8 months by improving my offer.

But here’s what I’m learning as I push toward the $1M ARR milestone:

A better offer isn’t enough.

I tried improving my offer by adding DM management and outreach to my LinkedIn ghostwriting package…

A few people bit the bait, but ultimately, I just ended up with 0 time to take on work from other clients.

The same thing happened when I tried adding different offers as upsells.

I introduced email ghostwriting.

Clients bought in, but I ran into the same problem…

Limited bandwidth.

And this is where I think many service-based businesses get trapped.

We assume growth problems are offer problems.

So we keep tweaking:

• Pricing.

• Positioning.

• Delivery.

• Packaging.

And while those things absolutely matter in the beginning…

Eventually, you hit a ceiling.

Not because demand disappears.

But because YOU become the bottleneck.

If everything falls apart once you step away, you don’t have a scalable business.

And this is exactly where I found myself over the past 6 months:

Growing revenue…

While becoming increasingly trapped inside the business.

That’s when the penny finally dropped:

OFFERS build 6-figure businesses.
OFFERS + SYSTEMS build 7-figure ones.

Signs you’re the bottleneck in your business

Last month, I got a call from my dad during work hours.

This was strange because everybody usually respects my work boundary.

I answered the phone…
His voice was staggered.

“Kurt, your grandmother has passed away.”

I had a feeling something was up from the morning…

Because I heard my mom rushing out the house around 7 AM.

But I didn’t even bat an eyelid… I was working.

My dad continued…

“You’re the only one from the family in Ghana at the moment. Are you able to pause what you’re doing and go and be with your mom at the hospital?”

I was upset my dad felt like he had to ask me - “Whaaatt? Of course, I can be there. Where is she? I’m going right now.”

As I ordered my Uber, I sat on my bed mourning the loss of my grandmother.

But I was also hurt by how hesitant my dad sounded asking me to be there for my mom.

Had I neglected my family?

My mind went back to all the times my parents asked me for favors during work hours and I’d respond:

“I’m working… If I don’t work, I don’t get paid.”

If only I had fixed this earlier, my parents would never have felt like they were inconveniencing me.

Hopefully, you never have to experience something like this to realize something must change in your business.

But if any of this sounds familiar, here are a few signs you’ve become the bottleneck in your business:

• Every problem eventually lands back on your desk

• Every task requires your approval before it moves forward

• Your team constantly asks you the same questions

• You repeatedly explain the same processes to different people

• You context-switch between 10 different responsibilities every hour

• Your business slows down (or stops) the moment you take a day off

• You just never have time

This is where I found myself.

I felt less like a business owner and more like an air traffic controller trying to stop everything from crashing.

While this can work temporarily… it makes scaling impossible.

Because growth increases complexity.

More clients means:

• More communication

• More moving parts

• More deliverables

• More decisions

• More potential points of failure

So you just end up owning a stressful full-time job you created in hopes of achieving freedom.

What are systems?

When most people think about growing a service business, they immediately think about one or two things:

• Charging more

• Getting more customers

And to be fair…

This makes sense.

It’s exactly what got you to 6 figures.

But what got you here won’t get you there.

And this isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

The fact you’re making 6 figures confirms the most important aspect of your business:

You have demand.

People want what you’re selling.

The challenge now is delivering the same offer to more people…

Without losing all your hair and turning grey in the process.

Because if every new client creates more operational chaos, growth eventually becomes unsustainable.

This is where systems come in.

A system is simply a repeatable process that allows work to happen consistently without your constant involvement.

The goal is to reduce the business's dependence on you.

So each new client increases revenue…
Without increasing operational strain at the same rate.

That’s scalability.

Scale requires detachment from time.

And systems are the blueprint to achieve that.

The SOP framework that saved me 20+ hours per week

I avoided creating SOPs for the first 4+ years of my business.

But I had two valid reasons why:

First, I didn’t even know what SOPs were.

I never stayed in a corporate job long enough to learn how operational systems worked inside larger businesses.

And second…

Once I finally learned about SOPs, I had no idea how to create them.

Everything online made the process seem overly complicated.

Massive documents.
Corporate jargon.
Complex diagrams.

So I ignored the entire idea.

Every process in my business lived inside my head.

Which meant:

• Team members constantly needed my input

• Onboarding clients took forever

• I was involved in almost everything

• And the business became increasingly dependent on me

As we’ve already established…

This is terrible for scale.

So what’s an SOP?

At its core, an SOP (Standard Operating Procedure) is simply a way to transfer knowledge consistently without your constant involvement.

Think of it as getting your processes out of your head and into a repeatable system.

That’s it.
Nothing fancy.

Once I understood this, I stopped overcomplicating the process…

I created the framework below to gradually step away from repetitive operational tasks within the business.

And so far, it’s already saved me around 20 hours per week.

Here’s the framework:

Read more

“I want to start building my brand on LinkedIn, but I don’t know what to post.”

I’m told this at least 5x per week.

What these people are actually saying is, “What should I write each day?”

So, I want to give you a crash course on how LinkedIn works.

… And help you filter through the noise to get started quickly.

But before we dive in, I want to point out something extremely subtle to you…

As a reader of my Medium articles, you expect content that will help you move forward as a Social CEO, right?

Well, this means it’s my duty to work my socks off to discover:

• Any questions you have

• The topics that tickle your fancy

• What tutorials will benefit you the most

• What problems you’re struggling to find non-obvious solutions to

• And the outcomes you desire (personally and for your business)

This guide on how to start posting on LinkedIn as a CEO is a perfect example of me listening to what questions readers (like you) are asking and then creating content to answer them.

And that’s the key to building a strong digital brand on LinkedIn.

Subscribe now

You don’t have to be Justin Welsh or Nicolas Cole…

You just have to be clear about your target audience, listen to their concerns, and address them with your content using the various formats available.

The more compelling your answer, the faster you’ll grow.

What makes an answer compelling?

Stories.

Don’t stress yourself about how to do all of that just yet.

Let me show you what type of content you should be posting, then give you concrete examples of what it may look like to give you a clear idea.

Client case studies

If you’ve been running your business for a while, the odds are quite high that you’ve achieved some results for your customers—or else you’d be on the street.

That’s good… talk about it!

You’ve just got to think about what happens whenever you watch a James Bond movie to see why this method is so effective…

It’s quite normal for us to picture ourselves in place of characters or people when following a storyline.

The same thing happens to prospective customers when you share client case studies.

You evoke emotions in them and give them a way to see themselves in the shoes of your customer

But there’s a way to do this on LinkedIn that makes it appealing - here’s the structure:

• Use the end result you delivered for the client as a hook.

• Move on to where the client was when you met them

• Discuss what you did to help them move from A to B

• Share how it transformed them (and their business)

Category opinions

You may not be a fan of Andrew Tate, but there’s a lot we can learn from him.

One such thing is the power of opinions.

Andrew Tate’s popularity online skyrocketed because of the controversial remarks he made.

This triggered a form of viral marketing for him, where his statements would cause widespread sharing and discussions.

Is this me telling you to be a polarizing figure?

Heck, no.

It’s me telling you to share your opinions — including the unpopular ones.

“But I don’t have any strong opinions.”

Cut the crap… everyone has strong opinions — especially about their category.

It’s the reason you do what you do in the way you do it.

Don’t be afraid to make them known.

Here’s the structure of how that would look in a LinkedIn post:

• State your strong opinion about your industry/category

• Justify your opinion with good reasoning

• Share examples, data, stories, etc. to make it memorable.

Actionable advice

Whenever I need financial advice, I ask my dad.

I ask my mom for operational advice (e.g., planning a vacation).

Why?

If I asked my mother for financial advice, she’d tell me to send the money to her, and if I asked my dad for operational advice, he’d tell me to “Ask your mom.”

On a deeper level, here’s the actual reason I do this:

Most actionable advice isn’t advice at all; it’s opinion.

In other words, context matters.

My dad has been a high earner for most of my life, whereas my mom has always handled structural things.

Both are experts at what they do — so it makes sense to listen to them.

You’re an expert at something (and you have an opinion).

Sharing this in an actionable way is a key people skill that will set you apart from others online who dole out advice that’s not specific, catered to a specific person, or unstructured.

Here are some key tips to follow when sharing actionable advice on LinkedIn:

• Use a listicle format

• Make it something people can implement within 24 hours

• Use examples to make it extremely clear

Curation

Michael George bought 2M acres of land. Put 55,000 chickens in it. Turned the land into a profitable business. Here’s the story:

There is no story — I completely made it up.

But that’s not the point…

I want you to think about what it did to you:

• Did it make you feel like I’d done my research?

• Did that make you trust me a little more?

• Did my content seem more credible?

I’m sure you answered “Yes” to them all, and that’s exactly my point

When you share relevant and valuable content from other sources, it helps you build trust and credibility with your audience.

They see you as a reliable source of information.

So, do it often.

But note there are two ways you can curate content:

1. One-to-one — you curate one resource or person.

2. One to many — you curate many other resources or people.

It doesn’t matter which you do as long as it saves people time and adds real value.

Another thing you should consider is whether you’re going to tag people you mention beforehand because this has a significant impact on what you’re going to write.

For example, if you’re going to say things the person being curated is unlikely to reshare, you’re probably better off not tagging them — and vice versa.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗱𝗶𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗸

Being you is one of the coolest jobs on the planet.

Nobody knows what it’s like.

Leverage your position to your advantage by giving them “a week in the life” sample.

Note this isn’t only for other people’s benefit.

It’s a great strategy to keep yourself accountable.

As Pearson’s law states:

“That which is measured improves. That which is measured and reported improves exponentially.”

So, kill two birds with one stone.

Do cool stuff, then talk about it.

People enjoy following people who are winning, so make an effort to show you’re improving.

If that means sharing some numbers, so be it — but you don’t have to.

Random ideas from content you’ve consumed

Hopefully, you’re constantly learning and growing.

This is fertile ground for content.

Just take something that’s been on your mind and add a little twist to it…

For example, this week, I’ve been thinking a lot about “how to put yourself out there as a business leader.”

My search led me to insights from the dating world, which gives me unique perspective on gaining visibility.

In other words, nobody else could write it — and this sets me apart.

Here’s an example:

V𝘂𝗹𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 shares

One of the most powerful tools in storytelling is vulnerability.

It allows people to create connections between one another like no other.

Exposing your wounds helps people to see beyond your flesh.

And it’s here where they can begin sharing a deep emotional experience with you.

For example, I once shared a post about going bald at 25 and what it taught me about business, and a bunch of baldies started coming out and sharing their stories too.

Here are the types of vulnerable content that make a mark:

• Mistakes you’ve made

• Costly lessons

• Stories that scared you

The key is to be genuine if you want the emotional connection to happen.

Don’t make stuff up!

Reflect on things that have happened to you and draw meaning from them so you can help others.

That’s all from me…

Thanks for reading!

Subscribe now

“Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”

This Bible scripture perfectly summarizes how to build a sales pipeline online (and how to succeed in life too).

Give.
Give.
Give.

But it’s the second part that usually trips people up:

“For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”

In other words…

How much you give determines how much you get back.

But this is not a conversation about quantity.

It’s about sacrifice.

If a struggling poor person and a millionaire both donated $1 to charity, who made the bigger sacrifice?

The poor person.

They gave a larger percentage of what they had.

So the reward will be larger relative to what the millionaire gave.

This is the secret behind how I’ve helped clients with relatively small audiences build massive sales pipelines online.

The greater your willingness to give…
The greater the return tends to be.

So I constantly push the boundaries on how much information we are willing to give away for free with my clients.

And ironically…

The more we share, the more people want to work with us.

This is counterintuitive for most creators

Read more

In February 2026, I decided to experiment with posting on LinkedIn 7x a week.

But the results didn’t go as expected…

First of all, my impressions tanked by 58.2% compared to the previous 28 days.

Secondly, my following numbers showed no significant improvement.

Basically, I was working harder to achieve less.

So I scaled back operations.

I went back to posting 5x per week and immediately saw an improvement.

But it still wasn’t at the level I was looking for…

I did one more test.

The focus was on improving the quality of my writing and the packaging of my posts.

And the results were staggering!

Subscribe now

Impressions up by 293% in 30 days.

This experience taught me that more is not always the solution to weak growth.

Sometimes, growth requires scaling back to give you enough room to focus on “better.”

So in this article, I’m going to show you exactly what I did to boost my LinkedIn impressions.

But before we get into that…

Let’s talk about what no longer works.

We’ve already established posting more isn’t a good way to improve your reach.

But many creators will go to war to defend their daily posting habit.

Why?

They may give you some surface-level excuse like, “The more I show up, the more I stay in front of my target customers' minds,” but this is absolute bullshit.

Because if your impressions are low, your content is probably not even reaching your ideal customers in the first place.

The real reason they post every day is due to fear.

They see top creators doing it.
They’ve been told by the social media gurus to do it.
They’ve conditioned themselves to think this is how it’s done.

So they never question whether it’s effective.

This made me carry out a soul search to dig into other areas, where fear may be driving my actions.

And here’s what I found…

1. Engaging with others’ content

Engaging with others’ content was championed as the most popular way to grow your account fast just a few years ago.

But now, it doesn’t work for two reasons:

1. Everyone knows this is what people are trying to do when they engage.

2. Most people have handed over the responsibility to AI and virtual assistants.

In other words, people have become desensitized to what seems like genuine comments.

And the quality of comments has decreased overall.

This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t engage…

I still engage with other people’s content.

But it’s under two conditions:

1. I genuinely like their content

2. I genuinely have something to say/ask

Outside of these conditions, I’m not actively commenting - I leave that responsibility to my VA.

Note: In future months, I plan to experiment with 0 engagement to test its impact on my impressions.

2. Connecting with random people

LinkedIn has become highly transactional.

So more and more people approach connections with their guard up.

I personally check everyone who connects with me to see whether I’m interested in what they post or have to offer before deciding whether to accept or not.

Now, I know most people won’t be as vigorous as I am in their connecting process…

But from my conversations with many in the industry, I’m pretty sure they’re just as guarded.

Again, this doesn’t mean you shouldn’t connect with people…

It just means you should build some rapport with them in the feed first.

For example, one guy reached out to me recently after leaving an extremely thoughtful comment on my posts about cults, and we ended up having a good discussion in the feed before connecting.

3. Starting conversations in the DMs

The same points as above apply…

People are far more guarded because the platform has become so transactional.

I find myself leaving a ton more messages unread than I did in 2025.

And I start far fewer too.

The conversations that tend to flourish are the ones that stem from genuine interest.

Like the guy from the example above…

We ended up moving our discussion from the feed to the DMs.

This happens a lot more these days: you (or someone else) posts something interesting, then it starts a conversation in the DMs.

But spontaneously jumping into someone’s DMs with an agenda is probably going to get you ignored or blocked.

So what works now?

Quality.

The better your ideas and how you present them, the further your content is likely to travel.

This has been my focus for the past 30+ days.

And it’s the reason my impressions have jumped up significantly.

So here’s how I improved the quality of my writing…

Copywork

Copywork was a weapon of political power in ancient Greece and Rome.

If you wanted a career in law or politics, you had to influence crowds.

Teachers believed the only way to build a powerful voice was to literally steal the rhythms of the masters through Imitatio - painstakingly transcribing the speeches of philosophers word for word to internalize their genius.

When the empire fell, this rigorous practice shifted inside the silent walls of medieval monasteries.

Exhausted monks spent 16 hours a day copying manuscripts just to keep human knowledge alive.

Centuries later, a young, broke Benjamin Franklin used this exact historical hack to teach himself to write.

This is the same approach I took to improve my LinkedIn content.

Specifically, I:

• Found a creator who got a lot of impressions

• Hand copied all of their posts in my notebook for 1 hour a day

• Detailed what their images consisted of

I didn’t feel a massive change while doing the practice.

But there is definitely a shift in how I write now compared to before.

Personal stories

While performing copywork, I noticed some of the most viral content was personal stories.

And the things they spoke about didn’t really have anything to do with their offering.

So I went to audit my own content to see if the same pattern showed up.

Lo and behold, it was right there glaring at me.

My top content was about:

• Moving from the UK to Ghana (and building a 6-figure business)

• Going from being a postman to building an internet business

• My experience in a cult

None of these things directly correlates with my offering.

But the things I spoke about were extremely relatable to a broad range of people.

Transformation pictures

Another thing I noticed while auditing high-performing content was the power of transformation pictures.

People love to see tangible proof of change.

All of my highest-performing content contains a picture of me from the past vs now.

These transformations capture attention.

Why?

Because people don’t just consume content for information.

They consume it for possibility.

They want to see evidence that change is achievable.

Especially when the starting point feels relatable.

This is why “rags to riches” stories have always performed so well online.

The brain instantly notices contrast.

So the image itself becomes a hook.

Final thoughts

More content does not automatically equal more growth.

Better content does.

The LinkedIn platform has changed.

• People are overwhelmed.

• Feeds are saturated.

• Attention is harder to earn.

Quality matters more than ever.

The goal should not be to become a content machine.

It should be to become memorable.

So if your content is underperforming right now, don’t immediately assume you need to do more.

You may just need to do better.

Thanks for reading.

Subscribe now

P.S. I help founders, freelancers, and solopreneurs grow their businesses through LinkedIn content.

If you’d like help improving your writing and positioning, apply to work with me here.

I struggled to make more than $10,000 directly from my services for 4 years.

And I tried everything.

• Raising my rates.

• Working longer hours.

• Acquiring clients.

Nothing worked.

No matter what I did, my income never reflected my effort.

I kept thinking, “Maybe I’m just not cut out for business.”

But I dreaded the thought of working in a corporate institution.

Things only clicked for me in May 2025.

5 years since going solo.

I hired a coach… and within one conversation, she called me out.

“You don’t have a clear offer,” she said.
“You’re selling your skills, not a transformation.”

This insight is what’s changed my financial trajectory to date.

I realized my problem wasn’t effort — it was clarity.

My skills were valuable, but my offer was vague.

It was impossible to charge my worth because of this.

So I got to work…

Within 5 months, I created a single, structured offer that brought in $51,317.59.

The best part of it all? I work less.

Let me show you how I did it…

Read more

Your voice has the power to inspire, connect, and create opportunities you never imagined possible.

But many people still refrain from publishing content online.

Why?

A common belief they adopt is: “For what I create to be worth sharing, it must attract a large number of views, shares, or comments.”

This couldn’t be further from the truth.

Thinking this way often discourages people from ever starting their content journey — they fear their efforts will be wasted.

Here’s a quick newsflash if you fall into this category…

Content doesn’t need mass appeal to be valuable!

Every large creator you see online started with an audience of 0.

They found success by catering to niche communities with specific interests.

For example, KSI is one of the most popular YouTubers globally.

If you search him up on Google, it would say he’s a social media influencer, professional boxer, and musician.

But he initially gained fame with his FIFA gameplay and commentary — something that doesn’t appeal to everyone.

The point I’m making is this:

Being of value doesn’t mean you must have mass appeal.

It means you’re beneficial to a select group of people.

And as you grow, your niche will grow with you (like what happened to KSI, Hormozi, Justin Welsh, etc.).

“But I don’t like putting myself out there…”

And I get it.

Being in the public eye is daunting — especially because we all know people can be quite mean.

But you’ve got to change your perspective about what it means to publish content online.

You’re NOT putting yourself in the shop window to be slandered and judged…

You’re sharing ideas, perspectives, and thoughts to help others grow and overcome challenges (including boredom) — something you probably already do in your private life with your friends.

Bringing that same act to the internet is simply scaling your support.

In other words, the internet helps you do what you’re already doing at scale.

And get rewarded handsomely for it!

Now that we’ve debunked the most common myth and objection, let’s get into 5 compelling reasons to publish content online.

Subscribe now

1. Earn 2 of the most valuable life assets

When you publish content online, you earn two life-enhancing assets:

1. Trust

2. Credibility

Forget about what school taught you.

Life is not a meritocracy.

What you achieve with your time on this earth is heavily influenced by your access to resources and your social connections.

Don’t get me wrong; I’m not saying you don’t need to have some individual talent and put in effort…

What I am saying is that those attributes alone will only get you so far.

The degree of trust and credibility you accumulate forms the foundation of what you have access to.

If people don’t trust you, they won’t make provisions for you — just think back to feelings of doubt you had the last time your shady cousin asked to borrow money or when they asked you to introduce them to your friend.

Credibility is just as important…

It gives people the assurance that the information and claims you make are accurate and reliable.

This is why people put on their LinkedIn profiles that they’re “ex-Google” or “ex-Microsoft…”

By affiliating themselves with a credible institution, they’re making themselves come off as more reliable.

2. Keeps you accountable

Believe it or not, I had to retake my English exams when I was 15.

I failed the first time round.

And yes, I’m a native speaker.

But today, I’ve earned well over 6 figures from my writing.

What changed?

I learned how to write.

Mind you, I didn’t learn this skill from reading a bunch of books (even though I wouldn’t discount the value of doing so).

I improved my writing by writing, discovering what works and cutting out what doesn’t.

And learning this skill has paid me more than 2x what I was earning in my full-time career.

Here’s the gist:

Sharing content online makes you accountable for your personal development.

If you want to attract opportunities from what you share, you must improve your ability to:

• Articulate ideas

• Manage projects

• Utilize digital tools

• etc.

All of these skills make you extremely valuable in the new digital marketplace that’s been emerging.

3. Create a legacy

I’m a millennial.

Growing up, my parents always used to tell me about their upbringing back home in Ghana…

One of their favorite stories was about how they would trek through all kinds of terrain barefoot just to get to school.

But I always struggled to relate because they never had anything tangible to show me — bar a few pictures from their adolescent years.

Sharing content online solves this problem.

Everything you publish is added to your digital repository that exists in cyberspace.

This means your ideas, insights, and stories can contribute to a broader discussion or provide value to others long after you’ve created them.

People still reach out to me about the content I created in 2020 when I used to talk about data science.

Some of these have started conversations that have developed into lucrative opportunities that propelled my career.

So reason number 3 to publish content online:

You can influence or inspire people well beyond your immediate circle, long into the future.

In other words, you can create a legacy.

4. Open doors to lucrative opportunities

There was never a point in my life when I said, “I want to run a ghostwriting business when I grow up,” but here we are…

My family always asks me how on earth I got into this line of work.

And I tell them, “Just from meeting people online.”

The in-depth story is I was creating content online and got a few gigs as a freelance writer.

This extended my reach and put me in contact with a guy who showed me that freelance writing is one of the worst ways to make money online.

He showed me ghostwriting, and the rest is history.

There’s two lessons you can take from this:

1. People give other people opportunities

2. The more discoverable you are, the more likely you are to connect with someone who can give you an opportunity.

Making your knowledge and skills accessible increases the likelihood of connecting with others who share your interests or need your expertise.

And this is what expands your network.

As the popular adage goes, “Your network is your net worth.”

5. Enjoy the fulfillment of creative expression

Research suggests engaging in activities that enable you to express yourself and feel emotion stimulates your mind and decreases stress.

Basically, you can get a positive kick out of:

• Bettering yourself

• Building your legacy

• Earning people’s trust

• Becoming a credible source

If that’s not killing multiple birds with one stone, I don’t know what is.

By exploring and expressing your passions in a structured way, you create a deep sense of fulfillment, joy, and accomplishment for yourself.

In other words, as much as you’re doing it to meet the needs of others, you’re also doing it for your own good.

Anyways, that’s all from me…

Thanks for reading!

Subscribe now

I’m a second-generation immigrant.

Dad’s a train driver.
Mum works for the UK government.

No business background.
No special connections.
No safety net.

Nothing about my life screamed “future entrepreneur.”

Yet today…

I run a 6-figure ghostwriting agency from my laptop.

As I write this, I’m sitting poolside in Ghana with a shisha pipe and peach iced tea.

2 weeks from now, I’ll be in South Africa at one of the most pristine hotels in Johannesburg.

2 months from now, I’ll be in London to celebrate my Dad’s 60th.

After that, I’ll be in Dubai… just in time to avoid the yearly summer heatwave.

My business doesn’t stop when I move.

All because I’m constantly answering one simple question:

“What problem can I solve for people like me?”

People who:

• Love indulging in the good things in life.

• Refuse to conform to social hierarchies.

• Value freedom more than approval.

• Spend a lot of time online.

Answering this question transformed my entire life…

Because it revealed to me a key detail being overlooked by the masses today:

Leverage is increasingly accessible to everyone thanks to the internet.

And how you decide to use that leverage can dictate the next few decades of your life.

So in this article, I’ll show you how to use it to earn a living and build a life most people think is out of reach.

Even if you’re just an average Joe… like me.

Read more

In 2024, I paid around $100 to meet with Nikolett Jaska.

Her LinkedIn was absolutely blowing up at the time.

… and I wanted to know what she knew, so I could use it to grow my ghostwriting business on the platform.

Since then, I’ve been able to:

• Use LinkedIn as my primary lead generation channel

• Build a 6-figure business through organic content

• Sign high-ticket clients without paid ads

And there are a few things I’ve learned along the way.

For example:

• You do NOT need to go viral.

• You do NOT need to post every day.

• You do NOT need to overshare your private life.

My greatest learning is that most online business owners (including me at one stage) make LinkedIn WAY harder than it needs to be.

They obsess over followers and likes when they should be obsessing over trust.

Trust is what increases your conversion rates.

And one of the most effective ways to gain trust is how you show up.

So in this article, I’ll break down 7 simple steps to optimize your LinkedIn for higher sales conversions.

1. Define (and clearly state) your unique value proposition

If you’ve got a decent offer, it’s highly likely there are many people in the market selling the same thing as you.

Why should someone pay you instead of someone else?

The most effective way to claim your market share is to be different.

… And lead everything you do with this difference.

For example, if you’ve been featured in major publications and helped Justin Bieber win on social media, state that.

Make it the first thing people see when they visit your profile.

But it doesn’t just have to be about who you’ve helped…

Your difference can be:

• Deep expertise in a specific area

• Your values as a founder

• Your unique perspectives on industry trends

• Your personal story and journey

• The network you’ve built and the people you associate with

My difference is simply that I help founders grow their businesses through authentic, founder-led content strategies while pulling back the curtain on the exact process.

The main point is that you MUST define your unique value proposition.

This is the foundation of everything you do.

2. Make it obvious for people who want to work with you

The harder it is for people to find the path to work with you, the fewer people will work with you.

It’s common sense, right?

But a ton of business owners still make this mistake…

Including me.

Recently, I’ve been getting a lot of messages like:

“What do you actually do?” and “How can I work with you?”

Here’s one example:

And another:

This is a clear sign your content is hitting the right emotions with people, but they don’t know what to do next when they encounter you.

Fortunately for me, many have decided to DM me for assistance.

But most people won’t do that.

So make it stupidly simple for them to know how they could work with you.

The best place to do this on LinkedIn is in your Featured section.

Do NOT fill it with your most popular posts.

Use it to guide action:

• A link to apply

• A clear breakdown of your offer

• A simple “start here” resource

You can also use the Services section to reinforce what you do.

But the main point is this:

If someone is ready to work with you…

They should not have to think.
They should know exactly what to do.

3. Align your content with your offering

In the words of the Godfather of advertising, David Ogilvy, “If it doesn’t sell, it isn’t creative.”

Every post you share tells your audience:

• “This is what I know.”

• “This is what I care about.”

• “This is what I can help you with.”

So if your content is not aligned with your offer, you’ll attract the wrong people.

Does this mean you must sell in every post?

No.

But your content should always point people toward your offer (implicitly or explicitly).

For example, if you help experts build and grow online businesses…

Your content should revolve around:

• Freedom

• Leverage

• Ownership

It doesn’t make sense to post about:

• Gym routines

• Politics

• Random life updates

Unless you can tie it back to building or growing an online business.

If you can’t, your positioning becomes unclear.

And when your positioning is unclear, people will either:

• Put you in a box you didn’t choose

• Ignore you completely

Both are outcomes you want to avoid.

Don’t fall into the trap of chasing engagement at the expense of alignment.

Focus on serving the right people…

And consistently tie your content back to what you actually sell.

4. Maintain your digital presence

Every week, the internet is obsessed with something new.

A few weeks ago, it was all ICE agents in the US.
A little after that, it was the Epstein files.
Then it was the Iran conflict.
More recently, it’s the Michael Jackson biopic.

TL;DR: Attention moves fast.

And because everything is so interconnected…

News travels even faster.

What does this mean for you?

If you’re out of sight, you’re out of mind.

People forget quickly.

Even the ones who like your content.
Even the ones who were considering working with you.

This is why consistency is a MUST.

Not just in posting… but also in presence.

You don’t need to publish every single day.
But you do need to show up every day.

For example, I post on LinkedIn 5 days a week.

On the other 2 days, I’m still:

• Engaging with other people’s content

• Replying to comments and DMs

• Connecting with people in my ideal audience

Because visibility doesn’t only come from posting.

It comes from participation.

The goal is simple:

Be present.

Let people see your name.
Let people see your thinking.
Let people feel your presence.

The more often people see you, the more familiar you become.

And the more familiar you are, the more trustworthy you’re perceived to be.

It’s called the mere exposure effect.

This plays a major role in driving conversions.

5. Build authority through thought leadership

Before anyone buys from you, they’re asking themselves three questions:

• Can I trust this person?

• Do they know what they’re talking about?

• Are they actually an authority in this space?

If the answer to any of these is “no”…

You’ve lost the sale.

So how do you make sure the answer is “yes”? Thought leadership.

At its core, thought leadership is simple:

It’s content that proves you know what you’re talking about.

For example, one of the fastest ways to do this is by calling out a common mistake your target audience is making…

And then explain why it’s wrong.

This does two things:

1. It challenges their current beliefs

2. It positions you as someone with a better way

This is how you build authority.

Not by saying you’re good…
But by showing it.

Your audience should not have to figure out whether you know your stuff.

It should be obvious.

From how you think.
From how you explain things.
From how you break down problems.

Good thought leadership makes people think, “I can learn a lot from this person.”

Trust goes up.
Credibility goes up.

And working with you feels like the logical next step.

So don’t just post to stay visible.

Post to make your expertise undeniable.

6. Use social proof strategically

The most successful people know seeing isn’t believing.

But this isn’t the reality for the majority of the population.

They must SEE before they can believe.

This doesn’t mean you need to flex a rented Lamborghini or Rolex watch in a Miami penthouse.

You’ve just got to answer a simple question in THEIR mind:

“Has this person actually done what he’s talking about?”

The other day, someone DM’d me on LinkedIn promising to help scale my business to 7 figures.

I asked them, “Have you ever scaled a business to 7 figures before?”

They said, “No.”

And that was the end of the conversation.

But my point is people won’t always give you the chance to answer whether you’ve done what you claim to do.

So you MUST infer it in your content by subtly slipping in your results.

Real outcomes you’ve created for yourself or others.

For example:

• Wins

• Testimonials

• Revenue milestones

• Before vs after transformations

You want people sat at home (or in the office) scrolling their feed to land on your content and immediately think, “This looks like what I need.”

And the key to doing this is to constantly mention your results in your content.

• Weave them into your stories

• Drop them in your hooks

• Constantly reinforce them

For example:

“I used this exact strategy with a client last month and they generated 12 inbound leads in a week.”

Then you can accompany this with an image of your client saying they got 12 inbound clients.

Here’s an example of me doing it:

Simple.

But extremely powerful.

Because now it’s evidence I can do what I’m talking about.

This lowers people’s guard about whatever it is I’m going to say next.

Here’s the gist:

The goal is not to impress people…
It’s to reassure them you can deliver.

Because when someone believes that…

The risk of working with you drops.

And the likelihood of them reaching out goes up.

7. Build relationships and community

Your image is shaped by the people you’re seen with.

If you’re connected with credible people in your space, people assume you to be credible.

For example, I have a client who gained over 700 followers in a day after she recorded a podcast with a well-known face in her industry.

His followers immediately trusted her because they trusted him.

This phenomenon is known as reputational transfer (or social proof - for readers of Robert Cialdini’s book Influence).

Here’s a formal definition:

Reputational transfer is the idea that the reputation of one entity can be extended to or influence another related entity. This can be a positive or negative transfer between individuals, businesses, or products.

There are many examples of this…

In 2022, Dan Koe, who was initially highly reputable on X, released an interview with Justin Welsh, who was highly reputable on LinkedIn.

This collaboration helped Justin fast-track his growth on X, and Dan speed up his growth on LinkedIn.

Now they both dominate on one another’s platform.

So how do you tap into these sorts of collaborations and networkS?

• Engage with others in your industry

• Comment on their posts

• Send them a helpful DM without looking for anything in return

All of these acts tap into another principle called reciprocity.

The reciprocity principle states that people respond to positive actions with other positive ones.

Always keep that in mind.

Final thoughts

None of this is complicated.

But most people don’t do it consistently.

These 7 principles helped me 6x my revenue over the past 15 months.

If you get these right, your LinkedIn becomes an extremely valuable system to bring you clients.

Thanks for reading.

P.S. I help freelancers, solopreneurs, and coaches grow their business through LinkedIn content.

If you want help turning your profile into a lead generation asset, apply to work with me here.

Subscribe now

6 years ago, I wrote and published my first piece of professional content online.

Since then, I’ve worked with the likes of:

• DataCamp

• NVIDIA

• Neptune AI (acquired by OpenAI)

… and a number of major personal brands I cannot name for privacy reasons.

To this day, never have I ever successfully landed a client by:

• Investing in paid ads

• Spamming cold outreach

• Going to networking events

I’ve tried them all…
None of them worked for me.

My most reliable lead acquisition channel has always been organic content marketing on LinkedIn.

And that’s despite hardly ever going viral.

The difference came down to 5 principles.

5 principles that helped me generate $100,000+ in just 8 months last year.

And in this article, I’ll show you exactly how to use them to grow your own business.

Read more

Last year, I went from making $2,000-$3,000/month to $14,000+/month.

And I didn’t have to:

• Learn new skills

• Work longer hours

• Take on more clients

I simply made my offer stupidly obvious to my ideal customer…

…and priced it accordingly.

Those two changes completely changed my life.

For the first 4 years of business, I struggled to get things off the ground.

But in 2025, something clicked…

I realized people don’t pay for skills.
They pay for what they believe will get them what they want.

So I thought:

“If I sell the transformation they want instead of the vehicle they think gets them there, it will be a no-brainer for them, and I can charge a whole lot more.”

This insight took me from being a struggling freelancer to a 6-figure business owner.

I’ll show you how I built the no-brainer offer.

But first, you must understand the biggest mistake I made.

Many solo service providers fall into this trap…

Focusing solely on getting better at their craft.

This was all I did for the first 4 years of my business.

It’s called the skill focus trap.

I thought if I became undeniable at what I did, clients would naturally pay me more.

And to be fair… they did.

But only to a point.

There was still a ceiling.

I couldn’t charge much more than what everyone else around me was charging.

Why?

Because service providers are NOT paid in direct proportion to their skill.

And this is where most freelancers get trapped.

Because nobody grows up saying, “I want to be a freelancer.”

There’s no formal training for it.

Usually, one thing leads to another… and you just end up here.

Which means most freelancers bring employee thinking into self-employment.

“The better I perform, the more I earn.”

But this is completely untrue.

The freelance market doesn’t reward effort…

It rewards perceived value.

This is a completely different game.

And most freelancers never make the shift because they prefer to stick to what they know (a.k.a. focusing on their skills).

Psychologists put this down to mental biases like status quo bias and the mere-exposure effect.

We naturally prefer what feels familiar.

Even when it keeps us stuck!

This is why, whenever I wasn’t getting the results I wanted, I thought I needed:

• Better/more content

• Better/more leads

• Better/more customers

My default mode was to more.

And inevitably, I burned out.

It got so bad that I stopped posting on LinkedIn for almost 2 years.

If you scroll through my Medium archive, you’ll see it… waves of stop-starts.

Moments of intensity followed by long periods of silence.

Why was this happening?

Because I didn’t know I was supposed to define what I have to offer.

I let the market do it for me.

They dictated:

• The price

• The scope

• The timeline

I was just saying yes to whatever came my way.

And I missed out on hundreds of thousands of dollars.

This is the hidden cost of focusing solely on your skill.

You become a commodity.

And when you’re a commodity, your only competitive advantage is price.

It’s a race to the bottom.

You stay underpaid and struggle to get customers…

It’s not because you’re not good enough.
It’s because nobody knows whether you can help them get what they want.

So how do we fix this?

You must create an offer that your ideal customer can’t refuse (even if it’s not in their budget).

This means solving a bleeding neck problem.

A problem where, if not fixed, your ideal customer’s business dies.

And the way to create this offer is simple…

Research.

80% of service providers skip this step because it’s long and boring.

But the 20% who do it are earning in excess of $100K each year.

Here’s exactly how I do it:

#1 Model whom you admire

There are already people doing what you want to do - and doing it well.

You don’t need to reinvent the wheel.

Identify 3-5 people in your space who:

• Live the lifestyle or run the business you want.

• Work with the kind of clients you want to serve.

• Represent values and an approach you respect.

• Have achieved results you aspire to reach.

The individual doesn’t have to tick every box.

Think of it like this:

“Who would I happily trade places with in this specific area within my niche?”

Write their names down and note why you admire them.

Then study them.

You want to understand the following:

• Language - How do they talk about what they do?

• Tone - How do they make their audience feel?

• Positioning - What makes them different?

• Problems - What specific pains do they focus on solving?

• Content Themes - What topics or ideas do they repeatedly own?

• Funnel - How do they attract and convert clients?

When you analyze them side by side, you’ll start spotting patterns.

These are the patterns you must follow to build an offer that’s attractive (and solves a bleeding neck problem).

#2 Define your ideal customer profile

Once you’ve studied the market, shift focus to the person you want to serve.

Clarity on who you’re helping shapes what you offer.

Ask yourself:

• What keeps them awake at night?

• What are they afraid of?

• What outcome are they desperate to achieve?

• What’s their current situation?

• What’s their dream outcome?

• What do they think is standing in their way?

• How are they currently trying to solve it (and why isn’t it working)?

Your offer should feel like the missing piece between where they are and where they want to be.

#3 Conduct market intelligence

Business is about giving a specific set of people what they want in exchange for what you want, which is typically money.

So how do you find out what people want?

Simple… ask them.

Find 5–10 people who look like your ideal customer and tell them you’re doing market research and you wanna ask them some questions.

To increase your odds of getting them to say yes, offer them value in exchange.

But whatever happens, do NOT pitch them.

Keep the call about research.

If they ask for more information about your services, sure, you can tell them and get them onboarded.

But don’t go into a call thinking of making a sale.

#4 Build your offer

Now combine everything you’ve learned:

• What the market already values.

• What your ideal client truly wants.

• What unique angle or gap you can fill.

And package it into a solution — write a doc.

The most important thing to note in this stage is that you’re not married to your offer.

It will evolve as you gain experience, refine your process, and attract higher-quality clients.

So the goal here is not perfection.
It’s progressive clarity.

This is how you build an irresistible offer.

Final thoughts

Most online service providers struggle to make ends meet because they spend too much time perfecting their skills.

Yes, you need to be good at what you do…

But after a certain point, more skill doesn’t equal more income.

You’re not paid in direct proportion to your talent.
You’re paid in accordance with your perceived value.

Sell the dream transformation, not the vehicle.

That’s how you build an offer your ideal customer can’t refuse.
And qualify to charge premium prices.

Thanks for reading!

Subscribe now

2 weeks ago, I made my client $14,452 in 24 hours off one LinkedIn post.

But I almost never wrote it…

The goal was to promote a new workshop they were hosting.

The first post got crickets.
The second post… nothing.
The third post… same story.

At that point, I thought I was about to lose my highest-paying client.

5 days before the program…
We had sold just 3 seats.

All from alumni.

My mind went straight back to the days of living on canned tuna.

So I called an emergency meeting.

My client told me, “I spoke to someone today, and they didn’t even know I was running a workshop.”

I thought to myself, “How could they not know?”

We had posted about it 3 times already.

I went back and reviewed everything.

And yeah… it was made sense:

• The visual had nothing to do with the post

• The hook didn’t mention the workshop

• The content built zero intrigue

All I did was throw a PS at the bottom saying, “We’re running a workshop.”

I scrapped everything I had queued.

The next post I wrote, I did so with one clear thought in mind: “How could I make it super clear we’re hosting a workshop?”

I wrote the draft.
Got it approved.
Scheduled it.

And waited…

The post took the heck off.

Impressions spiked.
Comments came in.
DMs started rolling.

24 hours later, 12 more seats sold.

By the end of the week… Sold out.

I detailed everything I tweaked to make this post possible.

Here are the 5 steps to creating LinkedIn posts that print money:

Read more

In 2020, I accidentally became a freelancer.

The COVID pandemic hit.
Businesses were laying off employees all over the place.

I managed to survive the first two restructuring waves.

But deep down, I knew my fate was sealed.

I was going to be let go…
It was just a matter of when.

In anticipation, I started writing on Medium like a madman.

5–7 stories a week.
Every week.
For 5 straight months.

Many of my posts went viral.

All I’d do is share a link to them on LinkedIn (this was enough to blow up your following back).

The CEO of my company even reached out to — “KP, love that you’re keeping yourself productive.”

But a few weeks later, D-Day came.
HR booked a meeting on my calendar.
I knew exactly what it meant.

And I wasn’t disappointed.

In September 2020, I was informed I would be made redundant at the end of October.

They gave me a decent severance package… enough to last 3 months.

I figured I’d use that time to find another job.

But 3 days after my contract officially ended, I got a DM.

My first freelance offer.

No interview.
Paid work.
Remote.

It was a no-brainer.

And everything I was looking for — a chance to build a life on my own terms.

Or so I thought…

I was expecting freelancing to be as they showed me on Instagram…

On a beach somewhere in the Bahamas, laptop on my lap, sipping the chillest peach iced tea (because I don’t drink alcohol — never have).

But it was far from that…

I barely had time to look at my watch.

By the end of the year, I was juggling four clients.

The money was better than what I earned in my full-time job.

But my quality of life sucked.

At first, I told myself it was temporary.

But eventually, I burned out.

Completely.

I knew something had to change, but didn’t know what.

So I started studying people who were making $5,000+ per month writing online.

All I wanted was a way to earn more money without doing more.

That’s when it clicked…

The problem wasn’t freelancing.

It was the way I was structuring it.

Let me tell you the 3 biggest problems with freelancing:

1. The person giving you the work determines its value

Sure, there’s some wiggle room to negotiate your pay.

But there’s always a ceiling.

At some point, you’re priced out.

The client will just say, “That’s beyond our budget.”

In other words, “We don’t believe what you’re doing is worth that much. We’ll find someone cheaper.”

The price you command for the value you bring is constrained by the market.

You’re seen as an expense rather than an investment.

So it’s almost impossible to be paid what you’re worth.

2. You earn in direct proportion to your effort

It doesn’t matter how good you are at your craft…

Want to earn more?

You either work longer hours, raise your rates, or take on more clients.

Every single one of those levers has a ceiling.

Effort is not scalable.

At some point, you run out of hours or energy.

3. You’re stuck in survival mode

The combination of not being paid your worth and only earning in proportion to your effort keeps you trapped.

You can’t plan ahead because you’re too busy trying to stay afloat.

The constant pressure forces you to think small, act fast, and settle often.

For example, one client changed my fee from $0.35 per word to $300 per blog post, and I just nodded along — even though I knew it meant I was losing out on $312.50 on average per article.

Why? Because I needed the money.

Rather than complain, I just asked for more work.

So how did I fix it?

Leverage.

Leverage is what separates underpaid freelancers from those who are filling their bank accounts.

It’s the only way to make results grow faster than your effort.

And at its core, it’s extremely simple:

Build advantages around what you do to get a bigger result than you could with your own effort.

This is what turns a job into a business.

Instead of relying on your time and energy to make money, you create engines that multiply your output.

When I was stuck below $10K/month, I had zero leverage.

Just time and effort.

And my offer didn’t help either…

It wasn’t tied to revenue.

It made people feel good…
But didn’t make them money.

I was selling a low-ticket vitamin, so I had to work 10X harder to make $2K/month.

Then I made my first shift.

I repositioned into LinkedIn ghostwriting.

This got me to $4K/month.

Better… but still limited.

Because it was a “painkiller” offer.
You only need these when you’re sick.

People only bought when they were overwhelmed.

And when that pain disappeared… so did the need for me.

So I made another shift.

Same service.
Different positioning.

Instead of, “I’ll write your posts.”
It became, “I’ll help you grow your business with content.”

Now, my offer was tied to revenue.

Without my solution, their business dies.

High demand skill, with low supply.

This allowed me to increase my rates.

My next client paid me $4,400 upfront and then I put them on a $5,000 retainer to write their LinkedIn posts and emails.

I also went back to my old clients who were already on retainer and told them about the changes to my services and that I was hiking my rates — they complied.

Boom.

Now, I’m making $10K+/month from retainer clients.

And then I hit a next wall…

I was trapped in my business.

All my time went into delivery.

No time for growth.
No time for prospecting.

I used to wake up cold sweats thinking about how I’m ever going to be able earn enough to purchase French chateau and collection of Porsche cars.

Sure, I could’ve hired another writer to balance the workload.

But I knew I’d just end up in the same situation after onboarding a few more clients.

So instead, I documented every process in my business and handed off every low-impact task to a virtual assistant.

This freed up time to think.
To study.

To build something bigger.

That’s when I started building what I now call:

The Leverage OS.

A system designed to:

• Position and package your skills

• Break the link between time and your income

• Remove you as the bottleneck in your business

This is exactly how I made $103,036.27 in 8 months last year.

Ever since I moved to Dubai, many of my friends have been reaching out to ask how I’ve been able to do what I do.

I give them this blueprint and they’re dumbfounded.

That’s when I realized other freelancers need this too.

So I’m considering turning this into a self-paced course.

But only if there’s real demand…

Here’s the deal:

If 50 people don’t buy…
This doesn’t get built.

Simple.

But if they do…

You’re locked in at $50 for life.

If we don’t hit the number, you get a full refund.

No risk.

Lock in your spot here: The Leverage OS

Thanks for reading.

Subscribe now

LinkedIn used to be my final lifeline.

Now, it is my ATM.

I started posting out of sheer terror.

I wanted someone-anyone-to notice me before the COVID redundancies claimed my paycheck.

But I didn’t know what on earth I was doing…

I would share links to my blog posts with no commentary, make random posts when inspiration struck, and ignore every best practice in the book.

My theory was “more likes = increased chances of finding a job” so I chased them like a desperate suitor.

I did manage to land a few contracts with giants like NVIDIA and OpenAI, but I have to admit a painful truth…

My content didn’t close those deals. Networking did.

In fact, Networking closed 95% of my deals.

The 20+ hours a week I spent on creating content felt more like a burden than a strategic investment.

So, I did the only logical thing…

I quit the content game.

I spent 2 years in the wilderness of silence.

But something triggered me to take a second swipe in 2024.

And when I returned, I came back with a machine**.**

I realized relying on inspiration is the quickest way to the poorhouse.

Business owners don’t wait for the muse; they build systems.

I developed a three-part architecture that removed the guesswork from my income:

1. The publishing engine: Content that creates “intent.”

2. The reciprocity loop: A systematic way to build trust with people who sign checks.

3. The pipeline valve: An outbound strategy that ensures I never wonder where my next $5,000 is coming from.

The result? A predictable, repeatable $14,400 every single month.

If you are tired of being a content creator and want to become a business owner who leverages content to drive traffic to their offering, you must stop relying on how you feel.

You must start relying on how you operate.

Here is the system…

Read more

3 years ago, I published my first content publishing strategy.

But a lot has changed since then…

Twitter is now called X.
And I haven’t posted there in almost 2 years.

I’ve also moved from ConvertKit to Substack to make use of their paid newsletter infrastructure.

So my old publishing system is obsolete.

But that’s about to change…

Subscribe now

Clients have been asking me to expand my services to X and Substack.

And I’m a big believer in being my own first case study.

So I spent the last 4 weeks studying publishing patterns across:

• LinkedIn

• X

• Substack

And I have put together a strategy to help me maximize the reach of my organic content.

This is the exact same strategy I’ll be deploying for my clients.

But you’re getting it completely for free.

Let’s get into it…

The content schedule

“Do I need to post daily? And if so, how many times per day?”

This is one of the first crossroads creators get stuck at.

Gurus online would swear by a certain number of posts per day or week.

But after studying a range of creators across industries, I quickly learned the answer is not so clear-cut.

The goal is to show up when you’re available.

Why?

Because what’s going to help your content distribution most is engaging with other creators.

It’s simply not enough to just make a great post and ghost.

You must spend time replying to comments made on your posts.

More importantly, you must spend time engaging with others’ content to divert eyes to your content.

This is how you become seen by prospects.

But that’s not all…

Social media is extremely competitive these days.

To give you the best chance of reaching your target customers, you want to take as many swings as possible without coming across as spam.

The goal is to treat each post as a new experiment. Do things to see what works and do more of what works.

Here are the ranges I’ve found optimal for hitting those targets:

• Substack: 2 email newsletters per week, 1-3 notes per day (5x per week)

• LinkedIn: 3-5 posts per week (once per day)

• X: 3-5 posts per day (5x per week)

Of course, you can do more.
But this is what I’ve found to be most effective after my research.

The most important thing is that you pick a schedule and stick with it no matter what.

Your audience should know what to expect from you.
And you should know what to expect from yourself.

When you have a dedicated time, you remove the need for inspiration.

Which is extremely important for consistency.

But what gets published?

Yes, we create content…
But we’re not content creators.

We’re business owners.

Content is only a tool to drive traffic to our business.

So we must minimize the time we spend creating content to allow us more time to focus on what we do best.

And how do we do this?

By stealing from ourselves.

Fun fact: The people you’ll find on one social media is not the same you’ll find on another.

Some people swear by X.
Some think LinkedIn is everything.
Others believe Substack is the next big thing.

You’re going to meet people with different belief systems on different platforms.

And they may all still fit your target audience.

The point I’m making is…

Just because you share something on one platform doesn’t mean you can’t share it again on another.

You can maximize the distribution of one idea by spreading it across channels.

And there are 2 ways you can play this:

• Top-down: Create one piece of long-form content and then strip ideas from there to create multiple pieces of short-form content.

• Down-up: Create multiple pieces of short-form content and expand the piece that gets the highest engagement into a long-form piece of content.

Of course, they both have their pros and cons.

Top-down content distribution is high investment.
You’re essentially making a bet about what your audience wants to know.

The good thing about it is you can batch your content well in advance.

Down-up content distribution is low investment.
But it’s reactive.

You’re waiting to see what the market says before you invest.

Some would swear by the down-up approach. But in reality, it’s down to preference.

I used to use the down-up approach, but I switched because my content wasn’t getting the best engagement overall.

Now I take a more hybrid approach.

Staying ahead of schedule

I’ve been fortunate enough to join communities with successful entrepreneurs like Matt Gray, Nicholas Cole, and Darren Lee, to name a few…

I always use it as an opportunity to pick their brain.

One of my most favorite questions to ask them in the Q&A sessions is: “What ingredient do you feel like has been the important to your success?”

And they all answer with a variation of the same thing…

“Taking consistent action over a long period of time.”

The way to do this is to remove motivation from the equation.

I do this by batching content weekly.

This helps you achieve 2 goals:

1. Takes you off the content hamster wheel so you can focus on high ROI tasks

2. Gives you enough time and flexibility to collect data about what’s working and what’s not, then adjust.

Anything longer than a week is too rigid. Anything less than a week can demand too much time.

We want to minimize friction wherever possible.

I used to publish daily on LinkedIn…
I ended up quitting the platform for 2 years - don’t be like me.

At the time of writing, I use AuthoredUp to schedule my LinkedIn content and native Substack to schedule Substack notes and newsletters.

I’m experimenting with different tools for scheduling X posts, but only because I want something that tracks stats automatically and gives me insights into popular posts in my niche.

But the native X scheduler is fully capable.

Final thoughts

Content is just another tool to help with lead generation.

This means creating it shouldn’t take up most of your time.

The entrepreneurs who maximize the value of their content succeed by building systems to help them distribute the same idea across multiple platforms.

But always remember this:

It’s not about how much you communicate with them in a day…
It’s more about how consistently you show up over a long period of time.

This will allow your audience to develop expectations of you, which constantly keeps them anticipating your next move.

Thanks for reading!

P.S. If you’d like help writing LinkedIn content, apply to work with Stackedwized.

Subscribe now

In July 2024, I returned to LinkedIn after a 2-year hiatus.

The platform had completely changed.

Almost nobody was treating it as a job-seeking website anymore.
More and more people were using it to sell products and services.

I wanted in.

I had just started my ghostwriting business.
And LinkedIn seemed like the perfect place to grow it.

So I started posting…

Absolutely nothing happened.

My posts hardly got any engagement.
Nobody reached out.
And I felt invisible.

Mind you, I had already accumulated 14,000 followers prior to my hiatus.

Their silence was a clear signal that something was wrong with my approach.

Never in a million years did I think it would have anything to do with my writing.

Because at the time, I had already:

• Written 600+ blog posts

• Become a top 10% creator on Medium

• Accumulated 7M+ views

I was also creating content for massive AI brands like NVIDIA, Neptune (acquired by OpenAI), and DataCamp.

So naturally, I assumed writing wasn’t the problem.

Only to find out I was wrong after paying $200 to speak to a LinkedIn coach for 30 minutes.

I didn’t know how to write copy for LinkedIn.

From that day on, I set out to master this skill.

I studied creators whose content I enjoyed.
Reverse-engineered their best-performing posts.
Tested everything to see what worked.

And within 8 months, I made $100,000.

0 ad spend.
0 customers from outreach.

All inbound from content.

Once I realized how valuable this skill was, I started documenting what worked.

That’s when I noticed a pattern…

There were 5 core principles behind posts that:

• Capture attention

• Grow your audience

• Generate leads

I use these same principles today.

Even when ghostwriting for clients who pay up to $5,000 per month.

And in this playbook, I’m going to share them with you…

Read more

I’ve been sharing and studying LinkedIn content daily for nearly 2 years.

Here’s my verdict:

Most people aren’t struggling to generate leads because they can’t write…
They’re struggling because they’re writing the wrong kind of content.

The content they share doesn’t prompt their target audience to take action.

So people read it…
And move on.

I’ve been stuck in this loop more times than I’d like to admit over the past 6 years.

And every time, I made the same mistakes:

• Post more

• Comment more

• “Stay consistent”

You know… all the garbage the gurus preach to keep you engaged with their content.

All it did was burn me out.

It’s the reason my content journey had so many stop-starts.

But over the past 2 years, things changed.

• I generated $10.1M+ in sales pipeline for clients

• Scaled to a 6-figure business with just 3 customers

All obtained through founder-led content on LinkedIn.

How did I do it?

Subscribe now

I’ve found 7 types of LinkedIn posts that consistently generate leads on the platform.

I’ve used them across my own content and my clients’.

Every time… they’ve been a hit.

So today, I’m breaking them down for you…

1. Introduction posts

If you’re constantly adding a new batch of people to your following, it’s likely you’re going to have several people in your audience who don’t know who you are.

This is bad.

Why?

Because context is what makes your content hold weight.

For example, would you rather go to a millionaire or a homeless person for financial advice?

Hopefully, you said the millionaire.

But what if the millionaire and the homeless person are dressed the same… how do you know who to listen to?

This is why context matters.

If people don’t know your context, your message will not land as hard.

So it’s your responsibility to constantly remind your audience about who you are.

Here’s an example:

There are 4 steps to reproduce an introduction-style post:

1. Context (Why now?)

Start by explaining why you’re introducing yourself now.

This anchors the post in a moment.

Examples:

• New followers

• Milestone

• Shift in direction

Formula:

“I’ve recently [event/milestone], so I wanted to reintroduce myself…”

👉 This makes the post feel timely.

2. Relatability (Who are you as a person?)

Share quirky and real details about yourself.

This is what makes people feel connected to you.

Mix:

• Personal facts

• Quirks

• Background

• Light humour

Formula:

“Here are a few things about me:

• [Personal fact]

• [Unexpected detail]

• [Relatable trait]”

👉 This lowers resistance and builds familiarity.

3. Positioning (Why should they care?)

Now transition into:

• What you do

• Who you help

• What you talk about

This is where you establish authority + relevance.

Formula:

“You’ll see me talking about [topic] to help [specific person] achieve [specific outcome]”

👉 This answers: “What’s in it for me?”

4. Call to Action (What should they do next?)

End with a low-friction CTA.

Options:

• Invite engagement

• Invite connection

• Offer your service

Formula:

“If you’d like to [desired action], [CTA]”
“Or tell me about you below”

👉 This turns attention into action.

Why this works…

This structure hits 3 key points:

• Clarity → People understand who you are

• Connection → People feel like they know you

• Conversion → People know how to engage or work with you

Here’s a simple template…

If you wants to copy this directly:

“I’ve recently [achievement], so I wanted to reintroduce myself.

Here are a few things about me:

• [Personal fact]

• [Relatable detail]

• [Background]

I [what you do] and help [who] achieve [outcome].

You’ll see me talking about [topics].

If you’d like to [CTA], [action].

Also… tell me about you 👇”

2. Announcement posts

One thing I love about LinkedIn is that most people here want to see others win.

So when you share, you’re doing something new, people will usually get on board to show support.

So give the people what they want.

Use these posts to tell the world you’re:

• Launching something

• Changing direction

• Starting or ending something

Here’s an example of an announcement post:

So here’s the generic structure of an announcement post:

1. Signal (What’s happening?)

Open with a pattern interrupt + clear announcement.

You want curiosity first.

It’s almost like you’re about to share a secret.

👉 This creates tension and pulls people in.

2. Understand (Acknowledge the past)

Briefly reflect on:

• What’s happening

• What it means to you

• Expressing gratitude

👉 This builds credibility and emotional weight.

3. Risk (What are you doing now?)

Now introduce the shift:

• What you’re doing next

• Why you’re doing it

• The uncertainty behind it

👉 This is makes people eager to root for you.

4. Extend (Invite action)

End with a natural bridge into your offer.

Make it feel like an extension of the story rather than a hard sell.

Formula:

“If you’re interested in [desired outcome], I created [resource]”
“You can check it out here: [link]”

👉 This converts attention into leads.

Why this works…

This structure taps into:

• Narrative tension → Leaving something stable behind

• Relatability → Fear + uncertainty

• Aspiration → Betting on yourself

• Opportunity → Clear next step for the reader

Here’s a simple template…

“I’ve been keeping this quiet…

But now feels like the right time to share:

[Announcement]

My time at [past situation] was [positive reflection].

But now I’m [new direction].

I don’t know if this will work.

But I’d regret not trying.

Appreciate everyone who’s supported me so far.

—

If you want to [result], I put together [resource].

[Link]”

3. Milestone posts

Piggybacking off the last point...

People love to see others win.

Tapping into this content type is a great way to anchor your credibility and signal progress.

These posts are similar to announcement posts but are more focused on your win:

Milestone posts don’t necessarily generate leads directly.

… but they get people to say, “Me too,” which sparks conversations that typically lower people's guard and make them more welcoming to your approach.

This doesn’t mean you should hard sell straight after…

Social media is about building relationships and connections.

Most of my business has come from people I’ve built rapport with over time.

Anyways, here’s how to structure a milestone post:

1. Identity Shift (What changed?)

Start with a clear, time-based statement that signals transformation.

Formula:

“X months ago, I stopped/started [behavior]”

👉 This immediately anchors the reader in a before-and-after narrative.

2. Position (What you stand for now)

Address objections, misconceptions, or social pressure.

This is where you draw a line.

Formula:

“And no:”

• [common objection]

• [misconception]

• [social pressure]

👉 This builds authority.

3. Reinforce (Proof of results)

List the tangible outcomes that followed the change.

Formula:

“Since I [change], here’s what happened:”

• [result 1]

• [result 2]

• [result 3]

👉 This is where credibility is built.

4. Reframe (Challenge the reader)

Close with a perspective shift or question that flips the narrative.

Formula:

“So when people ask me [common question]…”
“I respond with [reframe]”

👉 This is what makes the post memorable and shareable.

Why this works…

This structure taps into:

• Social proof → visible progress

• Identity aspiration → “I want that version of me.”

• Cognitive dissonance → challenges existing beliefs

• Conversation triggers → invites “me too” responses

Here’s a simple template…

“X months ago, I [decision/change].

And no:

• [objection]

• [misconception]

• [pushback]

Since then:

• [result]

• [result]

• [result]

Coincidence? I don’t think so.

My life changed the moment I [core shift].

So when people ask me [common question]…

I ask them: [reframe].”

4. Rags-to-riches stories

Who doesn’t love a rags-to-riches story?

Transformation narratives work because people are wired for contrast.

The bigger the gap between “before” and “after,” the more compelling the story becomes.

And that’s exactly why these posts are so powerful for lead generation…

They show what’s possible for someone else.

This is how you structure a post like this…

1. Contrast (Before vs After)

Open with a sharp, punchy contrast between your lowest point and current state.

Formula:

“Year X: [struggle]”
“Year Y: [result]”

👉 This creates immediate intrigue and stops the scroll.

2. Timeline (Bridge the gap)

Walk through the journey in compressed milestones.

Each step should show:

• Progress

• Momentum

• Increasing leverage

Formula:

“Year X: [action → outcome]”
“Year X+1: [action → outcome]”

👉 This answers the unspoken question: “How did this happen?”

3. Leverage Point (The real reason it worked)

Reveal the non-obvious insight behind the transformation.

Formula:

“Here’s the truth:”
“It wasn’t [common belief]…”
“It was [actual driver]”

👉 This is what separates your story from generic motivation.

4. Validation (Make it relatable)

Break down:

• What you lacked

• What you wanted

• Why you started

This pulls the reader into your story.

Formula:

“When I started, I didn’t have [X]…”
“But I knew I wanted [Y]”

👉 This is where identification happens for your audience.

5. Leverage Expansion (Generalize the lesson)

Turn your story into a universal principle.

But make it about THEM.

Formula:

“[Core insight] is the advantage”
“Opportunities go to people who [X]”

👉 This positions you as someone worth learning from.

6. Lead-In (Soft CTA)

Close by inviting the reader to step into the same path.

Keep it natural.

Formula:

“If you’re not doing this yet…”
“Now’s the time to start”

👉 This triggers the audiences next action

Why this works…

This structure hits:

• Contrast bias → dramatic before/after

• Narrative transportation → people follow the journey

• Belief shift → “this could be me”

• Authority → proven through lived experience

• Curiosity gap → “how do I do this too?”

Here’s a simple template…

“Year X: [low point]
Year Y: [current result]

Here’s the full story:

Year X: [step]
Year X+1: [step]
Year X+2: [step]

Here’s the truth:

It wasn’t [what people think].
It was [what actually mattered].

When I started, I didn’t have:

• [lack]

• [lack]

But I knew I wanted:

• [desire]

• [desire]

That’s when everything changed.

[General principle]

If you’re not doing this yet…

You’re leaving opportunities on the table.”

5. Vulnerable shares

Vulnerability is a superpower.

But this isn’t about trauma dumping...

It’s strategic honesty that builds trust by reducing the perceived distance between you and others.

If all your content is polished wins and outcomes…

People will admire you, but they won’t relate to you.
And if they can’t relate, they won’t reach out.

Vulnerability makes you feel:

• Approachable

• Trustworthy

• Authentic

This is also why it works so well for lead generation.

Here’s an example:

Here’s how to format a vulnerable post:

1. Risk (Say the thing most wouldn’t)

Open with something that feels slightly uncomfortable to admit.

This is your pattern interrupt.

Formula:

“Today I’m going to share [something most people hide]”
“This is uncomfortable, but…”

👉 This immediately signals honesty and pulls people in.

2. Tension (Why this matters)

Explain why this is difficult to share.

Highlight:

• Social pressure

• Fear of judgment

• Industry norms

Formula:

“People in my position don’t usually talk about this…”
“This could make me look [negative outcome]”

👉 This builds credibility because there’s something at stake.

3. Audit (Show the reality)

Lay out the truth.

This can be:

• Numbers

• Mistakes

• Failures

• Internal thoughts

Make it structured and easy to follow.

Formula:

“Here’s where things stand:”
-- The good
-- The bad
-- The ugly

👉 This is where trust is built.

4. Accountability (Own the cause)

Don’t blame external factors.

Take responsibility.

Formula:

“The truth is…”
“This happened because I [mistake]”

👉 This is what separates vulnerability from victimhood.

5. Lesson (Turn it into value)

Close by extracting a clear takeaway.

Something the reader can apply.

Formula:

“What’s the takeaway?”
“[Simple, actionable insight]”

👉 This transforms the post from a confession into content.

Why this works…

This structure hits:

• Trust → because you’re saying what others won’t

• Authority → because you understand your own mistakes

• Relatability → because people see their own struggles in yours

• Engagement → because honesty invites honesty

Here’s a simple template…

“Today I’m sharing something I wouldn’t normally talk about:

[uncomfortable truth]

Here’s the reality:

[structured breakdown]

The truth?

This happened because I [mistake].

Not [external excuse].

That’s on me.

What’s the takeaway?

[lesson]

If you’re going through something similar…

You’re probably closer than you think.”

6. Two-step giveaway posts

These are posts that require a small action (e.g., like, comment, connect) before delivering value.

This works because it plays into how the algorithm is built…

If many people engage with it, it’s considered good content, so LinkedIn distributes it further.

A win for you, and a win for the algorithm.

Here’s how to reproduce this:

1. Curiosity (Hook the outcome)

Open with a bold claim or shift that creates intrigue.

You want people thinking:

“Wait… what am I missing?”

Formula:

“[Tool/Trend] just changed [industry]…”
“But most people are doing it wrong…”

👉 This creates a gap between where the reader is and where they could be.

2. Expose (Call out the problem)

Highlight what people are currently doing wrong.

Make it feel familiar.

Formula:

“Most people do [basic thing] → get [basic result]”
“That’s why it’s not working”

👉 This builds tension and makes your solution more valuable.

3. Asset (Present the value)

Introduce the resource you’re giving away.

Be specific about:

• What it is

• What it does

• Where it works

Formula:

“So I created [resource] that helps you [specific outcome]”
“It works for:”

• [use case 1]

• [use case 2]

👉 This is where desire is created.

4. Restrict (Increase perceived value)

Position it as:

• Not basic

• Not generic

• Not widely known

Formula:

“These aren’t your typical [X]…”
“They’re designed to [advanced outcome]”

👉 This makes people feel like they’re getting an edge.

5. Request (Two-step CTA)

Now add friction.

This is key.

The action (comment, connect, etc.):

• Signals interest to the algorithm

• Qualifies the lead

• Triggers distribution

Formula:

“Want it?”
“1. [action]”
“2. [comment keyword]”
“I’ll send it to you”

👉 This turns engagement into inbound leads.

Why this works…

This structure taps into:

• Curiosity gap → “What am I missing?”

• Social proof loop → comments → more reach

• Reciprocity → free value in exchange for action

• Micro-commitment → small action → higher intent

Most people either:

• Give everything away (no conversion), or

• Gate too hard (no engagement)

This balances both.

Here’s a simple template…

“[Tool/Trend] is changing [industry]…

But most people are doing this wrong.

They [common mistake] → get [poor result].

So I created [resource] that helps you [specific outcome].

It works for:

• [use case]

• [use case]

These aren’t basic [X].

They’re designed to [advanced benefit].

Want it?

1. [action]

2. Comment “[keyword]”

I’ll send it over.”

7. Strategic insight on new tools or trends

If everyone is already talking about something…

And you come in with a clear, actionable insight on how to use it…

Odds are quite high that your content will perform relatively well.

Why?

Because attention is already there.

All you’re doing is tapping into existing demand and redirecting it.

And here’s how to reproduce it…

1. Situation (Hook into a common struggle)

Open by calling out a problem your audience already has.

Make it feel immediate and relevant.

Formula:

“Here’s my biggest [result] hack…”
“(If you’re struggling with X, read this)”

👉 This taps into existing attention and stops the scroll.

2. Contrarian (Flip the default belief)

Challenge what people think they should be doing.

Formula:

“Don’t do [common approach]…”
“Do this instead…”

👉 This creates a shift in perspective.

3. Application (Show exactly how to use it)

Break the idea into simple, actionable steps.

Keep it practical and easy to follow.

Formula:

“Here’s how to do it:”

1. [step]

2. [step]

👉 This is what makes the post valuable.

4. Context (Make it real with examples)

Ground the idea in your own experience.

Show how it plays out in practice.

Formula:

“For example…”
“Here’s how I’m doing it…”

👉 This builds credibility and clarity.

5. Anchor (Reinforce the core idea)

Repeat the main insight in a punchy way.

Make it stick.

Formula:

“The trick is…”
“Don’t try to [X], do [Y]”

👉 This is what people remember and reshare.

6. Lead-in (Soft CTA or next step)

Close with a light action:

• Share

• Follow

• Learn more

Formula:

“Hope this helps…”
“If you want more, [CTA]”

👉 This converts attention into distribution or leads.

Why this works…

This structure hits:

• Relevance → solves a real, current problem

• Clarity → simple steps reduce friction

• Authority → backed by lived experience

• Shareability → easy to pass on to others

Most people either:

• Talk about trends with no application

• Or give advice with no structure

This does both:

Insight + execution.

Here’s a simple template…

“Struggling with [problem]?

Here’s my biggest [result] hack:

Don’t [common approach].

Do this instead:

1. [step]

2. [step]

For example:

[real example]

The trick?

[core insight]

If you do this consistently, you’ll [outcome].

Hope this helps.”

Final thoughts

Most business owners fail to generate organic leads on LinkedIn because they don’t understand which content drives action.

I’ve been studying the platform for nearly 2 years.

And I’ve found the 7 content types that drive action include:

1. Introduction posts

2. Announcement posts

3. Milestone posts

4. Rags-to-riches stories

5. Vulnerable shares

6. Two-step giveaway posts

7. Strategic insights on trends

That’s the difference.

The people who generate leads are using proven formats that:

• Build trust

• Create relevance

• Trigger action

And they repeat them consistently.

That’s it.

So if your content isn’t converting, try implementing one of these content types.

P.S. If you'd like help building a content engine like this inside your business, apply to work with Stackedwized.