I never intended to become a LinkedIn expert. I just wanted to build a profile that worked.
So I did everything you’re supposed to do.
- Read the e-books.
- Took the LinkedIn “challenges.”
- Followed the consultants and the experts.
- Watched the YouTube videos.
- Begged for advice.
- Reviewed an embarrassing number of profiles trying to reverse-engineer the secret sauce.
And every single “expert” missed something. They followed tropes that don’t work. They ignored half the levers LinkedIn actually gives you. Or they were running pure bro-marketing-for-leads playbooks on a platform that doesn’t reward that.
Ugh.
Here’s what I actually am: a problem solver. What I do well is figure things out, make them happen, and explain them in a way other people can use.
So I figured LinkedIn out myself. Over about six months:
- Connected consistently to the people I actually wanted in my network.
- 80% connection acceptance rate. More than half of those new connections started a conversation with me first.
- Went viral.
- Picked up clients and contacts I genuinely wanted to work with.
- Nearly doubled my following. And that was without being remotely consistent about posting.
My strategy clients started getting similar results. (Their profiles needed help.) They told me I should teach this. So I built a masterclass. Then I wrote a book. Then I built a course.
That’s the whole origin story. None of it was the plan. All of it works.
If you want to know more about how I work, start here.