The LinkedIn Test: Would YOU Follow You?

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LinkedIn sees you daily. But would they every pay you?

📌 IN THIS ISSUE:

Why 'vanity metrics' are brankrupting brilliant people
The red carpet illusion: influence ≠ income
A thought leader's journey from broke to booked
How to build authority that pays - not just posts

The LinkedIn Test - Who Would Follow You?

Many of my friends are crushing it on LinkedIn.

Hundreds of thousands of views.
Thousands of likes, hearts and shares.
Content that looks like pure gold.

But here's the twist...

They don't get leads.
They don't get booked.
They don't even get DMs.

Why?

It's not the quality of the post.
Visually? Stunning.
Story? Like-changing.
Structure? Flawless.

But you don't actually feel anything for them.

Because you've seen it all before.
It's someone else's voice wearing their clothes.
It's like a radio station that only plays chart hits.

Comfortable. Familiar. Safe.

But no one's rushing out to buy a ticket to their concert.

If you're a thought leader, you can't afford to just echo the room.

Everytime you mimic someone else's post, you're sending this signal:
👉🏾 "You don't need me. I'm replaceable."

Let's build into this and explain why this works by examining the formula for being paid.

The formula for being paid has two parts to it:

The impact of a job that you do.
How cheaply you can be replaced by someone else

So think about the message that send out on LinkedIn when you do pre-validated content that everyone else is doing, without tweaking it, without changing it, just copy and pasting it.

You're sending out a message saying:

"Yeah, I'm really important, I'm really popular, but I don't think you need to invest in me because you can get this somewhere else."

You're better off getting far fewer views, likes, hearts or shares - but getting them from people who will 100% buy your content, follow you, and recommend you to someone else.

Nowadays, it's not about being a global thought leader.

It's about being a community leader - where your community just happens to live across the world.

So lean into who you are.
What do you.
Your signature message - and what it means to the people you serve.
Create content that leads back to that.

And if you're only chasing vanity numbers?

Good luck when it's time to pay the bills -
Because likes don't pay invoices.
Only love does.
And love comes from those who trust you, learn from you, and want more.

What's my message?

Jump and grow wings on the way down.

Stick that under any post I make - and it still fits.
It's my fingerprint. It's what I live by.

So, what's yours?
Because if your audience doesn't know what you stand for,
Why would they ever follow you?

You're Being Watched... Even If No One Likes Your Post

You know how many people are judging your LinkedIn without saying a word?

Most of them.

Nearly a billion professionals scroll through LinkedIn silently every day.
They don't like.
They don't reshare.
But they absolutely judge.

And the moment you're pitching for a deal -
Procurement is watching.
HR is watching
The boardroom is watching

They want to know:

➡️ Do you walk the walk?
➡️ Are you the real deal?
➡️ Can we trust you with our brand, team, money?

And your profile is your passport.

LinkedIn is the only business social platform where your digital handshake actually matters.
Everyone's in their "Sunday best".
Verified names.
Visibile titles.
A digital CV, sales page, and a brand billboard rolled into one.

In the past, LinkedIn was just for job hunting.

Now?

It's your living, breathing, business hub.
And yet - many people still treat it like a CV graveyard or a cheerleader's megaphone.

Post and ghost.
Copy and paste.
Comment with emojis.

And wonder why nobody's calling.

Here's the truth:

If you don't tell the world who you are, the world will ignore you.
And if you only sound like everyone else, you'll be treated like everyone else.

Let me flip it for you:

If you've only got 10 followers...
that's 10 people connected to 10... connected to 10
And you're already 3 steps from a million eyes.

But only if you're saying something worth passing on.

So stop posting to the void.
Stop cheerleading the influencers and hoping they notice.

Instead, comment with substance.
Add a thought they missed.
Be the spark in someone else's comment section.
Show that you think like a thought leader.

Because guess what happens next?

They click your profile.
They scroll.
They nod.
And they say:

"I can't afford the big name...
But this person? They get it. Let's talk."

That's how real business begins.

Not from likes.
But from invisible decision-makers who are watching in silence.
Waiting for someone to impress them.

Procurement.
Pocast bookers.
HR Directors
JV Partners.
Corporate Clients.

They're not in your inbox. Yet.
But they're in your audience.
So start posting like someone they'd pay.

Why This Newsletter Exists (and Why You're Exactly Who It's For)

It used to be that popularity was the only game in town.

Get enough likes.
Look shiny.
Go viral.
Cash in.

But things have changed.

The world's tired of bobble-head content.
Hot takes with no depth.
Beauty with no brain.
Noise with no nuance.

Today, what you say, who you are, and how you make people feel carries real weight.

The people getting deals now?
The ones who solve problems, shift perspectives, and spart possibility.

And there's no better place to prove that than LinkedIn.

It's Facebook in a suit - but smarter, sharper, and 100% built for businesses.
When decision-makers want to vet you, they don't ask for your reel or your Insta.

They go straight to your LinkedIn.
If you're not there, they assume you're not ready.
If you're there but not active, they assume you're not ready.
If you're active but generic, they assume you're not different.

So here's the truth:

Your content is either making you the obvious choice-
Or making you invisible.

But here's the good news: You're not starting from scratch.

This newsletter - The Icon Insider- is built to help you show up, stand out, and scale your influence.
And we're not talking fluff.
We're talking real strategies that save you decades of trial and error and give you clarity, speed and credibility in the thought leadership game.

Here's why this works:

📚In Oversubscribed, Daniel Priestley outlines the 7-11-4 Rule:

To become a buyer's obvious choice, they need:

7 hours of your content
11 points of contact
Across 4 different platforms

This newsletter? IT's your weekly touchpoint.
Your shortcut to those 7 hours.
Your credibility builder across every room you walk into - real or virtual.

You're not just a reader here.
You're part of a movement.
A tribe of thinkers, builders, speakers, coaches, and creators who are done being overlooked.

You're becoming the industry icon others talk about in meetings.

That's why this exists.
That's why you're here.
And that's why it's time to post like someone worth following.

From Private Group to Public Influence

After COVID, I wanted a space where people like us - speakers, coaches, personal brands - could grow without ego or noise.

So I created it.

Turbocharge Your Career ran for two years - with live challenges, personal brand upgrades, and real connections.

But as the quality rose, so did the need to level up.
I wanted to build a network, not just a group.
A circle of thought leaders ready to scale visibility, impact and income.

So I went back to 'school',

sharperned my LinkedIn strategy
built a backend team to support consistency
reconnected with my audience - and reached new ones
posted with intent, not just content

The result?

A new invite-only WhatsApp group: The Thought Leader's Playbook

Almost everyone I invited joined.
The momentum? Instant.
More visibility. More credibility.
More inbound deals - from people who already trusted me.

That's what happens when you stop talking at people and start showing up like the obvious choice.

Now, I want to learn more from you.

We're launching the Thought Leaders Census 2025 - asking 500+ decision-makers:

Who are you?
What makes you stand out?
What's missing from your toolkit?
And where do you want to do next?

If you're part of our invite-only WhatsApp group, you'll get the invite first.

This is your moment to stop winging it - and start architecting your legacy.