A Simple Framework for Success on LinkedIn
But also, just focus on doing the basics consistently (”101” type stuff.)
Hey, I’m Lucas! Welcome to The Solo Operator, where I write for Christian professionals wanting to escape the 9-to-5 and replace their W2 income through solo-business ownership.
I’ve been talking to a lot of business owners and solopreneurs recently about using LinkedIn. If I were to guess, 80-90% of my leads and revenue for my ghostwriting business come from LinkedIn. It took a while, but once I realized how users actually found me + what they’re engagement with me looked like, it all made more sense.
I wrote a newsletter about this a number of weeks ago, but want to break this down a little more. This is a very simple framework that I think lies at the heart of success on the platform, even for folks not wanting to become a content creator.
This is by no means perfect, as I realize human beings are unpredictable creatures and claiming that I know with 100% certainty how they engage with something like LinkedIn can be a bit misleading or disingenuous. Thus why folks - including myself - has disdain for the average guru.
What I will say is this “framework” is more of a heuristic for thinking about the kind of experience you should create for your ideal client on LinkedIn. That is for sure something you can do, and once you get good at it, can see results with a high degree of certainty.
LinkedIn operates like a funnel
For the better part of two decades, marketing has been dominated by the image of “the funnel” to describe how prospects are led from not knowing your brand to buying from you.
Seeing LinkedIn in this same frame is also very helpful as the platform is built for all users to send other users down a very similar experience.
-> Content & comments generate impressions.
These are “eyeballs” and the kind of results you want at the “top of the funnel”.
But not all eyeballs are created equal as I’m sure you already know. This is where creating content for someone specific comes in.
Specific ICP = specific traffic.
Don’t go and blabber about random stuff like I tend to (that content never produces much in terms of immediate results, but the body of work can produce some of the desired outcomes, just in a more roundabout way.)
You’d be far better off writing niche, ICP specific content and engaging with other creators who share the same audience or tertiary audiences. This is especially the case if you are mixing connections + DMs into the mix. In this case, you need to rely less on maximum reach and can focus on quality of connections and conversations instead.
-> When a post or comment catches someone’s attention, they are more likely to go to your profile.
That profile is a landing page. Please for the love of all that is good, stop seeing it simply as a resume.
This is the “middle of the funnel.”
What results you want to see at this stage are:
“Profile link clicks”
“Profile views”
This means your content & comments are actually piquing people’s interest enough to see what you’re about.
From there…
-> The experience on your profile should be an extension of your content + comments + DMs
In layman’s terms:
Make sure your profile talks about the same things that you do in your content and comments and DMs. Consistency is the key here.
Side note:
There is nothing more confusing to a visitor or prospect than you mixing your messaging. This is the single biggest killer of momentum both on LinkedIn and marketing in general.
You gotta make it painstakingly obvious that you are for a very specific person + do it over and over and over again. Because the fact is, folks rarely buy the first time they come across you.
Thus, you have to be consistent so that when they have that pain that you solve, you’re the first person who comes to mind. But you only come to mind if you’ve “trained them” in a way to remember you as such.
Okay, tangent over. lol Back to your profile.
I’d recommend leading visitors to a single action, nothing more. This is the one thing you want them to do to establish a relationship off platform. That could be:
a lead magnet
book-a-call page
a tool of some sort
The list is endless of what this “lead magnet” could be.
Again, the purpose here is to:
1) address a particular problem they have with a piece of free value and
2) capture that intent by getting their contact info / incentivizing them to take the next step.
That’s how a visitor becomes a lead, particularly from organic content. This works the same way if you’re sending connections + DMs.
People find you from content / comments / DMs → they go to your profile + make sure you’re legit → take action from there.
“But I don’t want to create content. What then?”
Fair enough.
Not all of us want to spend the time it takes to do the “content hamster wheel” well. I get it and don’t blame you if that is you.
If that’s you, then I’d recommend to start sending connections + DMs once those new connections accept your request.
A simple message framework you could use comes from a post my buddy Derek McMonagle shared a while back.
He said “this DM template has a 91% open rate for us over the last 12 months and it created 56% of our clients” so definitely steal it if you are needing an effective one:
"Hey [First Name], Happy [Insert day] and thanks so much for connecting!
I wanted to reach out because I’ve actually been working with a few other [Insert ICP in select industry], helping them grow their book of business while building Holy habits in their personal lives. (Insert how you help; don't copy and paste mine.)
Not sure if it would make sense for you right now or if we could help you, but I’d love to learn more about your work and see if a quick 10-minute call might be fruitful.
Open to a short chat?"
Table stakes in sending only connections and DMs are:
20-40 connections to ICP per day
10-20 DMs to ICP / accepted requests per day
At 20 connections per day, that’s 100 per week. I believe 200 connections is about the ceiling for an individual profile per week before LinkedIn flags it for bot activity or simply shuts you down. So be sure to make those connections count.
If you want to mix in video DMs, I’d recommend looking into that as well. Since you aren’t creating content, this would really humanize your brand / outreach.
The basics of this platform really revolve around one thing:
You need to do some activity for your target buyer to find you.
It’s either posts, comments, DMs, or all three. You gotta pick your poison.
This is why LinkedIn is the GOAT platform for driving revenue
I know, big claim. But here’s why I stand by it.
Every user on LinkedIn is on the platform to do business.
Whether they:
Want to learn about business / their profession
Want to network for business / their profession
Want to market/sell for business / their profession
It’s all entirely business oriented, which is really, really good news for you and me.
This means there is intent baked into simply being on the platform.
If you’re selling to professionals or businesses — which most if not all the solo-operators following me do — know that your ideal customer is already on LinkedIn.
You have direct access to them and you don’t even need to go scrape leads / buy a list to access them.
So take advantage of it!
If you’re needing help getting started on LinkedIn, want to chat content strategy / profile optimization, or even are looking for someone to ghostwrite for you → I’d love to talk with you. I’m offering free 30-minute sessions and also offer 1on1 coaching here as well.
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A weekly note for Christian professionals wanting to escape the 9-to-5 and replace their W2 income through solo-business ownership.
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"Don’t go and blabber about random stuff like I tend to"
Darn it. Those are my favorite types of posts to write!