How I managed to get 10,000 LinkedIn followers in 1 year (I’ll tell you this in 2 minutes)

I met a commercial photographer this month.

Before the pandemic, he used to command top dollar for his services.

-High fashion.

-Events.

-Celebrity.

Since the pandemic, the appetite for paying those prices has gone down. I shared with him: My own headshot photographer has been speaking on stages and become a thought leader.

He replied: “I want to become one of those!”

Well, it was all self-driven for my headshot-photographer-turned-thought-leader.

Trouble is, most don’t know how to put the knowledge in their head —–down on paper. And I bet there is at least a $100,000 worth of knowledge in my commercial photographer friend’s head.

There are SO MANY creators that would welcome his photography tricks of the trade. For example, I shared Scott Kelby’s keynote on how to use an IPhone as a “second camera” on travel shoots.

Here is what I did to put my knowledge to paper, and how I created $100K of revenue from it.

Step 1: Create alot of noise at first

Here a 3 quick tips to help you master this step:

• Post 5x a week on the problem you solve for the world.

–4 posts more broader topics on public speaking.

–1 post for my ideal client who needs public speaking training.

• Track what my audience resonates with

• Create more posts with the highest impression count/engagement

It turns out, my life lessons and stories of client transformations resonated the most. So I reposted things like “10 Lessons I learned as I turned 51” as carrousels, switched up the images, fleshed out each lesson into a larger post.

Step 2: Study big creators in my space (public speaking)

Once I started writing my own versions of templates I liked or my version of their most popular topics, I noticed:

• Engagement went through the roof

• I started enjoying networking on LinkedIn!

• I converted $100K

It was hard not to go back after this.

Step 3: Spend 1 hour creating content daily. 30 minutes engaging or direct messaging folks who liked or commented

For this step, all I had to do was keep repeating Steps 1 & 2.

This is how I reached 10,000 followers in 1 year.

And how you can too. Just download my cheatsheet I created for you to do the above here.

3 common myths about LinkedIn

The platform doesn’t reward video.

Recently, I attended a gala, and a women leader came up to me and said, “You publish videos! I recognize you.”

Most can’t do video well, but if you can, it’s a great way for folks on LinkedIn to experience a 360 degree version of you. I publish a video every Thursday.

I use Streamyard, which offers a higher resolution recording on my computer

The platform doesn’t link outbound links.

I used to think so, but since I started creating cheatsheets, the downloads have been incredible. I’m adding these folks to my newsletter listserv.

Cheatsheets are easy to create on Canva. I upload them as a lead magnet to Leadpages.

Don’t include personal photos

I look at some of the biggest creators on this platform and all they post are personal photos. It’s your call. I mix it up. LinkedIn is not my Instagram account.

However, the numbers don’t lie.

My highest performing post (18,000 impressions) was a picture of me in Istanbul last August. Use your discretion on what is professionally appropriate.

And always

One leadership tip

Living a purpose-driven life: My interview with the CEO of Uncle Nearest bourbon Fawn Weaver

One public speaking tip

The 7 most common mistakes I’ve noticed (+ how to fix them)

One adventure tip

40 days until I head to Nice, France, to host my Mastermind for their Deep Writing and Reflection retreat. While this class is filled, I am still offering an opportunity for you to work with me 1:1 in Nice on your public speaking.

Tell me about your goals here.

Whenever you’re ready, there are 2 ways I can help you:

1.Join the Samita Lab Mastermind. Join 8 other women leaders in the core program that sits at the center of my business model. The Mastermind teaches you exactly how to build a powerful person brand and the mindset to support it. Learn how to do storytelling for business. Then harvest 1 thing that is universal and needs to be heard now for your talk on stage in front of 200 people at the end of the 12 months. Apply for the 2025 waitlist here

2. Take my “Art of Influence” masterclass:  Join 3500 people in taking my mini-public speaking Masterclass. Learn to organize a compelling talk and my framework for making it super easy.