Newsletter 108: Compounding Thoughts. From Zero to 700K: My LinkedIn Content Journey.
Over the past year, my LinkedIn content has reached ~769,000 impressions, marking a 2983% increase from the previous year!
In a world of virtually limitless reach, the numbers may seem unimpressive, but to me personally, it is significant.
That’s especially true given the apprehension I felt two years ago when I was deliberating whether to begin writing at all.
Writing raw, uncensored thoughts is intimidating. The uncertainty never completely fades away, even now, as I press 'publish' for every new essay.
As a content creator, I'm not hiding behind a brand - it's just me and my thoughts on display.
Yet, the process of researching, crafting narratives, and articulating ideas into words is rewarding.
The positive reactions significantly outweigh any negatives.
I've received outreach from strangers offering job opportunities, inquiring about working with me or simply extending their support.
My existing network also feels more interconnected than ever before.
But the aspect I love most about content creation is its permissionless nature. No one needs to give you the right to start. Moreover, it's a pursuit that compounds over time. Each new piece I write helps me improve and build more social capital. My content has strengthened bonds with old friends and introduced me to many new, fascinating people.
If I were to impart a piece of advice to my younger self, it would be this:
Start creating content sooner. Let it compound.
With all that being said, I'd like to share the top 10 most successful posts I've written on LinkedIn in the past year and reflect on the factors that made them stand out.
Enjoy!
My LinkedIn top 10 posts
After experimenting with various social media platforms, I focused on LinkedIn. All other platforms felt either saturated or too focused on entertainment.
Over the past year, I tried diverse content formats, including long-form posts, visuals, videos, polls, short-form content, storytelling, data-intensive pieces, slide shows, etc. While I haven’t cracked it yet, I have sure learned a lot.
Without further ado, let's dive into the results:
To build a startup, you need a small team of scrappy generalists — a total reach of ~56,000 impressions.
Lessons learned from building startups over the past decade — reach ~25,000 impressions.
Highlighting a story about Don Valentine, the legendary Silicon Valley investor — total reach ~24,000 impressions.
My views on how tech startups must have a service component in Southeast Asia to reach success — ~23,000 impressions.
Startups are the most meritocratic form of an organization — ~22,000 impressions.
What does a Chief of Staff do? — ~18,000 impressions.
I wonder if OpenAI will crush all previous records by reaching its first billion even faster — ~16,000 impressions.
A-players hire A-players, B-players hire C-players, and C-players hire D-players — ~15,000 impressions.
Lessons from growing Coinbase — ~13,000 impressions.
As a founder, you have 3 approaches to hiring — ~12,000 impressions.
Closing thoughts
Those posts collectively have reached nearly 30% of my annual impressions. That’s quite decent, given I have been posting daily for 2 to 3 months.
After going through all the content pieces, I tried to extract some learnings:
Always prioritize delivering value. Expressing opinions must be balanced with some tactical advice. Even more importantly, the content must be easy to understand and resonate with people in your target audience.
Develop a spikey point of view. Many of my posts challenge common misconceptions or stereotypes, such as the belief that all successful startup founders are young and inexperienced. Wes Kao calls it a spikey point of view.
Focus on structured and easy-to-follow content. I use lists and bullet points to present complex information in a digestible format.
Pick a few adjacent topics and be consistent. The content is consistently written on the topics of startups, founders, fundraising, and technology in the context of Southeast Asia.
Authenticity > political correctness. Authenticity creates a sense of trust with your audience and is critical to building meaningful connections. Moreover, sharing what you genuinely believe can spark thoughtful discussions and attract an audience that resonates with your perspectives. Half-baked ideas would not work as many people will naturally challenge your perspective, so you should be able to articulate what led you to believe what you wrote.
Short > long form. In the era of information overload, brevity is a strength. Short posts are quicker to read, easier to digest, and more likely to be read to the end. They're also more shareable and, thus, can reach a wider audience.
Allow me to conclude with a quote that has personally inspired me to take a leap of faith and become more consistent in my content creation journey.
If you're interested in keeping up with my LinkedIn content creation journey, follow me or, even better, enable notifications to receive instant updates whenever I share something new.
