I share writing & editing lessons so entrepreneurs & founders can attract + convert high-value clients | Edited 3M+ words | Former Head of Content | Running on seltzer 🤩

I help solopreneurs and founders turn their scattered expertise into content that drives business. AKA, I get you out of the "recognition gap."

If you're stuck in the recognition gap, your content probably isn't making people think, "Holy sh*t, I need to work with this person."

I've been there.

After 4.5 years as Head of Content, I went solo and made every mistake in the book: scattered messaging, feast-or-famine revenue cycles, content that got likes but zero leads, relying on referrals like my business depended on it (cuz it did).

Then I had my 'aha!' moment: Stop trying to be known for everything. Own one specific problem so I can become the obvious solution. 

What I do now:

🏴‍☠️Duo Consulting: We help solopreneurs standardize, market, and sell their consulting offers

📈 How Solos Scale: Podcast, newsletter, and mini books for solos stuck in the recognition gap and keen to scale from $20K+ to $50K+ per month

📚 Cut the Fluff Newsletter: Exploring how solopreneurs and founders can cut the fluff in their content, business, and life

A few milestones for good measure:

→ Built a 90K+ audience in 3 years
→ Sold multi-six figures in courses to 2100+ students
→ Helped dozens of clients land $45K+ deals and scale to high six and seven figures. 

My philosophy: Your expertise and the way you frame the problem you solve is your edge. Let's package it into an offer your ICP knows, likes, and buys. 

✉️ Weekly insights: Cut the Fluff newsletter, How Solos Scale podcast 
🎯 Work with me: Duo Consulting 2:1 program 

Book a call: Duoconsulting.co

Erica Schneider

The real work behind LinkedIn “inbound” is outbound.

LIES: You just post consistently and watch the inbound roll in. (Especially if you sell services.)

TRUTH: You post content to open engagement loops. Then you close those loops yourself by starting real conversations. First in the comments, then in DMs.

Of course pure inbound exists. I get inbound leads often.

But that’s only after years of time here and, regardless, relying 100% on inbound means you’re leaving so many deals in the dust. So yeah I get inbound but I also start DM conversations all the time. 

Take our client Brian.

Brian spends about 7 hours a week starting conversations.

He has roughly 20 going at any time.

He gets a 30% booked call rate from those conversations.

And he makes a lot of f*cking money. 

(He loves making a lot of money but that's just Brian. The actual amount isn't the point. Having enough money to love your life is the point. And that requires getting clients.)

Regardless of how crazy Brian is (HI BRIAN) you do need to find a biz dev situation that works for you. 

And that number needs to be higher than 0 hours a week.

Cuz whether you like it or not, when you work for yourself, biz dev is literally part of your job description. 

You should be spending ~1/3 of your time on it. 

Especially if you’re in services. Services = the relationship business.

You don’t need thousands of people to become customers. You need 2-10 clients per quarter.

So TLDR:

-Posts open engagement loops
-The DMs close them
-Sometimes prospects start those conversations
-But you also need to send DMs
-Yes, inbound is possible
-But even so, stop waiting
-Go do biz dev 
-Cuz you run a business
-And you need clients to pay you to keep running said business

That’s the game. Love it or hate it.

Offer design & content for scaling solopreneurs | Co-Founder @ Duo Consulting | Running on seltzer 🤩

My twins are 3 today. I was really scared of becoming a parent cuz I wasn’t sure I’d be any good with little kids. Turns out, “good” doesn’t mean good at playing silly games or doing funny voices or making some crafty thing they’ll obsess over. It means loving them even when you suck at all the above. So by those standards, I’m doing pretty great. They also make me wanna bang my head against a wall but I’ve never loved anyone who doesn’t make me wanna do that from time to time so. 

TLDR: loving them hard = good enough ❤️

No alternative text description for this image

I get this question a lot so here's the answer: 7 months. That's how long it took for me to shift my audience upmarket.

7 months ago, most of my connection requests + engagements were coming from content people, freelancers, writers. 

Today, most of them are coming from founders, co-founders, senior marketers in-house.

Other FAQs + answers:

-Yes, my engagement dropped for a few months during the shift
-No, this did not impact my business
-In fact, I'm making more MoM revenue (consistently) than ever before

How I did it:

-Shifted from talking purely about content to growing and scaling your solo biz + occasionally how to do that with content
-Shifted away from "how to" content and focused more heavily on marketing the problem
-Vigorously followed our MP3 framework, focusing on my new ICP (market the problem, process, proof)
-Posted LESS often, but higher impact
-Still comment the same amount

TLDR: My upmarket audience doesn't need to know how to do things themselves. They need to know that:

1) Someone deeply understands their problem
2) Has a process to solve it
3) Has proof that the process works
4) A reliable partner exists to help them scale their biz

How to content is wonderful for engagement and teachable moments but if you're a service provider, in my experience, it's going to attract downmarket buyers who aren't ready/don't have the cash to invest. 

(Doesn't mean don't do it, but instead wrap it in your process rather than a viral teachable moment)

"OK, I get MP3 (Problem, Process, Proof). But what about the personal stuff?"

We've had this conversation at least a dozen times since releasing MP3.

Fair question.

Some of the most magnetic solos on LinkedIn share way more than their frameworks. They share their kids, their existential crises, their "I don't have this figured out" admissions. And it works for them.

So is that a fourth P? And do you need it?

Here's what we've landed on: MP3 is required. MP4 is optional.

MP3 = problem, process, proof
MP4 = problem, process, proof, parasocial

My co-founder Nick Bennett 🏴‍☠️ doesn't do parasocial content. It's not his thing. Hasn't hurt his business. 

Last month, Anthony Pierri admitted he's never posted a personal thing ever. He's got a massive audience and a highly successful business.

I do share parasocial content. The parenting chaos, the mindset work, the unfiltered admissions. It's part of how I connect. But it ONLY works because MP3 is already there.

The trap I see people fall into is when parasocial runs ahead of the foundational stuff.

People get to know you, but not the problem you solve.

So they like you. Maybe enough to get on a call. The vibes are there. But they were never sold on what you do or how you help, so it ends with "let me think about it," and then they never hire you. They keep engaging with your stuff cuz vibes, but yeah, they're not opening their wallet.

The takeaway:

People need to care about the problem you solve in order to hire you. Caring about you may bring them into your world, but it will not make they give you money.

SO how do you decide whether to do parasocial content or leave it?

I went into more detail in my newsletter, so go check it out.

https://lnkd.in/eT78bQ3p

A warning: I know solos with 50K, 60K, 70K followers making less than our clients with 2,000.

Because they built an audience of consumers, not buyers. People who love free education. People who leave "omg this is gold" comments and would never in a million years pay $5K a month for anything.

Once you're known for being known, it's very hard to reprogram yourself because the feedback loop is brutal:

-The personal content gets engagement 
-The dopamine hits 
-You wake up the next day and play again
-More dopamine 
-A month later, you realize you haven't done any problem, process, or proof content 
-A client churns
-"I need a client" 
-So you write something about the problem you solve 
-It gets 10 likes instead of 200 
-You feel like shit because it "didn't perform"
-And now you're trapped

Stuck craving dopamine and money and having no idea how to satiate those needs in tandem.

I am speaking from personal experience because this was me a year ago.

So here's what I've learned, and I hope this helps:

The dopamine isn't real. The money is.

That said, you can have both. You can post the personal stuff, have fun, make jokes, share the chaos. But it has to be layered on top of a foundation, not instead of one.

And yeah, reprogramming yourself to care less about likes and more about income is uncomfortable. 

You have to watch posts "flop" and not spiral. 

You have to trust that the 10-like post about the problem you solve is doing more for your business than the 200-like post about your morning routine.

It takes time. It takes intention. It takes looking at your bank account instead of your impressions.

But it works. I'm proof. Nick's proof. Our clients are proof.

I wrote more about this in my newsletter yesterday. Go read it if this resonates.

https://lnkd.in/eX3iMWQ7

First time I ever met Louis Grenier was on his podcast. It was the most fun I'd ever had being interviewed. His fiery no BS questions aligned perfectly with my fiery no BS personality. 

Naturally, we moved our friendship to WhatsApp. Actually I think we facetimed at first, but I digress.

We both had (have) toddlers. We both have our own businesses. We both are epic.

Anyways, when he started his community a few months back, he asked if I'd come be a guest speaker.

"DUH OF COURSE ANY TIME," I replied.

And so, alas, that time is tomorrow. And apparently it's the most RSVPed event so far. 

"NO PRESSURE," he says. 

"I EAT PRESSURE FOR BREAKFAST," I reply.

Or I just what I said in the screenshot but I thought that.

So yeah are you coming? Because Louis is giving away a free 7 day trial offer for his community just so you can come hang with us.

Comment "NO PRESSURE" and I'll give you the link. 

(I'm also just gonna post the link below but hey, engagement bait is always FUN)

Workshop topic: How to turn LinkedIn likes into money (cuz engagement doesn't pay the bills)

See you there!

https://lnkd.in/eAp6WyPj

Hey service providers: If you're constantly drained by your clients, it's not because you're bad at boundaries or because you need to "toughen up."

It's because you're attracting parachute seekers when you want to work with partners.

Here's the difference:

🪂 Parachute seekers want you to do the hard work for them. 

-They need validation on every decision. 

-They second-guess every move. 

-They're ultimately looking for someone to save them.

🤝 Partner seekers know it's going to be hard, but they thrive when they push themselves out of their comfort zone. 

-They just need a guide. 

-Someone to go back and forth with. 

-They're strong, they trust themselves (despite having limiting beliefs), and they want you in their corner as they figure it out.

Here's the rub:

The way you describe your work determines which type of person shows up.

If you lead with failure indicators (everything that's broken, everything that's not working, how bad things are), you'll attract parachute seekers. 

People who are scared, stuck, and don't have the resources (financial or emotional) to actually do the work.

If you lead with success indicators (what they've already built, what they're ready to scale, where they're headed next), you'll attract partner seekers. 

People who are ready, resourced, and capable of executing.

Same problem you solve. Different frame. Completely different client.

Nick Bennett 🏴‍☠️ and I work exclusively with partner seekers. 

People doing consistent $20K months who want to scale to $50K+. 

People who have already proven they can build something, and now they need help optimizing it.

The work is the same. The conversations are completely different.

It all starts with how you frame the problem you solve. Which is why "problem framing" is always the first step in our program.

(Followed closely by engagement model, POV & positioning, then business vision.)

We're gonna write and podcast more about this over the next few weeks, so subscribe to the stuff and things (in my profile).

Or reach out if you're our ICP and looking for your next partner in your scaling journey.

I've fallen down an N8N rabbit hole and I'm not coming back up. I vibe coded so hard last week my arm started tingling (not in a good way).

These 5 workflows are saving us a disgusting amount of time:

Context: I'm using Claude side-by-side with N8N to help me map out the workflows and write the code for them. I have no idea what the f*ck I'm doing, but it works.

1. Meeting recap automation

When a meeting ends, the Fathom link gets sent to a Notion database, which triggers Claude's API to create a structured recap, then sends it to the right Slack channel automatically.

2. Meeting pre-agenda

Looks at my calendar for the next day, finds just client meetings, pulls up the most recent call transcript, which triggers Claude's API to create a structured agenda, and sends it to the right Slack channel.

3. Sales call to HubSpot

Anytime a sales call gets booked, it creates a new deal in HubSpot and sends us a Slack message with their form details.

4. Voice of customer from sales calls

Grabs the transcript after every sales call and runs it through a prompt that extracts: context about them, direct quotes, pain points, desired outcomes, current solutions, urgency/triggers, and objections. All automatically organized in Notion.

5. Client meeting insights

After every client call, it captures: breakthroughs they had, blockers they're facing, limiting beliefs that surfaced, and content ideas based on what we discussed.

(Bonus) 6. Slack channel history past 7 days

Get all the messages (including threaded messages) from the past 7 days summarized so you know wtf you actually talked to clients about async over the past week. So helpful.

We're about to roll some of these into client workspaces too. They don't even know it yet. Just gonna appear. 

Just sharing because this is genuinely fun. And sharing actually good AI use cases makes the world a better place.

Anyone built anything else genuinely useful in N8N? Or Zapier, which I can just translate into N8N.

PS. I can't stress enough that I am not a developer or ops person so if there are manual ways to do this that are cheaper/better than N8N I'm not interested cuz I have no idea what I'm doing k thx.

"Should I do this?" is a question I bet you've asked yourself 400 times this month with no one to answer.

This is the part of solo life that sucks, tbh. The loneliness tax. The way every decision lives in your head, bouncing around, never landing.

“Should I raise my prices. Should I fire this client. Should I take this call. Should I pivot. Should I hire. Should I wait.”

The longer you sit with them, the heavier they get. Until the thing that would've taken five minutes to decide becomes this massive weight you've been dragging around for months.

Yes, you can join a community. I'm in a few. They help. But there's nothing like one-on-one attention for your problems. It just hits different.

Which is why this is my favorite "I didn't know how bad I needed this" problem we solve for clients. 

Yes we have a foundational program to standardize your offer, apply our MP3 content framework, elevate the problem you solve, improve your sales talk track. All the critical stuff.

But my favorite moments are the ones where clients have been agonizing over whether or not to fire a shitty client, we talk for 20 minutes, they fire them that week, and feel so free.

Or when they've been thinking about hiring a contractor for six months, we clarify what they actually need, and they post the job the next day.

It's an unintended benefit, but a few clients have started calling us their non-equity co-founders. 

Cuz lez be real, most solos don't have the luxury of bringing in equity partners to help them scale, or hiring a COO or a co-founder to share the load.

Boom boom pop. Decisions non-stop. 

So if you're doing $20K+ months and at full decision fatigue, hit me up. This is the work we do. On top of all the foundational stuff we advertise 🤝

Teal

VP of Marketing

Head of Brand & Content

The MarketHer

The MarketHer—first a newsletter and now an online community—was born out of a desire to help my peers find new jobs in the wake of mass layoffs at WeWork in fall of 2019. My goal: to provide a resource for those who identify as female to discover the next step in their careers. In a world where women still earn $0.82 for every dollar her male counterpart makes, it's up to us to ensure one another succeed. 

Networking is powerful, especially in the age of social media, where we can form internet friendships, slide into DMs, and blindly message second-degree connections on LinkedIn. But even though technology has amplified the opportunities for cold outreach and digital networking, the job application process can still feel impersonal. Through The MarketHer, I wanted to bring the human element back in through a more tailored, carefully curated approach. 

Learn more and subscribe at http://themarkether.co.

Founder

LZ LLC

Self Employed

WeWork

• Led a global (and, as of March 2020, remote) social media team of 15.
• Drove crisis communications, emergency management, and customer service strategies for COVID-19 response amidst a content pivot that laddered into broader marketing campaigns and goals.
• Developed executive social media strategy and content for the Executive Chairman of WeWork across Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram.

Head of Social Media

• Served as deputy head of social media, overseeing strategy and content creation; influencer strategy and partnerships; data and analytics; social listening; monitoring and reporting; budget oversight ($1M+ annually);campaign management, etc.
• Drove customer service strategy, crisis communications, emergency management, and sensitive high-level strategy in a pre-IPO climate; pivoted content strategy accordingly.
• Led efforts resulting in exponential audience growth across platforms since 2015: Instagram by +5440%, Facebook by +600%, LinkedIn by+6618%, and Twitter by +313%, fostering one of the most engaged-with brands on LinkedIn and Instagram.
• Earned high-impact media placements through spearheading a brand strategy on social media, which has since been used as a case study for how to position B2B brands in creative and innovative ways and has driven a highly engaged consumer brand audience.

Director, Social Media Strategy

• Hired and remotely managed a global team of 8 across Mexico, Brazil, U.K.,Israel, China, South Korea, and India.
• Implemented strategy for the growth and regionalization of our international social team; oversaw their respective strategies, content development, and customer service (including WeChat, Weibo, Naver).

Director, International Social Media

• Led the strategy and evolution of the WeWork social accounts during a hyper-growth period, working cross-functionally with senior-level stakeholders to make a B2B brand appealing to a consumer audience.
• Created and developed content for several We-brand accounts (We,WeGrow, WeLive, Rise by We, etc.), liaising with internal teams to produce content and developing guidelines for best practices.
Led a cross-functional, global team of 12–14 to implement regionalized and localized content across mixed-maturity markets.

Director, Social Media

• Content strategy and creation for all WeWork and WeLive social media properties.
• Oversaw two social media managers (one based remotely in Mexico); developed and oversaw execution of international social media strategy for markets in EMEA and LATAM.

Senior Social Media Manager

• As the only social media hire, oversaw content, strategy, community management, and customer service for WeWork’s brand accounts across all channels.
• Developed brand strategy, drafted internal and member communications, and managed relationship with PR agencies while working closely with senior/C-level stakeholders.

Social Media Manager

Brand Marketing Manager

Scholastic

• Work closely with the Senior Director of Social Media & Internal Communications to support the strategy, implementation, and maintenance of Scholastic's 50+ social media accounts
• Write for Scholastic's award-winning blog, On Our Minds (www.oomscholasticblog.com)
• Copyedit corporate reports and websites (e.g. Primary Sources--a project of Scholastic and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; Kids & Family Reading Report)
• Serve as general copyeditor for the Corporate Communications team (familiar with both AP Style and The Chicago Manual of Style)
• Write weekly content for the Scholastic Intranet (3-10 stories per week using Drupal); draft internal notes to staff and other internal communications materials as needed
• Use basic HTML to create Online Press Kits and help maintain the Scholastic media room
• Manage the Reading Ambassadors program for the Scholastic Summer Reading Challenge, coordinating Governors' Spouses and Governors of U.S. states and territories to each make a 500-book donation to the school of his or her choice (www.mediaroom.scholastic.com/readingambassadors)

Writer/Producer, Social Media & Internal Communications

• Worked with the Directors and Managers in the Corporate Communications and Media Relations Department to strategize and coordinate media outreach for corporate projects, campaigns, events, and special initiatives
• Assisted with publicity for the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards by drafting pitches, press releases, and media alerts, building and maintaining media lists, monitoring social media to supplement traditional media monitoring and outreach, and working with reporters to provide assets as needed
• Managed the Reading Ambassadors program for the Scholastic Summer Reading Challenge, coordinating 51 of the Governors' Spouses and Governors of U.S. states and territories to each make a 500-book donation to the school of his or her choice
• Wrote for Scholastic's official blog, On Our Minds 
• Created Scholastic's Pinterest account; brought the idea to the Director of Social Media and Internal Communications and worked closely with her to curate the account and develop a content strategy
• Copyedited the biannual Scholastic Kids & Family Reading Report (www.scholastic.com/kfrr)
• Served as a juror for the writing portion of the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards
• Drafted and copyedited internal- and external-facing material from senior management
• Compiled daily press clips for the Corporate Communications department and weekly media impressions for the heads of each of Scholastic's business divisions

Junior Publicist, Corporate Communications

• Worked directly with the Vice President of Corporate Productions and Creative Services to coordinate and execute internal and external events; provided support in the execution of productions, special initiatives and webcasts 
• Copyedited the Scholastic Event Services website and brochure (www.scholastic.com/eventservices)
• Worked closely with external vendors to ensure that events were properly catered and staffed
• Maintained the company's online registration system for conference room and event space usage and coordinated maintenance of all of Scholastic's event spaces
• Wrote guest posts for Scholastic's corporate blog, On Our Minds (www.oomscholasticblog.com)

Communications & Production Assistant

Dragonchase, Inc.

• Drafted written content and correspondence (marketing and advertising material, programs, online content, e-newsletter, etc.)
• Copyedited all communications materials and website copy
• Assisted with the creation of all marketing material by writing copy, creating and distributing press kits, and developing a cross-promotional package for potential partnerships and sponsorships
• Handled day-to-day business operations 
• Coordinated weekly production-related tasks and delegated to three production assistants

Associate Producer

Urban Stages

• Assisted the Managing Director with grant writing
• Proofread and edited written and electronic correspondence; handled correspondence with potential benefactors and donors
• Read, reviewed, and responded to new play submissions 
• Managed the box office and ticket sale software

Assistant to the Managing Director

Cedar City Falls (Off-Broadway)

• Served as the liaison between the Producer and Actors’ Equity Association (handled legal correspondence, organized documents paperwork for weekly submission, distributed reimbursement to actors, made sure we were following union regulations, etc.)
• Supervised the other production assistants and the distribution of their duties; managed the rehearsal schedules and conflicts of more than 30 actors
• Designed, wrote, and edited the playbill for each week’s performance

Production Assistant

VP, Marketing at Teal | Using brand strategy, social media, and content marketing to empower others in their careers

I'm a content strategy and social media professional with experience leading global teams in early-stage and hyper-growth startup environments. With a strong background in social media, editorial, internal communications, community-building, and brand marketing strategy, I'm passionate about storytelling while driving brand affinity, engagement, and growth across education, entertainment, and future of work verticals.

taplio

The Battle

Erica Schneider

Lia Zneimer

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance ScoreErica Schneider's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

taplio

The Battle

Erica Schneider

Lia Zneimer

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Erica Schneider's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

Performance ScoreErica Schneider's LinkedIn Performance