🇺🇦 Eddie Shleyner

Founder of VeryGoodCopy.com, essayist

Hello, thanks for stopping by. I’m Eddie 👋🏼

I’m a conversion copywriter, content marketer, and the founder of VeryGoodCopy, a newsletter about copywriting and creativity read by millions of people each year. Join over 80K email subscribers—including copywriters, marketers, entrepreneurs, and other smart folks—who've subscribed to the VeryGoodCopy Newsletter and bought 𝘝𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘎𝘰𝘰𝘥𝘊𝘰𝘱𝘺: 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘰𝘰𝘬:

◾ “VeryGoodCopy shows you how to write, and how not to write. How to think, and how not to think. Eddie is a damn good marketer. I recommend him.”
—𝗗𝗥𝗔𝗬𝗧𝗢𝗡 𝗕𝗜𝗥𝗗, 𝗢𝗴𝗶𝘃𝗹𝘆 𝗖𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗗𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿

◾ “Please, God, can everyone involved in advertising—and not only copywriters—just read this book…I loved every moment.”
—𝗥𝗢𝗥𝗬 𝗦𝗨𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗥𝗟𝗔𝗡𝗗, 𝗢𝗴𝗶𝗹𝘃𝘆 𝗩𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗶𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻

◾ “Eddie is a fantastic copywriter.”
—𝗔𝗡𝗡 𝗛𝗔𝗡𝗗𝗟𝗘𝗬, 𝗔𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝙀𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮𝙗𝙤𝙙𝙮 𝙒𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙚𝙨

◾ “Eddie Shleyner. Where to begin? Not only a fantastic writer, a historian, a gentleman, someone I'm proud to call a colleague. VeryGoodCopy is a copywriting goldmine. I often go there for inspiration. Eddie is the real deal.”
—𝗛𝗔𝗥𝗥𝗬 𝗗𝗥𝗬, 𝗙𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗘𝘅𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘀.𝗰𝗼𝗺

◾ "Eddie Shleyner is one of the few people who can articulate what makes great writing great."
—𝗝𝗨𝗟𝗜𝗔𝗡 𝗦𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗜𝗥𝗢, 𝗙𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝗗𝗲𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗖𝘂𝗿𝘃𝗲

◾ "Eddie Shleyner is a brilliant writer who understands the art of persuasion — and teaches it — in a way few people can. I'm jealous of how he can say so much in so few words. Big fan!"
—𝗞𝗘𝗩𝗜𝗡 𝗥𝗢𝗚𝗘𝗥𝗦, 𝗙𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝗖𝗼𝗽𝘆 𝗖𝗵𝗶𝗲𝗳

◾ "Eddie Shleyner, now there's a fella who knows something about copywriting."
—𝗗𝗔𝗩𝗘 𝗚𝗘𝗥𝗛𝗔𝗥𝗗𝗧, 𝗙𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝗘𝘅𝗶𝘁 𝗙𝗶𝘃𝗲

◾ "VeryGoodCopy is likely the very best reading you'll do on any given day about copywriting."
—𝗞𝗜𝗠 𝗞𝗥𝗔𝗨𝗦𝗘 𝗦𝗖𝗛𝗪𝗔𝗟𝗠, 𝗔-𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘁 𝗖𝗼𝗽𝘆𝘄𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗿

◾ “Eddie gets it. He’s a joy to work with and does so at the highest level.”
—𝗦𝗖𝗢𝗧𝗧 𝗗𝗜𝗞𝗞𝗘𝗥𝗦, 𝗔𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿, 𝗦𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗻𝘄𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗿, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗢𝗻𝗶𝗼𝗻

Read hundreds of free "micro" lessons, interviews, and courses about copywriting, creativity, and storytelling on VeryGoodCopy.com.

You can also the "Featured" section below for more information about my products and services. 

Thanks again for being here—and enjoy!

Founder

"One of the best copywriting blogs around." 
- Wistia

"One of the content marketing industry's best copywriters." 
- HubSpot

VeryGoodCopy.com is a blog about the art and science of written persuasion. Over 53,000 people subscribe to receive weekly micro-articles about copywriting, content marketing, and psychology.

It's also a direct-response copywriting and content marketing agency that ships clear, concise words that sell.

Click the link below to learn more.

Hey folks! Many months of work went into this thing. I'm very proud of it, and excited to finally share with you all: https://lnkd.in/dgTWp2jp

Please help me spread the word 🙏🏼 

And as always, enjoy!

- Ed

Founder of VeryGoodCopy.com | Join 95K newsletter subscribers

VeryGoodCopy Audiobook is Now Available

How to find the words again (without AI):

Growing up, it felt like Babushka had a saying for every problem. 

Every bad or uncomfortable situation I faced was met with some expression about resilience or patience or effort. Probably because my grandma’s own childhood in Stalinist Russia was so hellish and sad, so she had these set phrases, I guess, these little rhyming quips that brought levity or perspective when things were hard. 

I remember when I cut my lip on a 7UP can. She held a napkin to my mouth and put her cheek against my head and said, “Doh svahd-by zah-zhee-vyot.”

It means: “It’ll heal before your wedding.”

Or when I stormed into the living room and told her that I couldn’t do it, that I could not possibly memorize “Falling Up” by Shel Silverstein. I remember she looked up at me from her book and said, “Trood vsyo peh-reh-troot.”

It means: “Hard work grinds everything down.”

Or when there was heartache. She opened the door to my room, and that devastating song, “Color of Your Blues” was playing through the stereo, slow and soft…

𝘚𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘨𝘰𝘯𝘦, 𝘐'𝘷𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘮𝘺 𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴/ 
𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘷𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺, 𝘐 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘯'𝘵 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘭 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴/

I remember she hugged me so and said, “Vsyo pra-ho-deet, soln-sa.”

It means: “Everything passes, my love.”

And of course, I remember the thing she told me almost every night, no matter the circumstance, like a mantra. “Oo-truh vye-cheh-ruh moo-dreh-nee-yeh,” she said. 

It means: “The morning is wiser than the evening.”

I think about this often. 

I think about it in all sorts of situations, but especially when it’s dark outside and the house is still and my brain is still, but I’m still writing, still trying—and the words won’t come. 

When this happens, I hear Babushka. I swear to God I hear her voice: 

“Oo-truh vye-cheh-ruh moo-dreh-nee-yeh.”

And so I listen. And I rest. I let my subconscious drive for a while. 

And when I return to work, the words are there again.

A warning to writers:

I read Stranger Than Fiction by Chuck Palahniuk.

In it he talks about philosopher Martin Heidegger, who postulated that humanity sees the planet as a standing reserve of raw material—as resources, basically, inventory just waiting to be collected and processed and converted into something else, something useable:

Cows into meat. Forests into lumber. Mountains into minerals and metals. Etcetera.

Heidegger called this standing reserve “Bestand.”

“It seems inevitable,” writes Palahniuk, “that people without access to natural Bestand such as oil wells or diamond mines, that they’d turn to the only inventory they do have—their lives.”

Yes. Most people don’t own massive quantities of raw materials, but all of us, every single person, owns their story, their life, everything they’ve savored and suffered, the beautiful things and devastating things and everything in between, too.

Our Bestand is our lived experience—and to harvest it, we can write.

We can notice our life, and we can write about it.

“Put yourself into your work,” said the late, great copywriter David Abbott. “Use your life to animate your copy,” he said.

Some of our greatest artists have echoed this advice:

Writer Anne Lamott said, “You own everything that happened to you. Tell your stories.”

Comedian Norm Macdonald said, “My strongest material comes from real life.”

Director Bong Joon Ho said, “The most personal is the most creative.”

But at what cost?

Heidegger warned that viewing the world this way, as Bestand, can be incredibly dangerous because it reduces Mother Nature to a mere resource, something expendable to exploit and subjugate.

And therefore, as writers, it’s also possible to exploit ourselves, to collect and process and convert everything that happens to us—be it love or children or divorce or cancer or existential dread—into material: every moment examined for its potential as a headline or chapter title.

And what happens then?

“[Then] we might hurry through life,” warns Palahniuk, “enduring event after event, in order to build our list of experiences. Our stock of stories. And our hunger for stories might reduce our awareness of the actual experience.”

And what happens then?

What happens when the material supplants the moment itself?

Folks, would you call this asset a LANDING PAGE or a SALES LETTER: https://lnkd.in/gnHcEwQp

Note: this asset is designed for folks familiar with my work, mainly past buyers, current newsletter subscribers, and avid followers.

Please feel free to share your take in the comments...

Another note: I may quote and/or screenshot your comment in an an essay I'm writing about this topic for my newsletter. (I will of course link back to your profile if I do.) But if you do NOT want me to use it, please just say so in the comment 🙏🏼

Thank you!

Is this a LANDING PAGE or is it a SALES LETTER? (See above)

Author & Ex-Banker | Founder, Operator’s Edge™ | Turn 2–4 Stages/Month Into Clients | Scale Without Burnout | Podcast Host

Most leaders think the bottleneck is the business.
It’s not. It’s the Operator running it.

After 10+ years in corporate finance as an ex–banker, I was the classic “successful but burned out” leader. On paper, I was moving millions for global banks. Behind the scenes, I was trading health, energy, and relationships just to keep up.

So I rebuilt from the ground up.

- From chubby banker to award-winning author of The Body & Bank Connection

- From endless corporate hours to coaching founders and executives on sustainable high performance

- To building Operator’s Edge™... an operating system for scaling Energy, Enterprise, and Legacy without sacrifice

Along the way I’ve:

- Coached hundreds of high performers — from founders to C-suite

- Delivered keynotes and workshops on performance without burnout

- Been featured in FOX, The Times, International Business Times, Digital Journal, and more

🧩 What Operator’s Edge™ Actually Does

Operator’s Edge™ helps founders and executives scale without burning out by installing a few key systems:

1. Energy & Health systems – so your body can actually support the level you’re playing at

2. Identity & Execution systems – who you are as an Operator and how you make decisions

3. Strategy & Scale systems – simple, repeatable ways to grow without chaos

Health and fitness are still a core pillar... just one part of the wider operating system.

🎤 Brand→Stage™ Speaking Engine (One of Those Systems)

One system that’s created outsized results is Brand→Stage™.

Instead of treating speaking as random “exposure”, we turn it into a predictable growth lever:

- Turn one clear talk into a true speaking asset

- Use a simple engine to land 2–4 aligned stages a month (virtual + in-person, local + international)

- Design the talk, CTA, and follow-up so those rooms turn into buyers and opportunities, not just applause

In an AI-heavy world where anyone can churn out content, being in the room with a talk that converts is one of the most authentic ways to build trust and grow.

If you’re scaling and can feel the cracks in your energy, systems, or ability to keep leading at this pace, you’re not broken... you’re just running an outdated operating system.

That’s what we upgrade.

DM me “EDGE” if you want to scale without burnout, or “STAGES” if you want speaking to become a predictable growth engine.

Ritchie Nkana

Follower count isn’t the gate. Friction is.

The speakers who get booked consistently aren’t always the most famous.

They’re the easiest to say “yes” to.

I wrote a newsletter on how to become that speaker (and the YouTube walkthrough is inside).

👇 Read it here.

View newsletter: Peak Performance Insider

If you’ve been told you need a big audience to get on stages, that’s the creator economy talking. It’s the same logic that says: post more → grow foll

Open article: You Don’t Need a Big Following to Get Speaking Gigs. You Need to Be Easy to Book. by Ritchie Nkana • 3 min read

You Don’t Need a Big Following to Get Speaking Gigs. You Need to Be Easy to Book.

This week I watched someone get asked a simple question in a meeting… and their mind went blank.

Not because they didn’t know.

Because the moment felt like a threat.

And I’ve been there.

For a long time I thought confident speakers were just… wired differently.

Then I started paying attention.

The people who sound calm aren’t “less nervous.”
They’re just more rehearsed.

Confidence isn’t a trait.
It’s a rehearsal system.

When you don’t have one, your body does what it’s designed to do:
protect you → shaky voice, racing thoughts, talking too fast.

Here’s the 10-min/day loop:
The 10-Min Rehearsal Loop...

1) Minute 1–2: Downshift
2 rounds of a physiological sigh (two inhales, long exhale).

2) Minute 3–5: Build a 20-second spine
Point → Proof → Point
One sentence. One example. One sentence.

3) Minute 6–8: Record it once
No redo. One take.
Confidence comes from reps, not perfection.

4) Minute 9–10: Upgrade one thing
Pick ONE: slower pace, cleaner start, stronger last line.

Do this for 7 days and you’ll notice the shift:
nerves still show up… but they stop driving.

If speaking has been stressing you out, you don’t need a personality transplant.
You need a system.

DM “PRACTICE” and I’ll send it... free training in Featured.

Most speakers use stories as entertainment.

That’s why they run long, detailed, and heavy on backstory.

In business, a story’s real job is proof:

proof you’ve been close to the problem, and the lesson is earned.

A useful rule: one slice, one lesson, under 60 seconds.
Then move on.

Question: What’s the “smallest slice” story you could tell that proves you understand your client’s problem?

Stop hiding your genius in custom client work.
If people can only understand your value after a call, your expertise is still invisible.

For a long time, I thought being “good” at what I did was enough.

If I solved hard problems…
If clients got results…
If I delivered at a high level…

Then surely the market would just get it.

It doesn’t work like that.

Because raw expertise rarely builds trust on its own.
It usually creates confusion.

People don’t trust what they have to decode.
They trust what they can understand, repeat, and believe in.

That’s why some people with half the depth get twice the attention.

 Not because they know more.
 Because they’ve packaged what they know into something others can hold.

That’s what a proprietary framework really does.

It takes what’s living in your head and turns it into a structure the market can follow.

A strong framework does 4 things:

1. Names the problem better than your audience can
2. Organises the path from pain to outcome
3. Shows your method without giving away the whole machine
4. Makes your expertise memorable long after the post or call ends

This is the difference between being seen as smart
 and being seen as the obvious authority.

People don’t buy information.

 They buy clarity.
 They buy confidence.
 They buy a path that feels proven.

If your best ideas are scattered across client calls, notes, and half-written posts, start here:

- What problem do I solve over and over?
- What sequence do I naturally lead people through?
- What do I say so often it’s basically my method already?
- What could I name so clearly that people remember it tomorrow?

That’s the beginning of a framework.

Not for vanity.
For trust.
For positioning.
For scale.

Because the moment your genius becomes teachable,
it becomes transferable.

And that’s when your brand starts compounding.

What’s one method you use consistently that deserves a name?

P.S. If you want help building your own framework, the free training is in my featured section.

Most people build a “signature talk” like it’s a TED talk.

It’s inspiring.
It’s polished.
People clap.

Then they walk out… and nothing happens.

No calls. No leads. No next step.

Because a signature talk isn’t meant to sell your service.

It’s meant to sell the next decision.

Here’s the framework:

The Talk-to-Decision Flow...

1) Name the painful status quo
What are they tolerating that’s quietly costing them?
(Not the surface problem...the ongoing tax.)

2) Reframe the real problem
The “thing they think is the issue” usually isn’t.
Your job is to show the actual constraint.

3) Teach one simple mechanism
Not 12 tips. One lever.
One “ohhh… that’s why this keeps happening.”

4) Give a small, credible win
A quick diagnostic. A 2-step fix. A 7-day experiment.
Something they can apply without becoming your client.

5) Offer the next decision
Not “book a call.”
A decision that makes sense after your mechanism.

Example signature talk outline: 

Title: The Hidden Cost of Being the Reliable One

1. The real cost of always “handling it” (energy + opportunity)
2. The mechanism: reactive leadership creates invisible debt
3. The fix: The 3-bucket system (Decide / Delegate / Delete)
4. The 10-minute audit worksheet
5. Next decision: run the audit this week

If you want the talk-to-offer flow I use to turn talks into leads, DM me “STAGE.”
(There’s also a free training in my Featured section.)

2026 talks aren’t speeches. They’re experiences that convert.

I watched a brilliant speaker recently do what most people still do:

- 40 minutes of slides
- 0 interaction
- 1 “any questions?” at the end
- then a rushed CTA

The audience clapped.

 And then… nothing happened.

No DMs. No bookings. No pipeline.

Not because the content was bad.
Because the experience was passive.

In a hybrid world, attention is rented minute-by-minute.

Conversion happens when people participate, not just listen.

The Signature Talk Conversion Stack (2026)...

1) Pattern break (0–90s)
 Make them do something: vote / choose / answer / reflect.

2) Micro-commitments (every 5–7 mins)
 Polls. “Drop a 1/2/3.” “Pick A or B.”
 Participation creates ownership.

3) Proof in motion (not a brag slide)
 Quick story + mechanism (what changed + how).

4) The “next step” moment (not a pitch)
 Give them a decision, not a brochure:
 “Do you want the template / scorecard / training?”

5) Follow-up bridge (within 60 seconds)
 QR code. Short link. Featured section.
 Make the action frictionless.

Most talks fail because they’re built like lectures.
Build yours like a guided experience.

If your talk is strong but it’s not converting, my free training is in my Bio / Featured section.

POV: the problem with most talks is not the ideas. It’s the order.

I see a lot of presentations with solid points, useful insights, and decent slides that still don’t land.

Why?

Because the audience is forced to assemble the message themselves.

When the sequence is off, clarity drops.

When clarity drops, trust drops.

Better talks are usually not about adding more.

They’re about ordering the ideas so the audience can follow the logic without effort.

Don’t add more slides. Fix the sequence.

What’s harder in your experience: finding the right ideas, or putting them in the right order?

A founder said to me once,
 “The talk went well… but nobody moved.”

People clapped.
A few said it was brilliant.

But after that?

Nothing.
No real follow-up.
No good conversations.
No shift.

And that’s the part more people are dealing with right now.

The talk sounds smart.
The room responds well.

But it does not carry any weight once people leave.

Because most talks are built to teach.
Not to connect.

And in 2026, that matters more than ever.

People are overwhelmed already.
They do not need more information.

They need to feel like:
 “That’s me.”
 “That’s exactly what I’ve been dealing with.”
 “Finally, someone gets it.”

That’s what story does.

It makes the message human.
It makes the insight land.
It gives your expertise something people can actually feel.

That’s why story is not just a nice extra in a signature talk.

It’s the thing that makes the talk move.

A talk that converts usually does 4 things:
- Starts with something real
- Names the tension clearly
- Shows the shift
- Gives people a path

That’s it.

Because people do not move just because your ideas are good.

They move when the message feels true to their life.

If your talk gets applause but no action, it might not be a talk problem.
It might be a story problem.

If you want help turning your expertise into a talk that moves people, the free training is in my featured section.

Motivation is a spark. Most people never turn it into movement.

You’ve seen it: someone watches a video or talk, feels fired up… and does nothing the next day.

It’s not laziness. It’s missing structure.

Motivation needs a map.

If you teach without a framework, people leave with vibes, not action.

The fix is simple: end with a 3-step model they can run tomorrow.

Frameworks turn attention into movement and movement creates clients.

What 3-step framework do you teach (or need) right now?

I once got brought onto a stage with this intro:

“Next up is Ritchie. He’s going to talk about leadership.”

That’s not an introduction.
That’s a category.

And categories are where experts go to disappear.

Because “leadership” could mean anything…
so the audience remembers nothing.

That moment taught me the Brand-to-Stage rule:

Your expertise is noise until you name the system behind it.

Why stages punish vague expertise
On a stage, people need a handle.

They’re not tracking your nuance.
They’re deciding, in seconds, if you’re worth staying for.

Build the thing they can remember (and repeat)

Here’s the simplest way to turn expertise into proprietary IP:

Beliefs — the counter-intuitive truth you stand on
Moves — the 3–5 steps you teach every time
Metrics — how you prove it worked

Then give it a name people can carry.

Not for ego.
For recall.

Because the best compliment isn’t “that was great.”

It’s:

 “I know exactly who to send to you.”

If you want help turning your expertise into a named framework, I’ve put a free training in my Bio / Featured section.

I thought “personal brand” meant posting more. It didn’t.

I was consistent.
I was “showing up.”

And somehow… I still felt hard to place.

That’s when it clicked:
Personal brand stays vague when you’re trying to “be known for something.”

So you post:
- a few opinions
- a lesson you learned
- a win screenshot
…and it still doesn’t stick.

Because “expert” isn’t a volume game.

It’s a lens people can repeat without you in the room.

Here’s the 3-part lens I use (and teach) to become the go-to without fluff:

1) Problem (name it precisely)
Not “leadership” → “operators who are high-performing but constantly firefighting.”
Specificity = trust.

2) Mechanism (your proprietary explanation)
What’s really driving the problem?
Your “why it happens” is what makes you memorable.
Most people only share tips.
Go-to experts share causality.

3) Proof (evidence in real life)
Client results. Decisions. Before/after. Constraints. Trade-offs.
Proof isn’t flexing. It’s reducing risk for the reader.

If you can consistently communicate:
Problem → Mechanism → Proof

you stop sounding like everyone else… and start sounding like the reference point.

If you want the full breakdown, I’ve got a free training in my Featured section.

Most founders don’t burn out from workload… they burn out from misalignment.

Loved this unedited conversation with Arjan Visser on upgrading the operator behind the business.

What’s your biggest burnout trigger right now... too much doing or unclear direction?

Futurist (Human-Centered) 💎 Author 💎 Public Speaker 💎 Boardroom Facilitator 💎 Peer-Mastermind Host 💎 Leadership V.I.P. Coach 💎 Change Agent 💎 co-Founder Business Revivalists

The Real Secret to Scaling Your Business Without Burnout: Upgrade the Operator!

In a world obsessed with “hustle culture,” why do so many ambitious founders burn out instead of scale up? The secret isn’t working harder; it’s about upgrading the leader—the operator—who runs the entire system.

DM FUTURE - https://lnkd.in/eWmMDEB

Join Arjan Visser and leadership coach Ritchie Nkana in an unedited, honest peer dialogue that dismantles the hustle myth and offers a powerful new blueprint for sustainable, fulfilling growth.

In this episode, you will discover:
*   The critical shift from "Chief Executor" to "Chief Vision Operator" and how to articulate a vision your team can actually see.
*   Why scaling up is not about *adding* more tasks, but *becoming* more aligned, disciplined, and energized.
*   How to diagnose if you are accidentally chasing someone else's dream and realign with your own intrinsic motivation.
*   The definition of "full-spectrum success": leading powerfully in the boardroom and being fully present at the kitchen table.
*   How to create simple, powerful feedback systems in your life to guard against burnout and maintain your energy.

This conversation provides a clear framework to ensure your growth is fueled by purpose and clarity, not just pressure and hustle.

Join the ongoing conversation at the ALT Dialogue, an exclusive peer dialogue for visionary leaders to pioneer and ponder the ALT question, the question that shapes our Authentic Leadership Transformation to lead the future. Https://https://lnkd.in/eA9KFpwu

DM FUTURE - https://lnkd.in/eWmMDEB

Ritchie Nkana’s contact details

🔗 LinkedIn 👉 https://lnkd.in/ePYHW4Cx
🔗 Ritchie’s website 👉 https://lnkd.in/e7D6Y_HU
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135. The Scaling Mistake a CEO - Business Owner Should Not make!

More stages are opening up.
That does not mean more speakers will matter.

A founder said to me recently,

 “I know I should be speaking more this year…
 I just do not want to be another expert giving people information they forget by lunch.”

That is the tension right now.

Because yes, the speaking market is opening up again.

More events.
More rooms.
More opportunity.

But that does not automatically mean more trust.
Because audiences are not looking for another polished speaker.

They are looking for someone who can make the room think:
“This is exactly what I’ve been wrestling with.”

That is why now is the time to own the stage.

Not with more content.
With a real niche.
A clear point of view.
A signature talk people actually remember.

A lot of smart people are still treating speaking like a nice extra.

Something they will get to later.
That is the mistake.

If in-person events are where trust is being built again,
 then your talk is no longer just a talk.

It is your positioning.
Your credibility.
Your edge in the room.

And the people who win will not be the ones trying to talk about everything.

They will be the ones known for something.

Ask yourself:
What do I want to be the go-to voice for?
What problem can I speak on with depth, not just opinion?
What message is strong enough to become my signature talk?

Because this next season does not belong to the loudest voice.

It belongs to the clearest one.

If you have been waiting to own your niche on stage, this is your window.

If you want help building your signature talk system, the free training is in my featured section.

Aligning with 2–4 stages a month starts with a system, not a wish-list.

Most people treat speaking like dating:

- “I’d love to speak at…”
- “One day I’ll get on…”
- “I’m waiting for the right event…”

Meanwhile, stages (especially hybrid ones) are being booked by people with a pipeline.

Not better speakers.
Better operators.

The Stage-Booking Pipeline (Builder Mode)...

1) Micro-niche inventory (30 mins/week)
Stop chasing “big events.”
Build a list of aligned rooms:
industry associations, partner webinars, VC/accelerator sessions, community summits, internal company offsites.

2) The 3-line outreach (daily)
- Why them (specific)
- Why now (relevance)
- What you deliver (one named talk + outcome)

3) Follow-up rhythm (the part everyone skips)
 Day 3 → Day 10 → Day 21
 No guilt. No essays. Just consistency.

4) Nurture without begging
 Once a week: send a 60–90 sec clip, a short post, or a “one-slide insight.”
 You’re not “checking in.”
 You’re staying top of mind with proof.

5) Close with options (reduce friction)
Two talk titles + 3 date windows.
Make it easy to say yes.
Wish-lists don’t book stages.
Systems do.

If you want my exact stage-booking pipeline (templates + follow-up schedule), it’s inside the free training in my Bio / Featured section.

The biggest lie in personal branding right now? More AI content = more authority.

It doesn’t.

Most of it just creates more of the same.

And the more the feed gets flooded with polished, emotionally flat content, the more obvious one truth becomes:

People are not starving for content.
They’re starving for signal.

For conviction.
For pattern recognition.
For a perspective that feels lived, not assembled.

That’s why your human story matters more now, not less.

Not because you need to overshare.
Not because every post needs a dramatic backstory.

Because story is proof.

It shows people where your thinking came from.

Why you believe what you believe.
What it cost you to learn it.

That’s what makes insight land.

Without that, most AI-assisted content sounds competent… and forgettable.

So here’s the real play if you want to stand out as a thought leader right now:

Don’t compete on volume. Compete on truth.

A simple framework for your next post:

The Human Moat Framework...

1. Moment — What happened?
2. Meaning — What did it teach you?
3. Method — What can someone else apply from it?

That’s it.

Use AI to sharpen the writing.
But don’t ask it to replace the source.

Because the source is the edge:
your experience, your judgment, your voice.

In an AI-saturated world, your human story is still the moat.

What’s a lesson you believe now because experience made it non-negotiable?

A planner was ready to book the speaker.
Then the process killed the deal.

Not the talk.
Not the fee.
Not the fit.

The process.

Too many back-and-forth emails.
A messy pricing structure.
A contract that felt heavier than the actual decision.

And that is where a lot of bookings die now.

Not because you are not good.
Because you are too hard to say yes to.

That matters more in 2026.

Planners are moving under pressure.
Budgets are still there, but so is tighter scrutiny, higher expectations, and less patience for friction. 

So if someone wants to hire you, they do not want a puzzle.

They want clarity.

What is the talk?
What does it cost?
What is included?
How fast can we lock this in?

That is why packaging matters.

The speakers getting booked fastest are not always the most impressive on paper.

They are often the easiest to buy.

Think of it like this:
One clear offer
One flat fee
One simple agreement
One obvious next step

Not ten custom options.
Not vague ranges.
Not a contract that feels heavier than the booking itself.

Make it easy for someone to say yes while the energy is still there.

Because when timelines shrink, complexity costs you.

A lot of speakers do not have a demand problem.
They have a friction problem.

If you want help building a signature talk offer that is easier to book, the free training is in my featured section.

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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);}🇺🇦 Eddie Shleyner's LinkedIn Performance

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