Jake Ward

Started an SEO agency in 2019. Making $20M/yr for Contact.so clients. Also building: Mentions.so Byword.ai Kleo.so

I’m 27 with 4 businesses and no home.

Here’s how I got here:

Age 0-15:

Spent early life growing up in a hippie commune.

Raised by an incredible single mother who wore both hats. Gave everything to support me.

Overly shy and didn’t speak much.

Seen as a problem by a teacher who suggested there was something wrong with me.

Age 16:

First job stacking supermarket shelves.

Completed high school with bang-average grades.

Started sixth form college.

Age 17:

Quit sixth form college after 3 months due to illness.

Doctor said I was 24 hours away from dying.

Spent my 17th birthday in hospital, tubes everywhere.

Became an apprentice at a print marketing agency. Learnt my way around Adobe’s design suite.

Started doing bits of design work on the side.

Age 18-19:

Discovered search marketing to help get more clients for the print marketing agency.

Became obsessed with SEO. Spent my free time messing around with the websites I built.

Age 20:

Wanted to take marketing more seriously. Quit my job to start a marketing degree.

Quit after 2 weeks.

Started an apprenticeship at an SEO agency where I managed 25 clients and attended college part-time.

Quit after 9 months.

Realised traditional education sucks. I learnt 100x more (and quicker) through self-education.

Went all-in on learning and building whilst living at home with my mum and 2 young siblings.

£0 income.

Age 21:

Got my first 2 freelancing clients on Upwork. They referred me to other clients.

Built a 6-figure business by the end of the year.

Age 22-23:

Started a podcast side project and quickly reached 300,000 listeners per month. Sold it for 5 figures.

Bought and sold 5 websites.

Maxed out my freelancing capacity.

Age 24:

Founded Content Growth and built a team to help companies turn their blog into a 7-figure sales channel.

Started posting on LinkedIn.

Grew revenue by over 200% in 6 months.

Age 25:

Co-founded Byword and launched a platform to help marketers generate articles at scale for SEO.

Sold my belongings, moved out of London and started travelling the world.

Merged Content Growth with Contact Studios to take the SEO agency to the next level.

Helped my mum quit her 15-year corporate job.

Age 26:

Lived out of a suitcase and travelled around 16 countries.

Grown the userbase of my SaaS tools to over 130,000.

Helped multiple unicorn companies scale their SEO with our 25-person team at Contact.

Age 27:

Continuing to levelling up, exploring, following my curiosities, collaborating with great people, and helping family and friends along the way.

Founder

We help software companies get more qualified traffic, sales and revenue through conversion-focused SEO and content marketing. Turn your blog into a 6 figure sales channel.

POV: Building a startup with your friends in London.

I met Lara Acosta on LinkedIn 3 years ago:

- Under 10,000 followers each
- Glorified freelancers grinding it out solo
- No team, no investment... we just had time

But a lot has changed since then:

- 500K+ combined followers
- Multiple 7-figure businesses
- DMs with people we want to talk with
- Inbound opportunities we have to turn down
- Speaking gigs, partnerships, collabs flowing in

All because of posting daily LinkedIn content.

This platform is undefeated for those who want to build a profitable online business in 2026 organically.

And yes, LinkedIn has changed massively since we started 3 years ago.

The algorithm's different. The audience's expectations are different. The competition's different.

But we just spent the last 3 months figuring out what actually works today.

The new playbook for 2026:

- How to get more reach and views
- How to grow your authority organically
- How to get inbound leads from content

All still just through content. And we're going live showing you exactly what we found...

So if you want to know what's actually working on LinkedIn right now, Lara and I are running a free webinar next week (22nd Jan).

It's called "Content to Clients" and we'll walk through the exact strategies we're using in 2026.

We're only letting 1,000 people in, so RSVP here: https://lnkd.in/eUMHYExB

Transforming LinkedIn Profiles into High-Converting Landing Pages | Visual Strategist | Design Consultant | 270+ Happy Clients | Google Certified UXer | EU Aspirant ✈️

Eat. Sleep. Design. Repeat.

Scroll to my recommendations to see the proof.

Currently open to working student roles inside Germany.

Ubaid Ur Rehman

Everyone wants a high-value network.

Until you realize:

1. You have to be of high value yourself first.
2. Live with a give-first attitude.

Instead of taking away, always think about what I can add to this person's life.

People love to network with those who want to give.

Not to receive always.

Simple as that.

Ubaid Ur Rehman 

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I have not posted in the last 8 days.

My LinkedIn is averaging one post a week.

But I'm still:

- Closing in the DMs.
- Receiving invites full of kindness.
- Getting shouts in the rooms of the top 1%.

Your "daily posting schedule" is not your brand.

Your brand is:

- The network you choose for yourself.
- The culture you create with your beliefs.
- The value you overdeliver in your content.

It's okay to step away. It's okay to live more.  
 
But never build it at the cost of your life.  

Always. Life. First.

Design student in Germany. Coworking log.

7:28 AM - Left the bed
8:25 AM - Back to bed, cuz I slept late yesterday
11:52 AM - Left my apartment for Munich
12:28 PM - Got on the Deutsche Bahn
2:10 PM - Estimated arrival time, but DB did its thing.
3:02 PM - Arrived at friend's place
6:30 PM - We finished coworking

In just 3.5 hours of coworking, I completed 4 major tasks on my list with deep focus. 

(Including Link Up Design Feedback).

Came back fulfilled.

9:45 PM - Joined a friend for dinner Rosh.
10:46 PM - Casual sitting with a design friend.

The right circle has always been the hack.

Find yours.

448 days as a design coach. Takeaways.

1. What is simple to you takes hours for someone.
2. Design is not about the tool but the designer.
3. Great design follows an iterative approach.
4. Specific asks lead to specific feedback.
5. Great design shouts "less is more".
6. Premium design cares for details.
7. The fastest learners? They ask.
   
No. 3 and 5 are mostly ignored.

Design never thrives in isolation.

A simple LinkedIn example.

Consider 3 brand pillars.

1. Copy
2. Design
3. Positioning

✅ Positioning + ❌ Design = ❌ Flop.
❌ Positioning + ✅ Design = ❌ Flop.

To cut through the noise, your brand has to check all the boxes. And one of the crucial ones is design.

✅ Positioning + ✅ Design + ✅ Copy = ❤️

You can have the best offer or product, but a bad design will ruin the entire perception of your brand. 

Even before your customers give it a try.

PS. Ever made a purchase purely based on design?

Live from Bremen. 

Next we head Berlin.

Yesterday it was Hamburg.

Meeting amazing humans on the way.

Can’t be more grateful.

For the people. For the life.

Thank you LinkedIn.

taplio

The Battle

Jake Ward

Ubaid Ur Rehman

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance ScoreJake Ward's LinkedIn Performance

Performance ScoreUbaid Ur Rehman's LinkedIn Performance

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taplio

The Battle

Jake Ward

Ubaid Ur Rehman

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);}Jake Ward's LinkedIn Performance

Performance ScoreUbaid Ur Rehman's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

Performance ScoreJake Ward's LinkedIn Performance