To build sustainable business value, you start with the goal, then earn the reputation that makes it possible.

At Reputation Sherpa, we guide CEOs and leadership teams to work backwards from their growth targets to define the reputation they need to achieve them. Then we help make it real.

Clients have attributed nearly half a billion dollars in added business value to this process.
Because when your reputation is clear, every path to growth gets easier:

--> Clients choose you faster
--> Employees stay longer
--> Investors see greater value

Using our CARAT framework (Credibility, Attention, Relatability, Authority, and Trust) we help turn your invisible wins into visible credibility.

Our frameworks are built on more than 15 years of research, psychology, and results across sectors from professional services to tech and infrastructure.

The outcome is a stronger reputation, inside and out, that amplifies your brand, builds stakeholder confidence, and increases the future value of your business.

If you’re ready to start with the goal and build the reputation that gets you there, let’s talk.

For insights on proactive reputation building, or to start a conversation, let's connect.

Jo Kinner

It takes around two months to climb Mt. Everest. 

I must admit that's longer than I thought. (I mean, how hard can it be? 😜 !!)

Some guides offer "fast track" expeditions, but they're riskier. It takes time to acclimatise to a higher elevation.

After weeks of trekking to base camp, climbers ascend gradually, build a higher camp, come back, rest and recover. When they set off again, they're better prepared. And each time they start from a higher place.

It's the same with organisations that succeed long-term. They don't overextend by pushing too hard too soon.

The clients I've helped reach their particular summits 
--> better quality clients
--> new revenue targets
--> first customers in a new market
--> investor confidence
--> a sale or acquisition 
didn't get there in one go either. 

They pushed ahead toward their reputation goal, then paused. When they called me back in (sometimes two years later), they were ready to go again.  

The pause is vital. CEOs and teams need time to acclimatise to internal changes and consolidate their resources. Then they set off from a higher place than before. 

If you're aiming for your next peak and are promised a rapid ascent to the top, think about the risks of overextending. 

Why is it that we always chase the promise of fast results, when we know a controlled climb is the best way to get where we're going?

----
I'm Jo from Reputation Sherpa. I help business leaders use reputation as a strategic tool to build long term value in their company and brand.

Take your business further with a higher reputation | We guide you | Founding Partner at Reputation Sherpa

Any organisation that's thrived for 30 years creates significant value.
But it's so often buried under layers of words no one is reading.

For HCB Group, their reputation was already strong in one market. It just wasn’t transferring into a new geography with a different industry culture. 

After a session with their UK and Australian teams, we surfaced the gems in their offer. Then we created clear, value-based positioning and messaging for their internal team to roll out.

Of course, there’s more to be done. Reputation is a journey. 
Knowing where to start and what to do next makes for an easier climb.

Thank you Jim Harris, Derek Perkins 🇦🇺 and the HCB team. Working with people this kind and committed is always a pleasure.

Why are some women reporting a massive boost in reach by switching their profile gender to "male?" It seems the use of AI is compounding the issue.

I dug into this and here's what I found:
--> LinkedIn doesn't filter content by demographics like gender or race
--> Its algorithm ranks and recommends content based on “quality”
--> Higher quality content is then amplified to test for engagement

So the first question is: What counts as "quality" to an algorithm? 
It appears to use leadership signals as filters. It ranks for topic authority, network size, job seniority, engagement levels, and language style.

On a business platform, that makes sense. But there's a problem. 

Algorithms aren't neutral. They absorb social and cultural patterns from the world. Those patterns have bias baked in. 

Research shows the algo rewards a direct, decisive language style. Writing that's more tentative or reflective gets filtered out. Not because readers reject it. Just because they don't get to see it.

AI content is reinforcing this dominant style. 
-->More people use AI to write posts 
--> those posts sound like 'leadership' and get amplified
--> AI tools learn what 'works' on LinkedIn and generate more of it. 

So no, LinkedIn isn’t suppressing content based on a gender switch. It doesn’t need to. The data is encoding what business leadership looks and sounds like and dishing up more of that, whether we like it or not!

Who else has experimented with this? Keen to know what you found.
---
I'm Jo. I usually post about reputation but sometimes deviate.

--> "Reputation is dead!" 
--> "You don't need brand trust."

I've seen some spicy takes on LinkedIn lately.

After my initial 𝘱𝘧𝘧𝘵𝘴, I decided to actually read the posts. The points were valid. They just looked at the issue from a different frame of reference. 

It's true that not all brands need to build trust equally. 
They only need to meet the baseline level of trust for their category. And that baseline varies widely.

You don't need to trust a hammer brand the same way you trust a car brand. And a barber doesn't rely on reputation the same way a financial adviser does.  

For low-involvement categories, the baseline is simpler: safe, effective, available, fairly priced. 

As price and complexity increase, so do risk and expectations. Expertise, honesty, compliance, and leadership all matter more. So does trust.

The more brand trust and reputation are 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘩 to your business, the more you need to invest in them. 

So when someone says, "reputation is dead," maybe they mean "reputation is less important to some companies than others." But that's not exactly a scroll-stopping hook! 😜

What's been called “dead” in your industry that might just need viewing from a different angle?

----
I'm Jo from Reputation Sherpa. I help business leaders use reputation as a strategic tool to build long term value in their company and brand.

I had a different post planned for today. But after reading the news, I couldn't write about business reputation. 

All day I've been thinking about the reputation of people. 

In particular, individuals willing to stake their personal reputation on the belief that power and privilege will protect them, no matter what.

So they deny, distract, and deflect, waiting for the expected protections to kick in. 

But as my mum always used to say, "truth will out." (Shakespeare might have said it first, but it holds up whatever). 

And when that happens, the repeated lies -- and the arrogance and entitlement that accompanies them -- make everything worse.

I watched the interview the late Virginia Giuffre gave to journalist Tara Brown. 
She talked about that infamous photo of her with the former Prince. She described the room, the girls, the power dynamics, the dehumanisation. It was a hard listen. 

Of course we've all heard the denials: I've never met her, I don't remember, the photo might be doctored, those aren't my fingers. 👀 🫱 Deny, distract, deflect.

Now we see evidence of the pleading for protection, asking others to deny everything, complaining their lives are being ruined. The pattern of believing a title will make everything uncomfortable disappear.

The point is, whether you run a country or a company, your reputation isn't protected by privilege. Reputations are built on trust and protected by truth.

The first rule of crisis communication is: Don’t make it worse.
But those who believe they’re untouchable do exactly that. And their personal reputations, rightly, pay the ultimate price.

Back to normal business programming shortly. 🤨

Open article: 'I can't take any more': Former prince Andrew emailed Epstein for help by abc.net.au

'I can't take any more': Former prince Andrew emailed Epstein for help

A financial services CEO told me their clients didn't care about brand. 

We were about to interview their stakeholders and brand is one of the dimensions we explore. 

Sure enough, the first two clients said "brand doesn't matter." They were happy this firm flew under the radar. To them, a known brand just meant higher prices. 

Interesting, I thought. These were loyal clients in their traditional niche.
-->they already trusted them
-->they knew the quality of their work
-->they'd experienced promises kept 
--> it was a close-knit industry where word of mouth travelled.

They didn't care about brand. They already had the evidence they needed.

Then I spoke with newer clients and referrers in the larger growth market they saw as their future. They loved my client's service, but said:
--> their website didn't look professional
--> they wanted materials to share that explained the firm's value
--> their own clients preferred to deal with a recognised name

This firm was highly regarded and didn't need a major overhaul.
We clarified their positioning, refreshed their visual identity and produced a strong company profile informed by their clients' perspectives. Not long afterwards, they were acquired by a leading player in the new market.

If your current clients “don’t care about brand,” it’s likely because they already trust you. But future clients don't come with trust built in. How does your services firm make its value clear?

This report by Craig Badings and SenateSHJ on the Future of Reputation is timely reading for anyone leading through uncertainty. 

We're moving further into an era where disinformation, polarisation, and AI make it harder to know where to place our trust. And where, as Scott Sayres puts it, "it's never been easier to torpedo a company with half-truths and lies." 

Building an aligned reputation "from within," as Alan Chumley says, gives organisations a structural integrity that can resist many pressures.

The report dispels common misconceptions about what reputation is and isn't, and positions it firmly at the centre of business strategy (where it belongs!)

Thank you, Craig for undertaking this important work and for inviting me to take part. Thanks also to the many leaders featured who've advanced our collective understanding in an area I am passionate about.
Look forward to learning with and from you.

Partner at SenateSHJ, PRovoke Innovator Asia Pacific 2024. Passionate about building and protecting your reputation

What a privilege it has been to interview the 44 global experts on reputation, corporate affairs, communication and risk for SenateSHJ's Future of Reputation 2030 report.  

For anyone in an executive role that touches on communication, culture, risk or reputation, this is essential reading. Here is the link - go to the bottom of the web page and you can download the full report:  https://lnkd.in/gJGHwFji 

Unfortunately, I am limited by how many people I can tag below, but a massive thank you to the experts who took part:
Oliver Freedman, Anthony Larmon, Patricia Santa Marina, Tony Jaques, Stephen Waddington, Gary Davies, Paola Vallejo, Chris Savage, Trevor Young, Peter M. Sandman, Jo Kinner, Mike Abel, Dirk Aarts, Rod Cartwright, Dustin Chick, Kasper Ulf Nielsen, Emmanuel Goedseels, Michael Felber, Basil Towers, Tony Langham, Sandra Macleod, Peter Heneghan, Mark Hutcheon, Amy Binder, Scott Sayres, Lori Turner, Ron Culp, Ralph Jackson, Mignon van Halderen, Elliot S. Schreiber, David McCarthy, Karine Lohitnavy, Lida Citroen, Paul Stamsnjider, Rupert Hugh-Jones, Richard Tsang, Victoria Cross, Alan Chumley, Jason Laird, Helio Fred Garcia, Gerry McCusker, Stephen Thomas, Thomas Fife-Schaw and Will Hetherton

Disgustingly Good Copy

Email Storyteller & Sales Copywriter

'That's exactly what I wanted to say, I just didn't know how to say it'

I know that you know your ideal client inside and out.

You know them better than they know themselves.

But what you don't know, is how to COMMUNICATE that knowledge. You're stuck in 'expert mode'. 

And your copy is lacking punch and panache.

Your words should lovingly slap your audience in the face with how hard they resonate. You know when you watch a play or film or read a book that just gets it so right, you can be painfully gut-laughing and sobbing like a baby within the same breath?

That's what great copy achieves.

It's the tragedy of showing the reality of what is...

And the close-enough-to-touch fantasy thrill of showing what could be.

Those with the beach balls to be bold, daring, and experimental with their copy, win the game.


If you're a scaling online service provider, coach, consultant, or course creator who knows the power of cherry-picked words that karate chop your prospects in the heart space...

I might just be your gal.

If you dare to pour gasoline on your copy and set the internet on FIRE, I can help you with:

>> Website copy
>> Sales Pages
>> Email copywriting

Swing by the DMs for a low-key chat*
Or peruse the website: www.emmaloveday.com

*Low-key being the focus there, I'm so chilled I'm practically horizontal - apart from when it comes to writing copy that converts, of course ;)

Sales Copywriter

March 2020, I was let go with one day's notice.

My mum said, “There are loads of jobs going in Tesco”

And she kept on and on and on.

The relentless nag of your mamma, nothing quite like it.

Except I was looking for other things.

I was looking for writing jobs.

I told her, “Mam! Stop going on about Tesco!”

Why does this tiny Welsh woman insist on me getting an £9 p/h job?

👉No flexibility.
👉Horrible working hours.
👉Everything I'd just come from.
👉Everything I wanted to avoid



As a starting point, I was showing her writing jobs that were £35 p/h.

(Not too shabby, says the queen of minimum wage)

👉Work from home. Cushty.
👉Hyper flexible.
👉Build my copywriting biz on the side? HELL YES.

Could she not see?

But actually, she couldn’t.

My parents didn’t know or understand the skills I had.

They didn’t know I could make money with said skills.

They didn’t see it as a viable option.

They didn’t really believe I could get those jobs.

And not because they didn’t have faith in their day-dreaming kiddo…

But it just wasn’t their world.

👉Get a ‘stable’ job.
👉Set hours
👉Guaranteed income
👉Perks and benefits

Hear me now, lovely people…

I am not above working at Tesco or anywhere else.

I’ve worked in all kinds of jobs and am not above any of them.

But when there is a possibility for things to be better, why wouldn't you take it?


That year I donned my copywriting badge of honour.

I became: 

>>Ghostwriter to acclaimed psychotherapist and anxiety expert, Anxiety Josh.
>>Social media content writer & SEO strategist to Kimberely Quinlan of My Anxiety Toolkit.
>>Long-form article ghostwriter for Jewellery Blog (wishes to remain anonymous)
(Taken from 0 traffic volume per month to 35,000 visitors per month in less than 9 months)


I always saw myself as a writer, but this is the year my professional career began.

Freelance Writer

Socially Anxious Actress

From the age of 12, it was my job to understand what's going on inside your head better than you do.

I was an actress dah-ling.

**flicks poncey scarf around kneck**

The strength of your performance was determined by how well you understood the characters:

👉 Circumstance
👉 Struggles
👉 Motivations
👉 Relationships (with themselves & others)
👉 Their beliefs (the helpful and unhelpful)

You become so good at this, that when you're onstage, there are no clear lines between where the character ends and you begin.

Two become one (as the Spice Girls would say)

And voila, your audience is fully invested.

👉We feel the characters PAIN.
👉We want them to WIN.
👉We're GUTTED when things don't work out.

They are so damn believable.

They are so damn relatable.

A serious actor takes this seriously (seriously).

The research, experimentation, and ideation come long before the rehearsal room and continue right up to showtime.





You should know your ideal client so well that their therapist wouldn't spot the difference if you attended the session in your IC's place.

This is the difference between copy that's 'like-worthy'...

...and copy that is 'where-do-I-sign-up-worthy'.

It all begins with a deep dive into understanding your IC the way an actress makes it her mission to understand her character.

Because THEN...

You can make your copy something your prospects can believe and invest in.

And if they believed in the transformation you offer, just think of the difference that would make to your business.


**Takes grandiose bow**

***Prances off-stage**

Actress & Scriptwriter

Fraser Hart

I was top diamond sales exec for 2 years despite working with Dick, a 64 years old gemologist who had been in the trade for over 40 years.

Here’s the reason why:

Dick was a walking bag of intrigue.

👉64 years old.
👉Had a 40-year-old wife
👉Had a 5-year-old daughter.
👉Came from Alabama.
👉Bit racist.
👉Bit sexist.
👉Bit homophobic
👉Bit of all the things I'm pretty much not okay with.

(Made for some riveting conversations tbh)

He was a fully-fledged gemologist.

Worked in the diamond industry for over 40 years.

There was nothing he didn’t know.

But, for the two years, I always outsold him.

**Puts on DIAMOND AMBASSADOR badge of honor**



Why was it that?

Because I bothered to care about my customers, regardless of the sale.

Engagement ring buyers were my fave.

...Who is your partner?

.........Tell me all about them?

....................How did you meet?

..............................How are you going to propose?!

Let’s talk about how well you know them.

❤️What style would they like?
❤️How would they describe themselves?
❤️Classy, blingy?
❤️Less or more?
❤️Timeless or one-of-a-kind?




Dick, didn’t care.

(It's ok, he'd admit it)

Having Dick as your salesperson must have felt like going to a gemology lecture you never signed up for.

❌He talked about the 4 C’s.
❌He talked about the FEATURES.
❌He never talked in terms of human emotion and experience.
❌He never got excited with them.
❌He really didn’t LISTEN.

There was nothing I loved more than seeing a couple walk back into my store because they then wanted to buy their wedding ring from ME (not Dick 😜)




If human connection isn’t important to you, it will show in your online business.

People buy from people.

People buy from people they connect with.

And they connect with people who actually CARE.

Show them you're interested in them and they will be interested in you.


A.K.A - 

👉Don’t be a Dick.

I mean... don't be LIKE Dick.

Diamond Ambassador/ Store Trainer

Disgustingly Good Copy | Turn your copy into clicks, and clicks into clients | Direct Response Copywriter | Founder of Conversion Copy Academy

Oh, you want an email list of die-hard fans chomping at the bits to hear from you, go nuts every time you make an offer, and get replies like, “These are the *only* emails I read from start to finish”?!  

Turns out, that’s my *not so* hidden talent.

The problem is, inboxes are drowning in half-baked emails. Why should anyone read yours?

I'll tell you...

Because while your competitors go shallow with dead-inside listicles and AI slop… we’re going DEEP with relatable stories, audacious POVs, and high-level advice.

Making *yours* the emails readers make time for, no excuses.

We’re talking 12 series and 20 years of Gavin & Stacey without missing a beat, kind of dedication. We’re talking “I’ve watched all 264 episodes of Frasier THREE TIMES… and I’m ready to go again” kind of dedication.

That’s the type of emails I write.

Story-led, personality-packed emails that make readers feel as comfortable with you as they do with characters from their favourite 90s sitcom.

Imagine if you could:

✅Get replies after months of inbox silence
✅Fill your calendar because you’re always on their mind
✅Send emails *knowing* they’ll help you make sales today, or tomorrow
✅Quit the social slog and sell straight from the inbox by smacking SEND.
✅Build a crowd of you-loving lunatics who spread your name like some scandalous secret.

That’s what happens when you build an A-list and send A-list emails.



👉I work with gutsy coaches, consultants, and founder-led service-providers committed to their email marketing the same way a kid is to keeping their Tamagotchi alive.

(except THIS Tamagotchi rewards you in sales… not sad little beeps).

I'm an ex-actress and scriptwriter who brings the melodrama, unexpected twists, and sitcom-style storytelling flair to an inbox near you. 

Think stories that SLAP so hard, your readers will turn the other cheek just to feel it again.
(Sadists? Maybe. Smart? Definitely).

I’m serious about your business, your copy, and results… but I’ll also casually channel my inner Drag Queen mid-convo and yell “SHANTAY, YOU STAY!”

💅Because why so serious?

Life is better when you can find the funny (and so are emails, BTW).

🤫Some clients call me their dirty little secret.
Well, the secret’s OUT.

Your list is either a goldmine or a junkyard.
You get to choose.



Let’s grow a fandom of obsessed nutters who pay just to be closer to you and your gorgeous brain.

💌DM me for done-for-you email copywriting.

💌Or join the Copy Chops newsletter to ‘suss me out’ first, and even learn how to do it for yourself: emmaloveday.com/copy-chops

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Jo Kinner

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