Nick Broekema

Getting you inbound leads through Content Design

I ran an agency for 6 years and invisibility nearly killed it (twice).  

We 100% relied on word-of-mouth marketing:

- Leads from friends and family (not even kidding)
- Leads from former and current clients
- Leads through competitors

We took on what we could get.

Sometimes we skyrocketed. Often we struggled.

The feast and famine cycle was real.

And it was painfully frustrating.

As a business owner, I didn't have:

- Time and focus on growth
- Time to take care of my team
- Time to generate leads myself

I was consistently hustling and putting out fires.

When I pivoted in 2022, I chose a different strategy:

→ Creating content to build a reputation and presence
→ Creating content to show the world my offering
→ Creating content to generate leads every week

At least, that was the plan.

It took me months to do it:

I started with text posts. Then I added visuals. Then I added carousels. Then I 'designed' my content. Every upgrade increased my growth and revenue.

This led me to craft a new solution:

Content Design for LinkedIn. 

Since then, I've helped clients build recognizable brands that attract and sell: 

- Matt Barker 2X’d his post views, attracted higher paying clients, and 2X’d product sales within 2 months of working together.

- Mollie Cox made $16k (next to her full-time job) within 2 months of working together.

- Pascalle Bergman's revenue went up by 73% after working together.

If that sounds good, there 2 ways I help founders, coaches, and creators attract leads on LinkedIn: 

1. Content Design 1:1 coaching to attract your ideal audience
2. My Content Design cohort (see Featured for waitlist)

Check out my Featured section 💪

Brand Scaling Consultant

"People who obsess about work life balance are typically mediocre at both". 

Alex Hormozi said that in a post recently. 

I read it and thought: damn, am I that mediocre?"  

I'm a rational thinker so I put it in perspective. 

I hit the gym and play padel several times per week. 
But I don’t have a six pack. 

My income allows us to do everything we need. 
But I'm not a millionaire. 

I spend a lot of time with my family.  
But I could probably make more money if I didn’t.

We moved to a small town in Spain to escape city life.
But there are arguably fewer opportunities around us. 

Yet I still believe I’m winning at life.
 
I'm not obsessed with my private life or my business. 
I just enjoy both. 

But that's irrelevant for you. 

Because my situation doesn't reflect yours. 

Just like Alex's situation doesn't reflect yours or mine.

Winning in life depends on how you define winning.  
And parenthood has a way of redefining it.

So the next time you read something that makes you feel bad about your situation, zoom out. 

Look at what you DO have. 

Perspective matters.

Learn how to attract your ideal audience in my Content Design Cohort | Waitlist on my profile | Kick-off January 27th

"I don't know who my ideal customer is".

You might be overthinking it.

Most problems I hear from clients: 

1. I don't know what to write about
2. I don't know what my offer should be
3. I don't know who my ideal audience is

If this is you, great. These are the right questions.

Now, you can solve all 3 of them in 3 steps.

---

1. Create an "I am 60% happy" Ideal Customer profile ↓

- Get something to write on
- Describe your best past collaboration
- Extract their pains + goals and divide over 2 lists

→ Tip: use ChatGPT to expand/refine the list

2. Create an "I am 60% happy" offer ↓

- Take your Pains + Goals list
- Take the highest impact + ROI + fulfillment ones
- Define a clear and direct proposition (like a headline)

→ Mine = "Content Design that attracts your ideal audience"

3. Create content using ICP doc + offer

- Use your Pains + Goals list
- Create hooks for all of them (or combined)
- Solve problems in your posts (breakdowns like these)

→ Tip: look into PAS, AIDA, Future-pacing copywriting

---

Now you've got:

→ One specific ICP
→ One clear and simple offer
→ One clear and simple message to share

Why aiming for "60% happy" with your ICP and offer?

Because you get to "100%" through validation.

Every post, DM, sales call, rejection/win = data points.

Perfectionism is your enemy.

Continuous iteration is your ally.

PS. ICP creation is one of the things we'll cover in cohort starting next Tuesday. Get on the waitlist for updates and details.

https://lnkd.in/e33NDZ-3

Content design to attract your ideal audience on LinkedIn

I grew up thinking I had to become a specialist.  

Pick one skill, improve, and ignore the rest.
 
That’s what I was taught.
 
When I went to art school in 2008, the focus was simple: 

Creating logos and brand collateral.
 
I enjoyed it but something didn’t sit right.
 
The market was clearly moving online. Yet web design wasn’t even part of the curriculum.
 
So I started teaching myself.
 
Books. Countless of YouTube and Lynda videos. Late nights in Dreamweaver (who remembers this one?), Sketch, and eventually Figma.
 
Later, I co-founded a branding & design agency.  
 
Brand + website wasn’t “doing too much”. It was the sweet spot (fun times). 
 
After my agency years, I moved into interim roles at Series A-C tech companies. Suddenly design wasn’t enough anymore. 
 
I had to learn leadership. Corporate politics. Building products at scale. Reading people instead of pixels.
 
Then in 2022, I started posting on LinkedIn to get more clients.
 
That was a whole new skill set again.
 
I had to learn how to:  

- Attract the right people with content  
- Turn attention into business opportunities 
- Sell in the DMs, through docs, and sales calls
 
It was the hardest learning curve of my career. But also the most rewarding one.

My content has now been viewed over 25+ million times. 86,000 people decided to follow along. 

I can run my tiny business from anywhere in the world. And it’s more profitable than ever.
  
My "broad" skillset became my edge.
 
Design. Writing. Psychology. Business. Sales. Branding. Marketing. 

(Up next: email and video)

It all just connected. 
 
And if there’s one thing I’ve learned: 
 
The people who win don’t just learn new skills.
 
They know how to showcase them publicly. 
 
PS. Next Tuesday I’m breaking down exactly how I did this inside my new cohort. Waitlist is open below.

https://lnkd.in/e33NDZ-3

I've been sharing content for 3+ years and thought about quitting every month. 

But not because things weren't working. 

You see, there's a cycle everyone goes through when they build something.

At first, everything feels new. You're learning. You're growing. It's exciting.

Then you hit a point where it starts working. 

And that's when something weird happens: you begin to see the mechanics. You understand why things work. You can almost predict what will land.

And suddenly, the thing that made you excited now feels boring.

You think: "This is repetitive. I'm saying the same thing over and over. People must be sick of me."

So you panic. You want to rebrand. Try something new. Chase the shiny object.

That's where good things come to die. 

In my agency era, marketing teams would see their brand every single day.

"We need a rebrand", they'd say in meetings. 

Meanwhile, their actual customers saw it once a week (if lucky). And it was still working.

Result: brand recognition + loyalty down the drain. 

The cycle looks like this:

- "This is growing" 
- "This is boring" 
- "This is repetitive"  
- "This is successful" 
- "This is hard" 
- "Ah, a shiny object" 
- "I'm gonna try this" 

→ repeat

If things go well, boredom is usually a signal that you've actually figured it out.

And the work that feels repetitive is the work that's working.

Continuous iteration: hell yes.

A full 180? Probably not the best call. 

Consistency is often just managing boredom.

According to 90% of LinkedIn’s "standards" I’m failing: 

I’ve built offers that sold $0.
I frequently sell in my content.
I don't have a passive income.
I don't comment for reciprocity.
I don't "grind" 80 hrs per week.
I don’t beg people to comment.
I don’t have the most followers.
I don't batch or schedule content.
I skip posting when I don’t feel like it.
I avoid arguing with strangers online.
I've seen my reach go down by 50%.
I’ve spent 10 hours on carousels that flopped.

But after 3.5 years creating content... 

I’m still here.

My tiny empire is steadily growing.

I like my life simple.
I like my content simple.

Simple scales. It's sustainable.

Because every time you add something new…

You sacrifice momentum you’ve already built.
  
"It doesn't work" 

Until it does. 

Stay in the game. 

PS. In 2 days, my next Content Design Cohort kicks off. Join the waitlist below if you want to visualize and simplify your expertise to attract the right people on LinkedIn.
 
https://lnkd.in/e33NDZ-3

In 2023, I cashed out my S&P 500 funds to invest in coaching.

Back then I was all over the place. 

Sharing content on LinkedIn about 10+ topics. Obsessively commenting on influencer posts. Spending 6-8 hrs per day on the platform like a maniac. 

Sure, I made some money.

But I felt I could do a lot better.

"We need to invent a category for you", coach Ken said.

"And I have a perfect one: Content Design".

I wasn't sold on it. Also knew it was some kind of UX term.

But I thought, screw it and rolled with it:

- Changed my profile headline
- Changed my Featured Section
- Did an announcement post about it

Post got over 800 likes, 150k views (the good old days), and it literally rained inbound leads.

In hindsight, it wasn't a lucky shot.

I had been sharing content designs for over a year.

I just labeled it and packaged it as a clear offer.

Soon my tiny business was doing better than ever. 

Since then, I've been helping my clients do the same:

- Trim down their offer (it's always more than necessary)
- Help them simplify their positioning and packaging
- Create content (designs) that attract real ICPs
- Interact with the right people to sell 

Here's what always strikes me.

The most skilled people have no clue:

No clue how to write. How to visualize what they do. How to sell.

I love working with them because it makes winning easy.

A few months ago, I started working with a client like that. 

Consultant. Had around 9k followers. Been posting for 3 months.

Did okay but wanted more. More revenue. More confidence.

In one call, we redefined their ICP and shaved off 80% of their offering.

We created a crystal clear "Content Design-like" category.

We made a sales deck so simple they could pitch it by heart.

“I just sold €6K!” they said in week 1. 

Then another one. And another one.

Fast forward 7 weeks: €50k in new revenue. Podcast invites. Private masterclasses. All organic.

And here's the best part:

They're now creating their OWN content designs.

Using proven frameworks - reframed in their brand and voice.

I'm sharing everything we did (and more) in a private group starting the end of this month. 

4 weeks. Weekly calls. Reviews and support by me. Community access included (might be the last group I do this with). 

If this sounds interesting, get on the waitlist for more details soon. 

https://lnkd.in/eGyW_iD3

My new Content Design Cohort starts next week. 

Here's why I built it. 

4 years ago I started copying influencer accounts and hoped my content would sell like crazy. 

It took 4 months to sign even 1 client. 

That frustrated the hell out of me because I thought I did everything right: 

- Posting and commenting like a madman
- Creating educational content to build authority
- Writing about dozens of topics I thought would hit  

But I forgot about my "unfair advantage": 

My branding and design experience. 

I'd been working with startups and scale-ups for 10+ years. 

And their biggest struggle was always to visualize what they offered. 

In most cases, their messaging and brand was confusing and complex. Just like mine back then. 

And confused people don't buy. 

So I started simplifying and visualizing MY brand and offer. In a way that would finally attract the right people. 

This resulted in a fully LinkedIn inbound business, 86k followers, and enough income to work from Bali, Cape Town, and eventually move to Spain with my family. 

It became a Content Design System for me and my clients to sell out offers, attract clients in every segment (even with today's algo), and build big audiences. 

Members in my 1st cohort got inbound leads, signed clients in the DMs, and had their first viral posts. 

I’m keeping it private for now with 6 seats. 

Kick-off is next week.

Join the waitlist for daily updates and first dibs ↓

(167 people already signed up)

https://lnkd.in/e33NDZ-3

I'm sharing my DM Sales Playbook for free. 

(no comment needed)

What it is: 

1. 2x LinkedIn DM conversations
2. A breakdown how they lead to conversion
3. A proven sales call outline (when needed)

What it isn't: 

- DM automation
- Cookie cutter scripts 
- Pitch-slapping tactics 

Just a breakdown of what worked for me and my clients. 

You see, most people avoid the DMs: 

- They hate rejection  
- They don't know what to say 
- They prefer content (feels safe)
- They don't know how to do selling
- They are afraid people are tired of pitch-slapping 

(I know because I was one of them)

But I tell you this: 

If I had to start over on LinkedIn, I'd start with DMs: 

- It converts better than content 
- I've sold offers up to $30k without meetings
- Offers between $1k-$8k convert best in the DMs

So far, I've only shared this playbook with clients. 

Today I'm sharing it for free. 

No comment needed - just an email (giving it to you straight). 

Happy selling ↓

https://lnkd.in/e9Yg5Fts

Tomorrow at 3 pm CET, my Content Design Cohort kicks off.

Here's an honest post about it. 

1. "I don't need no stinkin' cohort. Why is this different?"

Most cohorts are around 1 thing (e.g. writing or sales), which is probably the best ngl. I'm ignoring this by squeezing positioning, writing, design, and sales in 4-5 weeks (+ tons of resources). 

2. "Isn't this some kind of coaching pyramid scheme?"

No, but coaches are welcome. I just share best practices and proven frameworks that helped me, consultants, founders, and solopreneurs make money on LinkedIn, and grow along the way.

3. "Sounds fishy. Does this really work?"

Cohort members got inbounds, booked calls with ICPs, went viral. Haven't done the math but 1:1 clients made a couple of hundreds of thousands together (more in my doc). What worked I shall share in the cohort. 

4. "Can I buy a Lambo after this?" 

If financed, absolutely. But for real: you have to put in the work. This isn't DFY. It isn't a get-rich-quick hack. We'll implement DWY-style. Some never show up. Some never post. Then it'll all just collect dust. 

5. "Must be expensive. What's the cost?" 

Early Birds are gone. Full rate: €2k. I'd like to be mysterious and ask you to DM me "INFO". Then I'll share a doc to challenge objections and show proof. Then you can determine if this a good investment or money wasted. 

6. "Will we use AI? "

AI does 2 things: it amplifies mediocrity or skill. We'll go through the latter (while leaving your writing and creativity muscle intact). 

7. "Will you teach me how to create these funky animations?" 

Yes. 

Sounds good? DM "INFO" for the details. 

→ Adding FOMO: Today's the last day for enrollment. 
→ Adding urgency: 4 spots left. Doors close today. 

See you inside.

Mixing digital marketing, design thinking, and entrepreneurship. 

Building STOICA.CO, a B2B marketing agency part of BBN International. We help companies develop their online presence as an asset to generate revenue and growth for their business. We help our clients clarify their marketing strategy, create a clear plan, and execute to get results fast. 

I tried a few projects over time, bootstraped, raised money, and mostly learned a lot: an advertising agency, a graduation albums business, a photo studio, a software as a service platform, a web3 products studio, and a few communities. 

Do you think I can help? 

Schedule a call here: https://stoica.co/andrei

Andrei Stoica

2025 was CRAZY. 🤯 

And I don't expect anything less from 2026. 

If you survived last year, CONGRATS! You're officially part of the "I have no idea what's coming, but I'm here anyway" club. One day you're scaling, and everything seems perfect; the next day, everything falls apart. 

With a good first draft of a strategy, a bit more focus than all previous years combined, assets that streamlined some processes, and the start of a leadership team, we managed to have a PRETTY GOOD YEAR. 

Despite all the madness, we grew the revenue of STOICA.CO by 60% and worked with clients like Druid AI and Backbone, shaping their brand strategy and assets, and delivering tangible results.  

What's next? 

We learned a lot last year. Now we need to FOCUS. 

I hope we all have a great 2026!

CEO, STOICA.CO — B2B marketing for growth

I hope you all have a great new year! 

There's enough pie for everyone cooking out there. 

I know we will.

Marketing is all about making choices.

You either choose YOUR winning path, your unique perspective about the world, your way of doing things, OR you do what everyone else is doing and wonder why results are flat. 

You need to draw a line.

🏆 Choose your ideal customer ("all SMEs in [country]" doesn't work). 

🏆 Articulate your offer and unique value proposition. 

🏆 Prioritise the right channels and tactics. 

Stop trying to be everything for everyone, everywhere. 

It took me 10+ years of entrepreneurship to really get this idea, and I still feel like I'm missing some magic opportunity, but it WORKS. 

FOCUS works! A good STRATEGY works!

graphical user interface, text, application

Big congrats to Jason Flack and the Collective OS team on coming out of stealth and raising $2.5M. They’re building a platform for agencies and service businesses that believe GROWTH COMES FROM COLLABORATION.

After two years of building in stealth, I’m thrilled to finally launch Collective OS and announce our $2.5M fundraise.

Freddie Laker and I started Collective OS because we saw a real problem for professional service businesses, especially agencies, consulting firms, and fractional experts. Traditional ways of generating new business like paid ads and cold emails just aren’t working anymore, and the noisy AI slop on social media platforms (**ahem**) has hit a breaking point.

It’s harder than ever for thoughtful people and firms to stand out, build trust, or generate real conversations that turn into revenue.

What works, and will always work, is referrals from people you trust.

With that reality in mind, we felt this was the moment to build something unique, collaborative, and impactful.

Our goal with Collective OS is simple:  help service providers double and triple down on the thing that already makes up most of their revenue - referrals.

Today, that looks like an AI-powered connector that helps firms build trusted partner networks (aka, their “Collective”). By empowering independent agencies and service providers to discover and team up with complementary firms, they can share deal flow, expand their service offering, and “say yes to more revenue” - without the overhead of becoming full-service.

Since launching in stealth in January 2024, we’ve seen $5M+ in shared deal flow and thousands of new partnerships formed between our users. 

Our users believe in collaboration, not a “lone wolf” mentality. Their mindset is simple: if you win, then I win, then we all win.  

If that resonates with you, come join us.

Today is the result of countless late nights, early mornings, and pure hustle by an incredible team, but it’s only the beginning. This is the first step in our mission to Digitize Word of Mouth™ among service providers and maximize referrals for the largest sector of our economy.

If this vision resonates with you — whether you’re an engineer, designer, operator, or just someone who gets sh*t done — we’re hiring, and we’d love to talk.

And lastly, we wouldn't be here without our amazing group of friends, early supporters, angels, investors, and advisors who have stood with us along the way, and who I am incredibly grateful for:

Scott Garber, Brian Bell, Trevor Kaufman, Paul Lewis, Nancy Hill, Sangeeth Peruri, Evan Specter, Seamus M., Steve Klebe, Chris Sporck, Akli Adjaoute, Stephanie Ochoa, CPA, Sohan Gadkari, Jordan Rothstein, Parker Ashley, Damiano R., Austin Dillman, Charlie Guevara, Chuck Schaeffer, Sam Chadha, Adam Towvim, Jeff Blettner, Michael Martens, John Martens, Elliott Brown, Gary Penn, Matt Kruger, Réamonn (Ray) Smale, Ivonne Azurdia, Elise Marquis (de Saint Didier), Sean MacBeth, Tavis Salazar, Stephanie Driscoll, Daniel Shainker, Cate French, Mel Pacheco, Matthew Obendorf

See you in the Collective.

Pro-bono mentoring and coaching opportunity for senior SMEs and managers in IT companies in Romania who want more from their careers but have difficulties in finding ways forward. 

80+ experienced leaders from consultancy, technology, and services companies are here to help!

Do you feel that your career is stuck? No room to grow? Feeling like you don’t have the right support or not having the confidence to ask for help within your organization?
 
At Bridging Gaps we’re opening a new window for pro-bono mentoring and coaching sessions. With more than 80 experienced leaders from consultancy, technology and services companies, we’re enabling people reaching their full potential, overcoming fears and achieving progress in their career.
 
Given our extensive experience, we can support through pro-bono mentoring and coaching senior SMEs, first-time, middle and senior managers in IT companies in Romania who want more from their career but they have difficulties in finding ways forward.
 
Fill in the registration form, check our website and see who's the mentor matching your growth journey! Links in first comment.

#GrowTogether #ProBono #Mentoring #Coaching #Community #CareerGrowth

If you're an SME in the UK, you should check this out. 

Download the ebook to get all you need to know + a calendar of cybersecurity requirements in 2026. 

If you didn't pay too much attention to cybersecurity yet (and you should), this is a great place to start!

Managed Cyber Security, Productivity and Connectivity Services

It’s not an easy time to run a business, and nobody feels it more than SMEs - the much lauded, but harshly squeezed “backbone of the UK’s economy”. 

And when it comes to cyber security, SMEs find themselves especially vulnerable. 

Business owners and finance directors are juggling priorities and demands, tight budgets, overstretched IT Teams, the rapidly changing nature of cyber threats and overly complex cyber tooling. 
 
Finance leaders face increasing pressure and have to control rising overheads, whilst at the same time being asked by boards to demonstrate security and compliance. 

But it is entirely possible to cut the number of systems, simplify the set-up and optimise their budgets. Without adding overheads, costs and hassle - by using tools their business already has.

At Backbone we’ve prepared a short Guide to cyber security for Finance Directors: a 5-step playbook, which can provide some useful ideas. 

It’s free to download, and you’ll also find a calendar of cyber security regulatory requirements in 2026. I hope you find it useful!
Get it here: https://lnkd.in/eHTbNhy3

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The Battle

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Andrei Stoica

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