A Good Reputation

People come to me when they want a brand, messaging, and content marketing strategy that connects with customers and decision-makers on a deeper level. Through storytelling-led marketing principles, I help you nail your positioning, get clear and confident in your messaging, and create a compelling brand narrative that informs all of your content. 

The result is a brand that resonates, messaging that attracts inbound opportunities, and a sustainable content engine that leads to a shorter sales cycle with a warm and aligned audience.

Brand Storyteller & Content Strategist

New Narratives Club

Every year, I get a handful of intentional business owners together in person in a magical location to workshop our businesses, create meaningful connections, and build stuff worth building.

Wanna join? Next one is May 13-16 in Mexico City.

Co-Founder & Host

Ridwell

Created storytelling-led content on Ridwell’s various social media channels that doubled engagement, grew accounts by 300-1,000 new followers a month, drove signups and grew the brand’s presence across markets.

Social Media Marketing Manager

Off the Grid

Ran the marketing department of an innovative and established event startup with a storytelling-led content approach. Biggest wins included: 
 
• Growing newsletter subscriber base by 10K and open rates to 36% from 6% in under 6 months.
• Leading editorial strategy and execution for weekly B2C & B2B blogs that increased clickthrough, engagement & leads by 25% in under 6 months. 
• Growing social media following on IG, FB & TikTok by over 10K in under 6 months and average engagement by 35% year over year.
• Recruiting and managing a team of talented content creation contractors. 
• Leading influencer marketing campaigns that drew over 1M impressions. 
• Launching PR, Partnership, Advertising & Social Media campaigns that doubled company’s revenue year-over-year for community markets and drew an estimated 10,000 people the grand reopening of Off the Grid’s marquee weekly Friday night destination market at Fort Mason Center in 2022.

Head of Marketing & Editorial Content

Taavi

Founded a content startup for mothers that got acquired as the marketing arm of a tech-enabled platform connecting new mothers with community and professional support. In a nutshell:

TAAVI (Takes a Village) is a micro-community platform that connects expectant and new parents in small, intimate chat groups based on lifestyle and location. TAAVI helps families find meaningful friendships, build supportive communities, and get instant access to critical services.

Co-Founder, Head of Marketing & Content

Renee Lynn Frojo

After having a baby, I knew it was time to build my own freelance business. Here's what I did for a handful of amazing companies over the course of four years:

• Researched, wrote and edited strategic SEO-rich content for startups looking to grow brand awareness and engage with new audiences. Clients included Amy's Organic, Bi-Rite Market, Tonal, Ziraffe Store, and Kettle & Fire. 
• Managed a team of freelance and contract writers on behalf of clients. Heavily edited some pretty bad content. 
• Researched and reported stories on a variety of topics within the hospitality, retail and nonprofit industries. Stories appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle, San Francisco Business Times, Marin Magazine, SF Weekly, Zagat and the SF Bay Guardian.
• Founded a successful a food blog—www.laurelstreetkitchen.com—and gained a 10K following on IG, which quickly became tiring and lame.

Freelance Content Strategist & Creator

Sun Basket

As a founding team member, I helped build Sunbasket’s website, brand and editorial content. Responsibilities included:

• Building and leading our editorial content strategy across channels. 
• Developing, researching and writing storytelling and  SEO-rich content. 
• Creating and maintaining company’s editorial calendar.
• Managing a team of in-house and remote writers.

Head of Content & Media Relations

San Francisco Business Times

My beats: Restaurants, retail, hospitality, philanthropy and startups. As one does in a newspaper job, I developed original story ideas, wrote breaking news and shot accompanying photographs for daily articles. 
Biggest accomplishment: I helped grow the paper's audience and credibility in the restaurant and hospitality space. I also helped them figure out the social media marketing thing.

Startup & Small Business Reporter

Freelance

I took a gap year to travel the world and did some reporting while I was at it! Published articles on travel and culture in Bay Nature Magazine, BBC Wildlife Magazine, Christian Science Monitor, Global Post, San Francisco Business Times and SF Bay Guardian.

Freelance Writer, Editor & Photographer

Atlantic Information Services

Reported on regulatory, business and legal issues concerning the healthcare industry. Got plenty of insight into the disfunction on Capitol Hill.

Editor

The curious content marketer who cares ✨ Partnering with purpose-led small businesses, startups, and entrepreneurs to connect through storytelling and collaboration.

My ability to spot a good story is what landed me my first job in journalism. But it was my decade of profiling startups, small businesses, nonprofits and some of San Francisco’s most influential people that taught me how to tell one. 

A move into marketing and another decade dabbling in the creator economy—first with a food blog, then a motherhood magazine—taught me how to use those stories to build communities through content and collaborations.  

Now, my mission is to help purpose-driven people and brands build loyal audiences who don't just want what you offer, but love what you stand for.  

Founders and business owners come to me when they need a strategic storyteller and networked creator. 

The results?

1. A clear brand narrative.
2. A simple, sustainable plan and process for consistently sharing that narrative through content across all channels. 
3. A bank of differentiated ideas pulled from stories and experiences to use everywhere. 
4. A shorter sales cycle. 
5. A community of collaborators.
6. An overall less time-consuming (and more enjoyable) way to do content marketing. 

In short: I help you figure out what you need to say and where you need to say it to develop your brand, find a community of collaborators, and connect with the right people.

Because with so much noise and competition, we all need a reason to care—we need to feel a connection. 

If you can do that, not only will you stand out, you will find exactly where you fit in. 

Ready to get started?

Renee Lynn Frojo ✨

My seven-year-old learned two opposing views of Thanksgiving at school yesterday, and it gives me hope for the future.

Some people, she told me, view Thanksgiving as an opportunity to practice gratitude and celebrate togetherness.

Other people observe it as a day of mourning for the land that was stolen. They see it as a necessary day to protest ongoing oppression. 

I told her that when I was in second grade, I was cutting out paper turkeys on construction paper. 

Then I asked her how she sees Thanksgiving. 

“I guess both can be right,” she said. “It’s just good to understand all perspectives.”

Why can’t adults be this civilized?

They tell you to tell your story. I show you how. 🧡 Brand storytelling & content strategy for creators, founders, solos & startup teams. Ask about my Short-Form Storytelling Workshop for your community or organization.

I’m certain I’ll lose a few of you over this, but I have a confession. About once a year, around this time or in the spring, I consult my psychic. 

Her name is Robyn, and I’ve been talking to her for over a decade. 

Robyn has told me things I can’t explain. She predicted with spectacular accuracy the end of my marriage, the exact day my second child would be born, the place and time I’d buy my first house, and the personality and profession of my current partner. She even named my mom’s weird left foot issue before my mom mentioned it to me.  

And yes, these insights make me feel like I have an ounce of control over what’s coming. But that’s not why I call her.

The times I feel compelled to talk to Robyn are when I’m standing at a crossroads—some turning point in my life or career where I need to make a big decision. One where I already feel the answer in my gut and have accepted the consequences, but am afraid to make the wrong choice.

What I’m really looking for, I now realize, isn’t a prediction. 
It’s permission.

It’s confidence that the answer I want is the one I’ve already decided is best with the information I have.

The funny thing is that when Robyn affirms what I already believe, I go for it without a doubt. And when she doesn’t, I feel even more sure that my instinct is right anyway, despite what she sees in her crystal ball.

I mention this because I think we’re all just looking for permission when we seek advice from anyone. 

Whether it’s a coach, a therapist, a peer, a trusted partner, or successful people who’ve accomplished the things we’re striving for, we’re looking for the confidence to make our move. Or validation that our bet will pay off because it’s paid off for someone else. 

But the truth is that no one can predict the outcome of your choices for you. No one can give you advice that will work for you in the same way it worked for them. 

What we can do is ask questions of each other (and ourselves) that help us figure out what we really want and what consequences we're willing to put up with.

It’s why I’ve built spaces like my retreat and my storytelling community. It’s why I ask more questions than give advice in my newsletter. 

The goal is to give you room to listen to yourself. To pause and reflect. To get out of your head so you can feel confident shaping the story.

So that even if you consult a psychic—or anyone—you’re not waiting for their blessing because you’re already grounded in your own.

One idea that’s changed my life is the belief that everything that happens—including the hardships and tragedies—does not just “happen for a reason.” 

Stuff happens. Then, you can choose to give it a reason. 

You can make meaning out of the mess. You can understand how the things that happened have shaped you or your environment, for better or for worse.

Through this lens, everything that happens to you in life is either a good lesson or a good story. (And the best ones are usually both.)

While it's not always easy to make meaning when you're working your way through the mess, looking for the lesson or the story can give you:

- A greater sense of agency, 
- A deeper understanding of other people, and
- Control over the narrative the world has of you and you have of yourself.

We’ll never be able to control what happens to us, and sometimes it's just random and unfortunate. But we can always choose how the story gets told.

If you hate social media and see it as a necessary evil to getting visibility for your business or big idea, maybe you should stop focusing so much on doing what works and putting yourself out there in a way that works for you.

What kind of content do you like to engage with and create, even if it doesn’t “perform.” What would you want to read or see that doesn’t exist? Do that.

We've got to be the change we want to see, right?

They tell you to tell your story. I show you how. 🧡 Brand storytelling & content strategy for creatives, solopreneurs & startup teams. Ask me about my Short-Form Storytelling Workshop for your community or organization.

In case you need to hear it today: You can build a fully inbound business without relying on social media. 

I have. And it’s what saves me from feeling like I’m at the mercy of every algorithm change or posting when I’d rather be offline doing the deeper work or engaging with humans in the real world.

While it's true that showing up on social keeps you visible and helps you stay connected with your online community, I've found that investing my time in other activities pays off even more for getting better quality inbound leads. 

They include:
-Podcast appearances where I can just be myself
-Newsletters where I can speak directly to an audience that takes immediate action
-Blogs and other discovery platforms where I repurpose my work
-Guest teaching in communities that house my ideal audience
-Speaking at local live events to build authority
-In-person networking that creates immediate trust
-Referral partners who cross-promote
-Keeping up with past clients who already know, like, and trust me

Some of these bring leads in a day, while some take seasons. But all of them compound.

Social media can be a great discovery platform, but it’s just one place to tell your story. And it's not worth spending all your time here.

So if you need permission to post a couple of times per week while you focus on other high-impact marketing things, here you go. Permission granted. 

Where else can you tell your story that I missed?

My kid with a bad cold, miserable and sobbing because she can't sleep: "Can you give me anything to make it better?"

Me: "Unfortunately, there is no cure for the common cold."

Her: "So they're making robots to replace us, but they haven't invented anything that could solve my actual problems?"

Me: "Sam Altman works in mysterious ways."

Most of us don’t quit because the work is hard. We quit because the work feels empty.

When I left journalism to start my first online content business, I figured the best way to make it sustainable was to build it around something I loved.

So, I started a food blog to marry my passion for storytelling with my passion for cooking.

It took off faster than I expected. Within a few months, I built a large online following, was closing brand deals, and fielding plenty of freelance opportunities to keep me very busy. 

Not only was the work steady, but the hours were flexible and the food was great (if I do say so myself). 

On paper, it looked like every solo entrepreneur’s dream.

But before I even hit year two, I started to feel worn out.

It wasn’t that the hours were long. (The most I put in was 30 a week.) Or that I didn’t enjoy it. (I was getting paid to make food and take pretty pictures of it.)

It was that I didn’t care enough about why I was doing it or why any of it mattered to keep me motivated.

I felt like I wasn’t solving any real problems in the world or making an impact on anyone’s life. It felt kind of…empty.

By building something around my passion, instead of a deep sense of purpose, the work got harder and the hours felt longer.

Now, three years into my fourth go at building a sustainable business, I finally understand that the meaning you give your work plays an oversized role in determining its difficulty. 

And the more you care about the problem you’re solving—and believe in the impact of your solution—the more clarity, creative fuel, and resilience you have to keep going when things get hard.

It’s why a 12-hour day working toward something that deeply matters will energize you, but a 2-hour task on something that feels meaningless will drain you.

For me, that meaning is anchored in helping people connect with themselves so that their ideal audience can connect with their work.

It’s why I built  New Narratives Club as a space to step back from your daily routine, reflect on what truly matters, and get clear on the next chapter you want to write—both personally and professionally. 

(Because, as hard as we try, we can’t untangle the two.)

And speaking this stuff out loud with a group of people who get it helps you see what you’re missing. 

So if you’re feeling drained, stuck, or uninspired by your work, ask yourself: Do I actually believe in what I’m building? 

If not, the problem might not be the work. It might be the meaning you’ve attached to it. 

And my purpose is to help you find it.

I guess it can take a lifetime to stop being afraid of being seen. 

My newsletter got a ton of reponses yesterday (for which I’m so grateful), but none could top this one from my mom.

Each of us is on our own journey, but it sure helps to have a loving parent in your corner.

Creating content for social media means experiencing every possible emotion about the same post.

Writing it: Genius.
Posting it: Meh.
5 minutes later: Why did I do this?
First comment: Oh thank god.
Analytics: What even is engagement?
24 hours later: We go again.

And now, the moment my 14K followers have all been waiting for....

Applications for the New Narratives 2026 Retreat for entrepreneurs building intentional businesses are officially open!

If you’re in the very special 1% of this 14K who actually gets to see this today, then it must be a sign that you need to come this year.

Get the details over at New Narratives Club, and check the comments for proof from past attendees that this event is both good for your soul and your business.

My 7-year-old just admitted that she doesn’t actually like Christmas very much. 

The day itself is disappointing, she said. There’s just too much buildup and pressure on one day to be special. 

But what she does love are all the rituals leading up to Christmas, like decorating the tree, hunting for the perfect gifts, wrapping presents, and counting down the days on her advent calendar. 

“That’s interesting,” I said after she made her proclamation this morning. “Where’d you hear that?”

“I didn’t hear it anywhere,” she responded. “I just feel that way.”

What she doesn’t realize is that I said those exact words last year after we all had a depressing and disenchanted Christmas Day. 

I tried to make the girls feel better by saying it’s not about Christmas, it’s about all the fun we had preparing and participating in a holiday that, for our family, is about giving and being present together.

So she heard those words, internalized my perspective, and this year made it her own—all without even realizing it.

It made me think about all the opinions, experiences, and perspectives that we all internalize throughout our lives. The stories that other people tell us that become part of our own.

We carry these stories into adulthood, where they shape our worldview and approach to relationships, work, and ourselves. 

Sometimes these stories serve us. But sometimes they don’t.

And the only way to really understand what stories you’re telling yourself that are yours (and still serve you) or someone else’s is to unpack them alongside people you trust and respect.

Examining the stories we tell ourselves from a new lens is just one of the things we do at our New Narratives Club retreats. But it might just be the most transformative. 

If you’re curious about joining the retreat and want a taste of what to expect, we’re hosting a sort of “open house” next week with past and returning attendees. It's for any entrepreneur who wants to make sure the script you're writing for the next chapter of your business is entirely your own. 

Come to listen, ask questions, and—if you’re ready to dive right in—sign up for a hot seat where you’ll have the group’s attention and brilliant minds on your most pressing question or current struggle in business. (I'll drop the signup in the comments.)

And, if you're feeling brave, share a story you've been telling yourself that you're starting to question as your own.

As for my daughter's thoughts on Christmas? Well, all I can do is teach her to keep questioning and exploring how she really feels.

I bet you don't know what the actual definition of trust is. And until recently, I didn't either.

Apparently, there are more definitions and research papers on trust than on any other sociological topic—even more than love. But ultimately, they all boil down to this:

Trust is the willingness to be vulnerable and open to risk because you’re confident in another person or organization’s integrity, reliability, and ability.

Rachel Botsman, who wrote the most recent book on the topic, defines it even more simply as, “a confident relationship with the unknown.”

Think about that for a second.

Trusting someone or something (say, a service provider or government) means opening yourself up to the possibility of being let down. It's almost more about belief and hope than it is about proof.

No wonder trust is so hard to give and get. It exposes us. 

And depending on how many times we’ve been burned in our lives, each of us has varying degrees of this confidence in other people or things.

But I think the thing we miss (or at least, I've missed) about trust is that the risk goes both ways. If trust is a confident relationship with the unknown, then vulnerability is the equal exchange that keeps trust balanced.

In theory, that means that when you show us the messy middle—the uncertainty, the learning, the human side of you behind the polished thing—we feel safer trusting you because you’ve done the risky thing first. 

Am I making any sense? Doesn't that seem like the most important thing we can do to earn trust when it feels like we can trust nothing?

One of my storytelling cohort students had her best-performing post ever last week, and guess what? She completely panicked.

The post did exactly what it was intended to do. It got hundreds of thoughtful comments and several DMs—including a couple from prospective clients.

Score, I thought. Proof that the stuff I teach actually works.

I was thrilled for her. And I expected her to be thrilled, too. But when I asked her how she felt about her successful first attempt at public personal storytelling, thrilled wasn’t it.

The feeling, she said, was "deeply uncomfortable."

Wait a minute.

Isn’t this exactly what we all say we want? To be seen and recognized? To have our words and ideas land somewhere and spark a conversation that leads to tangible business outcomes?

And then I remembered that it’s not that simple.

I also get all tangled up in conflicting emotions when I get noticed by a large group of people.

Imposter syndrome creeps in, and I start spiraling with the same nagging fears that I hear many of my students speak out loud about being misunderstood or boring or unoriginal.

We say we fear obscurity, but the truth is that visibility is even scarier because standing out means standing wide open. 

And that tension we feel comes from the collision of two deeply human needs:

1. To be seen, and
2. To feel safe.

So what do most of us do?

We stick to “what works.” We echo what’s already been said (and liked and reposted).

And then we wonder why everything—from brands, to architecture, art, and people—feels like it came out of the same agency, firm, AI tool, or Justin Welsh coaching program.

Over the past five weeks in my storytelling cohort, I’ve watched a brave group of entrepreneurs navigate this tension.

Week after week, they've shown up with stories that left them feeling exposed. Stories that made their voice shake when they read them aloud.

And week after week, they kept finding that the more they opened up, the deeper the connection with themselves and with each other.

Hearts were opened, tears were shed, and work collaborations were made.

While letting yourself be seen might always feel a little (or deeply) uncomfortable, the more you do it, the more you realize that vulnerability isn’t a liability as much as it’s a magnet.

If it feels hard, then congrats! You’re doing it right.

Unless you’ve already cracked the code with tons of engagement and a waitlist full of dream clients, I guarantee you’re either too expert or too elite.

And until you figure out your primary archetype and make some adjustments to position yourself somewhere in the middle, no amount of storytelling will get you both the reach and resonance you might be after.

According to Rob Henderson (who first introduced me to this framework), experts are people who know things, like specialists, beat reporters, or engineers. It's anyone whose credibility comes from technical competence.

Experts tend to be detail-oriented and cautious, and focused more on what’s right than on who’s listening.

Their biggest problem is that they lack reach.

Their work is only as influential as the number of people who understand it, and they tend to talk within their field instead of to the public.

Elites, on the other hand, are people “who move things,” and their mission is to influence people to act.

These are your politicians, executives, media personalities, and influencers. They’re the big-picture thinkers and persuasive communicators who can rally people around a shared goal and tend to shape culture.

But because they depend on status and consensus without any poof to back up their ideas, their problem is that we don’t trust them to deliver.

Here’s why it matters: The people we tend to trust, follow, and hire are often performing both roles at once.

And while it’s a spectrum, most of us tend to lean toward one archetype or the other.

I work with lots of experts who are credible and experienced but virtually invisible. People respect them, but their ideal clients don’t know they exist because their reach is usually limited to other experts.

On the other end, I have plenty of peers who are elites. They're popular and get tons of engagement, but have no real influence that leads to meaningful business outcomes. Without proof that what they’re selling works, we don’t trust them enough to take action.

The bottom line is that to build a brand online (or anywhere), you need to be both right and resonant.

You need to tell stories that inspire and demonstrate your expertise.

You need to build a body of work that not only proves you know something worth hearing, but also communicates it in a way worth spreading.

When I first started building my brand online, I went all in on expertise and managed to capture the attention of peers who respected me, but weren’t buying what I was selling.

Then I swung in the opposite direction (my true nature) with big ideas that got tons of reach, but failed to show the concrete steps or tactical application to help my ideal client understand my process or see proof that it worked.

When I finally understood my primary archetype and shifted to land somewhere in the middle, both my content and my inbound took off.

That's where I am now. My content generates lots of likes and brings in plenty of business.

Where are you?

Vlad Adrian Iancu

What can I do you for? (Romanian native with English proficiency)

1. Services based on subscription (RO and EN): 

- CONTENT/COPYWRITING FOR SOCIAL MEDIA (Ethical Ghostwriting). Get your brand recognized, for the right reasons. Includes setting up a communication strategy (some people think that "brand" is an icky word) and posting calendar. I don't do community management, but I coach you on how to approach comments and DMs in a smart and results oriented fashion. 

- ARTICLES FOR YOUR WEBSITE/BLOG. We’re talking straight up blog articles or advertising pieces with an SEO-friendly approach. I will be using your brand voice to educate your customer base and make your services/products popular;

- ANY OTHER TYPE OF CONTENT your heart desires, your brand needs, and your budget allows for: newsletters, white papers, reel/video scripts, and so on and so forth. You need instructions for how to wash your socks? I can write that too. 

2. One time only services - RO and EN (it may be the start of a beautiful friendship, or we could just keep it casual);

- CONTENT FOR WEBSITE PAGES. You have an idea, a product/service, a brand. Now you need a website for it. I’ll hook you up with a voice and text for the pages, and you can go looking for an IT wizard;

- SCRIPTWRITING. I can wax poetically for the artistically inclined, be it for social media videos, movies (short or full feature), your daughter’s school play or training videos. If you ask me nicely, I can even star in some of those productions. Have I mentioned I’m a part-time actor? 

- TRANSLATION/ADAPTATION (EN-RO/RO-EN). You need your Shakespeare to sound like Morometii (Romanian classic) or the other way around? 

- TEXT EDITING. You got the right idea, but you can’t put it into words that sound like your own. But I can.

Freelance Content Writer & Copywriter

The game was writing copy and articles of various lengths and complexity (both RO and EN), both advertising and blog, in order to optimize the customer's website according to SEO principles and attract readers. The niches I wrote for are a trade secret, so... Suffice it to say, they cover a large spectrum. Range is not a problem. 

Had mostly positive feedback and was told I will be missed. I was an asset, albeit a difficult one. But more on that later :))

Senior Content Writer

Mantu

Back in what feels like another life, I was a Training Officer and Designer. Learned a lot about people, but also about what makes a training module (be it live, remote or digital) tick. So yeah, I can catch people's attention. Alas, the corporate life wasn't for me.

Training Officer

Industry Media Vector

Back when I liked writing about the oil, gas, and energy industry. Liked is a strong word, though. I needed the money and the experience. Learned a lot, but this industry isn't the right stage for someone who writes in a personal way. Not my cup of tea after all.

Author/Journalist

LUATEL

Was so star struck that I agreed to do the job with no boost to my salary. Happily, a wise man told me that "if you're good at something, never do it for free". In retrospect, it sounds like something the Joker would say. Nevermind, thank you, Sasha!

Corporate Trainer

Money, yo! New city, new girlfriend, new place. Rent was cheap, life wasn't. You do what you have to do. What can be easier than talking to people all day on the phone? Ha ha...

Customer Care Representative

I racked my brain for a while, trying to come up with a description about myself... Do I, like my clients, have a problem with writing about my (personal/professional) brand, when clearly I can talk about it for ages?

And then it hit me: my mum had feedback about my LinkedIn photo: "Why are you naked? You should have a shirt or at least a polo on."

No, because I'm not that guy. At least not anymore. No, because one size certainly does not fit all. And finally no, because I just felt like being me. Don't be disruptive for the sake of being disruptive. Be yourself and you'll be plenty disruptive. And you'll stand out, just like that.

Need a voice to go with that bravado? I'm your man. Reach me @vladadrianiancu@gmail.com or in private. But first, check out the Experience section to see my services.

Oh, one more thing before you contact me. I ONLY do ETHICAL writing. That means: 

- No pain point massacre. Yes, I will use the potential client’s pain points to explain the problem. No, I won’t deliberately make potential clients feel like shit. There’s a big difference between: 

A. Your life will be better with this product. Have a go!
B. Your life sucks without this product. Buy or be perpetually unhappy!

- No FOMO. I don’t want people to buy or do anything else out of fear. They will join your business and/or buy because they genuinely like you/your product/service;

- No fake scarcity. I won’t fumble with the numbers to make you look better. If there is scarcity to be used, it has to be real. 

Not convinced? You can read my newsletter in the meantime: https://vladadrianiancu.substack.com/

It's a marketing comic book masquerading as a serious newsletter. Or is it? Great for people who want to learn more about ethical, balls-to-the-wall marketing, writing and everything in-between. If you're a prude... it's not really your jam.


That’s all, pumpkin. If you’re cool with my understanding of ethics, we can work together. If not… bugger off. 

Signed,
The most unserious serious
person you’ll ever meet

What can I do you for? (Romanian native with English proficiency)

1. Services based on subscription (RO and EN): 

- CONTENT/COPYWRITING FOR SOCIAL MEDIA. Get your brand recognized, for the right reasons. Bonus: I’ll even throw in some basic graphic design in Canva or publish your posts, if need be;

- ARTICLES FOR YOUR WEBSITE/BLOG. We’re talking straight up blog articles or advertising pieces with a SEO friendly approach. I will be using your brand voice to educate your customer base and make your services/products popular;

- ANY OTHER TYPE OF CONTENT your heart desires, your brand needs, and your budget allows for: newsletters, white papers, reel/video scripts, and so on and so forth. You need instructions for how to wash your socks? I can write that too. 

2. One time only services - RO and EN (it may be the start of a beautiful friendship, or we could just keep it casual);

- CONTENT FOR WEBSITE PAGES. You have an idea, a product/service, a brand. Now you need a website for it. I’ll hook you up with a voice and text for the pages, and you can go looking for an IT wizard;

- SCRIPTWRITING. I can wax poetically for the artistically inclined, be it for social media videos, movies (short or full feature), your daughter’s school play or training videos. If you ask me nicely, I can even star in some of those productions. Have I mentioned I’m a part-time actor? 

- TRANSLATION (EN-RO/RO-EN). You need your Shakespeare to sound like Morometii (Romanian classic) or the other way around? 

- TEXT EDITING. You got the right idea, but you can’t put it into words that sound like your own. But I can.

I’ve finally found a cure for LinkedIn brain*!

*LinkedIn brain is a serious affliction that develops over time as a consequence of spending too much time on the platform, far away from the real world. 

Symptoms include: 

- You start believing everything people post. In real life, you know most of what they write is bullshit. 

- You start thinking people don’t read anymore and they have 0 attention span. In real life, you realise they can hold a decent conversation. 

- You develop a gag reflex associated with each and every attempt to sell anything. In real life, you realise there are still honest people who sell to help others, not just make a profit. 

In short, once you take your head outside the muddy LinkedIn bubble, you'll see there’s still hope for the world of copy and content, branding and marketing in general. 

And hope for the world, full stop. 

That’s what I’m currently setting my sights on. Real conversations with real people. 

And since I’m back in Bucharest, and my business has reached a point where I can afford to spend at least one day a week "networking" — well, not networking… that’s a LinkedIn word — actually talking to people.

I’m open for digital and real life coffees with anyone who wants to talk about something real, not LinkedIn smoke and mirrors. 

Real talk, not personal brand wannabe malarkey. 

Reach out if you want to get my unfiltered (LinkedIn caps my reach if I’m TOTALLY brutal on here) and honestly contrarian opinions on all things marketing, branding, writing… or just like the weather. 

Just on the off chance you're a person who understands that having a different opinion makes me a person with a new perspective, not a villain :))

I know a few good coffee spots ;)

Freelance Content Writer & Copywriter | Ethical Ghostwriter for domestic and international brands/founders | Stay away from the cliché

Upon waking, I felt a great disturbance in the Force, as if millions of digital "writers", marketers, content strategists and brand architects suddenly cried out in terror and unexpectedly missed their deadlines. 

And then, in totally, totally unrelated news, I hear ChatGPT was down yesterday...

- Can you teach me how to get more likes on LinkedIn?
- Probably. But why?
- So I can have more likes.
- Would that help you in any way?
- Yes, I’d get more exposure. 
- Aha. Why do you do LinkedIn?
- To get clients. 
- Do you get clients?
- Of course. My posts don’t really get that many likes, but people constantly write to me and become my clients.
- That’s awesome!
- And my competition gets hundreds of likes, but I know they’re not getting clients!
- So… the likes, what’s the point? If you’re getting clients, then it means whatever you’re doing is worth it. Why do you need likes, then? 
- I want to be popular.
- Popularity does not equal more clients. If anything, it MIGHT mean fewer clients. 

And that’s because POPULARITY is not the same thing as RELEVANCE. 

There are countless examples to prove me wrong. People employ the age-old strategy of getting popular first with masses of people and then selling low-end price services. It works. It absolutely does. I’m just not a fan of that approach. 

If you want to be popular and get more likes, the plan is actually easy:

1. Lots of photos. 

Share selfies and photos of yourself as much as possible. People love those. If possible, show yourself while on holiday, dressed fancy, waving money around. It’ll make people crave your life. 

2. Talk about the rewards, never the work. 

It’s all glamour for you, baby. Share the way that your life is absolutely wonderful. Share almost nothing about your work and challenges. 

3. Productize

When you’ve hooked enough people, start selling services under the promise you’ll change your followers lives. By this point they are seriously invested, and they’ll probably pay you for a chance to entertain the delusion of your lifestyle. 

Not that complicated, right? 

That’s popularity. 

Talk about shallow, cliché, all around vapid topics while you’re at it. You can’t go wrong with spirituality, politics, burnout, unemployment. The likes will follow. 

Now, if you want your content to be relevant… that’s a different story. You actually have to provide something of value, not just entertainment. You’ll want to make people think… question themselves. That doesn’t bring likes. 

It does however bring genuine work and pay. 

Can you be POPULAR and RELEVANT? 

I guess so, but you’ll want to start with being relevant. And remember that popular people speak to the masses first, so you run the risk of diluting your message if you always create content for the lowest common denominator. 

P.S. I’ve recently been invited to create and deliver a workshop on LinkedIn. It’ll be live, in front of a small crowd. If it gathers enough interest, I might even consider turning it into a signature talk and sharing it with more people. Online, even. 

Would that be of interest to you? You can reply with a YES/NO here, in the comments or in private. I’m just gauging interest, there will be no direct/personal pitch.

Pinky promise.

Tomorrow's Black Friday and BOY!!!! do I have a super-duper discounted offer for you:











Absolutely Nothing. 

Black Friday is a marketing shtick to boost end-of-year profitability. Get over it.

“You’re always on LinkedIn. You simply write TOO MUCH. Whenever I see the ‘Read more’ option, I scroll past your content. I only give you a like when the post is short.”

I’ve heard and read the above feedback way too many times. More than I can count. And… in all honesty, even though it kind of makes me sad (reading doesn’t hurt your health, y’all) from a business perspective, I don’t really care. 

I smile, I nod, and then I proceed with taking said opinion and wiping my digital butt with it. 

See, in order for feedback like that to really matter to me, it has to check two specific boxes: 

☐ Do I want to work with this person?
☐ Is this person in a position to pay me right now? 

If the answer to both is ‘No’, I proceed with the wiping. In three years, I never checked both boxes. 

Since we cleared that up, I do have one issue. I take umbrage at people who tell writers to take any kind of feedback to heart. I’ve seen way too many brilliant writing careers and branding projects take an abrupt nosedive because the people behind them listened to a person who wasn’t the greatest mentor. 

So… next time someone criticizes your style, your length, your topics, run their opinion through your own boxes. 

You’ll save time and probably your entire business*

*I’m so confident in what I’m writing because in my entire freelancing history, the two boxes have NEVER led me astray. Even people who don’t bother with reading my posts (as in, they run them through AI for a summary… WOW) have asked me if I want to collaborate. The discussion usually comes to a screeching halt when my prices are DOUBLE what they afford or deem fair. 

No harm, no foul, there’s an audience and a price range for everyone. 

Make sure you’re presenting your material on the right stage, and in front of the right audience… before you think about changing your material ;)

Or... your prices for that matter... 

On that note, I'm fully booked now, but there's hope for a new opening in my client roster for implementation/execution projects in January. Still, I'm always open for consultancy and strategy.

Maybe you got bad feedback and you require a second opinion? 

---- 

Yes, yes, the above is a repost of last week, because LinkedIn deemed it fair to show my post to a grand total of 31 people... 

No, I WILL NOT PAY.

Ghostwriting does this, that, the other thing, and above all -- it makes you money. 

“What feckin’ is ghostwriting?”

People see ghostwriting as something that’s not authentic, kinda like ChatGPT. They think it hinders their unique way of expressing themselves. 
Having witnessed this, I identified a key need of my audience. A clarification. 

GHOSTWRITING

I sit you down, live or online, and we talk. About you, your business, your passion.

Then, we identify the pillars of content. These are the three-four main ideas that we’ll be talking about until the cows come home. We then assign topics and subtopics to these pillars, and I create a content calendar. 

By sticking to the calendar, we post regularly, and we adjust depending on feedback. I do the writing, you do the talking. I record you, and based on that, I write the posts. If you want, I also advise you on the comments and the interactions for an extra charge. That’s the audience/community management package. 

But I don't pull the texts out of thin air. I get them from the discussions I have with you, the client.

It's just that you won't write the text. But voice, style, ideas, unique way of expressing yourself, they remain the same. Just produced quicker and with less input on your side.

Ghostwriting’s just the car that gets you to the destination. If you want the ride to be 100% authentic, 100% YOU, put on some tires and start rolling on the highway. It’s not like if somebody writes up your website, you’ll say that you did it yourself… right?

Will it sound exactly like you? 

NO 1. Not at first and maybe not ever. We’re not the same person. But I can use some beats that in time we’ll identify with your style. I’ll put your verbal idiosyncrasies in writing. 

NO 2. Sorry, bubbu, but trust me, you don’t want it to sound exactly like you. Because you’re not a writer. It will sound like 90% you, plus input from a writer friend. 

---- 

Tired of READING about ghostwriting on #GhostwritingTuesday? Weird, but I gotchu, fam! 

You can WATCH the Ghostwriting Master Class I shared on my newsletter - link in the comments (FU LinkedIn)

N-am mai scris de multicel în limba română, asta și deoarece n-am mai găsit subiecte relevante. 

Acum… nefiind critic de film, evit să scriu despre cinematografie dacă subiectul peliculei nu se pupă cu meseria mea. În acest caz particular, se pupă cu arta și meșteșugul, două chestiuni pe care îmi place să cred că le implică și activitatea mea, sau așa mă mint noaptea ca să accept faptul că nu-s mai mult decât o rotiță într-un sistem capitalist pe final de activitate.

De #VinereaNaționalistă o să încerc să nu dau spoilere, deși, între noi fie vorba, nu prea înțeleg cum poți da spoilere despre viața unui om, viață at

Open article: Omul care urina împotriva vântului sau ce-am înțeles eu din „Cravata Galbenă” by Vlad Adrian Iancu • 3 min read

Omul care urina împotriva vântului sau ce-am înțeles eu din „Cravata Galbenă”

This MIGHT be the end. But it doesn’t have to be!

Apparently, LinkedIn has entered it’s “F*ck you, user, I’m going to milk you until you go dry and die” era. How do I know? 

They’re asking me to “promote this post to reach people who matter to you”. Oh, I’m pretty good at reading between the lines. It means they’re going to mess with my reach and throw my posts in front of people who have nothing to do with my audience. 

But the joke is actually on them — it might actually help with my distribution and my acquiring of a new audience. Still, the threat is thinly veiled: 

“Pay up or risk losing your audience.”

Listen here, I paid for Premium once and stopped – because it was absolutely pointless. And the chances of paying for exposure are slim to none, at least in my case. 

But you’re the one who is losing out, BlinkedIn. My audience actually reads my long-ass posts. They comment on them. They DM me about them. They save them and send them to others. They check my profile when I don’t post. They ask me to create posts for them. 

All of that on YOUR PLATFORM. That's dwell time, in your favour. Dwell time you can use when you pitch people who want to run ads here. If you’re pushing me out, you’re losing money and users. Pretty soon, you’ll have bots watching ads made by bots. But… suit yourself. 

As for you, my audience, there is a solution: ring my bell. 

Otherwise… you’ll see me show up when the algo deems it fit. I wouldn’t gamble with that. 

If you don’t ring my bell… this might very well be adieu. 

Thanks for everything :D, you've been awesome!

The reach’s not broken, just bent
And we can learn to love (LinkedIn) again

Yup, I’ve been less and less active on here lately. Partly due to work, partly due to the fact that the majority of posts on here are so boring. I need inspiration to write, and the feed hasn’t been providing any as of the last few months. 

It might be the fact that reach is wack. Sure.  Yet, I don’t wanna contribute to that, you know? 

So, to further misquote Pink’s song: just give me a reason. 

If I went away tomorrow, and I stopped posting on LinkedIn FOR GOOD

1. What’s one thing you’d absolutely miss about my posts?
2. What’s one thing you won’t miss, because it was annoying as f*ck?

P.S. That’s the feedback I like, of course ↓

There isn’t going to be a per se #GhostwritingTuesday post today because I was out talking about ghostwriting (ironically), among other things, and I just made it home. 

But that doesn’t mean you can’t help me out for a change. See, during my discussion, the topic of ‘ghostwriting’ popularity came up. Now, I do provide ghostwriting services for three Romanian clients, so I can’t say there’s no market for it. 

However, I believe the market is not yet… mature. Most people either don’t see enough value in it, or don’t know enough about it – so they are not lining up to buy into it. 

That’s just my opinion, though. 

Here’s where you come in. 

If you’ve ever considered working with a ghostwriter (but didn’t) please let me know what stopped you. I can promise you a couple of things:

1. I’m just out for information in order to confirm a hypothesis and possibly work on my positioning.

2. I WILL NOT pitch you on working together, my calendar is full come January. 

3. I will not badger you for information you don't want to share, I won’t weasel my way into a collaboration. I’m not a rat. 

Comment or DM, whatever suits you best.

Thanks!

IT’S AN OUTRIGHT SALES POST - I wish I could read this on more posts! 

Look, I know you’re checking out my content. LI’s analytics tell me that the majority of people seeing my posts are founders and co-founders, so I know you’ll be reading this. 

And I get why you’re not engaging. 

Most "Ideal Customers" are lurkers because one like usually turns into a weird DM… And you want to avoid that, I get it. But you’ll want to read this. 

It’s not often that I approach clients directly. They need to have something special, or for me to think that their product and I are a 100% match. But I do connect with founders. It’s only normal to get in the same bubble with people who need your services. 

So I’m adding people and checking out profiles to see if we’re a match, and I’m noticing things. This is the norm: 

- Reposts. Many reposts;
- Some posts, years ago. Another post, three months ago;
- A post, last month. Maybe some pictures, with no text. Maybe a full sentence. 

Catch my drift? 

Two posts, separated by a couple of months, do not a healthy LinkedIn presence make. Not if you want a brand and some sales. 

I find reposting ONLY to be kind of sad. I saw you have nothing, get some posts under your belt! 

We could have this conversation in your DMs. But I’m not that guy. I’m also not the guy to tell you that you’re missing out on stuff. You’re smart enough to figure that out for yourself. 

But I can tickle your imagination a bit. Creating posts with my help could lead to: 

- Being an opinion leader;
- A go-to founder in the industry;
- Getting peer recognition;
- Getting some leads. 

Business be boomin’ and you don’t need that? Cool, yo!

But you don't know what tomorrow brings. 

I guess you’re smart enough to know a call to action when you see one ;)

------- 

The above was a repost from 2023 when I really DID NEED MORE CLIENTS. Like... yesterday. Right now, I'm fully booked until the end of the year. 

Still.... January 2026 could be the start of a beautiful friendship, just saying.

“One more. You’re good. One more. You’re sweating, but it’s good. One more. Aaaaand one more. Last one.”

- whoever taught my fitness trainer how to count should be prosecuted. 

I hang up the barbell. During rest he likes to talk, and since I told him I’m a ghostwriter, he won’t let it rest. Or me. 

“How does it work? Who uses a ghostwriter?” - he gleefully asks again, as the sweat in my mustache somehow combines with the snot I expelled on that last push…

I wipe my face, and since marketing gurus drilled the ‘meet them where they are’ mantra deep into my cerebellum, I decide to meet him where he is (at the gym) and explain my business in gym terms:

There are three categories of people I serve: 

1. The ones who don’t know how to write.

These would be the people who have never gone to the gym. They’re not familiar with the process, they lack motivation, and their (writing) muscles have never been used. I train them, I watch their progress, and in time they develop a taste for showing up. But just like you can’t push the barbell in my place, I can’t write about my own ideas – they have to contribute and show their thinking. 


2. The ones who don’t have time to write.

These are the people who think they are too busy for the gym. But just one hour a month can produce results. You know training sporadically is better than no training at all. They have ideas, but they’re too busy to share them. Just like you keep me accountable, and I have an appointment to show up here every other day at 9 A.M., I set a meeting in their calendar, and they get to talk about the most important topics in their business. 


3. The people who know how to write, have time, but are inconsistent. 

I think these are your best clients as well. They worked out before/written before, they have the time required to meet/go to the gym, but they are inherently inconsistent. Left alone, without encouragement, without accountability, without prompting, they are a black hole of potential. Imagine people with great genetics, their muscles exploding after each workout, but they seldom make it to the gym (or post on LinkedIn). 

As someone recently asked me: “Do any of your clients ever graduate? Like, do they start writing on their own and growing their brand on their own? Do they learn and do it by themselves?”

The answer, sadly, is always the same. 

Yes, they do learn. Yes, they can absolutely do it by themselves. But, without a trainer… they won’t. It's human nature to give up. I should know -- this is my third trainer :))

Hope you enjoyed my little #GhostwritingTuesday meets gym real life inspired vignette, minus the snot – though let’s be honest, I’ve implied weirder stuff in my mustache. 

Want to work with a ghostwriter?

Tough luck at the moment, I’m fully booked for 2025. But maybe you can make me an offer I can’t refuse in 2026? 

Want to ask me a question about ghostwriting, to be hopefully discussed in my content? 

I’m all bespectacled eyes.

The NR.1 mistake I noticed clients and potential clients make when it comes to ghostwriting.

I know, I know, you hate generalizations as much as the next person, but this is my own experience, so you can suck a cold onion if you don’t like it. 

And yes, I’m shouting yet again on the internet on a #GhostwritingTuesday, but it’s for your own good, trust me. Founders, CEOs, business owners, perk up those ears, this is for you lot!

The numero uno mistake you make when you try to work with a ghostwriter is that you don’t understand: 

IT CAN’T BE DONE WITHOUT YOU!

Fair game to you, it’s usually the fault of the “professional” you pick. But, here’s the real deal from a real professional:

You have to show up and talk through stuff.  You have to open up. You have to share with me. You can’t just send me some info on e-mail and leave me to pick up the pieces and turn them into a story. 

Nu, uh, it don’t work like that, bubu. Or... it can... but that's a recipe for frustration, on both sides. 

That’s not ghostwriting. That’s delegating content curation to a writer. Totally different things. 

Leads, opportunities, connections, collaborations, work offers, they’ll most likely show up only if you show up. 

As a professional ghostwriter, I can promise you one thing and one thing alone: if you don't do it my way, you don't get to complain about a lack of results. 

Suit yourself.

Acum c-am terminat de călărit până la epuizare rebrandingul Poștei Române, o vom ține langa cu Utah 2034 până la Crăciun. 

E bine, bravo, ne-am ocupat calendarul de conținut.

Situația asta e doar cu puțin peste penibilul oamenilor care nu se pricep la scris, dar fac ei postări în care demască cele 5 semne care garantează că un text e SIIIIIIIGUUUUUUR scris cu A.I. 

Permiteți-mi să nuanțez de #VinereaNaționalistă:

1) Dacă vrei ca brandul tău să iasă în evidență în mod relevant, nu să fie doar un brand de pluton, poate reușești să nu-ți înfigi dinții în subiectele pe care le-a dezvoltat deja toată lumea. 

2) Dacă totuși vrei s-o muști, asigură-te că analiza ta este personală, argumentată temeinic, bazată pe experiență (ptiu, drace… știu!) sau măcar atent documentată. 

Altfel… să tot fim olimpici internaționali la datul cu părerea. 

De gard. 

Cu plăcere!

taplio

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Vlad Adrian Iancu

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taplio

The Battle

Renee Lynn Frojo ✨

Vlad Adrian Iancu

Followers

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Engagements

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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);}Renee Lynn Frojo ✨'s LinkedIn Performance

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