CEO @ Compound; Building a social media agency for B2B companies; Founder, Social Files

Scaling Compound Content Studio, a social agency for B2B companies who want to launch an organic social media presence that creates real community, generates product demand, and increases revenue (our personal fav).

We've helped 50+ early-stage SaaS and service founders launch and scale founder-led content in the past 1.5 years.

Also writing a weekly newsletter called Social Files that helps B2B companies generate product demand and get customers with social content.

Check my featured link to subscribe to Social File.

Tommy Clark

Alright. It’s official. The witch hunt for AI content is more annoying than AI content itself. We have people who’ve never written anything more than a boiler plate LinkedIn post announcing a new job acting as experts on prose. It’s ridiculous. Use your em dashes, your ‘rule of three,’ your ‘it’s not X, it’s Y’ negation.

Cool? Cool.

CEO @ Compound | Co-founder @ Bluecast | Building a social media agency for B2B companies

Pleased and humbled to announce I am now a nano-influencer on YouTube. Just passed the coveted 10,000 subscriber mark 🎉

The last few videos especially seem to have resonated with folks.

> The NEW Rules of LinkedIn (2026) - 18,536 views
> The New Era of LinkedIn Has Just Begun - 22,647 views
> If I Started Linkedin in 2026, I’d Do This - 11,428 views

My goal with this channel was to put everything you (founder of a B2B tech company) could possibly need to stand up a LinkedIn presence in 2026. No gatekeeping.

Onward to 100K (so I can be a micro-influencer one day) 🫡

Every single time I interview a candidate for a Content Writer position at Compound, I ask this question; the answer tells me a lot about whether they'll be a great fit...or not.

"What's one book you've read recently that's stood out to you?"

It doesn't need to be marketing or business-related. I don't care if you've read Building A Storybrand or Purple Cow.

But...and this isn't incredibly surprising...I've yet to meet a great writer who isn't also an avid reader.

Reading, especially fiction, gives you an eye for strong narrative. You get exposed to different styles of prose. You understand how to create compelling characters (which is what we're doing with 'founder-led marketing,' when you think about it).

Great writers are built on a foundation of reading.

Here are a few of my favorite books recently:

> The Sun Eater series by Christopher Ruocchio. The series is phenomenal. Some say book 1 is a bit slow—I enjoyed it, but can understand the opinion. Books 3, 6, and 7are all-timers for me.

> Red Rising by Pierce Brown. I need an affiliate link for this one, given how much I shill it. I wish I could read this series again for the first time. Impatiently waiting for Red God.

> Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson. This trilogy might have the best ending I've ever read.

My TBR list is far too long, but I figured I'd ask: what should I read next?

Companies are desperate for great writers.

Despite all the fear-mongering around AI, there is room for writing talent in the market. Problem is, most writers overestimate their own current ability. There's a sense of entitlement that you 'deserve' a sought-after role and sky-high rates because you call yourself a writer and listened to one-too-many freelancer mindset podcasts. No.

If I were on the market again in 2026, this is how I'd make myself more appealing to hiring managers.

(1) Practice in your own time.
Mediocre writers expect all development to happen 'on the job.' Exceptional writers take it upon themselves to get reps in on their own time.

Before landing my first part-time marketing job in college, I must have published 200 podcast episodes that nobody but my mom listened to. Extreme? Perhaps. Effective. Yep!

(2) Be easy to work with.
Mediocre writers get too precious with their work and struggle to work in a client-facing role. Everything is a crisis to them. Exceptional writers take feedback in stride and don't deflect responsibility.

(3) Publish your track record.
Mediocre writers bumble through applications with little intent or initiative. Exceptional writers stack the deck in their favor by building their own brand on platforms like LinkedIn. Like it or not, someone who routinely publishes their thought process has better odds of standing out in a pile of AI-generated slop applications.

I was able to land a full-time gig as Head of Social at a hot startup straight out of college (with little 'traditional' marketing experience) via cold DM because I built a modest audience.

Anyway:

Some people will read this and think 'OMG that's too hard' and perhaps even repost this with a hate comment (got my first one of those last week!). Some will read this and get to work. I know which writer I'd bet on!

Alright folks. What's *actually* working for founders on LinkedIn right now?

We’re ~2 weeks into 2026, the world is back online, and B2B technology thought leaders have emerged from hibernation, returning to the promised land: the LinkedIn timeline.

My intention with this piece is to give you an idea of what’s working well on LinkedIn, so you know where to spend your time.

My team writes 100+ posts per week across our clients. We have a good eye for what’s ‘working.’

(1) Generic “tips and tricks” are DEAD. RIP.

It takes a lot for me to declare a content format dead. But I’ve seen too much. 

Any time I’ve tried to write a ‘value-based’ post that covers a single strategy, it flops.

Why? AI has commodified ‘tip’ content.

Educational content now has two moats.

(A) Narrative. Stories protect you from AI fatigue. Claude cannot copy your stories. Pair every take with a story. I’ve been saying this for the past year. But we’ve reached the point of no return. You will NOT grow on LinkedIn if you keep posting your boring a** tips and tricks!

(B) Density. I do still see ‘framework’ and ‘listicle’ content perform well. If you pack 5-10+ real insights into a single post (so it drives saves), the content can still hit.

(2) Turn your office into a set.

If you have an in-person work culture, you must be capturing photos and video from around the office.

“Text + IRL image” is the winning format right now on LinkedIn. Text only can work. So can carousels. But real-life photos of you and your team, which are relevant to the post copy, win.

Have your Marketing Manager follow you around with their iPhone a couple of times a month to re-up your stock of media.

(3) Comments are content.

I wish this weren’t true. I hate scrolling LinkedIn and leaving comments because I ‘have to.’ Feels lame. *But, it works.* 

Dedicate 10-15 minutes per day to writing thoughtful comments on ICP accounts *or* influencers who your ICP follows. For example: if I were targeting SaaS founders, I’d engage with Adam Robinson’s content.

(4) Videos still not a thing. Despite how hard LinkedIn tries.

LinkedIn is really trying to make short-form video a thing. But after the weird uptick in reach back in Q4 2023, the format has consistently pulled the lowest impression count.

My take:

> Don’t make it the core of your content strategy on LinkedIn.

> But, it’s still worth it to post video once in a while (maybe 1x per week) if you’re good on camera. It’s good for prospects to see and hear you. Builds trust faster.

Anyway, running out of room, yet there's a LOT more to cover. So I'm publishing my full update on my newsletter later today. Subscribe here to get the field report in your inbox: https://lnkd.in/gA8cyRUR

I hate the AI witch hunt posts as much as the next guy. I'm still going to use em dashes—watch me—and I'm still going to use the 'rule of three' in my writing. Sorry.

That said, we do need to have a chat, you and I. It is soooo painfully obvious when a founder hands over their content production to AI.

Anyone with more than two brain cells can tell.

You might fool a total beginner, but you are not fooling a sophisticated buyer.

And the moment your reader notices the not-so-subtle shift in writing style, you lose them.

Resist the false promises of the AI guru industrial complex.

Inefficiency and effort are a small price to pay for your reader's trust.

If I were a Head of Marketing of a hot B2B AI startup fresh off a fat Series A, trying to convince the CEO to finally start posting founder-led content on LinkedIn, here's what'd I'd do:

I wouldn't.

Founders who need to be 'convinced' to take content seriously likely never will.

I've had dozens and dozens of these conversations over the course of the last three years building my agency. Head of Marketing comes inbound. I take the sales call. They mention the founder thinks posting LinkedIn content is cringe and doubts it will work for them...

Earlier on in the agency's lifecycle, I'd have spent more time and energy convincing them of the platform's benefit.

Sometimes I'd succeed, but the victory would be a Pyrrhic one when 3 months into the relationship, nobody's happy.

Now, this mindset is an immediate disqualifier.

Let the CEO come to realize that content matters on their own time. Some never will, and that's fine. But to win on LinkedIn, you need to enjoy the game at least a little bit.

I'm sure there are exceptions. I've yet to find them.

1 year ago: 0 words of fiction written

Today: ~200,000 words of fiction written between drafts 1 and 2 of my debut science fantasy novel

It's been a minute since I've posted an update on my side quest of writing a novel that people actually want to read, so here we go.

I finished Draft 1 back at the end of December. You're supposed to wait a couple of weeks before diving into the second pass, so I'm told. I broke that rule and started the next draft the day after. Oops.

I made a few major structural changes to the story:

(1) I wrote the first draft in 1st person present POV (think, Red Rising). I'm writing the second 1st person past (think, Sun Eater). I found myself feeling too restricted by the limitations of present tense. So far, the switch is working.

(2) I pretty much scrapped Act II of Draft 1 and re-outlined it. In short, I didn't make my protagonist suffer enough in the first pass. That has been promptly changed. Don't feel bad for him! Makes for a better story.

I'm hoping to have this pass done before the end of Q1 2026. Then I'll pass it off to a developmental editor.

Writing a novel has been quite hard. But it's a fun hard. And I knew I'd keep thinking about it until I finally did it, so here we are.

Oh! Almost forgot. I have a title.

'The Shattered Planet'

Subject to change, but this one sits right with me.

More updates to come. If you want more book stuff, I post a bunch on Instagram @ tclarkmedia

I think it’s dumb to wait for pre-determined cycles to give great employees raises.

One of my favorite things to do as a CEO is give people who are crushing it more money. Doesn’t matter if they’ve been around 1 quarter or 1 year.

Two quick examples:

- Hired Rachel Rappaport in July 2024 as a Content Editor. Before the year was out, she was in the Head of Content position (saw this coming at the end of week 1).
- Hired Nicholas Mlakar in March 2025. Promoted + bumped pay 3x and hasn’t even been at Compound a year.

Working at an early-ish stage company can be chaotic. There’s a lot going on. It’s not for everyone. But, it’s one of the few work scenarios where you have a considerable amount of ownership over your growth trajectory.

By the way, Compound Content Studio is hiring our next Content Lead right now. The JD is on our company page.

I don't trust marketers who don't read fiction. All this talk of "storytelling," yet you only read self-help books and newsletters pumped out by the personal brand industrial complex?

Hmm.

"But Tommy...where do I start?"

Here are some of my favorite reads. These are mostly in the fantasy and science fiction genres, since I spend most of my time there.

(1) Red Rising by Pierce Brown

This series is a gateway drug into reading fiction. The story is set in a future society that spans our solar system and is structured in a color-based caste system. You follow a Martian slave of the lowest caste (Red) as he finds out his entire world is a lie and goes on a generational revenge arc.

Nothing brings me more joy than radicalizing my friends on Red Rising (and the distraught texts I receive when they finish Golden Son). Hail Reaper.

(2) The Sun Eater series by Christopher Ruocchio

This is my favorite series of all time. The perfect blend of science fiction and fantasy. You follow a disgraced noble in an empire that is pretty much ancient Rome, in space (awesome), on his journey to blow up a sun and wipe out a hostile alien race.

The final book, Shadows Upon Time, was released in November (I'm trying to bully Nathan Baugh into finishing it so we can talk about it).

(3) The Bound and the Broken by Ryan Cahill

TBATB is the perfect intro to epic fantasy. Classic farm-boy-to-chosen-one trope. Lots of dragons. Political intrigue. Ryan writes some of the best characters I've ever read. There are ~20 POV characters, and not one of them is 'bad.'

Ryan also started as a self-published author, and is an inspiration for me as I write my own debut novel. He's published 1.5M words in 4 years. Animal.

Running out of characters on LinkedIn, but here are a few more recs for you:

- The Will of the Many by James Islington
- The Terminal List by Jack Carr (more of a military thriller)
- Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson
- Farseer Trilogy by Robin Hobb
- Gates of Fire by Steven Pressfield
- Dark Matter by Blake Crouch

My current read: Royal Assassin by Robin Hobb (book 2 in the Farseer Trilogy)

What's on your reading list over the next few weeks?

I've spent the past 45 minutes on my flight staring at a blinking cursor on a blank Notion doc. "What do I post about today?" I ask. Nothing comes. Maybe it's the 4 hours of sleep I got the night before. Not even the black cold brew helps.

I realized after a while that I broke my own golden rule for content writing today.

"Never, ever start from a blank page."

Blank pages create overwhelm, and that overwhelm kills creativity. It's why so many busy founders struggle to keep a writing habit. It's much easier to give yourself a running start when you try to write.

Keep a running Apple Note with fragments of ideas.
Outline your content before you sit down to draft.
Bookmark other content that catches your eye.

Whatever keeps you from trying to create something from nothing in the next few frantic minutes before a meeting starts.

This framework has kept me consistently publishing on LinkedIn, hardly missing more a day in a row over the past 3+ years. That content is responsible for growing Compound into a 7-figure agency. I'd say the effort to organize my content ideas was worth it. Give it a shot this week.

LinkedIn is getting more crowded. AI content is flooding the feed. The bar for "good" content has been raised. Every founder I've spoken to over the past 3 months—or close to it—has said some variation of "my reach is down."

Good news: there are still 2 ways to stand out on the timeline:

(1) Share unique stories. Nearly every post you make should be paired with a narrative. I was talking to an early-stage SaaS founder last week whose reach suuuucked, so I reviewed his profile.

What do I find? All generic, "how-to" content. Listicles that could have been written by GPT. Yuck! Boring!

The fix: Take those same ideas and pair them with a story from your real experience.

Example: Instead of writing about "5 tips for reviewing a sales call recording," tell the story of the worst sales call you've ever heard and how you trained the rep to fix it. Problem solved.

See what I did there? See??

(2) Have a spine. Most B2B marketing falls flat because it's safe. Sterile. Nobody gets mad. But also...nobody notices...which is worse!

Don't go full extremist. You don't need to (and shouldn't). But you likely have a real stance on your industry that many of your colleagues disagree with.

Post it!

For example, I won't hire a Content Writer if they don't read books (this is a hot take in 2026, apparently?). "But I'm not a big reader, and I write well!" Cool, you're not going to write for Compound.

These two shifts can make a massive difference in the outcome of your LinkedIn posting. Share more stories. Piss some people off. Simple enough :)

I take ~5-10 calls per week with B2B founders who want to post more on LinkedIn. I’d say ~50% of them have tried working with a content agency before. It didn’t go well.

So, they end up at our doorstep.

You don’t have to go through this pain. If you're going to work with a content agency on your personal brand…run them through this gauntlet.

(1) Ask who will actually be writing for your account.

If the agency is oddly low-priced (and it’s an agency you're working with, not a freelancer), you’re probably getting passed off to a junior writer—or every agency bro’s favorite new coworker, Claude.

Get the name of the person owning your account. Meet them. If the founder or salesperson balks at that, I’d be wary of that agency.

(2) See if the founder is obsessed with content.

This seems silly. But plenty of people start LinkedIn ghostwriting agencies for the promise of easy money (LOL - different post topic).

It’s in your best interest to work with an agency whose leadership loves the craft of writing and comms. 

(3) Observe whether the agency is qualifying you.

We say ‘NO’ more often than we say ‘YES.’ Savvy agencies know which clients they’re best equipped to support. They aren’t afraid to turn folks away.

(4) Understand how they adapt to your tone of voice.

There are plenty of people who can ghostwrite LinkedIn content based on generic best practices. Hell, even Claude can.

But they tend to lack the ability to adapt away from LinkedIn ‘broetry’ and formulaic hooks. In my experience, founders are particular about their tone. Rightfully so.

(5) Make sure you like each other as people.

I cannot stress how important this is. For a founder-led content engagement to work, you’ll need to sit down with these folks on a biweekly basis and communicate over Slack almost daily.

Lack of vibe creates friction. That friction ruins the content creation workflow.

--
Running out of room on LinkedIn, but I wrote a deeper dive on this topic in this week's edition of my newsletter. Subscribe here to get it in your inbox: https://lnkd.in/gA8cyRUR

I couldn’t think of a LinkedIn topic for today. This screenshot of a heater from Oren John will do. Swap “YouTube” for creative medium of choice. In my case, writing.

I don’t think you realize how simple it is to stand out on today’s market. You’re competing with people outsourcing their brains to Claude and complaining about ‘balance’ before they’ve built a track record.

Listen to the man:

“Not many creatives are playing until their proverbial fingers bleed.”

I’m an elder 26 years now. But back when I was a 20 year-old breaking into marketing, I was ripping 10-15+ content pieces a day on Twitter (in the glory days), LinkedIn, Instagram. 3 YouTube videos a week. 200 podcasts nobody listened to. You get the point.

Look. This isn’t for everyone. That’s OK.

But companies are desperate for excellent writers. You’ve seen all the thought leaders posting about the $200K PayPal writing role, $400K Open AI writing role, that one startup that’s offering $1M TC for a content role (def a marketing stunt but fair play).

Point is: The bag’s there if you want it! Most don’t.

PS: doing the same thing with my creative writing now. 200,000 words of fiction written in the past year. I suspect that 6 years from now, I will be thankful.

If you want any chance at growing on LinkedIn in 2026, you have to be willing to "play the game." I don't think you understand.

If you resent the idea of posting content online...
If you view LinkedIn as a "necessary evil..."
If you find it cringe...

You will struggle to see any meaningful payoff from the platform.

That resentment leaks into every corner of your content strategy.

You won't be willing to spend the time each week writing. You won't be open to testing content ideas that work, but feel a bit vulnerable. You won't be comfortable being on camera to capture media that will help your posts perform well. You'll water down your real opinions and end up with HR corpo-slop that reads like the million other GPT-generated posts. The list goes on.

Founders who win on LinkedIn lean in.

This doesn't mean you should appear as someone you're not. That is not a solid long-term strategy. But you should push yourself beyond your comfort zone. *Really* give LinkedIn a shot going into the coming year. 

You might surprise yourself.

How to (actually) land and keep a job as a Content Writer in 2026:

From someone who’s reviewed 3000+ applications for writing positions, and also made a pretty damn good career for myself as a writer.

(1) Stick to your word.

(2) Practice writing in your free time.

(3) Publish your thought process online. Personal brand > portfolio.

(4) Don’t deflect responsibility when you mess up (you will mess up!).

(5) Probably don’t lead with ‘work-life balance’ in your very first interview.

(6) Follow all the instructions on the job application. To the letter.

(7) For goodness’ sake. Don’t outsource your job applications to Chat GPT.

(8) Trade volume for focus when applying to open positions. More attention on fewer applications is often better for you.

(9) Focus on learning LinkedIn ghostwriting. It’s an in-demand skill in 2026.

(10) Get comfortable being client-facing. Even if you're introverted, develop the charisma to run calls. It’s a skill.

(11) If there’s an ‘optional’ Loom video on the application, probably submit one. Not a guaranteed interview, but will absolutely increase your odds.

(12) Come prepared with real examples of your work to discuss in interviews.

(13) Implement feedback without needing to be reminded twice…or three times…or four…

(14) Know every account you're assigned to like the back of your hand.

(15) Read more books. Not just marketing—fiction too! It’ll make you a stronger writer.

(16) Treat difficult clients as a fun challenge. Writers tend to be too precious with their work. If you can do the opposite, you’ll stand out.

(17) Build your writing capacity. Your ability write faster while keeping quality high is a differentiator. It’s also a skill.

The market for writers is more competitive in 2026, now that AI can do a lot of basic writing tasks. Differentiation as a Content Writer comes down to increasing your skill bar above Claude’s + being easy and pleasant to work with.

And to be clear: companies are desperate for great writers. The career potential for people who take the craft seriously is phenomenal.

PS: Compound Content Studio is hiring for a Content Lead. If this resonates with you, would love to hear from you.

It's no secret that polarizing content 'does better' for founders on LinkedIn. But where's the line? My filter for whether or not a risky content piece is “worth it” is three-fold:

(1) Does the content align with your true beliefs? Being edgy for the sake of it does nothing (see: Cluely). Only share contrarian opinions if you’ll stand behind them.

(2) Does the content move you toward your ideal outcome? For instance, if your ICP isn’t other founders, and you don’t care to generate investor interest, sharing your ARR on the timeline doesn’t do much for you.

(3) Does the content alienate your ICP? Content is a filter. Triggering people is fine if those people were never going to buy from you in the first place. You just gotta be careful not to filter out ideal buyers.

Sometimes, you'll decide to hold back. Others, you'll say 'screw it' and let it rip. Either way, you should know what you're doing and never, ever sell your soul.

Hope this helps!

Hey. I've been posting on LinkedIn for 5+ years now. For the past 3 I've been helping founders at some of the hottest SaaS and AI startups do the same at Compound Content Studio. The truth:

LinkedIn has changed a LOT in that time.

What works now is similar in some ways to the playbook of the past year, but differs in many others.

If you're curious about what's really working on LinkedIn in 2026, I put together a 12-minute video walkthrough covering the strategies and tactics savvy founders are using to grow on the platform.

It has almost 20K views over on YouTube and has been getting shared around here, so it seems to have resonated with folks. Nice.

Comment "LINKEDIN" if you want access.

Kidding. I don't have time to send all those DMs. Here's the link to the full video. Hope it's helpful: https://lnkd.in/gxG2WUfk

PS: If you do enjoy it, shoot this post over to the rest of your marketing team in Slack.

Open video: The New Era of LinkedIn Has Just Begun on youtu.be

Founder @ Kennedy Creative | Helping B2B leaders dominate their category on LinkedIn and convert influence into revenue through content and outbound

Most executives treat LinkedIn like a resume.

I treat it like a revenue engine.

I work with enterprise B2B executives and founders in the 7–9 figure range to turn authority into measurable growth.

Through The Creative Catalyst Method — a system built on content + outbound — my clients transform visibility into deal flow, building 7+ figure pipelines in as little as 6 months.

And the results speak for themselves:
	
• 30+ MQLs generated in less than 60 days
• Clients getting 3+ leads every week with content + outbound
• A 5-figure deal closed by an agency in under 60 days
• $100K pipeline built in less than 90 days for a SaaS company

What makes this possible isn’t just content.

It’s the combination of strategic positioning, executive voice, and consistent outbound touchpoints that makes your brand unforgettable — and turns authority into revenue.

If you’re an executive ready to move from authority → pipeline → growth, let’s talk.

👉 Book a call or connect with me here on LinkedIn.

Doug Kennedy

10 reasons why being a dad with small kids makes snow days better:

(No I wasn’t doing donuts at City Hall in Philly) 
	
1. You wake up already winning. Endless coffee is on the menu. 
	
2. Two inches of snow feels like a national holiday. (In this case, we got 8.)
	
3. Sledding/shoveling becomes cardio you didn’t schedule.
	
4. Coming back inside feels heroic.
	
5. Snow forts start outside and somehow end up in the living room.
	
6. Couch cushions turn into architecture.
	
7. Games last longer because no one’s in a rush to be anywhere.
	
8. Snacks disappear faster.
	
9. Time stretches in a way it rarely does.
	
10. Everyone crashes early, worn out in the best possible way.

Snow days hit different when you’re a dad.

They slow you down without asking permission.

You stop thinking about what you should be doing and start noticing what you’re part of.

Years from now, they won’t remember the snow totals.

They’ll remember you were there.

What did you do in the snow yesterday?

No alternative text description for this image

I have one memory of my grandfather.

So when I found this photo of me with him, surrounded by all the Kennedy men, it stopped me. 

(Some tears were shed)

My grandfather must have passed shortly after this photo was taken. 

My dad took it in the early 90s and I’d never seen it before.

He recently uploaded a bunch of old photos to OneDrive. I sat down one night to look through them and didn’t expect it to hit like it did.

It made me think about legacy in a quiet way. 

Not the big stuff. 

But just the everyday moments.

No lesson or corny analogy today fam. 

Just one of those photos that makes you pause and think about life. 

If you have a photo or memory that makes you think about legacy, I’d love to see it in the comments. 

P.S. I’m the redhead LOL.

10 years ago (crazy to say), I was packing up my life to spend a year in Paris for an internship that completely changed me.

It was wild.

Yes, I:

• Went to museums
• Drank so much espresso I got dizzy
• Ate pain au chocolat on the Champs-Élysées

But I also:

• Learned a new language
• Met my current pastor (on another continent, somehow)
• Helped build a church under a bridge in a gypsy camp
• Built habits I still carry today

That year gave me so many memories.

It rewired how I see the world, faith, work, and what’s possible when you say yes before everything makes sense.

Lately, I’ve had that same feeling again.

Something about 2026 feels different.

People feel locked in and excited about what’s coming.

For most, that energy will fade after a few weeks. Life will creep back in and the same ole patterns will return.

But I don’t know.

This feels like an adventure year.

The kind you don’t fully understand until you’re already in it.

You feeling it too?

360Brew sounds like a solid cup of coffee while I’m knocking out LinkedIn posts.
 
It’s also the name of the new algorithm model for LinkedIn. 

Feels about right for 2026 (can I get an amen?). 

Regardless, here’s what I’m focusing on this year:

1. Ownership.
2. Real stories.
3. Saying things plainly.
4. Sharing how I actually think.
5. Showing skill through the work itself.
6. Talking with people, not performing for them.
7. Posting even when it feels repetitive or boring.

Some people are pumped about what’s changing. Others feel like they’re getting crushed.

To me, it still comes back to doing the work and showing up like a real person.

What are you doubling down on this year?

You’re not where you want to be because you’re not desperate enough to get there.

That stings. But it’s true.

We can go as far as we want to go. 

The scary part? Personal responsibility.

Want to make more sales?
→ Contact 50 people a day, not 10.

Want to build your brand?
→ Spend less time making another reel and more time having real conversations.

Want to scale your business?
→ Stop hoping for “one big break” and start stacking small wins, daily.

The people who hit their goals aren’t necessarily smarter or more talented.

• They’re hungrier.
• They’re more consistent.
• They do the uncomfortable work, over and over.

The gap between where you are and where you want to be isn’t strategy.

It’s desperation.

How badly do you want it?

One of my coaching clients got their first inbound lead after two weeks of consistent posting.

I know people will say inbound on LinkedIn doesn’t work. 

“It takes months!”

“Only big accounts get inbound leads.”

It’s not true.

Just keep going:

• Optimize your profile so it clearly says who you help, what problems you solve, and why your perspective matters
• Post consistently in the same lane so your message compounds instead of resetting every week
• Talk about real problems your buyers already think about, using language they actually recognize

Most people quit right before LinkedIn starts working for them.

DM me if you want to join my LinkedIn 1:1 mentorship.

Some of the most useful feedback I’ve gotten in life didn’t question my ability.

It questioned my restraint.

“Hey, you’re capable of more.”

“You’re really good at what you do, but you keep holding back.”

“You’re trying a little too hard to make everyone comfortable.”

None of that was said to knock me down. 

It was said because the people saying it could see the gap between what I can do and how I was actually showing up.

The difference matters. 

When feedback comes from someone who respects your work, that usually means that they are able to see more clearly the patterns you’ve gotten stuck in.

I’ve been fortunate to have a few people in my corner who are willing to say those things plainly. 

Over time, those conversations have forced me to take an honest look at where I was playing it safe when I didn’t need to.

It wasn’t that I didn’t know better, but that it just felt easier. 

The relief comes from clarity. Once you see it, you can adjust it without overcorrecting.

When was the last time someone challenged how you were showing up, not your capability?

Low engagement doesn’t always mean your content failed.

It usually means the right people are watching quietly.

If you only optimize for visible reactions, you optimize for the wrong audience.

Here’s how to think about who’s actually on the other side of your posts:

The 3 Audiences Reading Your Content

“Building authority is like how my grandma baked her blueberry pie.”

The sentence just came out of thin air on a client call the other day. 

(Not even sure if I had the analogy all worked out)

Later, I thought: “wow that’s actually pretty good.”

Everyone loved my grandma’s blueberry pie.

It was one of her things. 

At family gatherings or church events, someone always asked if she brought the pie.

That pie was part of her reputation.

Here’s the recipe for both (simplified):

1. The crust sets the foundation. Clear values and a point of view give everything else something to stand on.
	
2. The structure keeps it repeatable. A simple framework makes the work sustainable over time.
	
3. The blueberries deliver the value. They’re the reason people remember it and come back.
	
4. The butter adds personality. You can feel the care and intention behind the work.
	
5. The sugar creates connection. It invites conversation and brings people together.
	
6. The lemon juice adds contrast. Stories and lived experience keep it from feeling flat.
	
7. The egg wash finishes the presentation. Details matter when you want to be taken seriously.
	
8. The thickener is consistency. Showing up the same way over time is what builds trust.

*See the instructions below to put it all together. 

She never called it branding, but she built trust the same way strong personal brands are built.

- One clear recipe.
- Executed consistently.
- Long enough that your name becomes shorthand for quality.

That’s how personal brands actually last.

Even heading into 2026, a lot of us are still mentally parked in 2025 (somewhat). 

- Closing loops.
- Tying things up.
- Making sense of what actually happened.

Right now looks a lot like:

• Looking back over performance data
• Following up with leads that went quiet
• Analyzing what worked and what didn’t
• And, of course, going through the books

That last one mattered more than I expected this year.

The margin for “I’ll clean this up later” disappears fast. I wanted clarity and confidence that I wasn’t missing something small that could turn into something painful later.

So I asked for help.

I reached out to We Got Your Books, and it was one of the better decisions I made in 2025.

They had a clean report for me in just a few days (it literally blew my mind). 

If you’re looking for support, reach out to 
Emma Smith.

Clean books change how you think. And how you plan what’s next.

The posts that gets likes and the posts that gets DMs are built for two different jobs.

Applause content feels good.

• Broad advice
• Clean conclusions
• Everyone nods along
• The loop closes

People leave thinking, “That was helpful” and then they move on.

DM-driving content does something else.

• It introduces tension
• It speaks to a specific problem
• It leaves the loop open

Instead of satisfaction, it creates recognition: “That’s exactly what I’m dealing with.”

That’s why posts like: “5 habits of successful CEOs” can rack up engagement…

…but posts like: “Most founders try to fix X, but the real issue is Y” quietly build pipeline.

One resolves curiosity. The other sharpens it.

A few simple shifts that change everything:

• Stop teaching. Start diagnosing.
• Share the what and why. Save the how.
• End with a question only the right person can answer.

This isn’t about tricking people.

It’s about writing content that does the job you actually want it to do.

Applause content has a place. So does DM content.

The mistake is expecting one to do the other’s job.

If you’re posting consistently and not seeing inbound, it’s usually not a volume problem.

It’s a positioning problem.

taplio

The Battle

Tommy Clark

Doug Kennedy

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance ScoreTommy Clark's LinkedIn Performance

Performance ScoreDoug Kennedy's LinkedIn Performance

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taplio

The Battle

Tommy Clark

Doug Kennedy

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Tommy Clark's LinkedIn Performance

Performance ScoreDoug Kennedy's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

Performance ScoreTommy Clark's LinkedIn Performance