Thijs Kraan

I help designers sell their expertise through writing content.

Before 2023, 100% of my design clients came from referrals.

→ I had zero control over when my next project arrived

Today, 88% of my clients come through LinkedIn – inbound.

Learning “how” took me 1065+ days of sharing expertise:

- Positioning & articulating the value of my expertise
- Experimenting with writing high-performing hooks
- Converting attention into inbound business leads
- Talking to 1000s of designers and design leaders
- Finetuning my profile for the highest conversion

I was a poor design student, so I self-studied:

- I consumed 1000s of posts & 100s of videos
- I read 100s of books & 100s of articles
- I wrote more than 1200+ posts

Obsessed with mastering the nitty-gritty of content.

And that meant making countless mistakes:

- I tried appealing to everyone, so I never got to stand out
- I wasted 100s of hours on meaningless content iteration
- I pivoted direction 50+ times so nothing compounded
- I got 3M+ impressions without winning a single client
- I ignored 1000s of hand-raisers right in front of me

To this day, I still learn new things every day.

Even after investing 3 years in learning:

€10k+ on courses/coaches
1000+ hours on reading
2500+ hours on writing

But now, I've turned everything into one framework to:

- Share your unique expertise more effectively
- Become the go-to expert for your audience
- Start getting inbound leads (on auto-pilot)

My LinkedIn Growth Framework. 

After 10+ iterations, I'm confident it works:

- A design founder added €100k+ in revenue (in 6 months)
- A design leader landed a new €150k+ job (in 3 weeks)
- And many designers won new 5-figure project deals

All from sharing their unique expertise (on LinkedIn)

So, if you want to learn from my biggest mistakes.

Take my free 5-day LinkedIn Growth Strategy:

growexpertise.com/linkedin-growth-strategy
(or click my LinkedIn profile buttons above)

PS. For 1:1 help, DM me or visit valuepositioner.com

Design Content Consultant

I help design leaders, founders, and freelancers do 4 things:

1. Understand & position your unique value
2. Create your design content strategy
3. Systematize content creation
4. Start creating habitually

By:

1. Analyzing your existing customers, content & data
2. Strategizing toward your ideal future positioning
3. Producing content for authority, talent & leads
4. Upgrading your content, profiles & funnels

Together, this will help you:

- Get inbound leads
- Attract new talent
- Build authority

Want to learn how? 

Send me a message.

If you need inspiration on how to approach LinkedIn as a studio founder:
 
1. Greg Isenberg – co-founder of Late Checkout
2. Max Ottignon – co-founder of Ragged Edge
3. Roman Stikkelorum – co-founder of Verve
4. Tobias van Schneider – founder of HOVS
5. Simon Dixon – co-founder of DixonBaxi
6. Sunny Bonnell – co-founder of Motto®
7. Soren Iverson – founder of Iverson
8. Nick Pattison – founder of Primary
9. Fons Mans – founder of Offgrid
 
Top-tier work, insights, or stories. 
 
All with a distinct angle.

Who did I miss?

Founder-led growth partner for design studios

Marriott Vacations Worldwide

• Assigning rooms to arriving guests considering their reservation details, special requests, and room availability, while optimizing room utilization
• Tracking room status updates, including out-of-order rooms, and coordinating with housekeeping to ensure timely room readiness
• Addressing guest inquiries and requests regarding room assignments, changes, and resolving any issues related to room availability
• Generating daily reports on room occupancy, revenue, and other key metrics to identify trends and inform operational decisions

Rooms Controller

• Conducting comprehensive training sessions for new-hires to familiarize them with resort policies, procedures, and service standard.
• Offering guidance and support to new-hires during onboarding. Assisting them in understanding their roles and responsibilities, answering questions, and addressing any challenges they encounter. 
• Assessing the progress and performance of trainees through regular observations, providing constructive feedback, and identifying areas for improvement. Collaborating with management to provide input for performance evaluations and helping to develop individualized growth plans.
• Continuously evaluating and enhancing training materials and processes to ensure their relevance and effectiveness. Collaborating with the management team to identify areas where additional training or resources may be needed.

Guest Service Associate 1

• Perform various front desk duties, including check-in and check-out processes, handling guest inquiries and concerns, and providing information about resort services and amenities
• Anticipate and resolve guests' service needs through attention-to-detail and cross-collaboration with other department
• Ability to multitask effectively and prioritize tasks in a fast-paced environment

Guest Service Associate

LuxLife

• Contributing to overall strategy and decision-making about product direction
• Delivering design artifacts from concept development and design to production and documentation (e.g., evaluations, task flows, user scenarios, information architecture, wireframes, low- and high-fidelity prototypes, specs and guidelines).
• Collaborating with the stakeholders and engineering team to ensure implementation of the designs are pixel-perfect
• Helped establish LuxLife's brand style guidelines & design system to improve efficiency and consistency

Product Designer

Crosby Wellness Center

• Conducted 5+ consultations per week to determine client strengths and limitations through surveys and initial interviews
• Addressed 100% of client needs by recommending solutions to support their goals.
• Maintained an average of 15 clients per week with a client retention rate of 70% through consistent customer feedback and personalized communication.
• Led and motivated groups of 5+ through exercise routines by providing clear and specific instruction.
• Facilitated cross-functional team meetings to identify areas of improvement and present ideas and insights.

Fitness Specialist/Personal Trainer

Etsy

• Enhanced various customer touch-points through providing detailed product specifications, managing shipping and production timelines, and personalizing order packaging.
• Conceptualized design solutions through multiple product phases, including mockups and prototypes.
• Created shirt designs and business cards using knowledge of visual design, typography, and color.

Visual Designer

Free People

• Created a welcoming experience by greeting guests.
• Cooperated with supervisors & coworkers; personally achieved $297 in sales per hour.
• Used knowledge about products and services to solve customers' issues & improve their experience.

Stylist/Sales Associate

Jeremiah's Italian Ice

• Worked closely with managers to ensure quality of service and orders.
• Created welcoming environment by following opening and closing procedures.

Server

AMERICAN EAGLE OUTFITTERS INC.

• Ensured customer satisfaction by inquiring about customer needs and experiences.
• Processed transactions using cash register and mobile POS systems.
• Assisted both English and non-English speakers.

Sales Representative

👋🏾 Hi, I’m Amani! I’m a digital designer with a focus on graphic and UX designer who crafts bold, story-driven brand experiences. I bring visual identities to life through strategic design, immersive storytelling, and seamless execution across web, print, and interactive media.

My professional experience includes creating solutions within the health/wellness and hospitality sectors and my skills include graphic design, user research, and front-end web development. All of which has taught me to be a great communicator, customer-focused, and to go above and beyond in everything I do!

I'm currently looking for design roles!✨
💌 ux.amani@gmail.com
🔗 Portfolio: http://www.amanijohn.com

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Thijs Kraan

Amani John

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The Battle

Thijs Kraan

Amani John

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);}Thijs Kraan's LinkedIn Performance

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