Hands-on advice to help you start and scale your online brand and internet business.

Here are 5 unofficial LinkedIn rules that should be real LinkedIn rules 👇🏻

1. Stop relying on copying other people.

Copying people is no different than cheating on your tests back in school.

Stop copying people. You can't preach "build your personal brand" and then copy someone else's.

I see this too often now, so I'm posting about it.

2. Why are you still using hashtags?

Hashtags have already been debunked and don't do anything helpful for your content.

They honestly just look bad.

Have you ever searched for a topic using hashtags? Probably not. Don't use them.

3. Stop ignoring your audience...

This one is bad. And it happens way too often.

Jasmin Alić talks about this all the time.

Your content is used to nurture. To build an audience. To build your personal brand.

When people comment on your posts, reply to them. Have a convo. Don't leave them hanging!

4. Enough with the AI comments.

Look, I'm all for a commenting strategy.

But 50-100 comments a day using AI is so bad. This is next-level destroying your trust.

Pretty soon, you'll see a major negative impact.

Don't do it.

5. Don't generate AI garbage for your audience.

Posting consistently on LinkedIn will be a massive part of your growth journey.

But posting just to post isn't worth it, especially if you're using AI to create slop.

Take 5 minutes to actually write from your brain.

Enough with the AI slop.

P.S. Okay unrelated to LinkedIn, but I toured the Google headquarters in Michigan for a YouTube event. Met some epic people there.

YouTube x LinkedIn is the best organic combo out there. More coming on this topic soon!

Alex Colhoun

We build your LinkedIn content engine → You get clients & authority. Proven systems used by 19K+ founders.

I've seen some of the weirdest trends on LinkedIn in the past 6 months. 

1. 99% of the comments we see are fully AI. Zero time or effort spent on them. You don't know if you're talking to a person or not. 

2. Organic reach has dropped by over 40-50% for many. Same content, same strategies, but reach is down significantly. 

3. Engagement hacks that work on Instagram are on LinkedIn now. Comment for "X". I'll give you "Y". The feeling has changed too. 

4. Gurus now everywhere. The ones who sell "growth" but been active for less than 3 months... Teaching but haven't been taught themselves. 

I could go on and on about things that changed. 

My DMs and feed are FILLED with creators and brands complaining about these things. 

But the reality is, this is LinkedIn now. 

So there are two options we can make:

1. Cry about the changes and low engagement. 
2. Learn to adapt and make changes accordingly. 

I like option two a LOT more. 

Make changes to your business or fall behind. 

Very simple. 

p.s. we're in Hawaii today filming some content. if you're in our Skool community, you know what's coming!

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In the past 365 days, I've posted over 1,000 times on LinkedIn (and it was worth it). 

Over this time, I've found four types of content that perform the best on the platform:

1. Follower Growth | Trust + Authority
2. Engagement Inticing | Trust + Authority
3. Email List Growth | Business Growth
4. Direct Product Promo | Business Growth

The first two types are to grow your brand.
The second two are to grow your business. 

70% of my content lies in building trust and authority, while 30% promotes paid offers. 

The goal is to:

1. Sell without actually "selling."
2. Be the #1 creator in your niche. 
3. Be real and actually do YOU, not copy others.

If you're posting just for the sake of posting, there's no point in writing content. 

Align with your long-term goals. 

That's how you'll stand out over time. 

P.S. I'm in Canada right now. Writing this from the mountains. I LOVE IT. New York City tomorrow!!

Anyone in NY? Let's get some content going.

My 3,500+ posts that I've written this year all have one thing in common every single time: 👇🏻

Super duper eye catching visuals. 

The visuals you use on your posts is literally the main reason why people stop to look at them. 

This is what you're probably doing WRONG:

• Using images that don't fit the post at all.
• Posting blurry or super low quality images.
• Using generic stock photos (lol.)

This is probably why your engagement is so bad.

I will say when I first posted back in 2023, my visuals were REALLY bad. Like terrible bad. 

• 10-15 likes on a good day. 
• Random visuals every couple of days. 
• Really no vision in anything I pressed "send" on.

But now, I have a simple 3-step checklist:

Step 1.) Before/after images when I have client results and transformation to share. 

Step 2.) Personal images of myself working, traveling, etc. that show genuine emotion. 

Step 3.) Use Lightroom or Photoshop to brighten/enhance photos for the feed.

Same content, better visuals = 
3x more engagement.

People judge your post in 0.3 seconds.
That's how long you have to grab their attention.

Your visual either stops the scroll...
Or it doesn't...

Be INTENTIONAL with your posts. 

Authentic Emotion >>> 

P.S. I'd love to see your best most recent personal image photos in the comments! I'll share mine too.

I started going all in on LinkedIn even before I decided to go "all-in" on the platform. 

Just like how I climbed this mountain without preparing for how cold it was...

(You wouldn't expect it in Hawaii.)

A lot of people think community is "optional."

I have to disagree.

Most people on LinkedIn are scared to build a community. They are so focused on their thing. 

1. How to get more engagement? 
2. How to get more likes? 
3. How to sell more offers?
4. How to be a better creator? 

It's all the same for every single person out here.

The only thing that sets them apart is:

A community. 

So if you're ready to build a personal brand and actually have substance, here's what I'd do:

1. Take action before you "feel" ready. 
↳ Action will be your best friend.

2. Decide who's working with you. 
↳ If you're running solo, great. But set that early. 

3. Share your behind-the-scenes.
↳ Posting ONLY about your wins is boring.

4. Build an actual audience. 
↳ Share everything with them. Be personal. 

5. Stop complaining about the algorithm. 
↳ It changes often and is never perfect. Don't rely on it.

6. Don't use AI for everything. 
↳ You can't build an audience with AI alone.

7. Promote yourself often. 
↳ Want to build a business? Sell more.

8. Be okay to fail often. 
↳ Test, find out, and fix when necessary. 

Share your journey and the entire process behind what you do and who you do it for. 

That's how people begin to trust you. 

Don't hide 90% of what you do. 

This is how I've been able to stand out on LinkedIn for the past 2-3 years.

Don't wait for the perfect time.
Don't wait to be "safe."
Don't wait until you're "ready."

I've always told myself that if I put my mind to it, there is a way to accomplish anything. 

Go get it

My business generates ~$29,000/month.

But I'm only spending ~$5,045/yr on tech. 

Here are my top 7 favorite tools that I use to keep my business running 24/7.

1. Beehiiv ($1,151 billed annually)

My entire email newsletter funnel is hosted on Beehiiv. It's incredible. 

2-3 emails/week + autmations.

2. Stripe (2.9% + $.30 per transaction)

Every business transaction goes through Stripe. 

I know a lot of people hate on this platform, but we have never had any issues in 6+ years. 

3. Carrd ($19/yr)

Decently new to my tech stack, previously using Typedream. 

Fantastic for our quick and simple landing pages. 

4. Adobe ($419.64/yr)

100% needed for all design work. 

We use Adobe Creative Cloud for Photoshop, After Effects, and Lightroom. 

5. Zapier (~$169/mo)

Everything happens through here. 

The ultimate automations to send clients, prospects, and viewers into all funnels. 

A MUST for your business.

6. ChatGPT ($20/mo)

Of course, we need some AI here and there. 

Chat is amazing for Zapier integrations as well. 

7. Skool ($99/mo + 2.9% per transaction)

The best community platform by far. 

This is where all of our free content, lead magnets, and paid offers go. 

If you're building online, you need community.

Now the stack might look expensive or redundant, but at scale, the revenue is far more than the cost. 

Drop your tech stack in the comments of this post. Let's compare what you're building with.

If you’re not making money from your content, you don’t have a content strategy. You have a hobby.

Now, I want you to understand this too:

Not all content on LinkedIn is intended to "make you more money."

But if you're building a business and cash flow is necessary, your content should help you sell. 

90%+ of posts on LinkedIn don't do that. 

• Content has no ROI. 
• Random likes but zero leads.
• Posts are filled with AI comments. 
• And you're confused about what to post next. 

I'd focus on content → conversation → conversion.

You need an audience to sell. 
You need trust to sell. 
You need leverage.

So if you're creating content and actually want it to help your business grow, do what we're doing: 

1. Quality content first. 4-7x/week.
2. If you can't post daily, don't. Repost old posts. 
3. Every post = 1 purpose. 1 CTA. 1 topic. 
4. Don't overuse CTAs. Not every post needs one.
5. Create convos in your replies. Ask ?s.
6. Build an audience by showing up more. 
7. Take convos to DMs. Nurture quicker. 
8. Build a "personal" brand. Show your real self.

We've been testing LinkedIn content for 2.5 years. 

Most people here have never used social media. 

They're trying to build a brand/business, 
and LinkedIn is their first social media platform. 

I'm telling you this as someone who's doing:

LinkedIn, YouTube, IG, TT, X, & Twitch.

Master one format, one offer, and one audience.

Scale after you've done that. 

Do you feel like the content you're posting right now is actually helping you sell more?

P.S. In Breckenridge, Colorado, today. Had to spend some time in the mountains to refuel.

Here's how I write LinkedIn hooks that actually get people to read your posts: 👇🏻

But first, why should you listen to me?

I've helped over 300 founders build their LinkedIn content engines and get clients from their posts.

All by using: 

The Hook Framework: "How I + Achieved X"

If your hook doesn't get people to stop scrolling, your story really doesn't matter. 

You have about ~1-2 seconds to grab eyes. 

Start your posts with these three phrases:

1. "Here's how I..."
2. Or "How I..."
3. Or "My system to..."

Make it known that these are YOUR words. 

YOUR strategies. 
YOUR systems. 
YOUR story. 

This immediately tells your audience, "This post is about me (a real person) who didn't something that I want to achieve in x amount of time."

I got you with a few examples:

• How I landed my first 5 clients from one post
• How I built a $10K/mo business without cold DMs
• How I 2x engagement w/o changing my strategy

Achievement → Tension → Curiosity.

That is literally the perfect formula. 

And BONUS, you can even make your posts more clickable with the "without" statement:

"How I [achieved result] without [pain point]."

It's your mini cliffhanger. 

If your hooks suck, your posts will be ignored. 

Cheers to building something really cool.

The one thing that I HAD to stop overthinking:

"How do I create content and what do I create?"

1. There isn't a one-size-fits-all approach. 
2. "Viral" templates don't work that well. 
3. Relying on other people for advice isn't 100%.

So instead of trying to fit in. 

Instead of relying on others. 
Instead of depending on "viral" templates. 
Instead of hoping things "get better."

I began to rely on two simple things: 

Personal experiences and life. 

Your journey alone is worth sharing online. 

After 3 years on LinkedIn, over 3,500 posts, and traveling around the world to 43 countries:

Simply sharing my experiences, learnings, lessons, and journey has found me the most success. 

I'll teach you all of my best copywriting and LinkedIn business frameworks here: https://lnkd.in/gKnb2JPr

Here's my storytelling formula that actually gets people to read your LinkedIn posts👇🏻

Storytelling ≠ sharing random life updates.

If you want to actually get people to read your posts, this 3-part structure hooks your audience:

Part 1) Before 

Show who you were or what you struggled with.

Don't make this perfect. 
Don't sound too polished.

Nobody will relate to it. 

Don't try to sound like you have everything "figured out". I promise you that won't help. 

Part 2) Journey: 

This is the obstacle that changed everything. 

What moment changed your perspective?
What did you figure out that most haven't yet?

I do this in all of my content. 

It's a non-negotiable. 

Part 3) After

This is the result, lesson, and/or outcome. 

The goal here is pretty simple:

Get people to think:

"If they figured it out, maybe I can too."

Storytelling with zero structure is a no-go.

Random stories = no results. 
Transformation = the easiest way to sell. 

This isn't Instagram where posting about your morning coffee will go viral. 

I mean maybe if you're lucky...

Using storytelling to solve problems >>> 

Don't sleep on this formula.

P.S. I'm testing a new content system that uses this exact formula. If you want early access to see how it works, drop a comment and save this post.

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(25) Alex Colhoun | LinkedIn

LinkedIn Login, Sign in | LinkedIn

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Talks about #branding, #business, #marketing, #audiencebuilding, and #entrepreneurship

LinkedIn is still the best platform going into 2026.

Yet most people still use it like we're in 2021.

You can post every day.
You can keep chasing viral trends. 
You can keep sticking to generic topics.

But if you're not getting any new business, none of the work you're doing actually matters.

So, of course, I had to build something new.

Here is what works now if you want clients:

1. Solve the "Monday morning problems."
2. An optimized profile worth trusting.
3. Story-driven assets in your REAL life.
4. ZERO super needy first messages.
5. Simple content for fast social proof.
6. Commenting as your central nurturing system.

99% of my posts do NOT go viral.

And I don't need them to.

I care about hitting targeted impressions that hit the exact people who want what I offer.

The ones that pay.

Each of these seven steps goes a lot deeper.

Watch it below while it's still up 👇🏻

Happy Sunday! If I had to start from zero on LinkedIn and make money fast, I know exactly what I’d do. The exact seven-day restart plan that you'll ne

Open article: You Need This LinkedIn Lead Generation Strategy by Alex Colhoun • 1 min read

You Need This LinkedIn Lead Generation Strategy

I've never enjoyed saying things have "changed my life" until it actually did. 

So, this is that post. 

LinkedIn is the reason for it all. 

This platform has been able to 10x my business, influence, network, and even my vibes!

It's the reason why I'm coaching LinkedIn. 
It's the reason why I'm selling my systems. 
It's the reason why I love doing what I do. 

Because it works, it gets results, and it changes your life (more than you'd think). 

This is what I do:

1. First off, I write daily content. I get on camera and do group coaching. I get paid for this. 

2. In all honestly, I don't always know what I'm doing and that's okay. Learning as I go is no.1. 

3. My one-person business has allowed me to travel the world and pursue what I love doing. 

LinkedIn is legendary. 

My advice to you is simple:

Start something you love doing and turn it into a revenue stream. 

Go all-in on it. 

Don't settle for less. 
And don't let people tell you otherwise. 

God bless!

P.S. Finishing filming a new YouTube series in the mountains today. WHOOP WHOOP.

"I don't know how to get my content to 'sell'." 

I got you. Here's how I do it:

1. Your ICP pain points (main struggles)

• Call out the frustrations your target audience has
• Show the cost of staying stuck (lost leads, etc)
• Frame the fix based on your systems

2. The desires / preferred outcomes

• Show the future state your systems create
• Posting with purpse > posting consistent
• Target the exact outcome your sell

3. Break down your offer in simple terms

• Say exactly what your offer does
• Tell people who it's for and who it's not
• Explain the predictable outcomes (real numbers).

4. Show the transformations of clients

• Show the state before your target is stuck in
• Explain the change once they used your systems
• Show the measurable result they hit

6. Use your audience's comments/questions

• Pull a common DM or comment you receive
• Break it down into a simple before/after post
• Using your systems, build it into the post

7. Speak to the right people

• Speak directly to your ideal customers
• Make sure you keep it narrow to the right people

8. Build out problem → solution posts

• Problem → fix → outcome
• Write very punchy and straightforward
• Single images or carousels do super well

9. End posts with super solid CTAs

• One CTA only per post
• Push to newsletter, lead magnet, or YouTube
• Match the CTA to the purpose of the post

If you understand how each of these steps works, you'll have a much easier time selling your content. 

Remember this:

If you don't promote yourself, no one else will. 

P.S. I'm really curious if any of you are using external platforms to promote your offers, content etc. YouTube? Newsletter? Lead Magnets? Or just strictly using LinkedIn?

It took me 250 days to reach 10,000 followers and 300 LinkedIn posts. 

Another 250 days to reach 17,000 followers. 
Another 250 days to reach 25,000 followers.
Another 300 days to reach 40,000 followers.

The last stretch was my best yet.

Growth isn't always the same throughout your journey, and that's totally normal. 

Nothing is perfect or predictable.
Nothing is guaranteed. 

If I gave up the first time:

1. When things got hard.
2. When results slowed down.
3. When I got super bored...

I would never have gotten to the same results I have today. 

There will 100% be MANY good parts while building your business, but also TONS of downs throughout the process.

Learn to deal with them as they come. 

What's worked for me is quite simple:

I slow down. 
I'm quick to listen and slow to speak. 

Building a system first before doing something that destroys your brand is the way. 

Here's how you can build your brand and business on LinkedIn before the end of December: https://lnkd.in/g9N4uwez

p.s. Any advice you'd give to someone who's just starting out on LinkedIn?

How to stand out on LinkedIn: do something really cool and talk about the process (here's how):

Why listen to me? 

This is the first step if you want people to actually read through your posts on a daily basis. 

• Why should they trust me? 
• What makes me stand out? 
• Why not just listen to someone else? 

Show what you've done that other people should know about BEFORE they listen to you.

Your LinkedIn timeline is filled with garbage. 

People teaching you stuff they haven't even done themselves (crazyyy).

Go through the carousel on this post. 

I hope you find something valuable in it (and take action on the last slide; I promise it's worth it). 

Cheers to building something really cool.

The Writing Hack that Got Me to $100K

If you've ever wondered why some posts formats/structures do better than others: 

It's because they follow an actual system. 
It's because they hit the right audience.

Not just "for the vibes."
Not just "posting whenever."

A real system that has proven results. 

That has seen wins over time that you can literally validate because it's worked in the past. 

Steal my 7-step framework that we use in my Skool community to attract clients:

1) Choose your category

Stop mixing all of your categories into one. 

Each post should fall under ONE category: 

Teach, sell, inspire, or build trust.

2) Select your pillars

Your pillars are the topics you never stop talking about. Like it should be annoying. 

For me:

• linkedin growth
• monetization
• systems
• creator business

You want to avoid being just a "random tips" guy.

3) Turn your pillars into more topics

Do not overcomplicate this. Most do.

Micro-topics are just the "Monday morning problems" your audience faces. 

These are typically the problems your audiences wakes up with on a Monday they'd PAY to fix. 

You should be able to list 20 of these. 

If you can't, study your audience more.

4) Turn micro-topics into core ideas

One topic becomes = unlimited content. 

For example: Fail story, win story, system breakdowns, behind the scenes, 7-step systems.

Your goal is to create different emotional angles. 

Finally, match each angle with a post type. 

Videos = [trust, sales, etc]
Personal Images = [trust, etc]
Carousels = [follower growth, trust, etc]

Everything you do has a purpose. 

Emotional = Sales
Sales = Business Growth

But my biggest piece of advice to you:

Don't clickbait. 
Don't mislead people.
Don't sell to everyone. 
Don't be a scammy salesperson. 
Don't pretend like someone is an "ideal" client. 

You might wonder why I'd even say this, but I see it ALL the time. Don't be that person. 

If you get anything from this post:

Attract. 
Nurture. 
Convert. 
Retain. 
Repeat. 

If you want my new content systems for 2026, I break them all down inside my community.

Link’s in the comments.

Here's how to optimize your LinkedIn profile to turn visitors into followers into customers ↓

♻️ Follow me for more content on building your brand/business on LinkedIn. (repost this to your network)

YouTube is officially our no.1 profitable client funnel to LinkedIn. Here's how we do it 👇🏻

Note: LinkedIn is the MAIN social channel.

We use it for everything:

1. LinkedIn content nurtures.
2. LinkedIn content sells.
3. LinkedIn content is discoverable.
4. LinkedIn content drives email sign-ups.

It essentially helps in every aspect of the brand and business that we're building.

Then YouTube comes in.

Here's what that looks like:

1. Every Sunday at 7:00 AM CST = 1x YouTube
2. Each video ranges from 10-30 minutes
3. Long-form content = highest possible value
4. We add lead magnets to each video
5. We drive traffic to Skool + LinkedIn

We repeat this for every video.

BUT, it only works if the video is set up properly.

Next, we use LinkedIn for cross-traffic:

1. LinkedIn promo post to boost YouTube video
2. LinkedIn newsletter to boost as well
3. Then lastly the Skool post to boost

At this point, you can get creative in what you're selling, where to drive traffic to, and how to position yourself.

LinkedIn is the central hub.
YouTube is additional nurturing.
Skool is community.

With these three together, there's zero reason why you should have an issue selling.

We're helping nearly ~550 business owners and creators build this into their own brand strategy.

Feel free to Comment/Like or DM to implement the LinkedIn x YouTube strategy into your business.

P.S. Thanks Detroit for the amazing YouTube event!

YouTube

LinkedIn

Skool

Writing scroll-stopping hooks is how I've reached over 24M people using my organic content. 

If you don't have a "good hook" at the start:

• People will scroll right past your fresh content. 
• You'll keep complaining you're not getting leads.
• Money and clients are walking right past you.

There's an easy fix: write good hooks. 

A "good hook" means: 

1. It's super clear and very specific.
2. It shows a strong benefit for your reader.
3. It sparks curiosity or becomes relatable.
4. It's short, punchy, and straight to the point.
5. It shows your authority and expertise. 

Go through the carousel on this post to see the difference between a "good" and "bad" hook. 

You can grab my templates/scripts on slide seven.

👉🏻 P.S. If you want more frameworks to build your personal brand on LinkedIn, drop me a follow.

100 Views vs. 100K Views Carousels

LinkedIn isn't dying for the start of 2026.

It's just becoming more competitive than ever.

It doesn't matter:

• How many posts you publish daily.
• How many trending topics you chase.
• How many generic tips you post about.

You won't be able to build a profitable brand/business on the platform if you fall behind.

Which I why I've fully changed my strategy.

• Generic "how-to" posts are long gone.
• Boring AI-generated posts are algo detectable.

So here's what we're doing differently now:

1. Evergreen content with longer lifespans.
2. Systematic repost strategy for top content.
3. Killer hooks that target the exact ICP you have.
4. Stories and strong opinions > basic tutorials.
5. Paid boosted posts with clear CTAs (traffic).
6. Zero AI-generated fluff content or comments.
7. Nich-focused since AI scrapes LinkedIn.

My content may not hit 100K impressions every time I post, but that doesn't matter.

I'd rather have 5-10K targeted impressions.

This actually helps me build the business.

Each of these 7 items gets a lot more complex.

My 26-minute masterclass is available for the next 24 hours for free below 👇🏻

Happy Sunday! Everyone keeps yelling that LinkedIn is “dying” going into 2026. It’s not dying. It’s leveling up. And most people aren’t ready for it. 

Open article: LinkedIn is Changing Forever in 2026  by Alex Colhoun • 1 min read

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