Lauren Gibson's Linkedin Analytics

What if... no one cared about your story? Because let's face it. Isn't that the truth. Hear me out Do people 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦 about your problem / solution? Or do they care about how you 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭? I recently heard this copywriting advice: Your story only matters when: → It provides 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝘅𝘁 to the reader about something 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 care about (not you) Honestly, I thought this was curious. Does no one care about my DeEP, TranSFormaTionAl thoughts??? 😭 Probably not. (and probably why I keep my 11 journals secret) But I know what you do care about. Watching me lose. Then (hopefully?) seeing me win. Because there's some vulnerability there. Shows you I'm human, like you. Makes you feel less alone. Well, stop there. That's the Western narrative arc: "𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗼’𝘀 𝗝𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗲𝘆" Where your story is a conquest ⚔️ But I'm a fan of seeing all sides here. The East may object: "𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗪𝗮𝘆 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗕𝗲" Your story is simply consciousness 🧘🏻‍♀️ -- Where do you side?

No gatekeeping. I'm sharing 3 ways I'm teaching my clients how to use ChatGPT Tasks, out of beta today. → and which GPT model to use (well: it's your choice) Copy/paste: 1. 𝗠𝗼𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗲𝘁𝗶𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁 & 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗦𝗘𝗢 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝙬𝙚𝙚𝙠𝙡𝙮. → Best for competitor research. ## Create a task to check the content on this competitor’s page [𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗲𝘁𝗶𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝘄𝗲𝗯𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗲] [𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗙𝗿𝗶𝗱𝗮𝘆 at 𝟭𝟮𝗽𝗺]. Notify me of any content changes compared to the previous week, and how it compares to the content on our company page here [𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘄𝗲𝗯𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗲]. Also, provide SEO recommendations on how to optimize our content to compete with them. 2. 𝗦𝘂𝗺𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗶𝘇𝗲 [𝗶𝗻𝗱𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘆] 𝗻𝗲𝘄𝘀, 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝘅𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘇𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝘁 𝘁𝗼 [𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗵𝗲] 𝗯𝗶𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗸𝗹𝘆. → Best for industry research. ## Create a task to summarize all news about [𝗶𝗻𝗱𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘆] biweekly on Tuesdays, starting April 29, at 12pm EST + give me 4 exact script lines (for news articles) I can write in a weekly newsletter (contextualizing it more so to the [𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗵𝗲] space). Make sure it only pulls news from the last 14 days. For each script line (news article), create a captivating one-sentence description about the news article. If possible, include a descriptor like a number in the sentence. 3. 𝗠𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗸𝘀. → Best for social media research. ## Create a task to mine this week’s most-shared posts related to [𝗺𝘆 𝗶𝗻𝗱𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘆] on LinkedIn and X and reverse-engineer their opening lines. Do this every Sunday at 9am EST. Give me a swipe file of 5-10 proven hook formulas and 3 on-brand examples for this week's content inspiration. -- Repost this 🔁 if you're going to try one out. Do you have a GPT task part your workflow?

A new client told me 𝘦𝘹𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘭𝘺 what they want. I have 1,000 other ideas for them. But that doesn't matter. "I want you to convey my business worth to prospects." But wait. What do I do? They didn't ask me to write 10 emails or do 10 push-ups. They focused on the 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝘅𝘁. This is huge. 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗴𝗼𝗮𝗹: Close more high-ticket clients. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝘅𝘁: Communicate their worth, in writing. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗽𝘀: ... The latter is up to me to decide. All I know is, as long as I have the 𝗴𝗼𝗮𝗹 and the 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝘅𝘁, work becomes easier. In the age of AI, marketing fails not because of bad content, but bad context. -- This is day 111 building Letter Launched 🏋🏻‍♀️

On December 30th, I answered a phone call while sweating on a hotel treadmill in Miami. No business. But a vague idea. My cell phone rang and I picked up. A friend, a colleague. A job, contract work. But not just any. Something I 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 to do. That one “yes” launched my business. On January 1st, I announced the idea on LinkedIn. 3 pilot program clients. What came next... February, March, April... and now on track for May. Each month consistent rev growth. None of this feels like anything I've ever done. Not teaching English abroad. Not interning for the eth co-founder. Not strategy consulting for startups. This was – 𝘪𝘴 – my thing. So I decided to reflect on this journey outside my journal Today, I'll share the twists and turns of this business. To inspire you to connect the dots of your life. The people, the ideas, the experiences. Out tomorrow:

Today's the day! Google Workspace users now have access to video creation AI tools with Gemini. What a time to build a business! Anyone try this yet?

The 7 tools + keyboard shortcuts I use daily: Numbers 2-7 weren't part of my original stack. I found them here through posts, DMs, and random threads on LinkedIn. The power of community! Let's keep the train moving : 𝟭) 𝗔𝗿𝗰 𝗕𝗿𝗼𝘄𝘀𝗲𝗿 Once you use it, you can't go back. Spaces, favorite tabs, Tidy tabs, side-by-side views, split tabs, and theme colors make the internet fun–and organized. 𝟮) 𝗖𝘁𝗿𝗹 + 𝗧𝗮𝗯 Navigate seamlessly between tabs on web browser. 𝟯) 𝗖𝗺𝗱 + 𝗧𝗮𝗯 (Mac) 𝗮𝗹𝘁 + 𝘁𝗮𝗯 (windows) Like above, but for applications. It's great for having an app like Canva on desktop. 𝟰) 𝗦𝘂𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗵𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝗘𝗺𝗮𝗶𝗹 Got this through Lenny’s bundle (shout out Dexter!) I've never organized my emails so well, so quickly. 𝟱) 𝗚𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗮 𝗔𝗜 A "secret" meeting transcriber. Also discovered via Lenny’s bundle (first time heard from Kyle !). I love the Notion plug-in so I have a mini-database of my convo's. Helps me prepare for mtgs too with their notes feature. 𝟲) 𝗧𝗲𝘅𝘁 𝗕𝗹𝗮𝘇𝗲 My go-to for AI prompts and simple copy/paste items like my calendar, my LinkedIn profile, etc. 𝟳) 𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗲𝗰𝗵-𝘁𝗼-𝘁𝗲𝘅𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝘁𝗚𝗣𝗧 When I want to brainstorm, I just hit ctrl 2x while on gpt or claude. That voice-to-text flow is unreal. Here's how to enable this (on Mac): System Settings > Keyboard > Dictation > On 𝗕𝗢𝗡𝗨𝗦 - 𝗔𝗰𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗖𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗿 (Mac only) Not a workflow boost, but rather a brand enhancer. → Did you notice in the screenshot that the toggle items are pink? You can change your accent colors (on Mac): System Settings > Appearance > Accent Color – Got any other recs?

What is the hidden cost of overdelivering on client work? I've been working with an agency friend who goes above and beyond for their clients. They've been working on 1 asset... that was never promised in the contract... Spending 50+ hours on it. And guess what? Now the client expects it. (and keeps asking for revisions...) Back during my MBA, I had a sticky note on my computer that read: "𝗨𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗶𝘀𝗲, 𝗢𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿." My uncle, a vp of sales, said that's the most important part of business. But now I think about it: There's a fine line on wanting to "wow" your client and your own priorities. Not to mention that the desire to overdeliver is deeply ingrained especially for women in business who have been conditioned to believe our work alone isn't enough. But I digress. Small acts of overdelivery can delight. But pulling all-nighters to deliver work not agreed upon builds a business on shaky ground. 𝘜𝘯𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 – You're creating the asset as mini-experience. Although this person has not directly admitted this take. It's calculated risk. So this really isn't about the hours worked. Or whether they're building a bad business model. It will always be about: ➤ Meeting client expectations 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 → then overdeliver ➤ Investing in your own growth, no matter the hours -- This is day 121 of building Letter Launched Follow for more stories on navigating the messy middle.

ŌURA just launched their "log a meal" feature, and it's everything I want in my health stack. For years, I struggled to connect the dots between my nutrition, sleep, and energy levels. Now I can track everything in one place: • My workout activity levels • Sleep patterns • Heart rate • Stress signals • And as a woman, my cycle The best part? Their new AI-powered meal logging is super simple. Just snap a photo of your plate or snack, and Oura analyzes the nutritional content. (Unlike rabbit.tech - which "tried" to analyze the exact calorie count of your meals... that failed) Oura goes deeper than food. It shows how my meal timing affects my circadian rhythm and provides personalized insights on how to optimize my eating patterns for better sleep and energy. This hits home for me. Years ago, I struggled with depression, never understanding what contributed to it. I thought traveling to a new country every few weeks would solve this mental problem. But alas, I discovered - depression is solved internally. In 2020, I started the Couch-to-5K program. I lost 30 pounds through running and hot yoga. I became the fittest, healthiest, and most positive version of myself. That journey taught me a powerful truth: nutrition, sleep, and activity levels are the foundation of a healthy mind and body. And as an entrepreneur - Your health truly is your business's most valuable asset.

AI is dividing us. I recently confronted a childhood friend – I didn't want to hang out anymore. Because... they believe anyone who uses AI is fake. Personally, I've dealt with this before. In high school I was called "fake" for being able to communicate with the popular kids, the nerds, and the sports bros. But I don't think AI is fake. We are entering a new reality. Casey Rickey🖌️ is an artist. He uses AI to reimagine art. 🃏 Sherry Jiang is a product marketer. She uses AI to vibe code an app to the Apple store. Anna Nevmerzhytska is a video production founder. She uses AI for onboarding workflows. Michael Nadeau is a crypto data guy. He uses AI for deep research for the DeFi report. I've always been told I'm a writer. I use AI for ideation, content repurposing, content gap analysis and more. Does that make me fake? For some, maybe. For me, my workflow makes me faster, leaner, and honestly... more creative. I'm having fun. -- I don't think it's the tools that define your authenticity. It's YOU who defines it. Not anyone else. Who are you, really? How can AI amplify your current flow? Send me a dm if this inspires you. I'd love to ai-ideate with you (lol)

OOPS I messed up. Got too casual with one of my clients. Made a rookie mistake that taught me a lesson on business building. Starting a service biz? Read on for the lesson. ~ "𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘰𝘰𝘭 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘮𝘦 𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 $𝘹/𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 10 𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴?" The moment I hit send, I knew I'd messed up. Their response: WDYM? 🤦🏻‍♀️ This client and I had a pretty informal agreement. (Well, now 𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰. here's the story) They're a coach. focused 100% on output and results. I'm a newbie at email marketing. Loving creating casual, conversational-forward content. People say with my writing: "I feel like you're speaking directly at me" (copy-pasted that from a dm) But this was a good reminder-no matter the convo- Money talk? Deserves more than a casual Slack message. It requires: • 𝗔 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝗱𝗱𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀 → "I'd love to reset expectations of my priorities" • 𝗖𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗱𝗼𝗰𝘂𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 → "Here's what I've done so far." • 𝗡𝗲𝗴𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 (Christopher Voss style) → "I acknowledge your needs. How about we try this?" And that's exactly what I did. A week later. Yesterday. I think when you make mistakes like this, you need to let the waters cool down. Not urgent? Address it down the line. Prepare. Then ride the wave 🌊

My approach to life has always been pretty... backward? → Travel first. → Learn a new language. → Find out how to impact North African democracy (LOL) I've never pursued my path in a straight line. Always relied on my intuition. And you know what? This path has hurt me many times. → Felt isolated in my MBA → Discovered startup life is unstable → No income for 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘩𝘴, spending $ to "find my calling" The crazy part is: After years of "finding myself" I'm actually pretty over it (for now) You know those movies with 50 y.o.'s who lose their jobs, their family, their mind – and end up taking some spiritual journey to India? Yeah, well, I feel like I did that at 1/2 the age. The good news is: I feel less likely to have a mid-life crisis. The bad news is: I'm behind on some 'career' aspects. But hey, no one ever said it would be easy. -- This is day 116 building Letter Launched

Yesterday I pressed post while rushing for the symphony Today I woke up to mini "virality" But this was the mini hate kind. The more I entrench myself in groups of those who win massive deals – I recognize why they keep quiet. It's not easy to share these things. And if we share the 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭 stories, virality is less likely. Why? There are a million different reasons which make something true. A million different connections to be made. To share the 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺 is to share a book. (not an 83-word post) But the thing is, You don't have to believe in another's connections – 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗲𝘃𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗼𝘄𝗻. – If you need some inspiration, I've shared 5 ideas in my recent newsletter: https://lnkd.in/eH9GkB48

Ideas activate something profound in me. They spark dreams, inspiration, future thinking – Everything that makes me want to be human. Here's an idea that took years to fully embrace: my ideas get activated through music and dance 💃🏻 When sounds come together, they form an idea – A thought brought to life through sound. During my MBA days, I'd put on music while I'd studied. Someone would ask, "Why did you put on that music?" I'd reply, "This is how I think." 🎶 Ideas come to people in various ways. Some find inspiration in silence, but for me—it's in movement. I've come to accept this part of myself. Isn't that the experience of life? Finding what works as we create our life's work?

I started January 1st by announcing I'd take on 3 "pilot program" clients for a newsletter service business. Yesterday, I had my last offboarding call. During that time, I: ➜ Strategized on newsletter and LinkedIn content in B2B markets in supply chains, finance, and tech ➜ Designed brand assets, style guidelines, and content structure ➜ Launched 2 newsletters to a collective 405 subscribers ➜ Helped 1 LinkedIn Company page gain 200+ followers ➜ Researched, built AI systems, wrote, edited 18 issues ➜ Created 4 lead magnets (and corresponding flows) "Why do free work?" Because now I have examples, testimonials, and goodwill. I've talked about how last year was meant for experimentation. But this year? Execution. Delivery. Drive. I've been holding back on sharing this, (because when will a project launch ever be "perfect"?) But I'd say serving 3 new (paid) clients is good enough. So I'm *VERY* happy to share – It's time to announce my business, Letter Launched! I'm excited to take this business and find my niche within it. But for now: I help consulting companies and coaches with their newsletter and email marketing strategy.

Last week, a client asked me to "help build community" beyond our email marketing agreement. I dove in headfirst: • Organized programming • Agreed to host online events • Asked 7 members for testimonials • Came up with a mini-checklist of tasks Community is 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬. No joke. The client was thrilled. And I felt drained. They told me, "it looked like you were enjoying this." I said, "maybe it's just my womenly instincts." I don't think this is sexist to say – but my brain works differently. It's a connection machine. On average, more white matter > grey matter. (the connective tissue) And look, I know, Community is 𝗵𝘂𝗴𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮 𝗳𝘂𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗿𝘂𝗹𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝘆 𝗮𝗶. But I know this from hosting 10 online events last year: Community is not infinitely scalable. People can't be copy/pasted. Enter: ... emails? To me, it's perfect. Each letter is a one-to-many connection that 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭𝘴 1:1 We "nurture" relationships in email marketing, without requiring my (or my client's) constant presence. Writing to me is the bridge between authentic human connection and a truly scalable business. Writing is in my bones. Not just my brain. Quick call out – We may be looking for a community manager soon. Do you know anyone? 😌 -- This is day 120 of Letter Launched - Follow for more in-the-trenches biz stories.

I know a guy who makes $30k/month from 4 hours a week doing Ai copywriting. He didn't get there from ChatGPT. He spent 2 years working 10+ hour days, perfecting the style while 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘥𝘰𝘻𝘦𝘯𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘤𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴. His biggest advice to me? → Don't niche down too soon → Jump into action at any opportunity, in the beginning This is one piece of advice I share in the latest Connections ✣ newsletter, out now. Check out the other 4, link below ↴