Recently, a friend of mine messaged me. He told me he’d like to build out his LinkedIn presence.

He isn’t looking to start a side-hustle or anything, but wants to establish himself more in his industry.

Share what he knows. Potentially create new opportunities for himself. But isn’t sure how.

And he ended his messaging with:

Basically, how do you grow on LinkedIn without being cringe?

So here’s a bit of what I shared with him (in 3 easy steps).

Watch or read below:

WATCH: 99% of WFH dads STILL don’t know the basics of using LinkedIn

Why build a personal brand?

The term personal brand is thrown out a lot, often when referencing celebrities. But you don’t have to be a celebrity to have a personal brand.

Personal brand = reputation

What are you known for?

When people think of you, what comes to mind?

When it comes to ‘building’ a personal brand, people usually do this online.

While many people build a personal brand in order to grow a side-hustle or business, you don’t need one in order to benefit from a good online reputation.

A strong online personal brand is insurance against job loss.

You don’t want to be the person who begins updating your LinkedIn and sharing your expertise AFTER you get laid off.

Dig the well before you’re thirsty. Establish yourself as an expert in your industry and start developing those new relationships with others in your field now.

LinkedIn is a great place to do that.

Step 1 - Update your profile

Profile picture -

It doesn’t have to be a professional headshot.

Just make sure you’re:

✅ taking up most of the frame
✅ well-lit
✅ smiling

Avoid:

❌ multiple people in the photo
❌ photos too far away (where you’re visible from the waist up or further)
❌ distracting backgrounds or filters

📌 Pro tip - Use Canva to remove your background and replace it with a color. Tutorial here.

Headline -

Keep it simple.

[role] at [company (optional)]. [What you love chatting about or what your company does].

Software engineer. Love chatting about engineering, fatherhood, and coffee.
YouTube strategist at Kit—the email-first operating system for creators who mean business.
Product Manager at Google. Passionate about building great products and mentoring new PMs

Step 2 - Spend more time commenting

Now that you have refined your profile, the highest leverage way to grow your personal brand and is to start commenting on other people’s posts.

Use this as an opportunity to share your perspective or experience.

Avoid comments that aren't adding anything to the conversation (ie. Great post!).

Notice that your headline appears under your name every time you comment.

This gives people more insight into who you are and what perspective you bring.

The more they see you posting insightful comments, the more likely they are to connect and engage.

Step 3 - Begin posting your own thoughts

This is the part most folks struggle with.

First, it’s good to set expectations - even if you write really amazing content, it likely will not get any visibility or engagement for a long time.

Building a personal brand takes time.

So stop worrying about putting out ‘the perfect posts’ because most of your posts aren’t going to get much visibility to begin with.

Write the way you would write a friend. Talk about how YOU specifically solve problems or do things in your industry.

✅ How I ______.
❌ How to ______.

Aim for 3 posts a week and spend more of your time engaging in the comments of other posts.

To help you generate ideas, try this AI custom GPT by Justin Welsh.

It doesn’t write the post for you - it just gives you ideas. It’ll ask you what your business is all about, but you can just say:

I’m not starting a business, just need want ideas to build my personal brand. I’m the [role] at [company] and want to post content about [topic].

See a video tutorial here:

Just 20 minutes a day

Once you update your profile, here’s how you can spend 15-20 minutes per day on your personal brand:

Monday:
Write the 3 pieces of content that will go out that week (get ideas from the AI prompt above). Post 1 of them.

Tuesday:
Engage on other posts

Wednesday:
Post 2nd piece of content. Engage on other posts

Thursday:
Engage on other posts

Friday:
Post 3rd piece of content. Engage on other posts

See what kinds of comments and posts spark more conversation and engagement.

Then try doing more of that.

Building your personal brand can open doors down the road, creating unexpected opportunities or safeguarding you in case of job loss.

It’s worth 20 minutes a day.

Recommendation of the week:

My appearance on the Solo Sauce podcast

I went on my buddy Joeri's podcast and this one was fun because I not only talk about the different ways that I've learned how to build my workday around my life (and not the other way around), but I also get into the creator business side of building WFH Dads.

Listen on Spotify | Apple Podcasts

Watch on YouTube: