The Ultimate Guide to 100,000 LinkedIn Followers

LinkedIn is a salesperson that never sleeps. Your profile is your digital reputation, an online resume hundreds of thousands of people will visit every month. You don't want to come across like a scrub.

Start with a great headshot. Here's a quick trick to get one at home:

• Use an iPhone's front camera (not the selfie camera)
• Use window light on a cloudy day, standing at a 90-degree angle
• Use portrait mode to blur the background
• Take the photo close enough to minimize headroom
• Use an app like Pixlr to auto-adjust colors and crop

If you can invest in a photographer, I recommend it. Great photography is a quick way to signal that you care and have great taste.

Next, add your company to your profile with a nice logo and description. Make sure your team updates their profiles too.

Finally, set your tagline. This should be a simple, single line that conveys who you are and the value you're offering. Aim to own a word in the mind of your audience. For example:

• James Clear owns "habit"
• I own "systems"
• Ryan Holiday owns "stoicism"

Your tagline can follow different formats:

• Qualification & One Key Idea: e.g., "Founder & CEO of [Company] | Helping [target audience] with [key benefit]"
• Qualification plus TWO key ideas: e.g., "Founder & CEO | Helping [target audience] | We're hiring!"
• 3-part qualification + call to action: e.g., "[Job Title] at [Company], [Credential], [Credential] | Buy my [Product]"

One core metric that's often overlooked is reposts. The LinkedIn algorithm favors posts that get reposted. To generate ideas, use the Ikigai exercise and create content categories based on the overlap of what you're good at, what you love, what the world needs, and what others will pay you for.

Use the LinkedIn Idea Machine to come up with 30 amazing ideas in 30 minutes. For each content category, brainstorm:

• Lists
• Tools
• Facts
• Guides
• Systems
• Summaries
• Frameworks

Then go deeper with:

• Data
• Stories
• Reasons
• Trend Reports
• Expert Quotes
• Research Summaries
• Industry Breakdowns

Another powerful exercise is the "5 Year Reflection." Ask yourself: What systems, templates, and advice do you wish you had 5 years ago? Write down your lessons, mistakes, achievements, underrated skills, successful routines, personal experiences, failures, obstacles, challenges, insecurities, and things that shaped you.

Scroll-Stopping Hooks are key to every content format on LinkedIn. The top 3 lines of text are crucial - they're what your audience sees before deciding to click "See more."

Some tips for great hooks:

• Establish a dream outcome
• Use specific numbers for credibility
• Make a promise or create intrigue
• Use simple, 5th-grade level language
• Vary sentence length for rhythm

Two magic words to use in hooks: "I" and "I've." These have been at the front of 67% of my viral posts.

Here's an example of a powerful hook:

"In the last 10 years, over 1000 thousand people have asked me how to start a business.

The truth? They're all paralyzed by limiting beliefs."

This hook works because it establishes credibility through specific numbers, resonates with a common dream (starting a business), and creates intrigue about the limiting beliefs.

1. Long-form List: Combine a hook with a visual image, followed by a list of interesting statements or surprising ideas. The image can be custom-designed, a related photo of yourself, a screenshot of a customer question, or even a hand-drawn resource.

2. Long-form Carousel: A series of images you can click through, each containing a list item. Create these using Canva or Figma, then export as a PDF to upload to LinkedIn.

3. Long-form Hook Stacking: A series of short statements that build on what the hook established, ending with a payoff. Each line leads to the next, making it hard to stop reading.

4. Long-form Image: Put the entire list inside a compelling image, often hand-drawn or designed. This allows people to immediately see and absorb your insights

Once you're at or approaching 10,000 followers, it's time to level up:

• Follow top LinkedIn creators (like me) for inspiration
• Use the Taplio X Chrome Extension for insights and analytics
• Turn on Creator Mode in your profile settings

Taplio X is particularly useful as it shows you detailed analytics of top creators, including their best-performing content. It's a game-changer for studying the best hooks and tracking your own growth.

‍

To get from 10,000 to 100,000 followers:

• Post 7 days a week, manually if possible (LinkedIn gives less attention to pre-scheduled posts)
• Avoid sharing links directly in posts (LinkedIn wants people to stay on the platform)
• Use the Twemex Chrome Extension to study top-performing content on X
• Engage with comments for 30 minutes after posting
• Connect with like-minded creators in a group chat (MrBeast attributed his massive growth on YouTube to a group chat with 7 friends)
• Reach out to accounts with 10,000 more followers than you weekly

Here's a template for reaching out:

"Hey [name] - Loving your content - big fan of your post on [insert subject].

What are your goals on LinkedIn?

My goal is to get 10,000 followers by December 31, and drive people to my business. Would love to grow together! Cool if we collab in a WhatsApp group and share what's working for one another on LinkedIn?"

The goal is to convert your LinkedIn attention into business success. Here's how:

• Set up your profile banner for conversions: Mention your newsletter, subscriber count, and where to sign up.
• Turn your bio into a credibility elevator pitch: A good LinkedIn profile should convert 5% of profile visitors to follows. An excellent one, like mine, converts 19%.
• Add a call-to-action under your name using Creator Mode
• Use the Featured sections of your profile to promote your newsletter and core product
• Promote your newsletter and core product at the end of your posts

To share links without being penalized:

1. Post without a link
2. Wait for the post to gain traction (about 45 minutes)
3. Edit the post to add your link

Remember, growing your LinkedIn following is just the beginning. The real goal is to transform that attention into a business and life you love. My LinkedIn strategy drives as much as 65% of revenue to my portfolio of online businesses, adding over $2 million in revenue when my audience was only 50,000 followers.

By following these steps and consistently applying them, you can grow your LinkedIn presence significantly and use it to drive substantial revenue to your business. Good luck growing your LinkedIn audience!