I Have Followers But No Clients" - Here's Why

In today's letter, I'm going to break down what actually makes a personal brand blow up and generate six and seven figures worth of leads. And it has nothing to do with engagement hacks or viral scripting magic.

The reality is that most content creators and personal brands are still getting the fundamentals wrong. Let me show you exactly what's working right now in the current personal branding climate, and how to navigate it with the least amount of effort.

No paid ads. No cold outreach. No ridiculous templates.

We've Entered the Trust Economy

First, we need to understand something I call Presence Market Fit (PMF).

The issue right now is everyone is confused between wanting status and wanting to make money. Everyone's creating content to attract a large pond of small fish.

Here's the hard truth: going viral is no longer a difficult skill to acquire. It's a duplicatable process that people are taking from templates and applying to their own business.

But does virality actually lead to anything? Of course not.

We are out of the attention economy. We have entered the trust economy.

Your goal is not to acquire attention anymore. Your objective is to build a personal connection with your audience. It's called a "personal brand" for a reason.

Where trust is made, cash will never fade.

One of my clients at Mogul Media, Fraser, would post creative breakdowns that went viral with hundreds of likes. Everyone's eyes were on his content - but he wasn't booking any calls or making money.

The moment we swapped his strategy from viral content to showing advanced strategies while showcasing his story, everything changed. His account became like a Netflix series that other founders and CEOs started following.

That's when trust was built. That's when relationships were created.

Think about your best friend. They have similar personality traits to you, they've grown with you, and you've seen their journey. Great personal brands are trying to become your "best friend" by creating content that aligns with both of you.

You need to get your followers to nod their heads with your content. This anchors you in their minds. They start seeing you as the expert, the professor in the niche that everyone wants to trust.

Content Resonance Optimization (CRO)

The second fundamental is Content Resonance Optimization. Just like conversion rate optimization in e-commerce, you need to optimize your content with structured tests to get people nodding their heads.

The mistake most people make is creating content they think is valuable, not what their audience thinks is valuable.

Nobody will purchase from you if you're posting generic motivational content. If I close my eyes and you read someone's motivational tweet to me, I could never tell you whose account it was.

But if someone has opinionated, expert content in their field, I can identify them immediately because they're different from everyone else. They're not using duplicatable templates.

What people want is roadmap-based content:

• They want to know the steps to get from point A to point B

• They want to see themselves in you

• They want real solutions to their problems

To create this content, you need to understand:

1. Who you're creating content for (demographics, pain points, aspirations)

2. Your FAQs (the questions your perfect prospect has that are holding them back)

(I just launched a free audit offer for personal brands! If you're a founder or agency owner that is struggling with your X & LinkedIn, and want my personal opinions on an hour-long call, then click this to book a call directly with me. Only doing this for 3 people.)

Platform Strategy

Now that we know how to create the right content, which platforms should we focus on?

The issue I see is people trying to be everywhere at once. You can't be lazy anymore and just repost one content piece across multiple platforms. You can't record a YouTube video, cut it into 60 seconds, and put it on short-form. It won't work.

Every platform is different now. Our audiences have become sophisticated - they've seen the same strategies working across thousands of accounts.

Instead of operating on seven different platforms at 10% of their potential, why not obsess over two platforms at 100%?

For agency owners, freelancers, info creators, or founders, focus on Twitter and LinkedIn. Master the written content first, then expand to video later once people trust you and you know what topics resonate.

Organic Reach Amplification

This concept revolves around a dance between content creation and engagement. Some people think they can just engage with others and grow without producing great content. Others think they can create great content and never engage with people.

In 2024, neither approach works alone. You need to:

1. Produce exceptional content consistently

2. Engage with the right accounts consistently

The algorithm is simple: you post content, it shows to a specific audience group. If that group engages, it shows to more people. If engagement is terrible, it flops.

Your objective is to manipulate the algorithm by showing up on other people's homepages. How? By using the Dream 100 approach:

• Define 100 accounts that you want engaging with you

• Focus on accounts with 2K-15K followers (they're more likely to engage back)

• Engage with them consistently

• Take these relationships to DMs and calls

This is the most important stage that most people skip.

Nurture and Conversion Content

Finally, understand that not all content serves the same purpose:

• Top of funnel content: Attracts followers (broad, generic)

• Middle of funnel content: Gets people nodding their heads and trusting you (sharing opinions, stories, expertise)

• Bottom of funnel content: Converts (showcasing case studies, asking for the sale)

Every content piece should have one of these objectives. Viral content will never make you money directly - it gets people to follow you. Your middle and bottom funnel content does the heavy lifting for trust and conversion.

Final Thoughts

These fundamentals are the reframe you need when building a personal brand in today's market. It's not as easy as following a content strategy anymore.

The personal branding landscape changes every 3-6 months. If you don't have time to keep up with it all, my team and I can help create your content strategy, long-form content, visuals, and more.

We are taking on 2 new clients in the next 30 days, if you are ready to scale your personal brand on X and LinkedIn, then click this to book a call.

By the way! I can also audit your entire personal brand for free!

If you're a founder or agency owner that is struggling with your X & LinkedIn, and want my personal opinions on an hour-long call, then click this to book a call directly with me. Only doing this for 3 people.