12 Success Stories That Prove Personal Branding on LinkedIn Works

One day I get this message from someone who’d been following my posts. She first became a client and then basically said, “I’ve been building this AI writing tool and your take on content processes lines up perfectly with what I’m trying to solve.” 

I jumped on it, and the alignment was instant. She had the vision and the funding, I had the content strategy experience. Six months later, we launched Penfriend together. All because I decided to share my actual thoughts instead of the sanitized corporate nonsense that fills most feeds.

If you’re just getting into the personal branding game, here’s what actually works: Make what YOU would want to read. Seriously. I just made content I would want to consume myself. And it works. Everyone else was busy copying each other or following some guru’s formula, while I was just documenting my journey and sharing genuine insights.

Start with one platform where your people actually hang out. For me, that was LinkedIn because I was targeting marketing folks and business owners. Post consistently about your specific expertise – not general platitudes. Show your work, share your failures (these get more engagement anyway), and have actual opinions instead of safe, boring takes that everyone agrees with.

People want to connect with people. The AI thing isn’t making it easier – it’s making authentic human voices MORE valuable. In a sea of generic AI-written LinkedIn posts, the person who sounds like an actual human with real experiences stands out like a lighthouse. That’s your advantage – use it.

Over the last 13 months, I’ve grown from 4,000 followers to more than 360,000 on LinkedIn. The opportunities that have come my way as a result of that are nuts.

When I first started posting consistently, people in my network who I hadn’t spoken to in years suddenly reached out – they remembered I existed because they saw me posting regularly.

One specific opportunity came when another ex-Goldman Sachs employee saw my growth and reached out. He was trying to use LinkedIn to build the visibility of his real estate investment and asset management business. That connection turned into a long-term consulting project and a friendship that I wouldn’t have landed if I hadn’t been consistently sharing valuable content. I even invited him to my wedding!

This experience (and many similar ones) showed me the challenges of creating content that actually drives business results. That’s what inspired me to start Saywhat, helping other entrepreneurs build content-led businesses on LinkedIn.

For anyone looking to start building their personal brand, here are my top tips:

Profile essentials:

• Get a professional headshot of you smiling on a solid background (try InstaHeadshots for an AI option).
• Write a clear headline that shows what you do with a bit of social proof, not a laundry list of experiences. Example: “I help entrepreneurs build LinkedIn audiences | Fastest Growing LinkedIn Creator in 2024”.

Content strategy:

• Share actionable tips you wish you’d known 2-5 years ago in your career.
• Make advice concrete enough that readers can implement it tomorrow.
• Focus on solving problems your audience actually has.

High-performing post formats:

• “[X] years of [industry] experience in 60 seconds”.
• “What I wish I knew 10 years ago about [your industry]”.
• “The exact [template/script/process] I use for [common task]”.

The real power of a personal brand isn’t just the audience size – it’s the quality of opportunities that come your way when the right people see you consistently solving problems they care about.

Several times, I have had clients tell me that they found me on LinkedIn because one of my posts resonated with them, or because they found my LinkedIn Learning courses. That’s the power of a consistent, clear, and strong personal brand!

When I share content online, I intentionally show up authentically so those who interact with my content can see the real me. It’s a powerful way to connect and interact with others. A client once told me they’d been following my posts on LinkedIn for a while before reaching out to hire me. They felt like they already ‘knew’ me and my work from my content, which made the decision to reach out easier.

For those just getting started, my advice is: clarity and consistency are everything! Know what you stand for and show up regularly. Online, share your perspective, your journey, and your expertise. You never know who’s watching, or what doors might open.

In 2018, I was working for someone else, managing marketing for a portfolio of businesses in real estate, auto, and media. I had the wins. I had the experience. But I didn’t have the visibility. No one outside of my immediate network really knew what I did or what I was capable of. And I wasn’t exactly racing to change that. I told myself I didn’t have time. I told myself it didn’t matter.

But what I was really doing was hiding. I wasn’t ready for the spotlight. I was afraid of what people would think. I didn’t want to ruffle feathers or be perceived the wrong way. And yet–I knew that if I didn’t start telling my story, someone else would tell it for me… or worse, no one would.

So, I started posting on LinkedIn. Nothing fancy. Just one post, in my voice, sharing my experience. Then another. And another. I started getting more intentional. I shared insights, lessons, behind-the-scenes strategy. I let people in.

By the next calendar year, I had landed a new role as VP of Marketing in Martech. Then the DMs. The emails.

Then people started reaching out asking,

“How did you do that?”
“Can you help me build a personal brand like yours?”
“Can you show me how to get visible without selling out?”

That was the beginning of something I didn’t plan for–but I had prepared for without even knowing it. I took what I did for myself and started helping others do it too. Executives. Founders. Consultants. People who were great at what they did–but not always great at being seen for it. And it all started because I stopped waiting for permission.

If you’re at the beginning of your personal branding journey, here’s what I would say: Start small. Be consistent. Tell the truth. You don’t need to go viral. You just need to go visible. Because opportunities don’t just find the loudest person in the room. They find the clearest one.

Landed a dream client after they slid into my DMs saying, “Your posts sound like you get it.” They’d been lurking on my LinkedIn for weeks, reading my takes on marketing and brand voice, and reached out because it felt like a no-BS fit.

My advice? Show up as you. Don’t try to sound like everyone else in your industry, sound like a human with a POV. Post consistently, say something real, and trust that the right people are paying attention, even if they’re quiet at first.

For years, I buried myself in client work as an SEO Project Lead at a digital agency. I was so focused on delivering results for others that I never thought to share my own story or insights publicly. LinkedIn felt performative, so I ignored it.

But when I left that job, I realised I had all this knowledge and nowhere to put it. So I started posting raw, honest SEO tips, lessons from failed experiments, little wins, and big picture frameworks. I hosted webinars that broke complex SEO into simple strategies. And when I spoke at WordCamp Nepal 2025, something clicked. People showed up. They listened. They asked questions. That visibility didn’t just grow my audience, it opened doors. It led to my current role as Head of SEO at WP Creative, and even bigger collaborations since.

If you’re starting from scratch, here’s my advice: don’t try to build a “brand.” Start by telling the truth about what you know and how you learned it. Make it useful. Make it human. People connect with people, not profiles. And that’s where the real opportunities come from.

My authentic voice on LinkedIn helped me secure a major partnership with Nestlé Purina while at Elasticity. Instead of standard marketing jargon, I consistently shared what we call “TOUR” principles – Transparency, Observation, Understanding, and Relaxation – showing real campaign outcomes and behind-the-scenes insights that resonated with their marketing team.

Personal branding isn’t about perfection but authentic connection. When developing your personal brand, follow the “Be Real” approach – embody your values, talk like a human (not a marketing robot), meet people where they are, and pull back the curtain on your process. This authenticity consistently helps me stand out in business development meetings.

For those starting out, I recommend mastering the one-on-one meeting technique. Set clear value-aligned intentions for connections, focus entirely on understanding what motivates the other person, and follow up with thoughtful notes that reference specific discussion points. My network built this way has directly contributed to exceeding sales quotas across my career.

Emotional connection trumps traditional metrics. I track “brand love” indicators rather than just impressions – when consumers feel strongly enough about a brand that they’d metaphorically “tattoo it on their bodies,” that’s when you’ve created something truly valuable. Your personal brand should aim for this level of connection.

My unhinged LinkedIn content directly led to a partnership with Ahrefs (a major SEO tool) that paid me to create content for their platform.

When I started posting selfies, memes, and brutally honest rants about the marketing industry, traditional LinkedIn “experts” told me I was committing career suicide – but those polarizing posts caught the attention of tech founders who were tired of boring corporate content and wanted someone authentic to write for them. If you’re starting with personal branding, focus on standing out rather than fitting in – the mistake most people make is trying to please everyone, which guarantees you’ll be forgotten.

Pick a narrow niche where you can be the obvious choice rather than one option among many – I specifically targeted tech CEOs who had exited previous companies and positioned myself as the “cringe LinkedIn ghostwriter” because that specific group appreciated my rebellious approach. The real secret is consistency over time – I posted for three years straight before seeing massive results, while most people quit after three months when they don’t go viral immediately.

As a brand designer who has created a lot of personal brands, I have to say… Personal branding is everything. And the way I landed big opportunities was this simple:

Sharing my journey and personal/business insights (on Instagram, Threads and LinkedIn). This has led me to precious and aligned collaborations with clients who truly resonate with my approach to design and, more importantly, to life and my personal values. I even include some of my areas of interest on my website: I’m that direct.

By sharing more about me and my interests, my design process, my professional achievements, my story and background (e.g. how I dealt with burnout, how I’ve became an entrepreneur, how’s my life as a parent) and my vision and concerns about the world, I’ve attracted amazing people and opportunities that align 100% with my mission and my personal values. I consider this a huge privilege.

For those starting with personal branding, I recommend: 

• Don’t be afraid of showing who you are. People connect with people, not with businesses. Be genuine in sharing your story and values.
• Be consistent, with what you say and what you practice. Maintain a regular presence, build recognition.
• Offer insights or content that benefits your audience.

My authentic storytelling about scaling Dirty Dough Cookies on LinkedIn actually helped attract Craveworthy Brands, leading to our eight-figure acquisition. I shared both victories and challenges during our growth from 0 to 100 locations, which resonated with many franchise investors and entrepreneurs.

For those starting out, I recommend documenting your real journey – share the ups and downs, lessons learned, and most importantly, be genuine about your experiences rather than trying to appear perfect.

Back in 2021, I was working on launching Mercha, and my personal brand on LinkedIn became unexpectedly crucial. I shared our sustainability journey – specifically how we were developing eco-friendly branded merchandise options when the industry was still largely focused on cheap, disposable products. This authentic content caught the attention of a sustainability director at one of Australia’s largest retailers, who directly messaged me for a coffee chat that turned into one of our first major enterprise clients.

What worked wasn’t my follower count or fancy content – it was consistently documenting our real challenges in changing an old-school industry. My posts showing the behind-the-scenes process of sourcing ethical manufacturing partners outperformed generic business advice by 5x in engagement and led to meaningful connections.

For those starting out, focus on your unique perspective rather than trying to be a generic thought leader. When I shared our frustrating experience of testing 14 different bamboo fabric suppliers to find one that met our standards, it resonated far more than broad statements about sustainability. People connect with honesty about the messy middle of building something.

The most effective personal branding tactic I’ve found is speaking directly to a specific pain point. When I changed how I described my work from “e-commerce entrepreneur” to “I help marketing teams order branded merch without the endless back-and-forth emails,” my inbound inquiries tripled. Specificity in how you solve problems attracts exactly the right opportunities.

I’m not overly active online, but like to be intentional with how I show up, especially on LinkedIn. The work we do, the projects we share, all of it speaks for itself, and we’re proud to showcase the standard of work our team delivers.

Very recently, a national client we’d been hoping to work with reached out directly after reading a post I shared about how we approach public space design. It was about how we transformed a challenging site into an all-weather outdoor gathering space and emphasized our commitment to thoughtful design and how it creates community. They said it helped them “put words to what we’ve been trying to achieve.” That led to a conversation, and eventually, a meaningful partnership.

It goes to show that you don’t have to be everywhere. You have to be clear and consistent where it matters. Share how you think, not just what you do because that’s what draws like-minded people to you.