After publishing for one year on LinkedIn, my articles have gained over 1.7 million views and my network has grown by more than 700%. What I've learned, and what I hope you can learn from me on growing your network, and publishing!

1. Growing your
Brand on LinkedIn

2. Thank You.

3. Dustin McKissen, CAE, CME
Dustin is the founder of M5 Strategy + Branding,
headquartered in St. Charles, Missouri. M5 works with
companies, executives, trade associations, nonprofits, and
educational institutions to tell their story, grow their
brands, and increase their influence.
He holds an MBA and a Masters in Public Management. He
is a Certified Association Executive and a Certified
Marketing Executive. His LinkedIn posts have received
more than 1.7 million views.

4. But really…

5. I’m just a normal person who started to
write on LinkedIn. I didn’t have:
• A powerful national brand behind my
name;
• An existing social media platform;
• Any sort of “following”;
• Any idea of how powerful having a
following can be.

6. And then this happened:

7. And this:

8. And this:

9. Which Eventually Led to This:

10. But the times
have changed, so
first you need
to…

11. Step 1: Put butts in the seats
(AKA, build an audience)

12. 1. Remember what
networking is for:
To meet people you
don’t know.

13. 2. Don’t introduce
yourself as a stranger:
Don’t send a generic
connection request.

14. 3. Turn a stranger into
a friend:
Actively invest in your
new relationships.

15. 4. The Golden Rule,
online.
Also, just don’t be a
jerk.

16. Step 2: Create and share the
right content
(AKA, The Crappy Day Test)

17. 1. Content must inform, inspire, or
educate or it will not be shared.
It is impossible to create shareable
content if the sole purpose of that
content is to sell something.

18. 2. Pay attention to titles and
images.
Titles need to be as catchy as possible while
still letting the reader know what they will
learn.
Understand the mindset of your audience.
Blogs are no place for abstraction.

19. 3. Blog posts need to have a
beginning, middle, and an end.
They need to have a narrative
flow.
Your last line is important as well. Think of the
title as the entrance, and the last line as the
exit.

20. 4. Pay attention to length (500-700
words).
Too sparse is not substantive enough. Too long
will cause your readers to exit prematurely.
Avoid long blocks of unbroken text.
More does not equal better, know when to end
it!

21. 5. Don’t talk down to an audience,
or talk up to your own ego.
Your audience is more intelligent than you
think they are, but you don’t sound smarter
using unnecessarily large words or jargon.

22. 6. Understand why people are
online, and why they are scrolling
through their LinkedIn feed.
Be realistic about how much time and space
you occupy.

23. 7. Be a human, not a headshot!
Be willing to write about your mistakes, your
bad decisions, and moments when you didn’t
have it all figured out.
Authenticity isn’t something you “are”.
Authenticity is just you, being you. Warts and
all.

24. And…

25. Stick to it!
Growing your influence doesn’t
happen overnight. You also
don’t need a million views to
be an influencer!

26. “I never wanted to be rich, and
I never wanted to be famous. I
just wanted to be important in
your life.”
-Bruce Springsteen

27. Build your brand by
becoming important in
other people’s lives,
and the rest will take
care of itself.

28. Thank you again!

29. Dustin McKissen
dustin@m5strategy.com
(480) 399-3366
Connect with me on LinkedIn, or on
Twitter @DMcKissen!