The personal brand playbook that got me 150K followers

Hey hey!

Ford here with the weekly issue of The Progress Report.

The other week's newsletter on retention got amazing responses - thank you to everyone who shared their onboarding horror stories. Some of them made me cringe (in the best way).

Today I want to tackle something I get asked about constantly: How do you build a personal brand while running a business?

After hitting 150K followers on LinkedIn and nearly 100K on Instagram, here's what I've learned about building a personal brand that actually drives business results.

The Myth of "Authentic" Content

Here's the uncomfortable truth: Most "just be authentic" advice is garbage.

I see founders posting random thoughts, motivational quotes, and behind-the-scenes photos thinking that's "authentic content." Then they wonder why they're not gaining followers or generating business leads.

Authenticity without strategy is just noise.

What Actually Builds a Personal Brand

After analyzing my own growth and studying creators with 500K+ followers, here's what actually works:

1. Pick your lane (and stay in it)

I could post about fitness, travel, or what I had for lunch. But I don't.

My lane: Early career hiring, startup lessons, and business growth.

Every post ties back to these themes because that's what my audience comes to me for. The moment you start posting random content, you dilute your authority.

2. The 80/20 rule for content

• 80% Value: Actionable insights, lessons learned, industry data

• 20% Personal: Behind-the-scenes, failures, team updates

Most people flip this ratio and wonder why their content doesn't perform.

3. Document, don’t create

Instead of sitting down to "create content," I document what I'm already doing:

• Lessons from client calls

• Mistakes I made this week

• Data from our platform

• Conversations with my team

This makes content creation effortless because I'm just sharing what's already happening.

The 5-Step System I Use

Here's my exact process for LinkedIn posts that get 100K+ views:

Step 1: The Hook (first line)

Start with a bold statement, surprising statistic, or controversial take.

Good: "Most hiring advice is wrong."
Bad: "I want to share some thoughts about hiring."

Step 2: The Problem

Identify a specific pain point your audience faces. Example: "73% of early career hires quit within 6 months."

Step 3: The Solution/Insight

Share your unique perspective or framework. This is where you show your expertise.

Step 4: The Proof

Include data, examples, or results that back up your point. "Our customers using this approach see 89% retention vs. 27% industry average."

Step 5: The Engagement

End with a specific question that encourages comments. Not "What do you think?" but "What's your biggest challenge with X?"

What's Working Right Now

Current LinkedIn data from my posts:

• Best posting time: 8-10 AM EST

• Carousel posts: Getting 3x more engagement than text-only

• Comment strategy: Responding within the first hour increases reach by 60%

The Business Impact

Here's why this matters: Personal brand drives business results.

In the last 6 months, my LinkedIn presence has generated:

• 50+ qualified demo requests for Runway

• 30+ partnership conversations

• 15+ podcast opportunities

• Countless warm introductions and referrals

But here's the key: It took 6 months of consistent posting BEFORE I saw meaningful business impact.

One Thing to Try This Week

If you want to start building your personal brand, try this:

Document one lesson you learned this week and share it as a LinkedIn post.

Use this simple format:

• Line 1: Bold statement about the lesson

• Lines 2-4: What happened (the story)

• Lines 5-7: What you learned

• Line 8: Question for engagement

That's it. No fancy graphics needed.

Behind the Scenes

Our Product Hunt launch momentum is continuing to pay off. We've had 3 more demos for our AI hiring tool, and I'm getting inbound requests for partnerships I never could have imagined.

The personal brand work I did 12 months ago is now opening doors I never could have knocked on directly.

Also, if you missed our AI ranking tool launch, check it out here. The feedback has been incredible - companies are finally able to screen for culture fit, not just skills.

That's this week's Progress Report. Hit reply and tell me: What's holding you back from posting more consistently on LinkedIn?

I'm thinking about doing a deep-dive on overcoming content creation barriers next week.

Keep progressing,

Ford Coleman
Founder, Runway

P.S. If this was helpful, forward it to someone who's been talking about "building their personal brand" but hasn't started yet.