The Power of Showing Up (Even If It’s Not Perfect)

Caroline Pennington was an executive recruiter at the top echelon in the corporate world. 

She was placing CEOs, CFOs, and COOs. She was negotiating 7-figure packages, corporate jet time, and compensation packages. 

It all looked very sexy from the outside, but her work wasn’t lighting her up anymore. 

She felt like she had maxed out, like she wasn’t learning and growing anymore. 

In March 2023, she decided to start taking LinkedIn seriously and committed to posting 5 days a week. 

And it changed her whole life. 

Speaking opportunities opened up. She started a podcast. She began connecting with female entrepreneurs as guests, friends, and network connections. She even launched a product and was able to market it through the platform.  

 Today, she teaches female entrepreneurs how to start, grow, and scale their personal brand and business on LinkedIn.

Caroline knows how intimidating it can be for people just getting started. 

You’re posting in front of the founder of your law firm, current clients, former clients, ex-bosses, coworkers. 

Plus, most lawyers are so focused on getting billable hours, setting aside time to create content is hardly a priority.

(Not to mention we lawyer personalities can’t just write a simple post, we have to write a full-on legal brief.) 

But as Caroline tells her lawyer husband, LinkedIn is exactly where you need to be. 

Here’s why: 

This is where your clients are hanging out. In fact, LinkedIn just crossed the 1 billion user mark. Out of those 1 billion users, only 1% of people post, which means you can get a ton of visibility. With TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook, it’s closer to 50-60%. 

On top of that, the average LinkedIn user makes $100,000 a year, which means they have money to spend on your services, knowledge, and industry experience. 

Everyone is going to need a lawyer at some point in their life. It might be divorce, estate planning, a commercial real estate transaction – but the time will come when people need your services. 

Creating an online presence and positioning yourself as an expert in the field will eventually help you build your book of business. 

How can you get started posting content? 

If you create enough content to post three days a week, that should be enough to start moving the needle for you. 

Just take one hour out of your week to batch your content. Maybe you wake up an hour earlier, or maybe you just don’t read the news in the morning. You can crank out a week or two weeks’ worth of content in one hour. Once you start growing that muscle, you can crank out a month’s worth of content in one hour. 

Don’t overthink it. You don’t have to make it perfect right away. When Caroline started, she had plenty of posts that flopped. It’s all part of the learning process. 

What kind of content can you post?

Start talking about your niche or your area of expertise. On this platform, you’re talking to real people in your industry who can learn from you. You don’t have to have solutions to everything, but you can teach them something. 

Keep your posts to 1-2 paragraphs maximum, with no more than 500 characters. Otherwise, you’re going to lose your reader. You only have their attention for 3-5 seconds. You want to put something out there that’s informative but to the point so they can get through it quickly. They have other posts to look at. You’re walking a fine line between engaging and informative.  

How do you stay consistent? 

You have a schedule, a family, clients, all those things. LinkedIn has a scheduling tool that makes it a lot easier to be consistent in the midst of a busy life. It allows you to schedule things 90 days out. 

On those days where you don’t feel like showing up, planning ahead is super helpful. Having those scheduled posts creates a sense of ease that it’s already done and taken care of. You don’t have to think twice when it goes live. 

Tips for Using New Features

Make your profile a creator profile. That way, if people don’t want to send you a connection request, but they like what you’re doing and want to get to know you more, they can just follow you. It will actually increase your following quicker than using connections.

Start attending LinkedIn live events and start participating. Get active in group settings so you can meet people in your same niche. Maybe you can learn from them or maybe they’ll want to learn from you. It’s a great way to connect with people doing the same thing. 

This was an amazing conversation with Caroline, packed full of so many nuggets. 

To listen to the full interview, check out my latest podcast episode: The Power of Showing Up (Even If It’s Not Perfect)

I hope you walk away with some practical tips, but also the message that if you truly want something, you are worthy of that dream. You are worthy of taking the first step towards it. It’s completely possible for you. 

Where to Find Caroline: 

Website: www.femininefounder.com

Instagram: @cpennington55

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