LinkedIn ghost-writing and strategy for CEOs // EO Member

Sales doesn’t fail from lack of ideas. 

It fails when teams default to cold outreach instead of building a system.

Every business owner starts as salesperson, marketer, storyteller, and tribal leader - all in one.

That works well but founder fuel burns fast... 🔥

At first, your energy sells the vision. You’re close to every customer. And you are the leader of your tribe. 

But usually, around the 5–20 employee mark, cracks begin to show. You want to move from working 'in' your business to working 'on' your business - so you hire someone to take over marketing.

Your first junior marketer arrives and…
- Launches a cold outreach campaign.
- Subscribes to HubSpot for $800/month.
- Tries a podcast.

Then, the cold outreach gets paused after no one replies. The HubSpot account sits dormant because you're too busy to hand over your contacts. And the podcast dies after seven episodes because it didn't bring ales. 

And you think: Marketing doesn’t work for us. Do I have to keep doing this myself? 🤨

Good news: You don't. 

Over the past 25 years, I’ve built five businesses, sold three, and advised on 75+ marketing projects.

Because of what I’ve seen, I believe marketing simply fails because nobody makes these 3 calls:
- Choosing one strategy every team member can explain and believe in.
- Sticking with that one strategy long enough to make it work.
- Holding everyone (including you, the founder) accountable with KPIs.

Making those 3 calls is what I call the CMO Gap.

→ Founders want to step out of marketing and need a CMO who makes decisions. But they can only afford a junior marketer who can’t do that.

Our program, CONTENT TURBO, closes that gap: In six months, we implement a repeatable and customised marketing system your team can run on their own, no agencies, no tool bloat, no false starts. 

Just a system that delivers at a fraction of a CMO's cost. 

It's the CMO I wanted in my five businesses but could't afford.


👉 If you’re ready to outgrow the marketing chaos, let’s connect.

✉️ Email me: chappuzeau@storylux.com
💬 WhatsApp me: +44 7375 428 095

Simon Chappuzeau

Viral posts and AI don't build businesses.

Systems do.

A while back I explored how people go viral on LinkedIn and what impact that had on the business.

It was fascinating, fun, and insightful but not one viral post moved the needle for the businesses of my guests.

If you want to revisit that, it's part of the StoryLux podcast (link in the comments).

In season 2 I dove into AI’s role in content creation and found that, yes, it’s powerful but that AI can’t fix a broken marketing systems.

That brings me to the announcement of this new season, Season 3.

This time we'll be talking to business owners who have crushed their lead generation with focus and consistency.

It’s about the quiet power of focus and repeatability.
→ One ICP.
→ One channel.
→ One proven cadence, done consistently.

No shortcuts, no hacks.

So far, I had two inspiring conversations with Glain Roberts-McCabe, PCC, CTDP (she/her) who's built a solid coaching business with simple processes.

And another inspiring call with Marcello Gortana, MBA, who turned out to be a (fellow) South African, now living in Canada!

So, if you want to hear inspiring stories of businesses that grew by focusing (less is more), then season 3 might just be what you need!

It’s launching soon.

Stay tuned.

I turn founder stories into marketing systems that can be run by their teams.

Marcello Gortana, MBA and Glain Roberts-McCabe, PCC, CTDP (she/her)

No alternative text description for this image

Is LinkedIn slowly turning into TikTok?

Here’s what I’ve noticed:

My feed no longer starts with posts from people I chose to follow. Instead it starts with a (viral) post from someone I’ve never heard of.

Yes, the post is often relevant, even interesting to the point that I find myself, ten minutes later doom-scrolling trying to remember “Why did I open this app again?” 🤔 

The shift feels subtle, but I thinks it’s not: 

It’s changing LinkedIn from what I liked about it:

A network-driven platform to an interest-driven one.

It's replacing relationships with reach.

I follow people for a reason. Not just because they had one great post, but because I believe in their thinking.

I’ve read their books, and studied their frameworks.

That trust is the glue of a real professional network.

When the algorithm sidelines those relationships in favour of single-hit posts, something gets lost.

Have you seen the same? 

What are your thoughs?



-------



I preparing the third season of my podcast, featuring founders who built their companies with a single target audience, a single offer, and a single acquisition path.

If you’ve taken that route and want to share the system behind it, please direct message me.

The biggest challenges marketers face:

Convincing the founder to trust facts.

I can't count the number of times that I found myself in discussions with business owners, junior marketers, sales people and other stakeholders about what would be the most effective thing to do in marketing. 

The predicament in these situations?

They come from an anecdotal viewpoint. They saw the one influencer who went viral. One email list guru who's doing 7 figures by sending one weekly email. Or the TikTok influencer who's cracked the code and now selling millions.

The problem is that these successes are anecdotal. Not empirical.

They skew the perception of what's likely to work.


As a marketer, I can't operate from a strategy of luck. That's what these 'success' stories are: anecdotal evidence that something works. 

I can only act based on empirical evidence and frameworks that have proven to work - mostly not to that wild success of the one in a million TikTok influencer. But more often than one in a million. 

As long as a strategy delivers a positive ROI it has worked well enough (and definitely better than an anecdotal success story that can't be replicated).

So, the question really is:

Do you trust statistical evidence that something will work enough to not be tempted by 'success' stories?

If so, your marketing is highly likely to make you money. 



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Most small companies can’t afford a $10K/month CMO to build a working marketing system. We help founders fill that gap by installing a marketing system and training their team to run it.

Follow me to learn how to build a marketing system that fits your business model.

From £0 to £22m with laser focus. How a self-funded food business grew in one of the most competitive industries in the world.

In December 2016, George Taylor started cooking clean meals in his one-bed flat, hand-delivering them to local gyms.

By 2023, he had turned Lions Prep into a £22m-a-year subscription business.

How did he do it without spreading himself thin on dozens of channels or burning cash on ads?

Here’s the marketing playbook behind Lions Prep’s early days:

1️⃣ George picked a niche and stuck with it.
→ The brand was built for gym-goers.
→ Messaging, meals, and visuals all screamed: “Performance fuel.”
→ That clarity made them memorable and referable for gym-goers.
Most businesses are not that clear on their ICP.

2️⃣ George treated his deliveries like market research.
→ George delivered meals and gathered insights from his customers.
→ Local gyms became live market research labs.
→ Every conversation shaped the product, the positioning, the promise.
Most businesses disconnect sales & delivery from marketing research.

3️⃣ George used storytelling as their main marketing driver.
→ Behind-the-scenes kitchen content built operational trust.
→ Instagram was built credibility through transparency.
→ Customers shared transformation photos.
Radical transparency built an avid audience.

4️⃣ George grew cash-flow before spending on campaigns.
→ Subscriptions created predictable revenue.
→ That stability funded consistent service and slow, strategic growth.
The new subscription model supported a healthy cash-flow. 

5️⃣ George didn’t advertise until he was sure it would work.
→ Paid ads only came in 2020–2021, once:
✔ The message was clear
✔ The audience was loyal
✔ The systems were stable
Most business advertise when they lack that clarity, wasting money. 

Effective marketing is about relentless focus on the right audience, the right channel, and the right message.

That’s what most businesses skip.


P.S.: In 2022 Lions Prep became Frive and successfully expanded their ICP. But that's a story for another time... 



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Most small companies can’t afford a $10K/month CMO to build a working marketing system. We help founders fill that gap by installing a marketing system and training their team to run it.

Follow me to learn how to build a marketing system that fits your business model.

Jason Fried and his team built a $1M+ revenue business, with only 1 product and 1 channel. How did they do that?

In 2004, Jason Fried and his team at 37signals were a small web design agency in Chicago, drowning in email threads and missed deadlines.

Because available alternative like Microsoft Project were too big and clunky, they simply scratched their own itch and built a project management tool that did what they needed.

That internal tool became Basecamp.

On February 4, 2004, Basecamp officially launched.
- No press release.
- No newsletter.
- No lead magnets.

Just a blog post on Signal v. Noise (the company’s internal blog). Jason Fried said:

“We just blogged about what we were building. People followed along and shared it.”

At first, Basecamp was used only by 37signals themselves and their own clients. But it quickly resonated with other freelancers, agencies, and small teams - people just like them.

The user base of Basecamp wasn’t built through paid traffic or launch campaigns, it grew organically through their essays, reflections, and product updates.

And: they didn’t call themselves 'thought leaders', they were just thinking in public.

How did that impact their growth?

Here are the numbers that I could find:
- 2004: Launched with 45 paying customers in month 1
- 2005: Hit $1 million in annual revenue (100% bootstrapped)
- 2006: Published Getting Real, a book on building simple software
- 2008: Reached 2 million users across all accounts (free + paid)
- 2010: Basecamp had become the company's flagship product and they rebranded to Basecamp, stopping any agency work. 

How did they do it? 

1️⃣ With relentless focus on one ICP: small, overworked teams. 

2️⃣ With relentless focus on one channel: their blog. 

3️⃣ And through relentless focus on one message: Simple tools for calm work and no engagement-optimised content.

Now you will say to me, Simon, that was in the early 2000s! 

Well, I believe things are not really that different today, people still love original thought. 

Real thinking still resonates with people, whether on a blog, a podcast, or a LinkedIn post.

What made Basecamp work wasn’t when they built, it was how they built:
- One clear product
- For one clear audience
- Shared through one consistent point of view - for years!

That’s still the most reliable marketing system there is, simple scales but only when the thinking is sharp.



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Most small companies can’t afford a $10K/month CMO to build a working marketing system. We help founders fill that gap by installing a marketing system and training their team to run it.

Follow me to learn how to build a marketing system that fits your business model.

Most small business owners overcomplicate content.

They chase trends, read SEO blogs, and try to “rank.”

But content doesn't sell because it’s optimised but because it addresses the information gaps that prevent a buying decision.

There are the five types of content buyers are quietly searching for:

Price
How much does something cost? We are all looking for this, aren't we? Yet, most websites bury this. 

Problem Discovery
The real use of an FAQ section? To reduce buyer anxiety by surfacing past client questions or objections.

Competitor Comparisons
Your buyer is already comparing options. Why not help them - and do it with integrity.

“Best Of” Lists
These pieces signal quality by giving a clear benchmark. Buyers want to know the bar before they commit to any option.

Reviews and Testimonials 
If your reviews and testimonials reinforce the previous four, trust is built, and buying becomes easy.

When it comes to what you write on your website and LinkedIn, you don’t need to reinvent the wheel.

Simply address what keeps buyers from buying.

Replace: “What should we post this week?”

With: “What’s still unclear to someone trying to buy from us?”

That question will build you a better content calendar than any AI prompt or SEO checklist.


P.S.: Bonus thought: if content is hard, it's often because the ICP is too broad. Have a razor blade ICP and these five content areas become as easy as simply interviewing your sales team. 



-------



I'm preparing the third season of the StoryLux podcast, featuring businesses that grew by focusing on a single target audience, a single offer, and a single acquisition path.

If you’ve taken that route of focus, please direct message me.

From £0 to £22m with just one ideal client persona.

How a self-funded business grew by niching down.

Lions Prep (before it became Frive) didn’t grow by serving multiple client personas or being present on all social media channels. 

It instead started to grow with a relentless focus on one ideal client persona (gym goers), and one channel (direct sales in gyms). 

In 2016, George Taylor started cooking clean meals in his one-bed flat and hand-delivering them to local gyms. By 2023, it had become a £22m-a-year subscription business.

So how did they do it, without spreading themselves thin across a dozen channels or serving multiple ideal buyers (just to be safe)?

Here’s the marketing playbook behind Lions Prep’s early growth:

1️⃣ They were bold and narrowed down on a small vertical.
→ The brand was built for a very specific kind of gym-goers.
→ Messaging, meals, and visuals all screamed: “Performance fuel.”

Most businesses are afraid to narrow down on one ICP.


2️⃣ They treated their product delivery like discovery calls.
→ George delivered meals and gathered insights from his customers.
→ Every conversation shaped the product, the positioning, the promise.

Most businesses disconnect sales and delivery from customer research.


3️⃣ They learned the product isn't the story.
→ George obsessed over the product and facts.
→ Growth slowed, until they started telling stories around the business.

Most business still believe that 'they will come if we build it'

George chose to show behind-the-scenes content, customer transformations, and what life looked like at Lions Prep.

Instagram went from a gallery of nice pictures to a diary, a credibility engine. That one shift from features to stories unlocked broader traction.

Good marketing is about focusing on one ideal client persona until you get everything right and growth happens. 

Most businesses don't see growth and think they have to diversify.




-------



Most small companies can’t afford a $10K/month CMO to build a working marketing system. We help founders fill that gap by installing a marketing system and training their team to run it.

Follow me to learn how to build a marketing system that fits your business model.

Your brand is not what you say it is. 

It is what your customers say it is. 

The other week I was evaluating a refurbishment company. The website was beautifully designed, perfect layout, with great photos. I was intrigued.

Then I checked the handful of Google reviews.

One five-star rave obviously written by a family member (same rare last name).

And another one was a page-long takedown describing step-by-step operational issues with that company.

Where it really got interesting was the fact that several positive reviews described completely different projects:

Not luxury refurbishments, Hamptons league, but simple backyard upgrades.

Outch.

The problem wasn’t the bad review, it was the contradiction:
- The website promises prestige.
- The public describes patch-up jobs.

A sleek website used to be the signal when it was expensive to build a website. The fact that someone had the resources to build a expensive website was in- and on itself a trust signal.

But that's different today: everybody can design a great website in minutes. And with that, websites have lost their trust signal quality. 

The only thing we are left with is what other people say about a brand.

And we've gotten really good at picking up nuances in reviews, whether they are fake, a friends favour review, or an over-demanding client. 

What matters today is: consistency between a braind claim and what customers report publicly about a brand.

If the claims of a website don't match reviews and other indicators, every brand  collapses like a balloon at a kids party.

A brand is not what you claim.

It is what your customers say.



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I'm preparing the third season of the StoryLux podcast, featuring businesses that grew by focusing on a single target audience, a single offer, and a single acquisition path.

If you’ve taken that route of focus, please direct message me.

BlackBerry went from niche pager to $3.4 billion in profit in under a decade by focusing on ONE:

- one ICP, 
- one product, and 
- one channel.

To anyone who's too young to remember 😉 : Before smartphones were a thing, BlackBerrys were the coolest phone to have. 

How did they achieve that in barely a decade? (And why did they disappear in an even shorter period of time?)

BlackBerry had a relentless focus. Their entire go-to-market strategy was built around telecom carriers serving enterprise IT departments.

- One channel: carrier + procurement partnerships
- One ICP: enterprise professionals
- One message: secure, instant communication

BlackBerry owned an entire category and erased itself in a few short years.  

How did that happen?

In the early 2000s, mobile email was slow, insecure, and unreliable. Executives depended on laptops, VPNs, and delayed sync.

BlackBerry built a device that solved one problem for them:
- instant, secure email in your pocket.

That single use case turned into one of the fastest enterprise adoption waves in tech history. By the mid-2000s:
- BlackBerry had millions of enterprise users
- It dominated corporate mobile communication
- Governments, banks, and law firms standardized on it globally

Their entire system was built with relentless focus:
- One user: enterprise professionals
- One buyer: IT departments
- One promise: secure real-time communication

Then Apple launched the iPhone in 2007. BlackBerry initially dismissed it as a consumer toy and kept optimising what had always worked. 

This insistence was reinforced from its founder Mike Lazaridis (the guy in the picture). He believed the needs of their ICP would always be keyboard-first, security-first. 

The problem was that the needs of their ICP changed when they saw the iPhone: The same executives who once demanded keyboards now wanted touch-screen navigation, and app ecosystems.

BlackBerry lost sight of their changing ideal buyer's needs and thus lost their ideal buyers. By the time they shipped serious touchscreen competitors, the platform gap was already unbridgeable.

So what actually killed BlackBerry?

Not their relentless focus. 

But that they treated a preference of their ideal clients as a permanent feature. Their real mistake was freezing their internal model of that customer while the market evolved.



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Most small companies can’t afford a $10K/month CMO to build a working marketing system. We fill that gap by installing a marketing system and training their team to run it.

Follow me to learn how to build a marketing system that works for you.

Mike Forgie, Local Marketing Specialist

Digital Marketing Specialist

Next Step Connect

Next Step Connect has a sole purpose: connect you to your audience. 
We use paid and organic Ad Strategies to deliver you qualified prospects for easier sales.

Owner

Hey! If you need a marketing strategy for better search engine results or social media exposure, it is time we talk.

Need help getting your business exposure online? I can help you with SEO, Google/Facebook/Instagram ads, and more!

My main clients include:
Agencies that need SEO and social media strategies developed and performed.
Experiential markets such as yacht rentals, supercar/exotic auto drives, helicopter tours, and more. For many of these markets, I can provide photo and video services.
Any company that needs local clients such a wedding equipment (tent, chair, table, etc) rental, contractors, construction equipment rental, medical practices, and more.

Marketing Strategist

M studio Design & Marketing

M studio is an amazing branding, marketing, design and communications agency. Their assets such a Public Relatiosn assists perfectly in the target marketing needed for effective off-page SEO. As for on-page SEO, I work with designers and developers to create websites that will perform on both search engines and as lead generating vehicles

SEO Specialist

PCG Digital Marketing

I started as a Content Writer and quickly moved my way up the ranks at PCG resulting in a Digital Marketing Specialist position. 
One of my main duties at PCG was to create a user journey throughout our new website in order to capture leads. Each page on the site was optimized for specific keywords, whether general or long-tail.

Evolution

I managed the Public Relations/Marketing team of four to reach target markets, developed promotional campaigns to increase search engine optimization and social media awareness, and organized the creation of copyright materials such as press releases, blog posts, and print/online advertisements.

Public Relations/Marketing Manager

Artist Arena

My duties as a freelance apprentice were to administer fan club websites for top pop bands (e.g. Paramore, Fall Out Boy, Green Day), organize and disperse promotional material, and promote the fan clubs.

Freelance

EMI Music Publishing

For college credit I interned for EMI Group, mainly Virgin and Capitol Records, in New York. Here I learned how to read Nielson Soundscan reports, develop and analyze press packets for musicians like Katy Perry, and analyze albums to match with products and/or organizations.

Intern

Excess dB Entertainment

As a member of the street team I handed out promotion materials, performed stagehand work, was the liaison for guests and artists, catered to artists, and attended events at least once a week.

Street Team

Helping Local Service Businesses Get Found and Get Sales — Not Just Clicks. | Google Maps, SEO, & High-Intent Ads

“Why isn’t our business the top result when people search for what we do?”
If that’s something you’ve asked recently, I built this for you.

I’m Mike Forgie, founder of Next Step Connect, and I help service-based businesses stop guessing at what’s working—and finally show up where it counts.

In the last decade, I’ve worked with hundreds of teams across real estate, healthcare, legal, construction, and automotive to install one thing:

A predictable system that drives qualified local leads from search.

Whether your business is getting buried in Google Maps, wasting ad spend on low-quality traffic, or just not seeing ROI from your current marketing…
You don’t need another agency.
You need a system built on buyer intent, trackable results, and total clarity.

What We Deliver:
✅ Google Maps + Organic Search Rankings – for the exact terms your buyers are already searching
✅ High-Intent Google Ads – tracked to real calls, form fills, and appointments
✅ Clarity – with real-time dashboards and reporting you don’t need to decode

Our clients don’t wonder where their leads are coming from. They know.
And they don’t lie awake at night hoping the phone rings. It already is.

📩 DM me or email mike@nextstepconnect.com
📊 Or grab your Free Local Growth Audit at nextstepconnect.com

Mike Forgie

Black Friday—buy a damn reusable mug.

Seriously. No marketing post today.

Just go splurge on a mug you actually like.

Walk into a store, test them out in person, find the one that connects with you, and buy it there.

Then take it to a cafe and use it.
Use it 100 times.

That's the real economy. That's the community you're actually part of.

No algorithms. No optimization. 

Just you supporting a business that's probably run by someone doing exactly what you're doing...showing up and making it work.

Forget Black Friday marketing noise.
I bet YETI or Stanley 1913 are on sale somewhere. 

Go buy a mug.

I Help Local Businesses Get Found and Get Sales — Not Just Clicks. Google Maps/Search Engine/AI Optimization & High-Intent Ads

Realizing the site I ignore the most ranks for high volume keywords.

It all started when I created mikeforgie.com as a creative outlet.

I was writing about things that genuinely intrigued me—true fans strategy, minimalist marketing, lean business operations, sustainability. 

No keyword research. No optimization. Just curiosity.

I was juggling SEO strategy for clients while just exploring thoughts on my own site.

By being natural. 
By being curious. 
By actually solving problems with a perspective only I had, people were finding it. 

Real searches. Real keywords.

After months of ignoring it, I looked at the data.

mikeforgie.com ranks for a ton of keywords. Not because I chased them. Not because I optimized. Because I answered questions people were actually asking, from an angle nobody else was offering.

This proves something fundamental: 
You don't need to chase the algorithm.

You need to solve a problem with a unique perspective.

It's not about optimization.
It's about authenticity solving real problems.

What's a topic you're curious about that you've been afraid to write about because "it wouldn't rank"?

Tell me in the comments.

My fiancé and I won Best Dressed at the Bartender's Ball.
A lesson in showing up...

This was her night.
She works weekends while everyone else is off.

So when the industry throws an event on a Tuesday, when most bartenders are finally off, we go all in.

Not halfway...
...All in.

We didn't just show up.
We showed up with intention.
And it paid off.


How you show up matters.
In life. In business. Everywhere.

Most people show up halfway:
Half-effort websites
Generic LinkedIn profiles
Copy-paste marketing

Then wonder why they don't stand out.

Showing up isn't enough.
Showing up with intention is what wins.

Whether it's:
A networking event
Your website design
A client pitch
Your social media presence
An industry celebration

The businesses that stand out are the ones that put in the effort to stand out.

Most local businesses show up to Google like it's casual Friday.
The ones winning look like they're dressed for the ball.

This is why I love working with local businesses.

They understand community.
They show up for their industry.
They support each other.

The Bartender's Ball wasn't just an event.
It was the hospitality industry celebrating the people who work while everyone else is out.

That's the kind of community local businesses build.
And that's worth showing up for.

How are you showing up in your business? 
Casual Friday or Best Dressed?

Don't be distracted like every other business owner...
Here's what you can accomplish in the next 30 days:

December is the most underrated month for building your 2026 foundation.
Everyone's winding down. That's exactly why you should be building.

WEEK 1:
→ Run a free website scan (https://lnkd.in/exURC7Wb)
→ Hand results to your dev with a fix timeline
→ Audit who has access to your assets (Google Analytics/Search Console/Business Profile, Ads accounts). Make sure YOU'RE the admin!

WEEK 2:
→ Request a topical authority map from your SEO or via AI
→ Start gathering case study information from your best clients
→ Collect 5-10 contacts for reviews. People are busy with holiday right now, but if you finished a service, ask for a review immediately!

WEEK 3:
→ Write a press release announcing a new feature, service, or case study. 
→ Publish that case study on your site
→ Create 2-3 content pieces around it

WEEK 4:
→ Review everything you built
→ Plan January strategy based on what actually worked
→ Send that press release to local media

This isn't chaos. It's strategic foundation-building while everyone else is checking out.

Ready to get ahead in December?

PS - I am relly having fun with Gemini lately. Image creation is fun!

I've been analyzing n8n workflows for SEO automation.
And there's 1 thing I'm happy I DON'T see

Hundreds exist: 
Content generation 
Keyword research 
Meta tags 
Social scheduling 
SEO audits

But what is missing?
Automated link building!

And that tells you everything about 2025 SEO.
If this was 2015, n8n would have: 
PBN automation 
Web 2.0 link farming 
Directory submissions 
Comment spam bots 
Link exchanges

Today?
Cold outreach templates 
Guest post pitching 
Relationship tracking

Notice the shift?
2015: Automate the links 
2025: Automate the outreach

The links themselves can't be automated anymore.
The links that matter require: 
Real relationships 
Editorial approval 
Value exchange 
Human conversation

You can't automate a local news feature.
You can't bot an industry publication placement.
You can't script a podcast mention.

Google got smarter.
They detect: 
Automated link patterns 
Content existing just to link 
Link farm domains 
Unnatural velocity

The algorithm evaluates: 
Source authority 
Editorial context 
Traffic quality 
Brand mentions

This is why n8n focuses on outreach, not links.

You can automate: 
Finding prospects 
Tracking conversations 
Follow-ups 
Relationship management

You can't automate: 
Editorial trust 
Link-worthy content 
Genuine authority 
Real citations

Link automation missing from n8n isn't a gap.
It's proof the game elevated.

If you're still thinking 2015: 
"I need 100 backlinks this month"

You're playing the wrong game.
The new game: 
"How do I get featured in local news?" 
"What value can I provide publications?" 
"Who should I build relationships with?"

One high-authority mention beats 100 directory links.
One news feature beats 1,000 comment backlinks.
One guest post beats an entire PBN.

I focus clients on:
Press releases (real coverage) 
Guest posts (editorial placements) 
Local partnerships (authentic collaborations) 
Case studies (content worth citing) 
Community involvement (events worth mentioning)

These create: 
High-authority backlinks 
Brand mentions 
Traffic 
Trust signals

None can be automated.
If it could be automated, it wouldn't be valuable.

Google rewards what's hard to fake: 
Real authority 
Real relationships 
Real value

The SEO community moving from automation isn't a problem.
It's proof we're playing the right game.

Shortcuts disappeared because they stopped working.
What's left requires strategy, relationships, and effort.
That's why it works.

Looking for automated link building means chasing 2015 tactics in 2025.
The links that matter can't be automated.
They must be earned.

Are you chasing volume or building authority?

Quick thread on why most SEO strategies STILL fail...
Watch me do a search at the end of the video, then implement below 👇 

The mistake: only optimizing for generic "near me" keywords
Ex: "apartments near me" or "apartments in [City]." 

Why these generic terms alone don't work: 
You're often competing against GIANTS.
(in Ex. case Zillow, Apartments.com and 100 other properties). 

What works (and great for getting recommended by AI like ChatGPT as well):
Long-tail, intent-based keywords!

"2-bed apartments with rooftop in [neighborhood/city]" or "dog-friendly apartments near [specific transit]" or even "luxury apartments with a gym in  [neighborhood/city]"

Lower volume, but way higher conversion.

AI search optimization:
ChatGPT and Perplexity don't rank websites. They cite them. 
You need to be the source they recommend, not just a listing.

Local authority signals:
Google Business optimization, local reviews, neighborhood content. 
This is where most properties leave money on the table.

Content that answers renter questions, not marketer questions:
 "What's the commute to [major employer]?" not just "Why choose our community?"

The strategy isn't complicated. 
It just takes a decent amount of time to implement. 

Pet owners, do you look up generic terms or do you look up "dog friendly" when searching for rentals, hikes, places to eat, etc?

JSESSIONID

(7) Matthew Wassel | LinkedIn

li_at

My client got recommended by ChatGPT. And landed a new client from it.
Here's exactly what we did:

We didn't "optimize for ChatGPT."

We built an unstoppable service page.

STEP 1: Focus on ONE service
Not 10 things. One thing done better than anyone else.

STEP 2: Own that page
Optimize it like your life depends on it. Structure, keywords, clarity.

STEP 3: Build content around it
Case studies proving it works. Blog posts answering questions. FAQs. Features. Real proof.

STEP 4: Get backlinks
From relevant, authoritative sources. Proves you're legitimate.

STEP 5: Tell people about it
Press releases. Social posts. Direct outreach.

But here's the real secret: We aligned their goal with reality.

We made sure the content was AUTHENTIC.
Real case studies. Real results. Real people.

Then we built the brand story around it.

ChatGPT didn't recommend them because of a secret algorithm hack.

It recommended them because when someone asked for that service, the most authentic, proven, well-documented answer was their page.

Stop chasing platforms.

Build something worth recommending.

What service could you absolutely own right now?

How do you actually make decisions?

Initially, it's through a mix of fast, intuitive "gut feelings" and slower, logical reasoning (emotions, past experiences, biases, goals, and values).

NOW, think about the last time you needed something:

→ A new dentist
→ A restaurant for a special occasion
→ A contractor for your house
→ A new apartment...

Did you just pick one, call, and go for it?

Probably not.

You probably:

• Asked a friend or coworker
• Googled it anyway
• Checked the reviews
• Looked at their website
• Scrolled their social media
• Asked another friend
• Went back to the reviews
• Finally made a decision

...then second-guessed it.

It's a blessing and curse to have so many forms of information.

We don't just make decisions anymore.

We research decisions.

...And these days research is even easier.

Your prospects do the exact same thing.

You're not being evaluated in a vacuum.

You're being compared across a dozen sources...constantly.

So make it easy.

Be cohesive.

Be thorough.

An easy way to do this is to choose one service to focus on.

Then...

Cover that topic completely.

→ Align main service pages, local service pages, case studies, and blogs
→ Build out newsletters and social media posts
→ Ask for reviews from those who you provided that service to
→ Get other sites to mention you for that service (top 10 lists, guest posts, podcasts)

Search platforms (ChatGPT, Google, YouTube, social media, etc.) need this consistency—and for you to feed them as much as possible.


How many tabs do you have open right now for something you're "researching"? Be honest.

Search bar = buyers
Stop being scared of AI search platforms.

I see the fear—"SEO is dead, AI is changing everything, how do I compete?"

Here's the truth: ChatGPT, Perplexity, TikTok, Instagram, LinkedIn, Google...

They all have search bars.

And search is search.

Many skills that worked for Google still work for Claude. Still work for Instagram. Still work for wherever people are searching.

Buyer intent is buyer intent. Information searches are information searches. Solution searches are solution searches.

The platform changes. The human need doesn't.

So stop trying to "crack the code" of AI search.

Just optimize for search—everywhere.

SEO, AI optimization, social search optimization—call it what you want.

It's just Search Everywhere Optimization.

There's a search bar? There's a way to optimize for it.

Don't care what platform you're on.

Where are you sleeping on search optimization right now?

I spent last week auditing my client's competitors' ads.
What I found? The same two plays. Over and over.

"Luxury Apartments in [City]" — generic, forgettable, competing with everyone
"1 Month Free!" — the race to the bottom that's eating margins industry-wide

Here's the thing: when everyone's running the same ads, nobody wins. 
You're just bidding against each other for the same eyeballs.

So we do something different.

Instead of "Luxury Apartments in Austin," we run:
→ Hyper-targeted relocation ads — specifically to people outside the state who are actively searching. They're not comparison shopping 15 properties. They need help. They convert faster.
→ Feature-specific messaging — pet-friendly policies, free gym memberships, private covered parking. The stuff renters actually care about but nobody highlights.
→ Audience segmentation — different ads for different renter profiles. Not one generic message blasted to everyone.

The result? Higher quality leads. Lower cost per acquisition. 

Most lease-up campaigns look at what competitors do.
The ones that win ask: "What are they not doing?"

Honestly, I get the 1-month free strategy for some instances. 
Property owners/managers - is this working in your markets?
If you rent, is this enough to make you choose a place to live in?

Had a call with a real estate agent the other day.
She said something that genuinely blew my mind.

"I can get my clients 3.75% financing because of my relationship with the builders of this development."

3.75%!!!!

In a market where most buyers are looking at 6%+ rates.

That's not a small advantage. That's a game-changing advantage.

Here's the crazy part: she doesn't tell anyone.

No banner on her website. No landing page. No ads. No social posts. Nothing.

She's sitting on the single biggest differentiator in her market... and keeping it a secret.

So I told her exactly what to do:
Website banner -  front and center, impossible to miss
Dedicated landing page - built specifically for this offer
Hyper-targeted ads - driving traffic to that page, featuring the rate
Newsletter launch - nurture leads who aren't ready yet
Social media blitz - post about it constantly until everyone in her market knows
Your competitive advantage means nothing if nobody knows about it.

Most businesses have something that makes them different. 
A relationship. A process. A result they consistently deliver.

But they bury it. Or assume people will figure it out.
They won't.

If you have an edge, shout it from the rooftops.

What's your biggest competitive advantage that you're probably not talking about enough? I'm curious what's hiding in plain sight.

Google's voice search algorithm is the blueprint for AI search.

And most people missed it.

Here's why this matters:

When voice search launched, Google had to solve a problem:

People don't speak like they type.

Typed search: "plumber near me"
Voice search: "Hey Google, who's a good plumber in my area that can come today?"

Google had to understand:
Natural language
Context
Intent
Conversational queries

Sound familiar?

That's exactly what AI search does now.

ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews, Claude...

They all process queries the same way voice search does.

Here's the pattern:

Voice search taught Google:
"What's the weather" = user wants current local weather
"How do I fix a leaky faucet" = user wants step-by-step instructions
"Best pizza place open now" = user wants immediate recommendation with hours

AI search uses the same logic:
Question-based queries
Context awareness
Conversational understanding
Intent matching

This is why voice search optimization = AI search optimization.

How to optimize for both:

1. Write like people speak

Don't write: "Our plumbing services provide residential and commercial solutions."

Write: "We fix leaky faucets, clogged drains, and burst pipes for homes and businesses."

Natural language. Conversational tone.

2. Answer questions directly

Structure content as Q&A:

"How much does it cost to fix a leaky faucet?"
"Most repairs cost between $150-300 depending on severity."

Both voice search and AI can extract this clearly.

3. Use long-tail, conversational keywords

Old keyword: "plumber"
Voice/AI keyword: "emergency plumber available today"

Old: "lawyer"
Voice/AI: "do I need a lawyer for a car accident"

4. Focus on local + immediate intent

Voice search users want:
"Near me"
"Open now"
"Available today"

AI search users want the same immediate, local answers.

Optimize for urgency and location.

5. Create content that answers "why" and "how"

Voice queries are often:
"Why is my sink draining slowly?"
"How do I unclog a toilet?"

AI search queries are similar:
"Why do I need SEO for my local business?"
"How does AI search work?"

Answer these thoroughly.

The businesses that prepared for voice search in 2018?

They're ahead for AI search in 2025.

Because they already optimized for:
Natural language
Question-based content
Conversational tone
Intent matching

Everyone else is scrambling to catch up.

The pattern was there.

Most people just didn't see it.

If you optimized for voice search, you're already optimized for AI search.

If you didn't, start now.

Same principles. Same strategy.

Are you still optimizing for typed keywords or conversational queries?

I have 247 PDFs saved in my downloads folder.
I've read maybe 10 of them.

And I'm guessing you have the same problem.

We collect knowledge like it's rare.
But knowledge isn't rare anymore.
Implementation is.

Here's what changed:
2015: Information was scarce.
Download every PDF.
Hoard knowledge.
Maybe read it later.

2025: Information is abundant.
AI can answer anything.
Knowledge is free.
The bottleneck is execution.

So here's what I do with PDFs now:
I don't read them.
I turn them into systems.

The process:
1. Download the PDF
2. Feed it to Claude or ChatGPT
3. Ask: "Turn this into an executable workflow"
4. Create a Custom GPT or n8n automation
5. Now it DOES the thing instead of just explaining it

Example:
Old: "47-page guide to local SEO"
New: Custom GPT that audits your site and gives you specific action steps

That's the shift.
From knowledge → to implementation.

Here's what this means for content creators:
If you're still offering informational PDFs as lead magnets, you're competing in 2015.
You're giving people more information they won't use.

Give them:
Guides
Ready-to-run workflows
Custom GPTs they can use immediately
Prompts that execute the strategy
Templates they can fill in

Don't just give knowledge.
Give implementation.

Because here's the truth:
Nobody has a knowledge problem anymore.
We all have an execution problem.
I can Google "how to do local SEO" and get 10,000 results.

I can ask ChatGPT and get a complete strategy in 60 seconds.
The information exists.

What's missing?
The system that helps me DO it.
AI solved knowledge access.
Now the value is in systems that execute the work.

Your PDF graveyard proves it.
You downloaded all that information.
But you didn't implement any of it.

Not because you're lazy.
Because turning knowledge into action takes effort.

And that's where AI changes everything.

Now you can:
Take any PDF
Turn it into a workflow
Build a system that executes
Actually implement the strategy

Knowledge was the currency in 2015.
Implementation is the currency in 2025.

Stop hoarding PDFs.
Start building systems.

How many unread PDFs are sitting in your downloads folder right now?

Knowledge is not a lead magnet.
Implementation is.

Where to spend your marketing dollars right now. 

Zachary Geleott and I had a chat about services to offer and what to charge. This is a gold nugget from that conversation. 

Also, I may need to just buy Descript because this was the easiest editing I have ever done.

I'm grateful we're all burning out on AI.
Yeah, you read that right, that's my Thanksgiving statement.

Is it annoying to see the same thing posted 100 times? Absolutely.

Does it prove we're all trying to figure this out together? Yes.

Does it prove people care enough to share what they're learning in public? Also yes.

We're in a universal shift. Everyone's learning something new. Some people are sharing their breakthroughs. Some people are sharing their mistakes.

That's how you learn as a community.

So I'm grateful for the noise. For the repetition. For everyone taking the risk to share instead of hoarding.

Let people share their experience. Let them figure it out loud.

We all had to start somewhere.

Show you are grateful. 
Tag someone in the comments who is posting about AI!
Especially, those posting about AI and SEO...I love it!

I surf as often as I can. Not because I'm good at it.....I'm not.
It is because it is one of the things I work for. 

I make money so I can afford to do the things I love. 
I love surfing. 

Also, there's something about being in the water that resets everything.

You can't check Slack. You can't answer emails. You can't think about your pipeline.

You just have to be present. Read the waves. React.

And somehow, every time I rinse off and get back to work, the answers are clearer.

The problems that felt impossible? Smaller.
The decisions I was overthinking? Obvious.

I used to think grinding harder was the answer to everything.

Sometimes the best thing you can do for your business is step away from it.

What's your version of this? The thing that clears your head and makes you sharper? Curious what works for others.

Your audience only asks one thing of you…

Participation.

They say they hate ads.

They say they hate the algorithms.

But when they want what you have to offer?

They're happy when you appear.

Don't listen to what they say they want.

Listen (and market) to what their actions and life events say they need.

"What should I spend my marketing budget on?"
Most owners know they need to show up. 
They just don't know the smart way.

I ask two questions:

#1: Do you need money now or later?
Money later = You're doing well, want to scale. Build brand & reputation first. Organic optimization, SEO, AI optimization. These compound.

Money now = You need an immediate return. Run ads. Money out = money in. Bigger spend, bigger payoff.

#2: How much?
Here's where math saves you: "What's your profit margin on your top service? How many new clients can you service monthly?"

I worked with a general contractor charging $15K per bathroom remodel. Five jobs/month at $2,500/month in my services? That's a steal. ROI is obvious.

So here's what I'm curious about: 
Which one are you—money now or money later? 
More importantly, which one should you actually be?

We have ~25 working days left in 2025.
And your business is going to suffer.

Thanksgiving. Black Friday. Christmas. New Year's.

And right now, one of two things is happening:
1. You're letting the year run out.
Thinking: "I'll restart in January when I'm recharged."
2. Or you're scrambling.
Trying to make magic happen before December 31st.
Either to hit your numbers or justify next year's marketing budget.

Here's the reality:
You can't create 6 months of SEO momentum in 25 days.
You can't significantly fix your AI search visibility by Christmas.
You can't build authority by New Year's Eve.

But you CAN make strategic moves that set you up for Q1.

Here's what actually works right now:

Option 1: Hire now. Don't expect magic.
If you hire an agency or consultant today, you're not getting results by January 1st.

That's not how organic optimization works.
Google takes time.
ChatGPT takes consistency.
AI search rewards sustained effort.

But if you hire NOW, you get:
Strategy built in December
Execution starting in January
Momentum by March
Results by Q2

You're not buying holiday miracles.
You're buying a Q1 head start.

Option 2: Pay for consulting clarity.
If you're not ready to hire, get strategic direction.

Pay someone to answer:
Do you need SEO, AIO, or GEO?
Should you be on TikTok, LinkedIn, or X?
Where is your marketing budget best spent?
The easy answer: Where is your ideal customer hanging out?

But most businesses guess rather than seek clarity.

Spend $500-1,000 on consulting now.
Get a roadmap for Q1.
Stop wasting budget on platforms that don't matter.

Here's what NOT to do:
Don't expect an agency to deliver results in 3 weeks.
Don't blow your entire Q4 budget on paid ads hoping for a miracle 
(well, if you are failing, hyperfocus those ads - I can consult on that)
Don't start a massive project on December 20th that dies in January.

Make strategic moves:
Hire for Q1 execution (not holiday miracles)
Get consulting clarity (so you're not guessing in January)
Plan your Q1 campaigns now (so you hit the ground running)

Most businesses will coast through December.
Then panic in January wondering why they're behind.

You have 25 working days.

Use them strategically.

Not to create magic.

To set up momentum.

What's your plan for Q1? Are you hiring now or scrambling in January?

PS - If you want to meet with me about how to show up in Google, ChatGPT, AI overviews, etc - DM me. 

I have consulting hours specifically set aside to get you set up in 2026.

Most businesses coast in December. Then panic in January. Don't be most.

I spent the weekend with a close friend who owns several multifamily properties in the town I live in, and my brain is full. 

We talked about everything...selling, buying, what the rental market looks like right now, and my favorite, marketing rentals. 

One thing he said stuck with me:
"I can afford to buy a property right now, but I am not going to. It doesn't make sense." 

Which, I have heard him say before - "It has to make sense." 

Sounds obvious. But it's not.

He broke down that "makes sense" encompasses:
- Are we at the peak in price?
- Is the property just appealing because it is in the town? Or is actually in a good spot? 
- Did they overdevelop and we are going to see a drop?
- Are they going to change the street parking (big issue by me)?
...and a ton of other questions. 

Ok, now, let me spin this on you because you know I am just making a metaphor....

Here's why this matters for marketing:
SEO and AI optimization specialists fall into the same trap.

We get excited about ranking for keywords like "how much is rent in [city]" because the search volume looks great.

But that's top-of-funnel. Informational. Tire-kickers.
If that's all you're ranking for, you're missing bottom-of-funnel—the searches with actual intent. The ones that convert.

Before chasing any strategy, ask: 
Does this actually make sense for ROI?

Not every opportunity is worth pursuing. Even if it looks good on paper.

Does anyone else have sound advice that seems obvious?
I would love some tips from property investors because I know they have learned some lessons.

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