How to turn your Substack and LinkedIn into authority engines
Stop chasing virality. Start creating content that gets you clients.
Most of what’s sold as “content strategy” is just the same race for attention: more posts, more views, more viral stunts. It’s exhausting, and it rarely gets you what you actually want: clients, credibility, or real recognition.
If you want to build a reputation that outlasts trends, you need a different approach. One that works for the long game: publishing work that attracts the right people, gets picked up by search, and makes others want to reference you.
Here’s how to create content that actually grows your audience and your authority, without burning out or diluting your voice.
1. Authority starts with substance, not stunts
No one hires you because you went viral. They hire you because your work is cited, referenced, and recommended by others. Google and the press look for signals that you have substance: original ideas, strong opinions, clear expertise.
Share your thinking, not just your news.
Publish frameworks, how-tos, case studies, and stories that show your approach.
Repeat your core ideas until they stick.
Evergreen pieces will get linked, saved, and found again and again. But don’t ignore newsy, in-the-moment takes: they show you’re paying attention and bring in fresh traffic. Use both.
2. Turn every post into something bigger
Repurposing is a strategy, not a shortcut. One post can become a series, a guide, a resource, or a pitch. Your newsletter can be reworked as a LinkedIn post, quoted in an interview, or referenced in a client proposal. A single idea can travel farther than you think, if you let it.
When you publish on Substack, ask: can this become a standalone article, a carousel, or a downloadable PDF?
Cross-post highlights on LinkedIn, tagging anyone mentioned.
Save your best ideas as topics for potential podcasts interviews and features.
We’re not doing more, we’re making every idea count.
3. Get cited: make your content “findable”
Authority is built in public, but also behind the scenes. If you want press citations, podcast requests, or Google to notice you, your work needs to be easy to find, quote, and link.
Use descriptive headlines. Make your main points skimmable.
Add a short “about you” and your preferred contact or booking link to every key post.
If you reference research or a framework, give it a name (yours).
Mention your area of focus and city, so you get surfaced in relevant searches.
Think of each post as both a calling card and a resource for the next opportunity.
4. Create for humans, distribute for algorithms
Yes, write for people first. But don’t ignore distribution. Share new articles directly with your email list. Turn longer pieces into LinkedIn posts with a strong opening. Update your website with links to your most liked or shared work. If someone tags you or mentions your work, thank them, comment, and share it again.
And remember: engagement isn’t just a vanity metric. Every comment, share, or link boosts your authority in the eyes of both people and platforms.
5. How I do it (and how you can, too)
My process is simple:
Every piece starts as a note in my phone.
If it resonates, it becomes a newsletter draft.
Once published, I pull highlights for LinkedIn and sometimes offer groups on my network to teach a masterclass expanding on the topic.
I watch which pieces get referenced, saved, or shared, and then build on those.
Once a quarter, I update my “top” posts and make sure my contact details are easy to find.
You don’t need a team, just a system. The point isn’t to be everywhere, it’s to be in the right places, with the right ideas, at the right time.
The bottom line
Viral moments fade. But content that helps, teaches, and clarifies keeps working for you: building authority, drawing clients, and earning recognition.
You don’t need to shout; you just need to show up with real value, consistently.
Want the framework?
🔐 Own Your Presence: The Visibility Blueprint
This practical blueprint is designed for multi-passionate professionals, creatives, and anyone tired of visibility advice that doesn’t fit. Download it now.
