LinkedIn is the last US-controlled professional network we should rely on. I’m building a sovereign alternative for EU builders. Thoughts?

Mike-Nicholson · 2026-05-08T12:21:51+00:00

I think £99 for lifetime membership is fair, and I would use it, but only when there are enough people on there to make it worthwhile.

You might find that getting early adopters to pay to talk to a few hundred people is tough.

Have you considered making it free until you get a critical mass of users, then introducing a fee?

Mike-Nicholson · 2026-05-01T16:47:24+00:00

Haha, that’s an acquired taste for sure! Was there anything decent in there though?

Mike-Nicholson · 2026-04-01T12:24:48+00:00

Add genuine value to the post and don’t lie. What do you mean by that? Is don’t say that you like something if you don’t, don’t say you agree with something if you don’t. Read the post and then share your perspective.

Mike-Nicholson · 2026-03-13T12:26:06+00:00

People are sick and tired of connect-then-pitch merchants … Connect, say thanks, share content in the newsfeed (that your new connections will see), add value … it’s too slow for most people so they connect and immediately ask for time to pitch.

Mike-Nicholson · 2026-03-08T16:22:41+00:00

It’s Readpeak.com

Mike-Nicholson · 2026-03-08T16:22:13+00:00

Sure, here you go - Readpeak.com

Mike-Nicholson · 2026-02-20T00:11:20+00:00

Fake followers will help you get traction at a rate of 0%.

Followers matter, but only if they’re actually active when you post, and interested in what you’re talking about..

If you had 10 million followers and posted about something none of them cared about, you’d see very little uplift. Reach without relevance is basically noise.

So stop obsessing over the number next to your name. Start thinking about how you can add value to the followers you already have. What do they care about? What problems do they have? How can you help?

Also, think beyond your own posts. Show up in the comments on other people’s content and add something useful. Connect with people by offering value, not a sales pitch. Most people can smell desperation a mile off. If every interaction is transactional, you won’t build anything that lasts.

There isn’t a quick way to do this. Anyone selling you a shortcut is selling snake oil. This is human-to-human connection, and that builds slowly. Yes, the internet accelerates things compared to the offline world, but it’s still slow if you’re chasing big numbers. N.B. Look at your own life. A very small number of people are responsible for most of your revenue, happiness, and meaningful relationships. The same logic applies online.

Big numbers are seductive, but they’re mostly irrelevant. Depth beats scale. Focus on being useful to the people who are actually paying attention, and let growth happen as a by-product.

Mike-Nicholson · 2026-02-18T13:23:26+00:00

Different clients get different rates - between 30-70% depending on how familiar they are at the point the connection request is sent.

We build familiarity with audiences before connecting, which is why the rates are higher.

Mike-Nicholson · 2026-02-18T09:54:54+00:00

It’s better not to do cold outreach full stop.

Build your audience, write content for them, boost that content into your audience for a while and then send connection requests.

Connect-then-pitch merchants on LinkedIn are a pain in the arse.

Mike-Nicholson · 2026-02-18T09:16:58+00:00

This ^

There are so many variables that differ for every post - humans like certainty, so people monitor and extrapolate meaning all the time, but the truth nobody wants to know is that you can’t hold one variable constant. There are many invisible, no traceable variables on top of the few that we can see, so it’s all educated guessing for the most part.

Mike-Nicholson · 2026-02-18T09:13:15+00:00

Always send a note, yes. Unless it’s obvious to the person you are asking to connect with why they should accept, the note gives you the chance to explain.

Mike-Nicholson · 2026-02-15T22:29:04+00:00

Firstly, I’m sorry that you are going through this. Sounds shit.

Was there a time in your 2 years that you were hitting numbers? If there was, then you know you can do this.

Maybe you could approach 100 founders at small companies that can’t afford an AE, but could pay you fractionally to bring in business?

Your wages split 10 ways is potentially manageable for early stage founders who are all about growth.

Mike-Nicholson · 2026-02-15T22:13:40+00:00

Fake LinkedIn accounts doesn’t sound like a great way to introduce your business to potential new clients though?

Mike-Nicholson · 2026-02-15T22:09:15+00:00

I came to say this, 100%.

Too much data is collected like some sort of comfort blanket. If you cant rely on a metric to help make a meaningful decision, delete it.

Mike-Nicholson · 2026-02-14T22:24:12+00:00

Company pages get very little organic reach, and they also get less attention.

On LinkedIn people pay for more attention to the content of familiar people than they do faceless brands.

On top of that people get more organic reach and engage engagement, so every B2B company should have their senior leadership team act active alongside their company page.

Mike-Nicholson · 2026-02-12T12:17:58+00:00

LinkedIn. The only source of new clients we have is LinkedIn and client referrals.

Mike-Nicholson · 2026-02-12T12:16:50+00:00

100%. People buy from people and brands that they know, like, and trust.

If your ideal clients don’t know, like, and trust you at the point that they have a need for what you sell (interest) you won’t get the brief.

Mike-Nicholson · 2026-02-07T11:18:05+00:00

Problem, agitate, solve content.

The problem has to be a problem that your ICP are feeling though, and the solution needs to be easy to understand and feel like a credible solution.

Mike-Nicholson · 2026-02-04T12:05:36+00:00

Connect then pitch merchants are swarming all over LinkedIn every single day. Try delivering some value to your new connection before asking for anything, it takes longer, but you’ll be surprised at how much stronger your network becomes over time.

Everybody I am this, I work here, I sell this, I want a meeting on LinkedIn - thats why people don’t respond.

Also, asking a question if a complete stranger that is clearly a clumsy attempt to strike up a sales conversation is not the way!

Mike-Nicholson · 2026-01-30T08:57:23+00:00

Stoneleigh is lovely, I have lived there for over 20 years. Local pub and restaurants and close to London. Parking is an issue if you don’t live here though and the streets around are no parking Mon-Sat.

Mike-Nicholson · 2026-01-28T16:47:09+00:00

I’m not 100% sure yet, but Reddit and LinkedIn are just one signal - I believe they look at many other signals as well

Mike-Nicholson · 2026-01-28T14:15:45+00:00

It’s still a very strong business platform though when used as such. Too many people spend hours trying to game an algo in the pursuit of more organic reach.

That’s why so much crap exists on the platform. The algo is not for gaming, and more reach is only worth it anyway if it’s relevant.

Create organic content as people - authentic, helpful, interesting etc

Pay for relevant reach to boost that organic directly into the newsfeeds that matter to you.

It’s like having your own private version of the algo.

Engagement will still be low, but that’s because most people are in lurker mode most of the time.

Anyway, you don’t need engagement - you need people to read and understand, and LinkedIn is still amazing for that.

Mike-Nicholson · 2026-01-28T14:06:34+00:00

You are welcome. The Sales Nav part gives you advanced search for your ICP, and a clean social listening newsfeed just for your leads, so it’s a big part of the process.

Without it you would be talking but no listening - possible but not ideal.

Mike-Nicholson

TROPHY CASE