📘 5-3-1: Anti-viral, unsafe content, Niall Ratcliffe

Welcome to the 11th issue of Content Playbook by Kleo.

This week you’ll get:

This newsletter is brought to you by Kleo, the #1 AI personal brand tool.

Let’s dive in.

I bet you’re no stranger to Harsh Truths on LinkedIn.

But what about Boring Truths?

Social media is full of: Hacks. Secrets. And things THEY don’t want you to know...

But often, these claims are over-inflated or false. As a result, people have grown sceptical.

So when Daniel opens with: “The following advice is boring” he breaks this pattern. This signals a rare honesty that softens scepticism and lowers the reader’s guard.

Here’s a template to get you started:

The following advice is boring.

But it [generates impressive result for me] every [time period].

If you really want to [achieve desired outcome], focus on what I call the '[named framework].'

Work out what you need to do every single [time period] to experience [result 1] and [result 2].

Depending on the [context], every [time period] we do [example action 1], [example action 2], etc.

[Briefly explain how to apply framework].

Because here's the thing...

When you're [at specific stage], it's all about [activity]. And it's [positive emotion] because you're [experiencing positive thing].

But at some point, you [engage in beneficial action].

So, you've got to embrace a little bit of [reframed negative feeling].

All it means is that [high-level positive outcome] and you have a [named framework] that is guaranteed to [drive specific desirable outcome] as long as you want it to.

[Question for audience or call to action].

There’s nothing special about Heather’s post format: 

“I did an impressive thing. Here are 5 lessons I learnt...”

Her lessons aren’t special either: 

But what makes this post impactful (and authority-building) is how Heather arrived at each of these lessons. The actions she took, the mistakes she made, the commentary she gives, the opinions and stories she shares. 

That’s where the real value lies.

Here’s a template to get you started:

How I built a [specific achievement] in [timeframe].
(And [X] lessons I learnt along the way)

1. [Lesson header]

[Personal anecdote / challenges overcome / commentary / observations / mistakes you made / advice for reader].

2. [Lesson header]

[Personal anecdote / challenges overcome / commentary / observations / mistakes you made / advice for reader].

3. [Lesson header]

[Personal anecdote / challenges overcome / commentary / observations / mistakes you made / advice for reader].

[Question for audience or call to action].

[Image that matches the post]

The most common objection your reader has is: 

“Why should I listen to you?”

Online, you’re competing for attention. If you fail to prove why you’re qualified to speak on a topic, your content goes unread.

While this post promotes an event, Michel leads with social proof. This immediately establishes his credibility for the subject at hand.

Here’s a template to get you started:

I started [activity] to get to [modest original goal].
Fast forward [timeframe], it got me to [dramatically larger result].

Most [alternatives to your method] are:
- [problem 1]
- [problem 2]
- [problem 3]

But for me... [your method] has been the gift that keeps on giving.

Yes, even with:
- [Common objection 1]
- [Common objection 2]
- [Common objection 3]

It still [delivers impressive ongoing result] every month.

For [surprisingly low cost or effort].

And it accounts for [specific percentage] of our [key business metric].

Obviously, there's a method to his madness.

And this [day], on the [date]
At [time]:

I'm [going to OR teaming up with partner/platform] to share everything I know - LIVE.

What you can expect to learn:
- [Specific outcome 1]
- [Specific outcome 2]
- [Specific outcome 3]
- [Specific outcome 4]

...and we'll set enough time for an extended Q&A, if there are other things you wish to know.

Interested in joining?
Register right here: [link]

P.S. [Engagement question]?

[Question for audience or call to action].

[Image that matches the post]

People think they have to be politically correct and all buttoned-up on LinkedIn. 

But bland, people-pleasing content gets ignored. If you sit on the fence and fail to pick a side, then good luck! Because you’re not just competing with hot people and viral memes on LinkedIn. 

You’re also competing with the 27 other tabs your reader has open. Their kid screaming in the room next door. And their phone buzzing on the table next to them.

So don’t be afraid to:

Be bold. Show conviction. Challenge assumptions.

Here’s a template to get you started:

[Bold universal claim about what's possible or what's true].

That's the uncomfortable truth most people never figure out.

[Personal admission of the mistake or false belief you held for years]. [What that looked like in practice, what you were waiting for or avoiding].

[The moment that revealed nothing happened / nobody cared / the fear was unfounded].

But [surprising and beneficial thing you noticed].

[Describe the specific fears or obstacles you anticipated - name 2-4 concretely].

[Single-line deflation: None of that happened / It never came / The response was silence].

[Give each feared obstacle a specific, mundane reason it never materialised].

I’ve watched this play out with [clients / people I coach / groups I’ve observed]. [Explain the pattern you observed, describe the behaviour - eg. the over-preparing, the polishing, the delay].

[Describe what actually happens when they finally take beneficial action].

[Name the realisation that hits. What did the fear actually cost them, and what was it protecting them from?]

[Reframe the broader system or environment - what’s actually going on?]

But if you decide to [take specific action]? If you decide to [take the hard route]? [Summarise what will actually happen].

[Reinforce with a second personal proof point – a specific decision you made, the judgment you expected, and the reality of what followed].

The people who [achieve desirable outcome] aren’t [positive trait] than everyone else. They just figured out that [sum up key realisation].

You don't need [perceived requisite 1]. You don't need [perceived requisite 2]. You don't need [perceived requisite 3].

You just need to start [key next action(s)].

[Question for audience or call to action].

[Relatable text image to act as a ‘billboard’ for your post]

1. Nikolett opens with a relatable pain point. She also summarizes what she does and who it’s for.

2. Next, she walks prospects through a high-level step-by-step of her onboarding process.

3. She then shares some client results, that tie up the case study and show proof of concept.

4. Lastly, she offers “a mini content review” to foster engagement and generate leads.

Here’s a template to get you started:

When I [do service] for [client type], here's how I make sure [I achieve desirable outcome].

A [client type - e.g. “founder”] reached out to me [time period ago] because they'd been [doing the thing] for [timeframe], had [positive quality], but [state problem] - and couldn't figure out why.

[Their output/set-up] looked fine, but it wasn't actually doing anything for [their goal].

So I walked them through my process, and it starts way before I [do the obvious part of the service]:

1. [Explain step 1 - the key actions and give a brief explanation as to why they’re important].

2. [Explain step 2 - the key actions and give a brief explanation as to why they’re important].

3. [Explain step 3 - the key actions and give a brief explanation as to why they’re important].

Within [short timeframe], [client] had [specific, concrete result] - no [effort-intensive alternative], no [cost-intensive alternative].

[One-sentence philosophy about what the service should do at its best].

If [you have the symptom described in the opening], that's exactly the gap I fill.

[Question for audience or call to action].

[Image that matches the post]

Intelligent people pride themselves on having high standards.

But when high standards dramatically reduce output, you have a problem. Because being prolific and becoming great, walk hand in hand. 

At some point, you have to silence your inner Quality Controller and ship your work. 

Um-ing and err-ing and spending hours chasing “perfect” is just a form of procrastination. When you dig a little deeper, you realise it’s nothing more than a fear of being judged. Which is something you have no control over. People will judge you either way. That’s life.

So let go of unrealistic expectations. 

Accept when “good is good enough.” Set a timer or deadline to make sure work gets finished. Then ship your work, reflect on what did and didn’t work, and keep the show moving.

Most people get discouraged when they have bad ideas. Not Ed Sheeran.

Ed admits his first songs were “terrible.” But the more he wrote, the better his songs became.

Here’s Ed with some of the best creative advice you’ll ever hear:

“When you switch a dirty tap on, it’s gunna flow sh*t water out... then clean water will start flowing.”

You see this idea everywhere:

So embrace your bad ideas. Get them out of your system. Not only does this make space for good ideas to flow, but it also gives you something to improve.

It's been said for millennia:

Most paintings are made up of the same colours, shapes, and forms.

Most blockbuster films follow the same core storytelling structures.

Most pop music consists of the same 4 chords.

Everything you see, hear, and read online is a remix of ideas that have come before. So if you ever find yourself stuck for ideas:

To be clear, this is NOT about plagiarising. It’s about marrying your unique perspective and context with proven hooks and post structures.

Btw - you can speedrun this process with Kleo: Start turning ideas into fully-fledged LinkedIn posts that sound like you in minutes (not hours).

Niall Ratcliffe and his brother started their LinkedIn agency with one goal: Hit £100K in year one. 

They did it in 11 days. 

3 years later, he’s running the UK's #1 LinkedIn agency and just won Prolific North’s “Young Entrepreneur Of The Year” award.

Here’s how fast things moved:

"LinkedIn completely changed our business and my life."

In the 8th episode of Creator Spotlight, our host Lara Acosta sits down with Niall to unpack why you don’t need to go viral (to make 7-figures), how to use intent data to generate pipeline, and more.

(Btw - We only scratch the surface below. Catch the full 34-min episode on YouTube)

On the surface, LinkedIn looks like any other social media platform - with likes, comments, reposts, etc. But connections are what set it apart. No other platform lets you hand-pick your audience.

Most creators over-rely on the algo to find their audience. Niall and Lara both use Sales Navigator to build their networks. Search for the exact people you want reading your content, and send them a connection request. This speeds up audience-building.

There are 65M decision makers and 10M C-suite execs on LinkedIn. As Niall explains, the value isn’t in “going viral” or maximizing impressions. His recent resource launch got 75 likes and generated 200+ leads. 

The platform was never built for reach. It was built for access.

Niall follows up on intent data. Every like on a relevant post is a hand raised. 

Most creators spend almost all their energy on the writing. Niall's team spends Monday on ideas alone (for clients). A strong idea with average copy can still fly. Nail the idea first.

Btw, Kleo is built for exactly this - it structures your ideas using the frameworks top 0.1% creators use, so the writing becomes the easy part.

Thank you, Niall!

And thanks for reading. Until next week!

Did you miss it? I posted 8 Hilarious Posts on LinkedIn earlier this week +4 other insightful posts.

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BTW – Ever struggle to ideate and write consistently on LinkedIn? 

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