🧑‍🍳 What does it take to build a good reputation online?

Do you ever open LinkedIn, drown in a sea of expert advice, and immediately feel like throwing your laptop out the window?

Before I met today’s guest, I would’ve never asked you that, assuming it was my Gen Z reaction to the platform.

This chef started by serving expert content, realized it didn’t resonate (if only most people on LinkedIn had the same realization 🥲), threw it out the window, and introduced a strategy so refreshing it had everyone, including myself, completely under its spell.

I’ll let the data do the talking.

Notice how something changed between October and November 2023 which led to increased and consistent engagement?

Meet Renee Lynn Frojo. If you've ever struggled to craft compelling stories that position you as the obvious choice for your future customers, you’re going to love Renee’s signature storytelling framework that she shares with us today.

🎁 I’m giving away a 1:1 coaching session with Renee (worth $150) to anyone who reads this recipe and votes for her in two weeks when we pick the winning chef.

Get ready to discover:

🥣 How Renee completely transformed her LinkedIn strategy after a failed first attempt

🥣 Why positioning yourself as an expert doesn’t work

🥣 The exact moment she realized teaching wasn't enough — and a simple shift that led to ~1,000 new followers per month and more inbound opportunities to help others craft a LinkedIn strategy focused on building a good reputation

— Linda

Before we dig in, let's sample some appetizers:

🧲 I’ve always believed that the best way to increase your luck surface area is by pulling people into your orbit. Alice Lemee recently published a framework with examples and prompts to help you become magnetic.

🌞 If you’ve been trying to identify work that truly lights you up, Cissy Hu’s thoughtful piece about listening to our intuition and honoring what we naturally gravitate towards when no one is watching might help.

In October 2023, I decided to build an audience on LinkedIn from scratch.

The process I initially used was heavily focused on teaching — sharing tips, frameworks, and case studies on brand storytelling.

I had experience building audiences on other platforms but this was new territory and I didn’t have the patience to experiment and figure out what worked for me. So I started by copying what seemed to work for others.

The common model I saw was “experts experting” — teaching everything they knew. I thought, “Okay, I’ll do the same and teach brand storytelling.”

After a month, I noticed that people weren’t really engaging with my content. The posts felt boring, inauthentic, and failed to engage.

I was all "Here's a storytelling framework that will land you leads" or "Here’s something you can learn from Steve Jobs on storytelling." Naturally, I got crickets. Because you know who else can teach you about storytelling? Anyone who paid $99 for a Udemy course or read an article about it on the internet.

You don't need to have all the answers. In an attempt to build authority and reputation, so many people with expertise feel compelled to go straight to sharing what they know — without sharing any of the struggles or questions they've had along the way.

I quickly realized that just teaching brand storytelling wasn’t helping me connect or differentiate myself. Everything felt flat like I was blending in rather than standing out.

I’ve always been someone who needs to feel an immediate sense of progress so after a month without results, I was ready to give up.

But I knew there was more to explore so I came back with a different mindset.

As my business was in a state of exploration, I was experimenting to figure out how to carve a unique space on LinkedIn. I tried different types of narratives but found the most success when I began writing stories that felt genuine and mirrored my own journey.

The number one reason for resonance is when your content feels authentic. But authenticity isn't about perfection — it's about honesty. And being honest requires vulnerability. The key is to share value through lived experiences, not just the things you know.

Storytelling is what I know best so I leaned into it.

That shift from teaching to storytelling wasn’t just a change in content — it was a change in how I showed up.

I shared my experiences, the ups and downs, and real-world examples.

Instead of trying to be an expert, I became more of a relatable guide, inviting people into my world rather than instructing them from a distance.

Here’s my signature framework for telling stories that build a good reputation:

Perform Audience Research

My LinkedIn journey began with a common mistake - mimicking the "experts experting" model rather than developing my own voice to write stories that resonate. That required deeply understanding my audience. My content started resonating when I paid more attention to:

• Identifying key pain points of people I wanted to have an impact on with my stories

• Paying attention to the questions they were asking in comments

• Noticing which topics got them fired up

Write a Story and Create Pathways for Deeper Connection

As you already know, the breakthrough came when I stopped teaching and started crafting stories that highlighted relatable experiences. This meant:

• Opening up about real challenges my audience faces

• Sharing narratives they could see themselves in

• Creating content that welcomes rather than lectures

Share Follow Up Content

For those who engage with my Linkedin posts, I tend to follow up with dedicated newsletter posts and drip automations to provide relevant content and share subtle promotions.

Build a Community

I’ve built a highly engaged community around my content by including questions and prompts in most posts to invite my readers to have meaningful conversations and engage with my brand regularly. This has led to steady growth, averaging 1,000 new and engaged followers each month.

Since I made the switch to a storytelling-led approach, people have been reaching out to me, sharing their own experiences and engaging on a deeper level, which has been the most fulfilling part. It’s transformed my audience from passive followers into an active and invested community.

In the past nine months, I've told stories about my kids, my business, my childhood, my new cat — anything that shows who I am and what I'm about as it relates to my personal brand. Sometimes I tie those stories into a lesson about storytelling. At other times, I don’t. As long as those stories create an emotional connection — sometimes funny, sometimes sentimental — I know the post will perform well and give my ideal client another little reason to choose me over someone else.

This shift has made my content feel more authentic and aligned with my voice. I’ve received feedback from followers who say they appreciate the openness and honesty in my posts.

They feel like they know me better which has led to stronger relationships and more trust. This, in turn, has driven more inquiries, collaborations, and even sales — creating a sustainable business model from my content.

Next week, we’ll see a different approach towards building an audience from Adriana Tica.

In the meantime, I’d love to know 👇