The LinkedIn post ideas that actually bring in marketing clients are the ones that show your face, your work, and your proof: an intro post, a public teardown, a milestone announcement, social proof, a detailed case study, a personal story, a strong opinion backed by data, and a post about your local community. Those are the eight post types Andy Milligan traced to real leads after posting on LinkedIn almost every weekday since February 1, 2024.
Andy runs MMG Design, a Columbus studio that brought in $26,000 in the month before he recorded this video. He pulled his full LinkedIn post history, compared it with where his customers actually came from, and named the eight formats that produced leads. This article breaks down each one, with Andy's real examples and a way to adapt it to your own niche.
If your bigger goal is how to get clients on LinkedIn, start with the free post library on that page, which links to every live example below.
"People, especially on LinkedIn, they buy who they trust and know." Andy Milligan
Why these LinkedIn post ideas work for marketers
LinkedIn is where your buyers already spend professional time. The platform reports more than 1 billion members in more than 200 countries and territories. Being there is not the advantage. Showing up with something useful is.
Buyers reward useful content. According to the 2024 Edelman-LinkedIn B2B Thought Leadership Impact Report, as summarized by LinkedIn, 73% of decision-makers say an organization's thought leadership is a more trustworthy basis for judging its capabilities than its marketing materials. The same research found that 9 out of 10 decision-makers and C-suite executives are more receptive to outreach from companies that consistently produce high-quality thought leadership.
That second number matters most for freelancers and small agencies. Your posts are not the sale. They are what makes your next message welcome. Every post type below is designed to create either trust, a conversation, or both.
The 8 LinkedIn post ideas that brought Andy clients
Each section includes the timestamp from the video at the top of this page, so you can jump to Andy's walkthrough of the live post.
1. The intro post (0:57)
The intro post tells people who you are and what you do, with your face attached. Andy's friend Jay calls it a "selfie reset." When you are stuck on what to post, post a photo of yourself and explain what you do and who you help. Bonus points for a short talking-head video.
Andy's own intro post took off about two years ago, at a time when LinkedIn was pushing video. Video is still growing there: LinkedIn reports that video viewing on the platform is up 36% year over year.
How to adapt it: Record 60 seconds on who you serve, the problem you solve, and one result you are proud of. Repeat it every few months, because your network keeps growing.
2. Pitch in public (1:34)
A pitch in public is a free, useful teardown of a real company's marketing, posted where everyone can learn from it. Andy broke down the website of Path Robotics, a Columbus company. The post earned 350,000 impressions.
Path Robotics did not become a client. Its marketing manager did reach out, came on Andy's podcast, and later referred business to him. Andy turned the format into a weekly series of website breakdowns.
How to adapt it: You do not need to be a web designer. A LinkedIn strategist can audit a profile, and an email marketer can audit a funnel.
Pick a company your ideal client would recognize, lead with value, and keep the critique fair. Andy has run this format several times with mixed results, so treat it as a series, not a one-off.
3. The announcement (2:27)
The announcement celebrates a milestone. Andy posts one every time his podcast passes another 1,000 Spotify downloads: a screenshot, a short story about what happened, and some real emotion.
The point is not the milestone. It is that announcements make it easy for people to say congratulations, and every comment is a conversation you can continue. "Whenever you have a meaningful amount of engagement on your post, these are people that you can reach out to one-to-one," Andy says.
How to adapt it: Announce client launches, a new hire, a podcast episode count, a follower milestone, or a certification. Then reply to every comment and message the people you would like to know better.
4. Social proof (3:13)
"Social proof is the best asset that you have in your business if you're looking to get more clients," Andy says. A social proof post shares a client's words about your work.
Most marketers have more proof than they think. Search your email, your LinkedIn messages, and the comments on your posts, and you will usually find several kind words you can turn into testimonials with permission. Andy walks through that search in his guide to client testimonials.
If you are new and have no testimonials, Andy suggests doing a small piece of free work, then asking to feature it: "Hey, I would love to feature our work together on my LinkedIn profile. Can I do that for you?"
5. The detailed case study (4:03)
A detailed case study goes deep on one project: the problem, your thinking, the work, and the result. Andy publishes one after every website launch, tags the tools his team used, and opens with a hook: "Not holding anything back here. I'm oversharing on social again. Here goes."
One of those launch posts earned 22 comments and 45 engagements. Andy sees everyone who engages with client-facing work as a prospect, a lead, or a supporter, and all of them are people you can reach out to.
How to adapt it: After every project, write the case study while the details are fresh. Show the before, the decisions you made and why, and a specific outcome the client agreed you can share.
6. The personal business transformation (4:50)
This post is the storytelling version of the intro post. Share who you are, what you do, and the failures, lessons, and pivots behind it. Admitting something that went wrong makes you human and creates connection.
Andy's example earned 42 reactions. "Not crazy," he says, but it started conversations. That fits his view that buyers on LinkedIn "buy who they trust and know," especially for high-ticket B2B purchases with long sales cycles.
How to adapt it: Write about a real mistake from the last quarter and what you changed because of it. Specific beats polished.
7. The number one rule (5:34)
This post stakes a claim. Use it when you hold a strong opinion. "The algorithm rewards content that is slightly controversial," Andy says, though that is his read from his own posts rather than a published LinkedIn rule.
His version was a contrarian take from a web designer: "only noobs build beautiful websites." Then he backed it up with data. The opinion earns attention, and the evidence shows expertise.
How to adapt it: Pick a belief your niche gets wrong, say it plainly in the first line, and spend the rest of the post proving it with numbers or examples. If you cannot back it up, do not post it.
8. The local effect (6:06)
This post type led directly to a client. Andy went to a Columbus happy hour for marketers hosted with AMA Columbus. The speaker that night later became a client, after Andy connected with them, reached out afterward, and posted about the event, tagging everyone who attended.
Andy is clear that the follow-up made the difference, not the event alone. The post did well, with plenty of comments and reposts, and it showed that he is a contributing member of his community.
How to adapt it: After every in-person event, connect with the people you met, post a short recap that tags them, and send a personal follow-up within a day or two.
LinkedIn profile tips: treat your profile like a landing page (6:49)
Every post sends people to your profile, so it has to convert. Andy's advice is to picture your profile as a landing page and make it easy to consume:
- Who you serve: name the customers you work with in your headline and About section.
- The tools you use: list the platforms buyers search for.
- The outcomes you deliver: lead with results, not job duties.
If a stranger cannot tell what you do and who you do it for within a few seconds, your posts are sending traffic to a dead end.
Building a LinkedIn content strategy from these 8 posts
Andy has posted on LinkedIn nearly every weekday since February 2024. You do not need eight new ideas a week. You need a rotation. One simple way to use these post types:
- Every month: one intro or personal transformation post, so new followers learn who you are.
- Every week: one value post, either a pitch in public or a number one rule.
- After every project: a detailed case study and, once you have permission, a social proof post.
- After every milestone or event: an announcement or a local effect post.
This is a starting framework, not a formula. Andy found his eight types by checking his own posts against where his customers actually came from, and you should do the same with yours after a few months.
Turning engagement into client conversations
Posts create attention. Conversations create clients. Andy's habit is to treat every comment, reaction, and repost as the start of a possible one-to-one conversation, especially on announcements and case studies.
That is where posting connects to direct LinkedIn outreach, which Andy demonstrates live in a separate session. If you are just starting out, pair these posts with his playbook on how to find freelance clients.
LinkedIn personal branding is stronger with a local network
The most direct client in Andy's list came from the local effect post, and it started in a room in Columbus. LinkedIn personal branding works best when the people engaging with your posts are people you have actually met.
That is the idea behind the Columbus Marketing Organization. Columbus Marketing Organization is a peer community for marketers, freelancers, and service providers in Columbus, Ohio, founded by Andy Milligan. Members share leads, introductions, and job opportunities, including the weekly Columbus Marketing Jobs newsletter.
Members also share LinkedIn experiments like the ones in this article. You can meet them at an upcoming Columbus marketing event.
Start with one post this week
These LinkedIn post ideas work because each one gives people a reason to trust you or a reason to talk to you. Start with the intro post this week, add a case study after your next project, and keep a running list of everyone who engages so you can follow up.
Want feedback on your posts from people doing the same work? Join the Columbus Marketing Organization community on Skool, or browse more Columbus marketing playbooks.
Social proof is the best asset that you have in your business if you're looking to get more clients.
Frequently asked questions
What should I post on LinkedIn to get clients?
Post content that builds trust or starts conversations. Andy Milligan's eight lead-producing types are the intro post, a pitch in public, milestone announcements, social proof, detailed case studies, personal business stories, a strong opinion backed by data, and posts about local events where you tag the people you met.
How often should a marketer post on LinkedIn?
There is no single right number, but consistency matters more than any one post. Andy has posted almost every weekday since February 2024. If that is too much, rotate the eight post types weekly and add a case study or announcement after each project or milestone.
What is a pitch in public post on LinkedIn?
It is a free, useful teardown of a real company's marketing, shared publicly. Andy's website breakdown of Path Robotics earned 350,000 impressions. The company's marketing manager reached out, appeared on his podcast, and later referred business. Adapt it to your niche with profile, funnel, or email audits.
How do I optimize my LinkedIn profile for clients?
Treat your profile like a landing page. State who you serve, the tools you use, and the outcomes you deliver, and make it easy to scan. Your posts send people to your profile, so a stranger should understand what you do and who you help within a few seconds.
Does controversial content work on LinkedIn?
In Andy's experience, slightly controversial opinions get more reach, but only when you back them up. His take that only beginners build beautiful websites worked because he followed it with data. Pick a belief your niche gets wrong, state it clearly, and prove it with numbers or examples.
Read the video transcript
Kind: captions Language: en Hey there, my name is Andy. I own a marketing business that generated $26,000 last month right here in Columbus, Ohio. And this is my channel where I build in public and teach you everything that I'm learning in live time. Recently, I gave a presentation for a mastermind group that I'm in about what type of content has worked for me on LinkedIn and actually drove qualified leads. And I've been posting on LinkedIn all but a handful of weekdays since February 1st of 2024. I recently used a codec skill to go in and scrape all of my LinkedIn posts and give me the analytics and stuff like that. But because I have such a big data set and I have a pretty good idea of my own attribution to where our customers have come from, I've actually gone in and found the eight post types that have generated actual leads for my business and I want to share the links and the topics of them with you. I've gone in and named them and I've given you all the links to them. If you want the links to these posts directly so you can scan them, identify them further. Obviously, we're going to be breaking them down in this video. Go ahead and grab that in the first link. Totally free. So, the first post type is the intro post. Uh, I call this like planning a flag. Some people call this the selfie reset. This is a post that I made probably 2 years ago that really popped off and it was kind of back when LinkedIn was really pushing video on their platform. So, I kind of hit a wave there. But even regardless, just having some element of your face tied with what you do on LinkedIn is really good. Uh, and like my friend Jay calls it a selfie reset. Basically, if you are kind of struggling with what the post, you can always just post a selfie. Talk about who you are and what you do. And bonus points, you can do this in video yap style talking head and post that. Post type number two is called pitch in public. And I've actually done this several times to mix results, but essentially this was just a website breakdown that I did for a company in Columbus called Path Robotics. Now, they didn't actually end up becoming paid customers of ours, but as you can see, it got 350K impressions and the marketing manager of Path Robotics actually reached out to me and she ended up coming on the podcast, ended up referring us business, even if it wasn't this client directly. But it was really good and I made a whole series out of it. I did this every week basically just going through a website, explaining my thoughts upon it. And you don't have to be in web design to do this. You can be if you're like a LinkedIn strategist, you can do an audit of a profile. You can do an audit of someone's email funnel depending on what your niche is and the business that you're trying to get and lead with value. So that's pretty basically all I did got a lot of great engagement and it showed expertise. So that's post site number two. How we recommend trying something like that. Post type number three is the announcement. I do this every time I hit another 1,000 Spotify podcast downloads. Just a screenshot of the screen and tell what happened. Like a little celebratory post, add a little emotion. Be excited. And I post this, you know, like I said, every significant milestone. You can also do it when you hit a follower number, but basically it's just kind of I don't want to say engagement bait, but it causes people to give it makes it easy for people to say congratulations. And then anyone who comments, likes, gives a response on your post is then a conversation that you can start. Whenever you have a meaningful amount of engagement on your post, these are people that you can reach out to onetoone. And when you make it easy for your post to engage with, that's really what starts that process. So yeah, that is the announcement. Post type number four is social proof. Social proof is the best asset that you have in your business if you're looking to get more clients. Posted a video and I made a full playbook on this on the website a while back. It's something like 100K of social proof that you already have. But yeah, 100K of social proof. Look back through your emails, look back through your LinkedIn messages, your comments on your posts, and I guarantee you, you'll be able to find at least a few testimonials that you can make and add. So, even if you don't have a lot of customer testimonials in the beginning, do free work for people, attribute them, ask if you can share it, position it as a spotlight, like, "Hey, I would love to feature our work together on my LinkedIn profile. Can I do that for you?" This is the fastest way to earn trust and an industry honestly is where trust is at an all-time low. So, highly encourage a social proof post. Post type number five is the detailed case study. So, deep dive into a specific problem. Walk through the work, show your thinking, and share the results. Do this if you're a website designer. Do this after every time after you launch a project. If you get a customer win, showcase that and go deep, deep, deep into how you got the results that you did. This is just a no-brainer, guys. This post right here did fairly well. I did this after a website launch that we had with a client. I tagged all the tool names that we use and I kind of led with a little bit of a hook of engagement bait. Not holding anything back here. I'm oversharing on social again. Here goes. And yeah, got really good work. 22 comments, 45 engagements on a piece of directly client-f facing work, which are in my mind prospects and leads and supporters. All people that you can reach out to. Next post type is number six, personal business transformation. Kind of similar to number one, but this is where you really go storytelling mode. Obviously, you talk about who you are, what you do, failures, lessons, pivots, really trying to earn the trust of your followers by sharing something that may have gone wrong. Makes you human, creates connection. And people honestly, especially on LinkedIn, they buy who they trust and know. Especially when it comes to high ticket, you know, long sales cycles purchases like in B2B. This is so important. Look at this post right here. 42 reactions. Again, not crazy, but a moderate amount and just talk about all the things that you have done either whether it's on a weekly basis or the failures that you've made recently. And yeah, just a really good way to start conversations. Post type number six. I call this the number one rule. This is where you really play into the algorithm and you stake a claim. I would highly encourage you guys to use something like this when you have a strong opinion. And it's really good to play into the algorithm because honestly guys, the algorithm rewards content that is slightly controversial. I had a controversial take as a web designer that only noobs build beautiful websites. And then I went on to explain it with data. So not only are you hitting on the emotional piece of having a controversial take, you're also showing your expertise by actually validating what you said with data. And post type number eight is the local effect. This one directly led to a client. I went to a happy hour locally in Columbus with other marketers and the client actually ended up being the speaker at that event who I connected with afterward and tagged in this post and I guarantee you that would not have happened if I hadn't reached out proactively afterwards. So this is kind of a hol this is kind of a holistic lesson for you guys to always be following up keeping the people that you meet in person in your network connecting on LinkedIn and maintaining the relationship. This post here I essentially tagged everyone that was at the event. I had a little emoji. Columbus AMA plus Dawson is one fire happy hour. Got a lot of good engagement, a lot of comments, a lot of reposts. Just really good to show that you're a human facing person and that you are a contributing member of your community. One more bit of sauce for you guys. Just I'm not going to linger on this too long. Take a screenshot of this if you want of an optimized profile, some message of the customers that you serve, the tools that you use, the outcomes you deliver, and make it really easy to consume. Picture it like a landing page. So, when it comes to LinkedIn, that's really the 8020. I highly encourage you guys to look at these live posts and see if there's anything that you can take away from them. Again, that'll be in the first link below. More goodies for you guys. I have dozens of these playbooks that you'll be able to find in that description just like this where I talk through things that have worked, even the failures and things that you should avoid as well, sharing transparently dozens more of those on the columbusmarketing.org/resources. And I also run a marketing community where high performing marketers of all niches share experiments just like this to try and help each other on our journeys. That's all for this one. See you guys in the next one. Be sure to subscribe. Check out the link below.