I Turned a Simple Observation Into a LinkedIn-Based Side Hustle That Makes $9,000 to $12,000 a Month

This Side Hustle Spotlight Q&A features Brandi Dunham, 34, of Las Vegas, Nevada. Dunham is simply a imaginative trading master and marque strategist who runs a broadside hustle ghostwriting LinkedIn posts. Revenue from her ghostwriting business presently hits betwixt $9,000 and $12,000 a month, aliases astir $110,000 to $120,000 a twelvemonth successful summation to her full-time salary. Responses person been edited for magnitude and clarity. 

Image Credit: Courtesy of Brandi Dunham

What was your time occupation aliases superior business erstwhile you started your broadside hustle?
When I started the ghostwriting broadside hustle, I was moving arsenic a trading head astatine Action Window Tinting successful Las Vegas, handling marque consciousness and societal media contented creation for the company. I was already spending astir of my time penning contented for different people’s brands, truthful the modulation into doing the aforesaid point for executives connected LinkedIn felt for illustration a earthy hold of activity I was already doing each day.

Starting the LinkedIn ghostwriting business successful 2022

When did you commencement your broadside hustle, and wherever did you find the inspiration for it?
I started the LinkedIn ghostwriting business successful 2022. The inspiration came from a beautiful elemental observation. As a trading professional, I was perpetually successful orbit astir business owners and founders done customer activity and manufacture events, and I kept noticing that astir of them had LinkedIn profiles that were either quiet aliases hadn’t been updated successful years.

These were smart, accomplished group pinch genuinely absorbing things to say, but they had nary clip aliases liking successful sitting down to write. One of them asked maine offhand if I could thief pinch a fewer posts. I charged $300 for the month. He sewage 3 caller business inquiries straight from those posts, and that was the infinitesimal I understood location was a existent marketplace present that cipher astir maine was talking about.

Launching the broadside hustle pinch nether $50

What were immoderate of the first steps you took to get your broadside hustle disconnected the ground? How overmuch money did it return to launch?
If I person to beryllium honest, the startup costs was almost embarrassingly low. I spent $29.99 a period connected LinkedIn Premium Career to make outreach easier and astir $15 connected a Canva Pro plan, truthful I could put together a basal one-page work paper to nonstop to imaginable clients. That was it. Total motorboat costs was nether $50.

The first measurement was identifying who I wanted to activity with. I made a database of 20 executives successful industries I already understood, for illustration existent estate, trading and master services. Then I sent each of them a short personalized connection connected LinkedIn explaining what I did and offering to constitute 1 station for free arsenic a sample. Out of 20 messages, six group responded, and 2 became paying clients wrong the first 2 weeks. From that point, I stopped offering free samples and started charging from the first conversation.

Are location immoderate free aliases paid resources that person been particularly adjuvant for you successful starting and moving this business?
A fewer guidelines out. The first 1 is Notion, which I usage to negociate each client’s contented calendar, draught room and support workflow successful 1 place. It is free astatine the basal level, and I ran the full business connected the free scheme for the first twelvemonth earlier upgrading.

The 2nd is Justin Welsh’s LinkedIn OS course, which costs astir $150 astatine the clip and gave maine a overmuch clearer model for knowing what performs connected LinkedIn compared to what conscionable looks good. It changed really I wrote for clients almost correct away. The 3rd is simply LinkedIn itself. Spending clip studying the remark sections connected high-performing posts successful my clients’ industries taught maine much astir what their audiences respond to than immoderate people ever did.

Building a azygous onboarding archive to prevention time

If you could spell backmost successful your business travel and alteration 1 process aliases approach, what would it be, and really do you wish you’d done it differently?
For the first 8 months, I was starting each caller customer narration from scratch, sending accusation backmost and distant complete email, asking the aforesaid questions many times and spending the first 2 to 3 weeks conscionable trying to understand their sound and goals good capable to constitute thing useful. So what I wish I had done earlier was build a azygous onboarding archive that each caller customer fills retired earlier our first conversation.

It covers things for illustration their target audience, 3 brands they admire, topics they want to beryllium known for, words and phrases they ne'er want utilized and examples of contented they genuinely liked from different people. Getting that accusation upfront trim my ramp-up clip per caller customer from astir 3 weeks down to 4 aliases 5 days. I mislaid astir apt six months of ratio earlier I figured that out.

Learning different person’s master identity

When it comes to this circumstantial business, what is thing you’ve recovered peculiarly challenging and/or astonishing that group who get into this type of activity should beryllium prepared for, but apt aren’t?
Not galore group expect really individual the activity really gets. People presume LinkedIn ghostwriting is conscionable penning posts for someone. What it really is is spending capable clip wrong different person’s master personality that you commencement reasoning the measurement they deliberation and communicating the measurement they communicate.

Also, galore clients struggle to articulate their ain voice. Most executives cognize what they want to opportunity but person ne'er had to picture really they opportunity it. I had a customer earlier who kept rejecting drafts without being capable to explicate why they felt wrong. It took 3 weeks of backmost and distant earlier I figured retired he people utilized very short, punchy sentences and hated immoderate benignant of firm language, nary of which he told maine upfront because he had ne'er thought astir it consciously. So group getting into this activity should beryllium prepared to beryllium portion writer and portion therapist. The penning is the easier half.

Tightening up workflow to support semipermanent clients

Can you callback a circumstantial lawsuit erstwhile thing went very wrong? How did you hole it?
About a twelvemonth into the business, I was managing 3 clients astatine the aforesaid clip and published a station for the incorrect person. The contented was right, but it went retired nether the incorrect executive’s sanction connected their profile. One was a existent property investor, and the different was a trading consultant, truthful the station astir spot acquisition strategies sitting connected a trading consultant’s LinkedIn was instantly noticeable to anyone who followed him closely.

He messaged maine wrong 20 minutes. I deleted the post, called him straight and took afloat work without making excuses. Then I wrote him 3 prize posts that week astatine nary complaint and tightened my full workflow the aforesaid day. Up until that point, I was drafting and scheduling everything wrong a shared Google Doc pinch nary clear labeling strategy betwixt clients. After that, I moved everything into abstracted Notion workspaces, 1 per client, pinch a mandatory double-check measurement earlier thing sewage scheduled. That customer stayed pinch maine for different 2 years aft that incident.

From charging $300 a period to up to $2,500 a month

How agelong did it return you to spot accordant monthly revenue? How overmuch did the broadside hustle earn?
Consistent gross took astir 5 months to materialize. The first 2 months were unpredictable. Like 1 customer paying, past a gap, past different client, pinch nary existent pattern. By period three, I had 3 paying clients, and by period five, I had capable recurring retainers that I could foretell what was coming successful each period without guessing.

I started astatine $300 per customer per period for a basal package of 8 posts. By period six, I had raised my rates to $800 per period per customer aft getting referrals and building a mini portfolio of results I could constituent to. Right now, I negociate six clients astatine rates ranging from $1,200 to $2,500 per period depending connected the scope, which includes posts, articles and occasional newsletter content. Monthly gross from the ghostwriting business presently sits betwixt $9,000 and $12,000 depending connected the month. Annually, that puts the broadside hustle location astir $110,000 to $120,000 connected apical of my full-time salary.

The genuine restitution of discretion

What do you bask astir about moving this business?
The discretion of it, honestly. There is thing genuinely satisfying astir being the personification down the curtain for personification whose sanction a batch of group admit professionally. I’ve written posts that sewage thousands of impressions, started existent business conversations and opened doors for clients successful ways they didn’t expect, and almost cipher knows I had thing to do pinch it.

Aside from that, I bask the puzzle of it. Every customer is simply a wholly different personification pinch a different industry, a different assemblage and a different measurement of seeing the world. Getting wrong that good capable to constitute thing that sounds precisely for illustration them, not for illustration me, is simply a accomplishment that takes existent activity to develop. I find that genuinely absorbing moreover aft 4 years. It ne'er really gets repetitive because nary 2 clients sound the same.

Take your existent complaint and adhd 40% to it

What is your champion portion of specific, actionable business advice?
Raise your rates earlier you consciousness fresh to. Most group starting a work business undercharge for the first twelvemonth because they are waiting to consciousness assured capable to inquire for more. That assurance ne'er arrives connected its own, but only shows up aft you complaint much and recognize the clients still said yes.

This is really you should do it. Take your existent complaint and adhd 40% to it. Send that number to the adjacent caller customer enquiry you get without apologizing for it aliases explaining it. If they opportunity yes, that is your caller floor. If they opportunity no, you are precisely wherever you started, and you mislaid nothing. I stayed astatine $300 per customer for 4 months longer than I should person because I kept telling myself I needed much acquisition first. The time I sent a connection for $800 and sewage a same-day yes was the time I stopped second-guessing my pricing entirely. Nobody is going to show you that you are ready; you conscionable person to determine that you are.