How Justin Wright went from 1,700 to 253,198 followers on LinkedIn in 369 days

Master Viral Content Styles From Top LinkedIn Creators

Each week, I breakdown how (and when) a top creator hit their viral moment, so you can weave it into your strategy.

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Introduction

Justin Wright decided to start posting content on LinkedIn daily on May 4, 2023. 

At that time, he had 1,700 followers.  If you fast forward to today (May 22, 2024), he has 253,198 (at time of writing this).  

It’s been 369 days since he started posting and it hasn’t been daily.  There have been breaks between his postings.  Some creators made a point of posting daily but Justin’s story shows something a bit different (which we’ll get into). 

This is the story of Justin Wright’s LinkedIn journey and how he’s been able to amass 253K followers in such a short period of time. 

Content Style: Generalist

Justin Wright is a Generalist because his main goal is growth.  Growth happens from reshares on LinkedIn and the best way of doing that is through content that makes it easy for individuals to do. 

  • Growth Method: Reshares 
  • Content Type: Cheat Sheets + Carousels 
  • Content Goal: Make it as shareable as possible

When you think about a Generalist, think about content that anyone on LinkedIn would resonate with.  You’re not going to find Justin Wright discussing detailed things about being a CIO (his background).  

He could have gone the content route of being a Harpooner.  This is someone who’s extremely targeted at a small niche audience.  This content would have been focused around what CIOs care about but it wouldn’t have provided the massive explosion of growth he went through.  

That content would NOT resonate with the masses on LinkedIn.  

That is a different goal (and still a good one you can follow). 

Some other Generalists on LinkedIn are:

But did it start that way?  

Lets dig into where his content started and what it’s morphed into. 

Other Generalist Creators Worth Following

Justin's First Creator Post (Direct Link)

On May 4, 2023, Justin Wright posted his first piece of content (as a creator).  

  • Hook: Opposing Viewpoints: Customers, Employees, or Shareholders?
  • Post Type: Long Form Text (no attached image) 
  • Audience: Business Leader 

You have to start somewhere.

This post is nothing like what he’s doing today. It takes time, consistency and focus to build an audience up to what he has today.

Key Takeaways

1

Speak to the audience you already have

He was a CIO speaking to business leaders.  By starting with who’s in your audience, and speaking to their key challenges, it will help you.  

2

Engage in the comments

It looks like some of the comments didn’t come into this post until about a month after it was posted (which is a bit odd).  He does a good job of responding to each of the comments as they come in.  Stay engaged in the comments and make them meaningful (just like the post). 

Meaningful Pivot (4 days later)

Justin quickly moved into creating an image template for his text posts.  On May 8th, 2023, he posted this: 

Hook: Leadership is like gravity; it’s invisible, yet it’s powerful pull is undeniably felt.

You’ll see that he is using the hook as the image to stop the scroll. 

This seems like the route that he was taking to get started with images associated with his posts.  When we get further into the timeline here, you’ll see how this adjusts (and why it matters). 

You’ll also notice that he’s still showing some light engagement and comments here.  

This was a 292 word text post with this image associated with it.  


The call to action he placed:

Can you think of a leader who was a gravitational force in your life? How did they achieve this effect?

This is really two different questions which as we know now... the goal of any piece of content should be to ask the audience to do one specific thing.  

It’s a learning lesson but an important one as you’re thinking about the journey he’s just starting.  

Remember, this is 4 days into the decision to start posting consistently. 

Month 1: Meaningful Highlights

May 23, 2023

Hook: Grab a leash and a biscuit, because today we're fetching life lessons from my sweet dog, Hannah.

Image attached: Picture of his dog Hannah 

Engagement: Lower than anything else he’s posted so far (7 reactions, 1 comment, no reshares) 

Possible Takeaway: My audience doesn’t care about my personal life 

As we’ll continue to go through the timeline, we’ll see that he doesn’t continue to post anything personal.  

May 29, 2023

Justin’s 1st carousel post!

Hook: 14 awe-inspiring heroes and their stories to stream for Memorial Day.

Engagement: 9 reactions, 5 comments, no reshares 

Takeaway: Looking to tie a broad holiday/topic into the content he’s connecting back to Leadership.  

Month 2: Meaningful Highlights 

On June 5th, approx. a month after he started posting consistently, it looks like Justin hit a mini-win with this post (130 reactions, 52 comments and 16 reposts) 

He simplified his carousel format and hit a topic that resonated well with the audience he has been building for the last month. 

  • Hook: 7 books every future CEO -- and current manager -- needs to read (your team will thank me later).
  • Content: Which book would you add to the list? Share in the comments below.  Enjoy this? Repost, comment, and follow me for daily tips on transformation and personal growth.

Two things changed

Content

Justin was able to create a much more powerful hook that captured a wider audience here.  It’s speaking to a ‘future CEO’ and who doesn’t want to be a future CEO or is a current manager of a team.  That is a wide audience and he did a great job designing the hook here.  

His carousel is also a big shift from what he was doing. 

  • He started using a simple template that has a black background and white words.  

It’s really easy to create these and made the content production process (and style) really stand out. 

Engagement

It looks like Jade Bonacolta commented on this post which was a first.  She was a bit further ahead of Justin at the time.  She started writing on LinkedIn in January 2023 (about 6 months ahead).  

It looks like her engagement on this helped Justin get more visibility.

Justin continued his creation of these carousels and compelling hooks throughout June 2023.  

June 14, 2023 - First Viral Post

Something changed on this day.  It had been two weeks since he started posting with this type of carousel and hook but something significant happened.  

Hook: 8 life-altering books I gave my 18-year-old for graduation that

I wish I had read at his age:


Content: If you enjoyed this, repost it to share with your network, comment below, and follow me Justin Wright for daily tips on transformation and personal growth.

So what happened here that caused such an increase in engagement and sharing? 

  • June 14th is typically right around graduation time.

Hitting on the fact that he has a 18 year graduating creates a touch of a personal connection along with providing value that EVERYONE on LinkedIn would appreciate.  

Remember when I told you that Justin’s content style is The Generalist.

This post is what confirmed his content style.

There is a good reason for that.  

This is what 🚀 his growth. 

This hit on all the items for a viral post:

  • Easily resharable 
  • Timing was on point (posted on graduation day) 
  • Hits an emotional nerve for anyone that wishes they read these books too 

From this point on in Justin’s journey, he was able to leverage this into the growth that we all recognize now. 

He even used the next post (June 15, 2023) to leverage what was coming next  - Father’s Day

June 15, 2023 - Friday Before Father's Day Post

Hook: In honor of Father's Day this weekend, here are 20 crucial truths inspired by my dad:

Content: P.S. If you enjoyed this, please repost it to share with others, comment below, and follow me for daily tips on transformation and personal growth.

Thank you and Happy Father's Day to all the dads doing their best out there!


Major Content Strategy Change 

This is the first post that Justin decided to leverage the real estate of the image to compliment the hook.  

Here’s the first slide of the carousel that shows how it compliments the hook vs. copying it:

1

Build on the emotional connection with your audience

Everyone is excited about summer, graduation and learning lessons from your father.  Find that personal connection that will work for your audience.

July 1, 2023 - 10,000 Followers 

Hook: Gratitude Level: 10K! 

This is an interesting point in time of hitting 10,000 followers after starting to post two months prior.  

One of the key lines in the post he says:

“In this process, I’ve overcome my fear of social media posting.”

 

If you are feeling the same, know that everyone feels it.  The fear of posting, the fear of what others will think… It is a real fear but it’s also important to realize that you will overcome it. 

Joining a community of individuals who are along the journey at the same time is really important. 

I don’t know what Justin’s community of new friends and colleagues were at the time but having them is the key. 

From here, we fast forward a month to August 2, 2023 where the next leg of virality takes off for Justin. 

August 2, 2023 - 97,148 reactions, 4,102 comments and 23,157 reshares

Have you ever seen a piece of content that’s had this much interaction?  

  • I haven’t until I started putting this newsletter together for you.  

Here’s what changed

Content Type

Before: Small amount of content in the post with a carousel as the ‘meat’ of the post. 

After: Heavy text in the post with a single image that repeats the hook.


Call to Action

He also moved to a much clearer call to action (with less words). 


From this:

P.S. If you found this valuable, please repost to share it with your network, comment or like below, and follow me for daily tips on transformation and personal growth.

To this: 

P.S. Repost this for your network too ♻️. Thanks!


Here’s what he posted (Direct LinkedIn URL)

Hook: 12 brutal truths every employer needs to read:

Why this worked so well

  • He’s speaking to every single person on the platform.  
  • If you’re someone employing others - you’re going to click ‘See More’.

If you’re someone being employed - you’re going to want to know WHAT to tell your employer and share this.  

He created emotion, tied it to a very general audience on LinkedIn that would be interested in reading this and created something that was easily shareable for anyone on LinkedIn. 

This is one of the most reshared pieces of content I’ve ever seen.  

Amazing work Justin.  

This is another pivotal moment in his growth journey but there’s more.

August 14, 2023 - The First Cheat Sheet 

Compared to the last post we broke down, the virality of it is nowhere close but it is important. 

Why?

It’s the first time Justin moves to a cheat sheet.  All those infographic / one pagers you see now may have started from August 14, 2023 with Justin’s version of this.  

Hook: The Ultimate Productivity Cheat Sheet 

Why does this matter to you?

The continued evolution of content that’s being posted by Justin continues.  The words of his post support the cheat sheet he’s created (and shared here).  

Continuing to innovate on content created and shared will allow you to stand out.  

In the first 3 months of Justin’s creator journey, we’ve already seen major shifts in content, virality and his approach to who he’s speaking to.  

Here’s what happened next…

From 1,700 connections to 58,935 followers - September 2, 2023 - The recap post

We learn that Jade Bonacolta coached him on what to do. 

  • Ben Meer (who helped Jade) worked with Justin to build systems around what he’s building.

There are many others but what’s the point here?

  • Anyone can do this.  You just have to get started.  

Justin’s 3 month journey is proof of that.  

Just get started.  

What happened after this?

Justin continues to follow the same content flow and posting schedule.  

He found his wheelhouse of what works and just continues to be consistent. 

Here are some other meaningful dates of what happened 

The Generalist: Is it for you?

Justin could have chosen to go in a variety of different content styles but choose Generalist.  

This style isn’t for everyone.  

If you’re looking to speak about broad topics that can trigger big growth numbers, this is for you.  

If you’re looking to provide deep value on a very specific topic, this is not for you.  

Justin could have gone down the path of picking a specific content style that allows him to speak to the 10-20 younger version of himself.  It might make sense for you but remember that a year ago when he started was a very different time on LinkedIn than it is now.  

Think about all the different content styles you can go before you decide to go all in on this path.  

We’ll get into breakdowns of other content styles throughout the coming weeks but really think about if this is the right style for you.

Conclusion

Here’s what I want you to take with you from this (as you’re thinking about starting your personal brand on LinkedIn): 

  • It’s ok to be afraid of social media posting 
  • It only takes one piece of content to change your life
  • Having a community around you to support is imperative 

It’s ok to be afraid of social media posting

Justin calls this out as FOSP (Fear of Social Posting) which I didn’t realize we needed more acronyms but here we are.  

If you’re a leader, founder or trying to figure out if you’re good enough to do this - know this: 

  • Justin Wright started with 1,700 connections on May 4, 2023.  
  • You have a story to tell - you just need to figure out who you’re speaking to 
  • Create your community of supporters that are on the same journey with you

It may not happen as fast as what Justin did here but if you stick with it - you’re going to find success. 

It only takes one piece of content to change your life

I am going to find out if the August 2, 2023 post Justin did was the most viral on the platform in 2023.  I’ll figure that out and report back in a LinkedIn post at some point because that is wild.  

Here’s what I’ve uncovered (that you should take with you): 

  • Create emotion in a broad audience will trigger engagement 
  • Make it easily shareable for your audience (that makes them look good) 
  • You never know what is going to hit as your piece

Here’s what I’d ask Justin: 

  • “Did you know that your August 2, 2023 piece was going to do so well?” 
  • “How did you come up with that idea and what was so different about it?”

I bet his answer would be something like: 

  • “I had no idea this piece would be so engaging for the community.” 

Having a community around you to support is imperative

Seeing that Justin surrounded himself with a coach (Jade Bonacolta) and joined a few of the other creators that have done well - wasn’t surprising. 


With anything in life, it’s important to surround yourself with others that are on the same journey with you. 


Here’s what I’d do if I was starting today:

  • Hire a LinkedIn coach to help refine who I’m speaking to 
  • Find others on the same journey (that are at the same growth spot) 
  • Keep each other accountable 

I posted something on Friday May 3, 2024 where I shared what I’m trying to accomplish on my journey.  I asked for others that were too.  I’m not sure where it will go but it looks like I’m in the process of creating my own little community for this too. 


If you feel like it’s overwhelming or you don’t want to get burned out before you even get started - follow me on LinkedIn.  


I am posting everyday at 8:30am Eastern to help you avoid burnout while getting started on this journey.  


Figure out your creator and content style.  It might be a Generalist like Justin but it may be something else.  


We’re in this together.  


Let’s get moving.  


Don’t burnout. 

Master Viral Content Styles From Top LinkedIn Creators

Each week, I breakdown how (and when) a top creator hit their viral moment, so you can weave it into your strategy.

100% Free. Unsubscribe anytime.

Connect With Me Here:

ANDREW MCGUIRE

Founder & Ghostwriter 

From burnt out exec (3 exits & 15 years experience) to effortless growth by finding my creator style.

Living in Bend, Oregon and taking advantage of all the outdoor adventures.  

If you can't find me, I'm probably lifting some weights in the gym, sweating in a sauna or freezing in a cold plunge.  

Now I'm on a mission to help you understand how top creators have gone viral so you can weave it into your growth strategy.