Our interview with Joe Gannon

Joe Gannon's creator journey began working for Ali Abdaal where, in Noah Kagan’s words, he was the “creator behind the creator.”

However, creating under his own name used to flood him with anxiety. He would hit publish, then throw his phone across the couch. He even stopped for a year due to overwhelm and a lack of systems.

But he came back.

And today, his content agency has worked with the likes of Sahil Bloom, Jordan Peterson, Chris Williamson, Greg Isenberg, Mikhaila Peterson, Andreessen Horowitz, and Tony Robbins.

We asked Joe 9 burning questions about growing a personal brand on LinkedIn.

Let’s dive into Joe’s responses:

1. What’s one common mistake you see LinkedIn creators making?

Ignoring what makes you unique.

We all have unique knowledge and experiences to bring to the world, but why would somebody listen to you as the messenger?

A quick brainstorm about this is not only rewarding, but it can be the difference between a follower and a life-long connection.

2. What’s your process for generating new content ideas?

I spend more time on the idea for content than anything else.

The answer lies in what you’re already doing. Take your conversations and meetings and reverse-engineer insights into content.

The next step is packaging and ensuring content is easy to engage with and matches how people use the platform you’re posting on.

3. What’s the one change you’ve made to your content strategy that’s had a big impact?

The second I focused on top-of-funnel content, middle-funnel and bottom-funnel - everything changed.

Every piece of content needs a purpose, and you need to know where you’re ultimately directing attention.

4. What's your creator tool stack?

1. Canva - for visuals

2. Figma - for visuals

3. Castmagic - for content creation

4. Veed - for video editing

5. Notion - for planning (content calendar)

5. How do you balance creating content with your other professional responsibilities?

Firstly, you need to be energised with the content you’re making, otherwise it’ll never feel like a priority.

I broadly follow Paul Graham’s famous Maker-Manager Schedule, allowing me to have open time for creative work.

Never pour time into one post in isolation - there should always be a way to repurpose the content in a different format.

6. What’s your strategy for writing compelling LinkedIn hooks?

Initially, practice. You get great at writing copy by writing copy.

Nowadays, you can accelerate the learning curve by starting with hook templates or saving content in a bank that caught your attention.

Success leaves clues. Only use templates as a starting point, as showing personality is the difference between content being remembered.

7. What’s one habit that has made you a better creator?

Most new creators start and stop with posting.

You need your content to compound, so I’d say getting ahead with content to never have gaps.

8. What’s your advice for someone just starting out as a LinkedIn creator?

The magic is in the DMs.

Meet as many people as you can and enjoy the process.

9. And to end… What are you working on right now that excites you?

We built a Personal Brand GPT to help you get crystal clear on your content strategy and unique positioning. Try it for free: joegannon.co/tool

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Thank you, Joe!

Make sure to follow (and subscribe to) Joe Gannon on LinkedIn and YouTube.