Hey there,

A few weeks ago, I had coffee with a friend of a friend of a friend (you know how it goes). During our conversation, she asked me a simple question:

“What’s the first marketing hire a small business owner should make?”

My toxic trait? If you ask me a good question, I’m going to turn it into LinkedIn content.

I gave her an honest answer: “Probably don’t hire a marketing person, hire an operations person. But whatever you do, don’t hire a social media manager.”

And 12 hours later, I’d posted it on LinkedIn. And a few hours after that, that post reached 17k+ people. As of writing this, I’m teetering around 35k impressions on a single post. While it's not technically ~viral~, that’s a pretty big deal for my small account.

And what did that get me?

That’s what I’m diving into in this week’s issue of Brand Burnout. Plus (spoiler alert), I’m sharing what I’d do instead of chasing virality.

The ROI of Going Viral

When I post on LinkedIn, I’m not aiming for virality—I’m aiming for trust. I want to be helpful, a little funny, and maybe make someone feel less alone in a world that’s constantly on fire. Some of those folks become clients, some send referrals, and some just lurk. That’s fine. LinkedIn isn’t my end game—it’s a starting point.

So when this post blew up, I saw it as a bonus—like a tater tot in my French fries. Not the goal, but a delightful surprise. Because virality is visibility, not sales. Even with great positioning and messaging, virality doesn’t magically create demand.

So what was the ROI¹ of this post?

• Project Inquiries: 1 (unqualified)

• Site Visitors: 0

• Newsletter Subscribers Added: 0

• LinkedIn Followers Added: 162

And I’m sure the LinkedIn gurus would say, “Always be selling” or “Your call-to-action wasn’t clear.”² . That’s fine advice. But here’s mine:

Virality doesn’t pay my bills. Alignment does.

Platforms like LinkedIn are powerful brand-building tools. But unless your visibility is grounded in a strategy, with a message people remember and an offer they want, going viral will rarely move the needle.

Don’t confuse being seen with building demand.

That’s the difference between branding and marketing. Branding builds trust and recognition. Marketing gives people a reason to act. You need both, but branding comes first.

Here are the sustainable brand moves I recommend service-based business owners make instead of (or in support of) viral moments:

1. Network Your Ass Off

I’m—pinches fingers together—this close to tattooing “networking” on my forehead in response to service-based business owners asking me, “How do you get new clients?”

And I don’t just mean networking with potential clients (in fact, I don’t mean that at all)! I mean networking with everyone. Because building trust with our audience is great, but building trust with people your audience already trusts?

Chef’s Kiss. No Notes.

Here are my favorite places to network at the moment:

• The Co-Promotion Club is hosted by self-proclaimed introvert Janna Carlson. Each month, Janna curates members-only chats and facilitates meaningful conversations between service-based business owners.

• Legends is a membership by newsletter icon Lex Roman. Being a Legend gives you access to all of Lex’s amazing content, plus puts you in a universe with other great folks building cool things.

By the way, your so-called competitors may be your best referral source—so don’t forget to network with them, too! When their roster is full or they find a client that’s not a great fit for them, they will think of you to refer out to.

2. Clarify Your Core Offer and Message

I was tempted to put this first on the list, but it seems a bit on the nose for a brand person to say this, because OF COURSE.

If your ideal client, a potential referral partner, or your future business bestie can’t understand what you do or offer in sub-10 seconds, they’ve already forgotten about you. Which means they aren’t going to buy from you. Because what the heck are they even buying?

And before you hop over to ChatGPT for some metaphor-drenched messaging, pump the brakes!

Instead, fill in these blanks:

[Your Name] helps [ideal client] get [desired transformation or outcome] by [delivering specific offer or service] through [your unique method].

3. Send Valuable Emails

You’re collecting email addresses, right? RIGHT?!

Okay good.

Now stop letting those emails gather dust. When someone hands over their email, they’re saying, “I want to hear from you.” So make sure you show up consistently with tons of value and insights to share. Give a behind-the-scenes look at what you’re working on. Offer tips and tools that make their life easier. Show them “I see you, I hear you, and I’m here to help.

And don’t forget to sell your stuff. People don’t want to just be entertained, they want to know how you can solve their problems.

Don’t know what to say in your emails? My friend Seth can help.

Stand on Someone Else’s Stage

Here’s the only³ shortcut I’ll ever give you—because brand-building is a long game.

You don’t have to build your own stage to get noticed. Sometimes the smartest move is stepping onto someone else’s. Pitch yourself for a podcast. Offer to teach a workshop in someone’s community. Slide into a fellow creator’s inbox and propose a newsletter swap.

When you show up alongside someone your audience already trusts, you get to borrow that trust—and that’s a fast track (faster than virality!) to building credibility and connection with potential buyers.

If you want to build a lasting business, don’t bank on finding tater tots in your French fries—erm... I mean, virality. The real work is in creating connections and earning trust in you, your expertise, and your offers.

Don’t skip the hard part in favor of 35k impressions. Trust me (see what I did there?) when I say it’s not worth it.

Thanks for reading,

1  Based on the week following the publication of this post.

2  If this post had included a sales pitch, it wouldn’t have gone viral. It went viral because it tapped into something everyone was thinking but couldn’t quite articulate. People saw it and thought, “SHE GETS IT!”

3  Don’t hold me to this. I’ll always try to find an easy way to do something!