Welcome to episode 207, this week I had the pleasure of chatting with Simon Bourne from The Hand Dyed Shoe Company. Simon is a classic example of what can be achieved when you use LinkedIn to develop an authentic personal brand.  Takeaways LinkedIn has massive untapped potential to develop your brand Simon developed his visibility because he posted honest, authentic content about his personal and business journey. LinkedIn success is not about View or Share Numbers it's about the reaction you get from followers, on and off line. Quote “it's not about selling your products, it's about developing your brand”. You can be more promotional with your posts once you have built an engaged audience. The power of storytelling. Authentic stories are the way to develop a brand, you must stir emotion to gain engagement. Never follow what other people do on LinkedIn. Be you and show your authentic emotions. Once you are visible and your followers are emotionally invested in you, it becomes relatively straightforward to sell to them.Mentioned in this episode:This show was created by the original host of the show, Mark Williams.

Welcome to episode 207, this week I had the pleasure of chatting with Simon Bourne from The Hand Dyed Shoe Company. Simon is a classic example of what can be achieved when you use LinkedIn to develop an authentic personal brand. Takeaways LinkedIn has massive untapped potential to develop your brand Simon developed his visibility because he posted honest, authentic content about his personal and business journey. LinkedIn success is not about View or Share Numbers it's about the reaction you get from followers, on and off line. Quote “it's not about selling your products, it's about developing your brand”. You can be more promotional with your posts once you have built an engaged audience. The power of storytelling. Authentic stories are the way to develop a brand, you must stir emotion to gain engagement. Never follow what other people do on LinkedIn. Be you and show your authentic emotions. Once you are visible and your followers are emotionally invested in you, it becomes relatively straightforward to sell to them. Mentioned in this episode: This show was created by the original host of the show, Mark Williams.

Welcome to episode 207, this week I had the pleasure of chatting with Simon Bourne from The Hand Dyed Shoe Company. Simon is a classic example of what can be achieved when you use LinkedIn to develop an authentic personal brand.&nbsp; Takeaways LinkedIn has massive untapped potential to develop your brand Simon developed his visibility because he posted honest, authentic content about his personal and business journey. LinkedIn success is not about View or Share Numbers it's about the reaction you get from followers, on and off line. Quote “it's not about selling your products, it's about developing your brand”. You can be more promotional with your posts once you have built an engaged audience. The power of storytelling. Authentic stories are the way to develop a brand, you must stir emotion to gain engagement. Never follow what other people do on LinkedIn. Be you and show your authentic emotions. Once you are visible and your followers are emotionally invested in you, it becomes relatively straightforward to sell to them.Mentioned in this episode:This show was created by the original host of the show, Mark Williams.

Building An Authentic Brand on LinkedIn.

"Informed" is for you if you'd like to understand more about how LinkedIn works so that you can be an effective user of the platform. 

It's hard to know whom to believe with so many self-appointed gurus out there telling you the latest hacks for going viral and earning 7-figure deals. And even LinkedIn's own publications often don't speak to the reality of using the platform.

But for those who see past superficial promises and sanitised reports, this podcast provides evidence and thoughtful opinion. With a track record of more than 10 years of sensible, no-nonsense advice about honest best practice for LinkedIn, Informed is a trusted source of insight by many thousands of regular listeners. 

The show was created by Mark Williams, who's affectionately known as "Mr LinkedIn". Mark retired in late 2025 and handed over the reins of the show to John Espirian, the relentlessly helpful® LinkedIn nerd. John is a LinkedIn trainer and consultant, the founder of the Espresso+ community, the creator of the UpLift Live conference (the UK's original event dedicated to LinkedIn best practice), and the author of the personal branding handbook Content DNA.

John's reputation is for getting to the point and for not being a salesy douche canoe, so you can expect short, sharp episodes with zero ads or sponsored slots. This also is NOT an interview show, so if you've read this far then please don't pitch yourself for a guest appearance. However, you're welcome to get in touch if you have a LinkedIn question you'd like John to cover on the show. (To do that, search for the "Informed podcast" company page on LinkedIn and send a message.)
 
This podcast is not affiliated with, endorsed by or approved by the LinkedIn® corporation. John Espirian is an independent trainer and does not work for LinkedIn® – while it would be great to have LinkedIn's endorsement, the show's independence from the corporation means you, the listener, are never fed an airbrushed political spiel.

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"Informed" is for you if you'd like to understand more about how LinkedIn works so that you can be an effective user of the platform. It's hard to know whom to believe with so many self-appointed gurus out there telling you the latest hacks for going viral and earning 7-figure deals. And even LinkedIn's own publications often don't speak to the reality of using the platform. But for those who see past superficial promises and sanitised reports, this podcast provides evidence and thoughtful opinion. With a track record of more than 10 years of sensible, no-nonsense advice about honest best practice for LinkedIn, Informed is a trusted source of insight by many thousands of regular listeners. The show was created by Mark Williams, who's affectionately known as "Mr LinkedIn". Mark retired in late 2025 and handed over the reins of the show to John Espirian, the relentlessly helpful® LinkedIn nerd. John is a LinkedIn trainer and consultant, the founder of the Espresso+ community, the creator of the UpLift Live conference (the UK's original event dedicated to LinkedIn best practice), and the author of the personal branding handbook Content DNA. John's reputation is for getting to the point and for not being a salesy douche canoe, so you can expect short, sharp episodes with zero ads or sponsored slots. This also is NOT an interview show, so if you've read this far then please don't pitch yourself for a guest appearance. However, you're welcome to get in touch if you have a LinkedIn question you'd like John to cover on the show. (To do that, search for the "Informed podcast" company page on LinkedIn and send a message.) This podcast is not affiliated with, endorsed by or approved by the LinkedIn® corporation. John Espirian is an independent trainer and does not work for LinkedIn® – while it would be great to have LinkedIn's endorsement, the show's independence from the corporation means you, the listener, are never fed an airbrushed political spiel.

"Informed" is for you if you'd like to understand more about how LinkedIn works so that you can be an effective user of the platform. 

It's hard to know whom to believe with so many self-appointed gurus out there telling you the latest hacks for going viral and earning 7-figure deals. And even LinkedIn's own publications often don't speak to the reality of using the platform.

But for those who see past superficial promises and sanitised reports, this podcast provides evidence and thoughtful opinion. With a track record of more than 10 years of sensible, no-nonsense advice about honest best practice for LinkedIn, Informed is a trusted source of insight by many thousands of regular listeners. 

The show was created by Mark Williams, who's affectionately known as "Mr LinkedIn". Mark retired in late 2025 and handed over the reins of the show to John Espirian, the relentlessly helpful® LinkedIn nerd. John is a LinkedIn trainer and consultant, the founder of the Espresso+ community, the creator of the UpLift Live conference (the UK's original event dedicated to LinkedIn best practice), and the author of the personal branding handbook Content&nbsp;DNA.

John's reputation is for getting to the point and for not being a salesy douche canoe, so you can expect short, sharp episodes with zero ads or sponsored slots. This also is NOT an interview show, so if you've read this far then please don't pitch yourself for a guest appearance. However, you're welcome to get in touch if you have a LinkedIn question you'd like John to cover on the show. (To do that, search for the "Informed podcast" company page on LinkedIn and send a message.)
 
This podcast is not affiliated with, endorsed by or approved by the LinkedIn® corporation. John Espirian is an independent trainer and does not work for LinkedIn® – while it would be great to have LinkedIn's endorsement, the show's independence from the corporation means you, the listener, are never fed an airbrushed political spiel.

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