How Shweta Kukreja grew from 0 to $300k revenue, and 119k LinkedIn followers in 2 years with just a Laptop and a fierce drive

Learn and replicate secret strategies of this LinkedIn Top Voice to bolster your LinkedIn growth.

Originally published on 04-Apr-2024 (On Substack)

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Shweta went from a fresh commerce graduate working in Finance to a successful entrepreneur in 2 years.

She went from posting about investment and financial planning to personal branding and “agency owner life” on LinkedIn.

Her follower base across platforms has soared to 205k which she leverages to generate a 6-figure USD revenue per year while traveling frequently to all her favorite destinations.

♠️ LinkedIn - 119.5k
♠️ Twitter - 86.4k
♠️ Instagram - 3k
♠️ Newsletter (Marketing Mondays) - 600

Shweta’s Backstory

Shweta began writing at the age of 12.

At the age of 20 when she realized she could monetize her writing skill, she jumped at the opportunity right away.

Freelancing on Upwork for some time, Shweta was happy to make 3-4k every month just by writing with a full-time job.

Pssst…a smart move she made was learning the chops, working for ‘The Fourth Square’ the personal branding agency run by another Top LinkedIn Voice, Vedika Bhaia whom we covered in our first newsletter.

As she started gaining momentum, she weighed on leaving her job to pursue writing full-time.

With a backup plan and 6 months of emergency savings in place, she took the plunge in 2022.

And of course, there was no going back.

In 15 months, she has ➡️

• Hit 100k+ followers 🎯
• Doubled her 2022 revenue 💰💰
• Gone viral multiple times 🚀🚀🚀🚀🚀
• Generated 80m+ impressions 👀
• Ranked #8 LinkedIn creator in India 🏆
• Achieved LinkedIn Top Voice Badge 🥇

How Shweta makes money 💵

1. Personal branding services for busy founders
2. Consultations
3. 1:1 mentorships
4. Brand collaborations
5. Digital products

7 Actionable Insights derived from analyzing Shweta’s Content Strategies

✔️Genuine thoughts and learnings are the center of her topic selection for posting on LinkedIn.
✔️Her authenticity wins her high-ticket clients that make up for her 6-figure USD revenue.
✔️No wonder, top creators are rooting for creating unique and personalized content that’s true to oneself.

1. Make Content Visual in some way:
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   Shweta makes sure to include a photo with every post.
   The top experts might be against selfies, but Shweta does not shy away from posting mirror selfies and travel pics on LinkedIn.
   Her success is proof that the LinkedIn algorithm does not care about selfies as long as the content is relevant and helps her audience in any way.
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2. 60:40 Content Distribution Rule:​
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   Adhering to a 60:40 content distribution ratio, Shweta meticulously balances lead-centric content with audience-centric narratives, fostering a symbiotic relationship with her followers.
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   - 60% of the content should be about leads[Bottom of funnel - case studies, client wins, success stories]
   - 40% about your audience [Top of the funnel - Tips, hacks, resources, tools, strategies, life/business updates, relatable scenarios, etc.]
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3. Majorly her content falls in one of these 4 content brackets:
   1. Actionable [Tips, tools, hacks, playbooks, resources, etc.]
   2. Analytical [Numbers, reasons, trends etc.]
   3. Motivational [Lessons, mistakes, experiences, personal stories, advice etc.]
   4. Real [Failures, lessons, personal stories, trials, struggles etc.]
4. Strategic Engagement Strategy:​
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   ​Foster meaningful dialogues by proactively engaging with targeted audiences through insightful comments and fostering deeper connections via direct messaging.​
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   ​- Leave meaningful comments on 10-15 posts published by your target audience.
   - Make sure they are not generic and are solid conversation starters.
   - After engaging with the audience in comments, build a strong connection with them via DMs.
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5. Harness the power of structured content creation sessions:
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   Shweta blocks 4 hours every weekend to create 6 LinkedIn posts, 10-12 tweets, and 2-3 threads.
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   It’s a given that she already has a folder full of free resources ready to be delivered along with the posts.
   [It takes 4-6 hrs to create a lead magnet/resource that you want to promote]
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   Being readily armed with the lead magnets cuts hours of content ideation and creation time off her plate.
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6. Conclude every post with a compelling CTA:​
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   All of Shweta’s posts end with a CTA to:
   - DM her to elevate the target audience’s personal brand
   - Subscribe to her newsletter
   - Engage with her posts (comment/repost)
   - Download her resources (digital products) or
   - Opt for a business service/consultation call from her topmate.io account.
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7. Authenticity storytelling is the key:​
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   Infuse authenticity into your content by weaving a narrative that encapsulates the journey, challenges, and triumphs, resonating with the lived experiences of your audience:​
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   ​Each of Shweta’s posts has:
   ♠️ A background – What did she do?
   ♠️ A story – How did she do it?
   ♠️ An outcome – What did she learn?
   ♠️ A takeaway -How you can do it?
   ♠️ A story that connects all the above dots and resonates with her audience

Why Shweta is an Inspiration:

1. I have analyzed 200+ LinkedIn posts of Shweta across 3 years, and I did not come across one post that talked about burnout or glorified working long hours
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2. Shweta encourages freelancers to find high-income projects instead of doing free client work or internships.
   She also openly talks about her hiring process and ensuring fair salaries.
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3. She reads voraciously. From productivity books to memoirs, she ensures she reads at least 3 books a month, and that is after bringing the number down from earlier.
   Needless to say, the massive wealth of information and knowledge she’s accumulating is feeding her growth.

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Top Secrets about Shweta’s work that you won’t find anywhere else 🤫 :

➡️Because they’ve been painstakingly and nerdily distilled from analysis of her 200+ posts

1. The hook of every post has an ‘I” or a number/fact or both.
2. She re-uses her content published 4 to 6 months ago with minor tweaks.
3. Every post aims to be relatable, authentic, or valuable.

Best lessons to learn and apply from Shweta’s journey:

1. Authenticity breeds longevity; and fosters genuine connections rooted in honesty and transparency.
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   Creating a fake online persona is going to come back to bite you later.
   Shweta believes that if you are not authentic and honest in your work, you can’t sustain your career for long.

2. Create realistic content

If you read something online that seems “too good to be true”, 99% chances are that it is fake indeed.
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Shweta likes to show the reality of her life through her posts which her audience readily relates with, even if it means talking openly about her failures.
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That’s what propels her growth🚀.

3. Have a Plan B and Plan C

Some people strongly believe that if you have multiple backup plans, you won’t achieve even one.
If you remember my last newsletter decoding strategies of Vedika Bhaia, you must recall that she believed in not having a plan B at all for plan A to succeed.
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To each their own, it’s up to your personal beliefs and factors that drive you.
Shweta operates calmly due to her strong belief in having a backup plan.

4. Embrace Uncertainty:

Probably learned the hard way, this is one of the most important lessons from Shweta to remember i.e. Embrace the uncertainty and you will never be disappointed in life.

5. Have a vision to stay consistent:

Just like all the top creators, Shweta too emphasizes having a rock-solid vision to stay consistent in your content creation efforts. Otherwise, you can get distracted by other high-priority tasks, and your LinkedIn growth will get sidelined.

Shweta is the epitome of confidence, exuding a resolute demeanor forged by years of entrepreneurial acumen.

Her steadfast commitment to authenticity and unwavering pursuit of excellence serve as a beacon of inspiration, guiding aspiring entrepreneurs on the path to LinkedIn acclaim.

🔍 What facets of Shweta's journey resonate with you?
Share your insights by DMing me on LinkedIn—I’m eager to delve into a dialogue with you.

🔍 PS: Don't forget to share this illuminating newsletter with kindred spirits eager to embark on their journey of self-discovery.

Sincerely Yours,
Simran Bellani