There’s something Dolly Alderton said on the final episode of the High Low (RIP) that I think about often: “The responses we got [about the show ending] were so overwhelmingly positive and lovely that it reminded me: when you’re putting work out all the time, most people are quietly and contentedly enjoying it —and you never hear from them.”
I know this is true, rationally, but when you’re sending out twice-weekly emails, posting two or three times a week on LinkedIn, and generally trying to stay visible, consistently, without getting as much back in return by way of comments, follows, an inbox bursting with new enquiries (!!)… it can sometimes be hard to really believe it.
And then something happens that reminds me that it is true. Potential clients, whether you realise it or not, are always watching. Even if they’re not engaging.
A few months ago, I posted this on LinkedIn. An image of me wrapped up in my winter clothes overlaid with a screenshot from a client that said: “I got two more jobs yesterday.” The caption summarised the brilliant results we’ve achieved. How when we first started working together, my client was hesitant about posting on LinkedIn. She was nervous about putting herself out there. Fast-forward to the end of 2025 and our final call of the year, during which she said: “LinkedIn has changed my life.”
A wonderful testimonial, but not the point of this post. The point of this post is that a few days later, another client of mine (whose Instagram I manage) said on our weekly call: I saw your post about the client who said LinkedIn had changed their life… What have you been doing exactly?
Reader, this person has never engaged on my LinkedIn posts. He hadn’t liked or commented on that one. But he’d seen it. He’d read it. And he wanted to know if I could do similar work for him. See!! People are always watching.
👀 Case in point number 2
Last week, I posted about the same client on LinkedIn. Side note: this is a great reminder that being repetitive and sharing testimonials is always a good thing.
I bulleted out her amazing results. I mentioned the approach we’d taken (authority-building content coupled with targeted outreach). I made the point that she has less than 1,000 followers.
And then, four hours later, I received a LinkedIn message from the founder of a digital marketing agency who wanted to find out more about my services. I had never spoken to this person before. I didn’t recognise his name or his company. And yet, somehow, my post had made its way to him.
It’s not all about followers
I was chatting with my lovely friend and amazing branding and graphic designer, Jen (interviewed here) recently about visibility vs. followers. Of course, having a large following can be a fantastic thing. It makes it a lot easier to sell products and fill waitlists and grow email lists when you have a large pool of people to promote to who already know you, like you, and trust you.
However, there is still huge value in staying consistently visible even if you don’t have a big following. Especially if your business can only work with a certain number of clients at a time. My interiors client (mentioned above) has less than 1,000 followers on LinkedIn, but her consistent presence and targeted outreach has got her in front of the right people and won her new business.
My combined following (across LinkedIn, Instagram — excluding my Doors of London account —, and email list) is ~8,800. It grows steadily and gradually, and it’s not a huge number — but that’s not even really the point.
The point is that I show up week-in and week-out even when it feels like absolutely no-one is watching. Even when I lose subscribers. Even when a post falls flat. Because I know by now that you never know who is watching. You never know who is on the verge of reaching out to find out more about your services.
I’d love to know — do you have examples of people reaching out to you out of the blue?
Bella xo
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I do! Last week I've had two consultation calls - both coming from a Linkedin post about absolutely different topic. Moreover, I don't advertise my consultant work anywhere! It is a great reminder btw to actually show and tell people all the services you could provide
Yes! This seems to happen to me. Nothing - then all of a sudden they appear. I had someone who didn’t even follow me on LinkedIn reach out because ‘they saw my post and thought it would be a good idea’.
Just got to keep going even when it feels like nothing is working 😊
I do! Last week I've had two consultation calls - both coming from a Linkedin post about absolutely different topic. Moreover, I don't advertise my consultant work anywhere! It is a great reminder btw to actually show and tell people all the services you could provide
Yes! This seems to happen to me. Nothing - then all of a sudden they appear. I had someone who didn’t even follow me on LinkedIn reach out because ‘they saw my post and thought it would be a good idea’.
Just got to keep going even when it feels like nothing is working 😊