Boosting LinkedIn Impressions: Dan Sherrard-Smith’s ‘Pre-Validated Content’ Strategy

In a recent LinkedIn post, Dan Sherrard-Smith addresses a common concern for many professionals on the platform: declining impressions. He offers a strategic approach he calls “Pre-validated content” to help founders and creators regain traction and grow their reach.

Sherrard-Smith challenges the conventional method of starting from scratch for every post. He outlines a less effective, more frustrating process: inventing original ideas, waiting for inspiration, and then facing the disappointment of a poorly performing post. Instead, he advocates for a method that reduces worry, saves time, increases visibility, and maintains authenticity.

“The principle is simple: stop guessing. Instead, let the market tell you what they are interested in first.”

The Core Principle of Pre-Validated Content

According to Dan Sherrard-Smith, the essence of pre-validated content is to leverage existing market signals rather than relying on pure originality or inspiration. He draws parallels to established business and media strategies. For instance, he points to how Burger King didn’t invent the burger but created their own successful version by observing McDonald’s market success. Similarly, news outlets report on stories that are already gaining traction.

Three Strategies for Implementing Pre-Validated Content

Sherrard-Smith details three actionable methods for creators on LinkedIn to adopt this strategy, ranked by their potential to break users out of their echo chambers:

1. Reusing a Great Performing Asset (with Permission)

The first and most effective method, according to Sherrard-Smith, involves finding a successful piece of content from another creator and, with their permission, rewriting the post in your own words. This approach capitalizes on an idea that the market has already proven to be engaging.

“The market is already telling you the idea works. You just rewrite it for your audience. Lowest effort. Highest reach.”

As Dan Sherrard-Smith notes, this method minimizes the effort required while maximizing the potential reach because the core idea’s appeal has already been established.

2. Reusing an Asset Format with Original Content

The second strategy involves identifying a successful content format from another post but creating your own unique asset within that format. Sherrard-Smith shares a personal example:

“For instance, I saw a post of before and after Paris went green. So I found a street in Sheffield that had taken similar actions. It got 500k+ impressions for my account.”

In this scenario, as Dan Sherrard-Smith explains, the creator develops entirely original content, thus requiring no external credit, while still benefiting from a proven format that resonates with audiences. This method is described as entirely original work.

3. Adapting the Idea, Asset, and Format

The third approach involves taking inspiration from a successful idea but significantly changing both the asset and the format. Sherrard-Smith cautions that this method is the least likely to break a creator out of their echo chamber. He explains that by diverging too much from the original format that the market validated, creators risk losing the engagement mechanism that made the initial content successful.

Encouraging Engagement

Dan Sherrard-Smith concludes his post by inviting his audience to share their experiences:

“Have you tried this? What result did you get?”

This direct question encourages interaction and further discussion on the effectiveness of pre-validated content strategies within the LinkedIn community.