Produced By - From 2007 to 2025: The Ghostwriter Who Finally Hit Publish | 144: Dmitry Pavlotsky

Episode Date: March 23, 2026

We talk a lot about hitting publish in this episode. Fittingly, it was recorded using Riverside: https://creators.riverside.com/TomasLoucky Dmitry Pavlotsky is a ghostwriter, copywriter and marketing expert with nearly two decades of experience helping founders turn ideas into stories that build trust and drive results. He has written for CEOs, scaled startups, launched brands and ghostwritten thousands of posts, all while staying behind the scenes. That changed in 2025 when one interview gave him the push to start posting under his own name. Since then, he has built a loyal audience by sharing sharp, funny and honest posts that open doors and spark real conversations. Listen to this episode to hear Dmitry’s journey from ghostwriter to creator. He shares how years of writing and brand-building shaped his voice and what finally convinced him to use it. You’ll learn how he stays consistent by focusing on process and play, not perfection, and why showing up with curiosity is often the best strategy. Whether you're building your brand, attracting clients without a portfolio or trying to post more often without overthinking it, this episode will help you simplify the process, trust your voice and grow something meaningful.Connect with Dmitry:https://www.linkedin.com/in/pavlotsky/Timestamps: 00:00 - Offering free posts and the unexpected response 01:11 - Welcome to the show 01:23 - Dmitry’s background in marketing and ghostwriting 03:33 - Why he finally started posting on LinkedIn 05:01 - Posting every day and the doors it opened 05:42 - Stop overthinking and just hit publish 06:56 - Waiting 18 years before posting for himself 07:57 - Why social media is really about connection 08:37 - Enjoying the process of creating content 09:35 - Finding a creative outlet through LinkedIn 10:16 - Experience does not always make starting easier 10:44 - The three rules of writing: clear, short, publish 12:08 - Short posts and why they work 12:48 - The two-word post experiment 14:20 - Why funny posts attract attention 15:04 - Finding your audience on LinkedIn 15:24 - Showing up even when it is difficult 16:29 - When a post flops and what to do next 18:05 - Learning from mistakes and staying honest 19:43 - Why storytelling builds trust 20:27 - Turning everyday moments into stories 22:27 - Mid-roll: Recording this podcast with Riverside 23:02 - Dmitry’s process for writing LinkedIn posts 24:59 - Helping people get jobs by posting online 25:16 - Helping people even when they are not clients 26:05 - Offering the first post for free 27:46 - The post that brought 200 requests in 24 hours 29:08 - Using a simple lead magnet on LinkedIn 29:51 - Dealing with difficult clients 32:23 - Why trusting your gut matters 33:00 - How to attract your first clients without a portfolio 34:09 - Your LinkedIn posts as your portfolio 35:30 - Advice for growing on LinkedIn 36:25 - The importance of consistency 38:17 - A viral joke that brought unexpected leads 40:13 - Balancing authority and authenticity online 41:34 - Why virality does not equal clients 42:36 - Hobbies, football and reading 43:03 - A book recommendation for writers 46:09 - Favourite music and bands 46:49 - Dmitry’s past as a drummer 47:12 - Writing books and future plans 48:31 - Where to find Dmitry online 49:59 - What happiness means for success 51:09 - Final advice: there are more good people than bad Connect with Tomas:X: https://x.com/TomasLoucky⁠⁠⁠Stan: https://stan.store/TommenLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tomasloucky/⁠⁠Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thisistommen/⁠⁠Unproduced:Newsletter: https://unproduced.substack.comYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@unproducednotesSpotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/033Ddo8ibDlLYoaP7FFLIWMore:Links: https://linktr.ee/produced_by⁠⁠⁠Newsletter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://producednewsletter.substack.com/⁠The Podcast Club: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/25420030/Tools & gear that support the show:Metricool: https://f.mtr.cool/HRJBZKRiverside: https://riverside.sjv.io/vDnDodFavikon: https://www.favikon.com?fpr=tommenRa Optics: https://ra-optics.myshopify.com/discount/TOMMEN?rfsn=8803777.591d19JamX: https://jamx.ai/podcasters-offer?ref_id=e02d48af-ef66-4e76-b804-c2e8d282a8bfSome links are affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. If you find them useful, using these links helps keep the podcast running. Thank you!  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

If you come to the platform out of nowhere, and I was very fresh on the platform once again, no one knew me. And I could offer what I do best and what I love doing for free. The first taster is always for free, and any marketing specialist tells you there. What am I doing there? I'm writing for other people. So why don't I write their first or their next post for free? The first time I posted it, I think it was either June or July 2025, so I waited and waited, for it to be the low season because I was somehow thinking that it might be overwhelming.

But just the way I tell everyone, I made a simple creative, I made a simple post, and I pushed publish. During the first 24 hours, I received more than 200 requests. That's why on the next day, I had to DM everybody. That's it. It was valid yesterday. Bye, Bye. And then if you find no... Before we dive into today's episode, please hit that subscribe button. Your support helps us grow and inspire more people on their journeys. Thank you. Hello, Dimitri.

Thank you for joining us today. And welcome to the show. Hi, thanks for having me. Great to see it. So, Dimitri, for those who don't know you, can you please introduce yourself? Of course. Of course. No question about that. Where do I begin? When I talk to my potential clients, I always start pitching myself like a marketing specialist with more than 15 years of experience. Come on, guys. The beard is getting gray.

It's closer to 20 years of experience. And actually, I've been writing for a bit more than 20 years. I've been working in marketing for education for more than 15 years. And I've been a ghost writer for about 10 years already. But there is a tiny peculiarity there as well because I've never wrote anything for myself. I only started less than a year ago. Well, I received numerous messages. It's like, mate, you've been here forever.

We've been reading you. Forget. No, you haven't. Because actually, I think that my first intro posts, if I could begin in another way, I have had my account on LinkedIn since 2007. Once again. I actually remember your post recently.

When you post it, I was like, wow, that's proper OG. He knew like him before. At the same time, that's why I post about it on a bi-weekly basis, you know, because I've had this account for more than 18 years, but for 17 years I haven't used it for myself. I've been ghostwriting for different CEOs and founders for more than 10 years, as I have already said, but not for myself. My first post was in 2023, I think.

And it was like some kind of hello world or some of this stuff. of nine likes. I was so proud of myself. But then I went offline again. And then about a year ago, I stumbled upon an interview of Matt Barker. He was talking to Harry Fuku and Harry's in true OG there. He helped me a lot during the last several months. Check him out, check him out, everyone. And when I watched that interview, I was like, these guys are writing posts for themselves. Why have I been ditching this for my whole life? So why not give it a try? So I think my introductory post went live in February 2025. And I started posting three times a week for myself for the first time in my life. I was trying to consider myself as my own perfect client because who knows me

better than myself, who knows my story better than myself. I know a lot about marketing and I know a lot about writing. So why not share it with the world? And it's like, you know, I talked myself into it because you can hardly find a more introverted guy on me. I hate going out. I'm working from my kitchen. I don't go anywhere. But come on, you do public speeches. I've seen on LinkedIn as well as some videos. So it doesn't seem like that. We'll get it.

We'll get it, my friend. And so I started writing. I decided to post three times per week. And all of a sudden, people started reading. And I was like, okay. In about a month, I started posting five times a week. And I couldn't stop myself because since April, late April, 2025, if I remember correctly so it's less than a year it's February

it's actually crazy I was going to say that I also was expecting that you've been showing up for much longer because I enjoy your content and everything and now you say this I'm like oh my God no only since April 2025 I decided to post on a daily basis and lately

I've been keeping up with seven to nine posts per week and I can't stop because I love it simple as that and you can hardly imagine how many doors this has opened, how many brilliant people, including yourself, kind sir, I've met along the way in less than a year. It's like I'm a grown-up guy. I haven't met that many people

in my life compared to us to year. That's a good point, actually. I feel the same with LinkedIn. The number of people I met over LinkedIn, it's a crazy if you compare to how many people you've met in a real life, Indie. Exactly, exactly. In the moment, you stop overthinking it. And that's what I writes about on nearly a daily basis, you just post that post. Don't overthink it. See where it takes you. If you don't have the desired target outcome, even if you don't have a proper strategy in place for now, because a strategy is always important and it's always needed, of course. But if you want to give it a try, why not publish? Say, hello world, I'm this and that. I come from this place. I'm busy with this.

Do you have anything to ask me about? And it begins immediately. Exactly. And it might be waiting for the perfect moment or for the perfect post forever. And there might be someone who actually did that first one that wasn't perfect. But still, they are way ahead of you. So it's perfecting one. Once again, great bit here.

Took me 18 years to publish a post for myself. You don't want to know how sad I am. with all those years missed. I'm so proud that I have approximately 9K of followers right now, but 18 years. 18 years. But, you know, there are people that still haven't made that first step. So I think that's something that we all think that, oh, I wish I started posting earlier.

I wish this and that. But in the end, there are people who still maybe are not posting. it doesn't need to be related to LinkedIn, but for example, taking action in, you know, business, starting new hobby or anything else, but still those that take action now or, you know, recently still much better than those they are still waiting.

Of course, of course. And once again, it doesn't depend on the fact that if you have a desired target outcome, for example, you have to promote your B2B base on LinkedIn. You want to get leads. It's a social media outlet. and it's called social media for a reason. What's right there.

People might read. And if people read, what you have to tell them. You might as well find new friends, new partners, new investors. Because, well, if we are talking about pipelines for investors today, I've got something to tell you. Well, you know what? The great point that you shared, you said that you started three times per week, then seven times, and now even nine. and what you said after is like one of the best messages that I try to get across and I try to live by it as well is to enjoy the journey and enjoy the process

because you said that you love it and I can see from your posts that they are unique, creative and fun and to me it just makes it easier to show up so I really like your content and I think that's a great message or a great lesson for people out there don't forget to enjoy it. Correct. Thank you very much for there. But at the same time, well, when I was starting out about a year ago, a bit less than a year ago, I was looking for kind of, I hate the word creativity because

I don't breathe in creativity, but to be understood, I have to put it there away, I needed a creative outlet. I've been writing my whole life. During the last several years, I had quite a long period of time when I didn't write a word. And I wanted to get back to writing because I love it. And I was looking for an outlet. People call it a creative outlet. And then I suddenly remember that I had a LinkedIn account. I was like, okay. Why the hell not? Next thing you know, I see that interview of Matt Baca and I'm like, okay, if you

were looking for a sign, buddy, this is it. That's how it all began for me. So just guys, everyone and anyone who listens to our talk, please hit publish, post anything and see where it takes you. You cannot imagine where it can take you. Honestly, honestly, I've been there recently. Me too. I agree. And another great point, you, or let's hope, maybe this interview or this podcast,

might be such a catalyst for someone else as well, like I'm from Matt for Dimitri. So you never know. Absolutely. And Dimitri, then did you feel like, I guess, that you did? Because when you started, obviously you had so much experience behind you from all those years of riding and everything. Did you then feel like you've got easier start or advantage considering or your experience? Or did you still feel like? No, really.

No, really. Because the longer you are busy with something, the more obvious all the lessons seem to you. It's like, I know how to write words in line. But doesn't everyone know how to do that? No, they don't. You want to segment your target audience is this most simple task. I could ever think of. Everyone can do it.

No, nobody. Tell them how to do it. In simple words, when I was standing out, I was trying to sloganize my journey. And I had three main points, three main pillars, if you want to call them their way. You have to understand your own message. So you have to make it clear.

If you want people to read it, you have to keep it true. short. And the third pillar is the hardest to follow, but still, Plares publish, let them know. Keep it clear, keep it short and let them know. These are three main steps that I had to go through myself. These are three main steps I still teach all my clients to take. Understand what you want to say. Make it very shot and simple and then say it. I like it because don't forget how much content there is out there. And if you are scrolling and you see such a long post, even like, for example, not format it or terribly format it. Let's be honest that no one likes to read it.

And honestly, like sometimes I see your posts and they are short on point and funny. And I'm like, okay, this is great. I get to read the whole thing. I love. And it's punchy. So it's just a perfect example. Exactly. It always depends. The thing is I don't have to be selling LinkedIn because people are on LinkedIn watching this interview. You know about at the same time, it all depends on how you want to treat it and how you want the platform to treat you in return.

You can enjoy your long posts, long form writing. There you go. If you want to write a composition, go on. But at the same time, if you want to keep it. short, why not? I think about several months ago, I had a bet with one of my pals on LinkedIn, and he asked me to go viral with a two-word post. Two words, totally. I said, okay. And I won. I actually won, but at the same time, you have to understand there was a creative attention to that post. There still was an illustration, but there were only two words. The illustri. The illustrival,

said it's like a mock-up of an email from LinkedIn to my inbox saying your profile is doing great look these amount of people had to visit your account yesterday and there's only one profile visit so it says you're doing great and I wrote am I and it went wild you know it explains and I on the bat. That's most for me. I don't think I've seen the post, but I like it. I don't want to say the word creative bites on school, and it's a good one. Exactly.

But it's so simple. It's so simple. And since then, it's kind of became my tiny framework. Because when I want to post something funny, and of course, the funniest posts are the most engaging ones. So when I want to post something funny, I prefer to make it as small as possible. I've had a couple of word posts, several of them. They performed really well. Did they bring engagement?

Oh, most certainly. Did they bring you followers? Oh, yes, of course. Did they bring any leads? Of course not. But it's just my perspective, but I'm sure that you know what it is. You look at LinkedIn and you see many times like personal branding advice, one post, same as the other one.

And then there is one different one. unique, that is fun, that stands out. And to me, that is what actually stands out and that I enjoy. It might be, of course, only my view and my experience because I'm not like someone's client, but it's just to support that there are audience for such amazing posts like you. So I hope that you continue. Of course, of course. There's audience for everything, for any kind of content on LinkedIn.

If you prefer to keep your content within one platform, remember one simple thing. There are more than one billion. accounts on LinkedIn. This crazy. If you like what you write, if you enjoy it yourself, if you write for yourself and if you enjoy reading what you have written, there must be at least one other person that will enjoy it. Or 10 other people or a couple of thousands of those.

So just write it and publish it. Obviously the platform is growing. So if they are not there now, they will be there in the future. Exactly. And one of the questions that I like to ask, or that I'm kind of curious about this actually when it comes to consistency or showing up, because although we enjoy it, we try to have fun, but it's not always easy to show up if you don't see your results or you are just humans. So what is it like that helps you to keep showing up

or even if you don't feel like it? That's a very fair question. I think during the last year, I didn't feel like posting anything only two or three times. Because once again, the best base of it is having fun. If you like it, you can treat yourself on a daily basic. Just write a post and let it fly. And it doesn't matter whether it performs or not. Last week, I had the biggest flop in the last six months. For the first time in six months, I always tell everyone, don't delete your posts. Never delete your post. I had to delete my own post. Oh, did you? I didn't know if actually did it ever. You see, I did it

I did it because I was so unhappy with the results. All of a sudden, out of nowhere, I don't know. I have my days. I'm a human being. We need to say that it was algorithm. It wasn't your fault.

Yeah. Oh, that algorithm. Anyway, but then I talked to several people to people I trust to people I actually believe and those

who are who have been doing LinkedIn for much longer than me. And they inspired me to bring it back. So I just changed a couple of words. I posted it on a Friday night. It didn't perform well, but I didn't care anymore because it was kind of a mental block for me.

It was a very personal story because on Friday, I've been posting stories about my childhood for quite a long time. The funny thing is that during November and December of 2025, those posts became the most converting for me. Half of my leads came from those posts when I was writing about my granny, who's, I don't know, she passed away 25 years ago. Now I'm writing about her.

She brings me leads. Like, come on. Anyway, and for the first time, in months and months and months, the post about my childhood flopped. And of course, I was absolutely sad. So I brought it back and it still performed. And maybe. Just maybe it performed because I didn't give a damn anymore.

Post. Watch it fly. Don't delete it. I promise. I will never delete another post on my own. I will not edit this section. I will keep it there. I think it's important or good to keep in mind.

It happens to all of us that if it doesn't perform, I'm pretty sure that it happens even to those that are way, of us that have higher numbers. Of course, flop for them probably means something different than flop for us or for someone else, but it's just a natural and it's just part of the journey. And I think you did the gratitude to learn from it and improved. It's a part of a journey. That's the perfect way to put it, mate. It's a part of the journey. You flop, you learn, you repost, maybe you will reflop. I don't know. that's it

let it fly let it leave learn from your mistakes and remember to always be honest in your post because well you know they always say it even AI writes it nowadays people talk to people people by from people it can be a fully fused

AI post people talk to people but that's the way it is if there's a human being behind your post that's the most important thing Your own story is your biggest unfair advantage. So if you have at least one story and we're all grown up, so of course we have more than two stories in our lives. Tell it too well and just make it yours. Even if you use AI, it's right.

Make it yours. Simple as that. Exactly. And you just said that with the stories, and I was about to follow up when you mentioned your granny that I've seen across your post many times that you share great stories, whether it's with your granny, your niece or even other members of the family.

I feel like, I don't know if I remember any other, but I feel like you're one of the best storytellers. You said really well, everyone has stories and come on like even young people have stories. Everyone does. But still, if there are people overthinking, maybe they still think, oh, I don't know if anything interesting or stories, yes, you do. But still, what would be like your advice for people to find good ones, how to share it, and just start with the story telling more.

The thing is that if you can't think about a story from your childhood, from your teenage years, that taught you something that you could tie to your experience nowadays, it's pretty simple. But then again, I've been doing it for years, so it's obvious to me. Most of us who posts and who want to tell our stories, they either study or work. And if people work, they're most. likely have had a call or a meeting or two during the last several days. And when you remember the words that were said during the call, during the meeting, there might be some tiny lesson that you could learn from that moment.

For example, if you're a salesperson and you talk to your client, you learned about the client's pain points. If you are a junior developer, I don't know, I'm not a technical guy. say you're a junior developer of some kind of an application and your boss talked to you in a way that you didn't like but still you heard something new for yourself make it a story if you think it's obvious it's not because there are hundreds and hundreds and thousands of people who are interested in reading your story and if it's universal truth then your post will be relatable Simple as that.

So if you think about what happened yesterday, yesterday I played football and I was injured and this is what it told me about B2B sales. We can make jokes about on a daily basis, but then again, what happened yesterday can become your lesson for tomorrow. And if you can make ends meet and you can tie it to one another, then it's simply one of the best places for you

to start your storytelling journey. I agree. It doesn't be lazy. sit down, think about it, and you just come up with something. Don't overthink it. Oh, of course. There is a point where podcasting stops feeling creative and starts feeling like a mess. I have to spend hours digging through files, export in between tools and try to keep it all together. Riverside change that. Now, I record, edit and cut my clips in one place, without jumping between five steps. That's what helps me stay consistent. It may

makes the work actually enjoyable again. If you're trying to keep our podcast going without burning out, I really recommend giving it a try. Links in the description. What then, Dmitri, your, like, creative, again, I know we discussed creative, so sorry that I mentioned the word, but what does your process look like? For example, either when it's coming up with the stories that we discuss, when it's writing the posts, and just planning your content on LinkedIn. I've been in the game for less than a year, but then again, it's nearly a year. So I can sometimes understand what my current and potential target audience, what my current and potential clients might be willing to read about.

So as a marketing specialist for me, it's very simple. I know their pain points. And for some of them, for most of them, I have a painkiller. Simple as that. For example, today I posted a tiny text about my, my clients from the end of last year, they were looking for a job. They couldn't find a job. We all know that market nowadays is absolutely beliest. It's crazy. Even with loads of experiences, very hard for you to find a job. But then again, when they asked me to help them, I don't have

two different stories for different people. I always say the same thing. Go public. Tell your own story, share your experience, post, post, post, you will become visible. And the moment you become visible, the platform starts boosting your account. And it helps a bit as well. And this was the way how I helped those guys find a job in two to three months. People look for jobs for years and years on end. In this case, there were several of them. In this case, I helped them all. Just telling them how and what's right. It sounds simple to me. It sounds simple to you, mate.

But people are lost. They want to understand how to make it work. Yeah. The moment they go public, everything changes. It is true. Sometimes just need a bit of guidance or help, which, again, there are so many people that you can follow, learn from, even reach out to them for any help and support.

So don't be afraid of it and take advantage of it as well. You are more than right. You are more than right. I receive plenty of DMs asking me questions and saying, I'm not ready to become your client. Guys, I don't care. I'm helping everyone for free. You can DM me. Everyone who hears it can DM me and ask questions.

I don't charge for interaction. I always am willing to help everyone. If I can help you, I'm always helping you. If I can't, then sorry about that. Then again, if you have something to ask, if you want to understand how LinkedIn works, if you want to understand what to write about, if you want to understand how to be consistent, I don't have two different stories for everyone.

Read my posts, ask me questions, let's say. An important thing to mention or something that stands out is that actually Dimitri offers first post for free, if I'm not mistaken. Oh, I do. You have to say that, right? I can't do that much lately because when I was... It's overwhelming. Yeah, thank you very much, guys. When I was starting out, I was just writing posts for a couple of weeks.

Then I understood that I had to have a strategy. Just like I always had for my clients, I have to have a strategy for myself. Because mind you, I'm my own best client. So I went full on with a strategy with my content plan. And then I understood that I could give it a try and have some kind of a tiny lead magnet. and what better lid magnet there ever could be if you come to the platform out of nowhere and I was very fresh on the platform once again. No one knew me.

And I could offer what I do best and what I love doing for free. The first taster is always for free and any marketing specialist tells you there. What am I doing there? I'm writing for other people. So why don't I write there first or they? their next post for free. The first time I posted it was, I think it was either June or July 2025, so I waited and waited for it to be the low season, because I was somehow thinking that it might be overwhelming.

But just the way I tell everyone, I made a simple creative, I made a simple post and I pushed publish. During the first 24 hours, I received more than 200 requests. Oh my God, really? I wasn't expecting. On the next day, I had to DM everybody. That's it. It was valid yesterday. Bye-bye. And then if you... We should have added a little disclaimer at the bottom. It was only for... That's correct. Thank you very much. We have. me last summer. And I still have that tiny CTA in my banner. But I know that most of people who interact with me and my content come through my content. So lately I only receive several of those per week. They say, oh, I saw that I have to DM you post. There you go. How does it work?

And then of course it starts working. I always help everybody. I think if someone who's watching this vid still has to receive a post for me. being me but then again this lead magnet it was one of the best league magnets obviously that I've ever had in any of the businesses I was working with and I don't post that too much it's like I'm now hiding this CTA I'm writing a post about what I do for people and at the end there's a tiny PS or a CTA if you want a free burst you can do you only why do you don't have to I shouldn't have said that I'm sorry Ah, it's okay.

It's okay. We're good. We're good. Anyway, I don't post it too often, but at least once a month, just to boost it a little bit, just to see if there are some new guys willing to receive some help or talk to me. It's very simple. You tell them what to DM you. It's a short word.

It's the best way for it to make it work for everybody. And out of Kirstie, what type of people do you attract with this? or what type of people takes advantage of this service? Because I just wonder if, to be honest, that there are private people who may just take advantage of it, but at the same time, I'm sure there are people who genuinely want to learn and won't help. You know, I still consider that I think that there are more nice

and understanding people around us than the disgusting morons who want to take us for granted. I still hope. I'm a grown-up guy, but I have my hopes. So actually, I think that I was taking for granted only like five or six times. So it's not that much. It was overwhelming quite a bit because I received a request from one businessman. I will never say his name in public because he's quite a large businessman from one of the European countries who requested a post, received a post, posted it.

then he notified me that he received 10 leads from that post he wanted to talk to me he pitched me his business during a call relentlessly and i was like i was on cloud number now i was like oh my god what a client he's so skilled this and that but then i listened to him and i think i had a post about it a couple of months ago and he suddenly said um after all you're only just writing words so the moment i received my first income from what you have to write, then I can hire you. So let's just begin like that. And I was like, are you for real? Could you please respect me and my time a little bit? I lost 40 minutes listening to you about your business. And now you say, you're not hiring me and you're not paying me for my time for what I do best. And then he had to say, after all, you're only just writing words.

And I was like, are you actually sure you want to put it that way, kind sir? And I still remember him. I still can make him very popular online, but I'm not doing that in any way because I don't want to get into his life. I just remembered and took it as a lesson. So we all absolutely have to be careful with that. But then again, if you don't believe people, how are you going to survive in the 21st century? I know it takes time to build trust, but it's very important. I'm sorry to hear about experience because, of course, I don't know the client,

but I think sometimes it's better like not to work with. Of course, there can be potential and good money, but in the long term, if it will be a pain to collaborate with a client, it's probably not worth it. No question about that. It's very hard to differentiate these guys from the good clients from the get-go, but at the same time, there are some tiny signs that are revealed during the first talk or during the first interaction via the DMs. If you catch them and if you doubt, there's another lesson I had to learn about this

as a grown-up, but still, trust your guts. Always learning, yeah. Trust your guts. If you feel that something's off, you'd better ditch it. Trust your guts. I think it works pretty well. nowadays. That's a good one. I need to remind myself that too. Oh, me too.

At Mitch, as we are speaking about clients, it's actually a good question and I'm pretty sure helpful to many people, but what will be your advice how to attract your first clients? Because, for example, if you don't have portfolio, maybe network or anyone to work for at first, what will be your advice how to attract the first ones? Post. Full stop. Post-only. As simple as that.

We're talking about not having a portfolio. I don't have a portfolio. Most of my clients throughout my entire career were covered with NDA. And I used to be a writer for them. Both as part of the team or as the leader of the team, it was mostly covered by NDA. So I don't have a portfolio.

But then again, what I told you at the beginning of our talk, I only started posting less than a year ago. And recently, when a potential client told me, where can I see your portfolio? Said, go to LinkedIn. Browse through my posts. I was going to say, just scroll my activity and you'll see. This is my portfolio.

He says, what about your clients? Where can I see how you worked with the clients? And I say, I post about that on Wednesdays. My case studies are always posted on Wednesdays. All the figures are there. But at the same time, you will never see me tagging any of my clients. And there is a very simple reason for that. If you are a businessman or a businesswoman, if you are a founder and you're hiring a ghostwriter,

think about it for a second. Will you be happy to let the world know that your posts, We're not written by you. I think the answer is very clear. And this is why I currently, currently, I'm never covering my work by an NDA. But then again, I always give my clients a word that I'm never having them as examples to pitch to other clients. I'm just being honest there. It's nothing special.

I can understand how it works in modern business. and if you are my client, no one will ever know that you were my client. Simple as that. Yeah. To me, makes complete sense

and completely understandable. And I think you said it really well. Then next question and something that I would regret not asking because it's like something that needs to know. I don't want to say the word viral, but any advice tips our recommendations on how to grow on the platform. Because we've got audience on LinkedIn.

It's our favorite. platform, but like, you know, there are people who want to grow, maybe not attract clients, but I don't know, increase the following, the connections, et cetera. So your advice how to grow your personal brand? I'm a ghostwriter. I'm not a personal branding specialist. Look at me. More than enough of those.

Well, I really have a personal brand. Come on. I'm the worst example of a personal brand. No, no, no. You've got a great profile, polished, great content. So definitely someone worth. I mean, everyone, both the small creators and the huge creators, both the human beings and AI, overuse the word consistency. But this is actually one of the best words there ever can

be if you want to become well-known in your field online. Be consistent. The first step for you is to understand how to write proper posts. The second step for you is to understand what your content strategy and content plan will be for the next week, two weeks, month, half a year, a year, up to you. But if you're not consistent, if you post a brilliant piece of art and then you ghost for a year, it doesn't work. If you learn as you go, if you ship, make mistakes, ship again and learn from your mistakes again on a daily basis, two times a week, three times a week, I don't care.

But if it's consistent, it doesn't only tell the platform that you want to interact with the platform. It has to understand that you're consistent. Your audience will eagerly await your posts if they understand that you post on a daily twice a week, three times a week, at 10 a.m. CET. they will expect your post at the time and will be there to support you, like you, command on your post, or even if they're in the mood, save your post or show it. This is the only way to grow you have to be honest and you have to be clear on what you want

to achieve, on what's your desired target outcome. And I'm the best, the best, I'm the worst guy to ask about it, five, well. because I went viral only twice, I think. The last time was only recently last Saturday. I thought of a tiny joke. I posted it and let me tell you, I wanted to have a Saturday off. I posted it and I went away to assemble some furniture because I had to have a break and I wanted to spend some time of time.

Next thing you know, in a couple of hours, I opened my LinkedIn account because there were multiple notification. I was like, it's Saturday, guys, come on. I opened my account and I see 500 likes. Oh, my God. What? Just give me a break. Late.

Oh, my God. It was a joke on a Saturday. Right now, I checked about two or three hours ago. There are nearly 2,000 likes. Oh, really? This is a viral. Oh, wow, it's crazy. Yeah.

Exactly. So, anyway, this is a, a viral post. And what I always say, virality doesn't bring you clients. Virality might feel nice. People are liking my posts. Okay, that's fair. And that's okay. If you want people to like your post, it's okay. But for example, this joke was absolutely irrelevant to anything I do. But it brought me 20 leads. Oh, really? Oh my God. For the first time ever, a stupid joke brought me leads. Am I happy?

Yes, I am. Does it work like that every time? No, it doesn't. But only if you let yourself go, if you don't overthink it, you can post a joke on a Saturday night and it might go viral and you'll see where it takes you. This is the very fragile balance between your public authority. that you're a creator, you are busy with Arsenal branding, you're helping your clients,

and then you post a stupid joke. That's just me. I prefer to, if you call it personal brand, I prefer for people to take me as a simple and approachable guy because that's what I am. If you can't read it in my content, watch this interview. But it's the approach that I like as well. Don't overthink it. Don't try.

you know, because you've got all kinds of advice from everywhere, you need to do this, this and that. But then just perfect example with your way, have fun, enjoy it and see how it can work. Because for example, even you can see people obsessing which day performs the best this day or that day at that hour. And I always think like, oh, Saturdays, at least for me personally, it doesn't perform that well. And now I just heard, like, for example, from you, Saturday evening, such a random kind of less planned post and see how it went. So I think, again, perfect example. And just on what you said about the virality,

I think it's also a great thing that I think that people should experience it to know what it is like so that they know that when you go viral, it doesn't suddenly change your word. And it's not such a huge thing to desire. I lately talk to very many different creators of different scale. Some of them had a couple of thousands of subscribers. Some of them had about 50,000 of subscribers. And everyone says the same.

It always, always, always depends on your desired target outcome. If you're looking for clients on LinkedIn, check your bank account balance. If your content brings you clients who are paid. why would you need likes? If you don't care about finding clients, if you just enjoy posting, you know, there's always Facebook or Instagram, but say you prefer LinkedIn

and there's absolutely no problem with that. Then don't check your bank account. Then track your light. Make your impression. Simple as that. It's like it's very, very simple and it's easy to understand when you think about it properly.

What's your time? target, what's your aim? What's your target? There are goals. Balance it. I think we said that perfectly. And Dimitri, just to be aware of time, by the end of our recording,

I like to ask kind of lighter questions. So what is it that you enjoy doing in your free time, or what are some of your hobbies? Oh, it's very simple. I sometimes post about it. I love playing football. Like yesterday. Yesterday, I got your story.

It was a joke, but anyway, I love playing football. I had a couple of doctors who prohibited me to play football about 10 years ago. I said, yeah, thank you very much. I'm not the most clever guy when it comes to health, as you see. But I love Fouthi. I absolutely adore reading, and reading is the best hobby there ever could be. Because when you have some time to read, read a book, and it may help you, your pain. It may help and teach you something, and it can also help your business. And if we're

talking about books, I always tell everyone, please go to Amazon and find a book called Very Good Copy by Eddie Schlenner. He's easily the best copywriter of our day, and his book is very affordable and it's a masterpiece when it comes to storytelling. And of course I listen to loads of music. That's my third content pillar of my life. And you mentioned this book. I'm honestly not sure I will check it out, but on the pop this one, what are some of like her favorite ones or that being impactful to you? He is a storyteller who teaches you how to tell stories. be it stories with phrases comprised of two or three words or full-on compositions like walls of text

and he analyzes each piece of content that he has in his micro lessons and he tells you why, when and how it works depending on your target audience. It's splendid. Everyone shall read this book. I read it seven times last year. Honestly, I love it. You sold it to us. And I honestly, I'm not a big fan of football, but I'm sure there is audience that are. So would you mind sharing what's your favorite team and maybe favorite player? It's very hard to say because I'm not that much of a football supporter lately, but I'm much more of a football player lately.

But one of my most and biggest impressions in my life when I was 16, I used to live in Scotland. And I used to live in Kilmarnock. And there was a local team which I absolutely loved. And it was the first time in my life when I went to a stadium. And it was wild. I loved it. But it's very hard for me to choose right now because right now in the Netherlands, there are many brilliant players.

But I'm an old school guy. I still remember the names from the 90s. so they might not even ring a bell to your audience, mate. I was just curious in case that. Then you mentioned music. Then what's your favorite, whether it's type or band or singer? It's not that much of a very popular music. I prefer heavy guitaring, but still with melody.

So modern days, metal stuff, if I could put it that way, without calling out the names, because I don't want people to find it out. But of course, again, I'm pretty old school. So all the goodies from the 90s like Soundgarden Ellis and Chains, Pearl Jam, etc. It's pretty standard for a guy who was a teenager in the 90s. And do you actually produce or play any music by yourself or you just listen and enjoy it? I used to be a drama for eight different bands, but it was so long ago that I don't remember the

names of the bands. Oh my god. That's some experience. That's pretty good. And then I was about to ask you since we've been discussing writing and now the books, have you actually got like plans by yourself to maybe write something in the future at some point? Or maybe already writing something? That's a very good question. And I'm asking this question myself on a daily basis. When are you lazy body are going to write your next book? I've written several books, but I haven't written a proper book for more than five years already. When I have free time, I actually love reading Ledlit. And Ledlit, you know, the representatives, the best representatives might be Nick Hornby on Jonathan Dropper. And one of my last novels that I started writing a couple of years ago was

absolutely 100% Leadlit. It's about a guy in his 30s who loses it all but still manages to survive. He loses his job. He loses his wife. And even his parents are happy with him and they don't want to see him in that place. It's fun. It's funny. It's sad. It's melodramatic sometimes.

But I still have to find some time to get down to writing again. I can't wait, to be honest. But I don't have time for that right now. But the good thing is that you're building your audience. You're getting, you already have, but getting even more experience. So once you actually do it, it's going to be a big one. And we are excited for it. We'll be.

Thank you so much. I'm hoping for the best. Then, Dimitri, can you please summarize where people can find you, follow you and promote any of your services? It's very simple. If you go to LinkedIn, I know that I don't have the most popular name in the world, but it's Dimitri. And my surname is Pavlovsky. So if you type Pavlovsky, to the search bar it will definitely show you myself because there are not that many guys wearing a

beard with its surname and i think that that's the only platform where you can find me right now because i don't use other platforms you can only find me on lincoln and what i can help you with is always i will teach you how to write proper texts or i can write those texts for you so it's all always up to you if you need any support in regards of proper posts following then proper ghostwriting or copywriting you know where to find me that's about it it's pretty simple couple of words but that's what I do this is actually what I like when it's simple not too many links not too many places go on LinkedIn and as always I will put the link in a show notes and Dmitry what are actually some of your maybe plans or

goals? Have you got any, like, either in, I don't know, upcoming months or even any bigger goals that we or audience can be excited about? I think that everyone can be excited about the fact that a human being wants to be happy. Everyone is talking about business goals, about launching new applications or launching new tools or whatnot or building a big business. But you know what, guys, as long as it makes you happy. You don't have. have to get all the money in the world. You don't have to get all the attention in the world. Mind you, have fun and remember to be happy and do whatever it takes to take you there. Because if you are not happy, then you cannot achieve any of your goals, aims or targets.

Take it easy on yourselves and be happy. Simple as that. And this is what I aim for in 2026. I want to happy. That's a great message. I agree. I try to focus on it too. And actually it might have already answered my very last question, which was if there is anything else that you would like to share before we finish any kind of message, piece of advice or anything to live with the audience. Always, always on every single podcast or interview. I've had plenty last year to be one is pretty surprising but then again thank you very much for having me once again mate i always ask people to remember that even if you think differently there are more good people around you than there are bad people around you please keep this thought as close to your heart as possible

it will make your life a bit easier and a bit happier and bit by bit step by step if you can help yourself on a daily basis. In the near future you might as well help someone else and this is the best present everyone can wish for. Help yourself and help people around you. That's what my great grandmother used to teach me when I was a kid. That's both a great message and as I like the way that you said it. So I think it's perfect final note to to finish with. So, Dimitri, not only want to say big thank you for your time, generally enjoyed it, but because we've been connected for a while, it was great to meet you, at least virtually, because as I said, I enjoy our content. I love the message to enjoy the process,

which is something that I try to say as well, try to keep in mind and hopefully follow too. So thank you so much. I encourage people to follow you, support, and keep doing the great work and having fun on LinkedIn. so thank you very much. Thank you very much for having me made people follow Tom as well. Thanks for listening to Produce Buy with Tom and check the show notes for all the links and don't forget to subscribe, like and share your feedback. Speak soon.