Hey {{first_name}} ,
There are twelve Saturdays left in 2026. This is the first one.
I did not send an issue last week. One missed week is nothing. But it reminded me how quietly a year slips away when there is no plan holding it in place.
Most people will spend the next three months telling themselves they will get serious about their brand in January.
January is crowded. Everyone starts at once. The people who walk into 2027 with momentum are the ones who used the quiet stretch before it.
So this edition is different. No theory. Just a 12-week plan, broken into four three-week sprints, that you can start today and finish in the first week of January.
Let's get into it.
Before You Start: Take a Baseline
You cannot see progress you did not measure. Before week one, write down three things:
Your Brand Score. Take it at SocialJJ.com and screenshot it. You will retake it in week 12.
One sentence. "In 2027, I want to be known for ___." Specific. Not a job title.
Three numbers from LinkedIn. Your followers, your profile views over the last 90 days, and the number of conversations (DMs, calls, introductions) that started because of something you posted.
That third number matters most. Followers are attention. Conversations are opportunity.
Weeks 1–3: Fix the Shop Window
Before you create anything new, make sure the people who find you understand what they are looking at. Most profiles are written like a CV. Yours should read like an invitation.
Week 1: Rewrite your headline around the sentence you just wrote. Who you help and with what, not where you work.
Week 2: Rewrite your About section. Open with the problem you solve, then how you think about it, then the proof. Your career history can come last.
Week 3: Fill your Featured section with the three best things you have ever posted or written. If you do not have three yet, that is what the next sprint is for.
The test: could a stranger read your profile for 30 seconds and describe you to someone else? If not, keep editing.
Weeks 4–6: Show How You Think
Now you publish. Two posts a week is enough. Direction matters more than volume here.
Alternate between two types:
A story post. A real moment from your work, what happened, and what you took from it.
A point-of-view post. Something you believe about your field that not everyone agrees with, and why.
Every post has to pass one filter: does this reinforce what I want to be known for? If it does not, save it for later.
By the end of week 6 you will have twelve posts pointing in the same direction. That is enough for people to start seeing the pattern.
Weeks 7–9: Turn Visibility Into Relationships
This is the sprint most people skip, and it is the one that actually produces opportunities.
Keep posting twice a week. Then add this:
15 minutes a day commenting on posts from the people you want to be known by. Not "Great post!" Add a point, a question, or an example from your own work.
Two direct messages a week to people you have already interacted with. No pitch. Just continue a conversation that is already happening.
One collaboration before week 9 ends. A joint post, a guest section in someone's newsletter, or a short conversation you share publicly.
Content makes people aware of you. Conversations are where the trust gets built.
Weeks 10–12: Compound, Then Review
December is quieter on LinkedIn. Use that.
Week 10: Find your three best-performing posts from the sprint and repurpose each one. A post becomes a carousel. A carousel becomes a newsletter section. Same idea, new format.
Week 11: Write your year-in-review post. What you learned, what changed, what you got wrong. These land well in late December because everyone is reflecting at the same time.
Week 12: Retake your Brand Score and compare it with your baseline. Recount your three numbers. Then write your sentence for 2027 again and see whether it has changed.
If You Only Have 20 Minutes a Week
Do one thing per sprint:
Weeks 1–3: Rewrite your headline.
Weeks 4–6: Publish one story post a week.
Weeks 7–9: Leave five thoughtful comments a week.
Weeks 10–12: Write your year-in-review post.
That is still more than most people will do between now and January.
Start Today
Your week-one task is the baseline. It takes ten minutes.
Take your Brand Score at SocialJJ.com, screenshot it, and write your one sentence.
Then hit reply and send me that sentence. I would genuinely like to know what you are building toward.
Twelve weeks is not long enough to build a personal brand from scratch.
It is long enough to change its direction.
A clearer profile. Twelve posts that point the same way. A handful of real conversations. A number you can compare in January.
That is what momentum looks like going into a new year. Not a resolution. A head start.
Until next time,
Jerry
If this gave you a plan for the rest of the year, forward it to someone who keeps saying they will start in January. And if someone sent this your way, subscribe here: https://socialjj.com/newsletter