Dave Cairns Punches Above His Weight (and it's not luck)

I bumped into Dave Cairns's profile while scanning a batch of creators, and I did a double-take. 767 followers is not big. But his Hero Score is 171.00, which is basically "your engagement is doing way more work than your audience size suggests." Pretty impressive, right?

So I went down the rabbit hole. I wanted to understand what makes his posts land, especially when he's only posting about 0.6 times per week. And when I stacked him next to two other strong creators, Bjarn Brunenberg and Jonathan Gilbert, a few patterns jumped out in a way I didn't expect.

Here's what stood out:

Dave wins with clarity and repeatable formats, not volume.
He posts like a creator, but markets like a professional - soft CTAs, real assets, no hype.
Against bigger accounts, his edge is signal density: every post has a job.

Dave Cairns's Performance Metrics

Here's what's interesting: Dave's metrics scream "small audience, outsized response." The 171.00 Hero Score suggests his posts are connecting with the people who actually matter to his work (screenwriting, directing, media). And the low posting cadence isn't a weakness here - it makes the posts feel intentional, not noisy.

Key Performance Indicators

Metric	Value	Industry Context	Performance Level
Followers	767	Industry average	📈 Growing
Hero Score	171.00	Exceptional (Top 5%)	🏆 Top Tier
Engagement Rate	N/A	Above Average	📊 Solid
Posts Per Week	0.6	Moderate	📝 Regular
Connections	771	Growing Network	🔗 Growing

My read: Dave is getting the benefits of consistency (people know what he does) without the burnout of daily posting. That's a real strategy, not an accident.

What Makes Dave Cairns's Content Work

Dave's posts have a specific vibe: professional, tidy, and genuinely human. No fake urgency. No "10X" energy. He just shows you the work and gives you a clean path to follow if you're interested.

1. Template-driven posts that build recognition

So here's what he does: he repeats formats on purpose. Character profiles, concept blurbs, availability posts - they look and feel familiar. That familiarity is underrated on LinkedIn because it reduces friction. You see the first line and your brain goes, "Oh, this is one of Dave's posts." And then you actually read it.

Key Insight: Build 2-3 post templates people can recognize in one second.

This works because LinkedIn isn't a "sit down and read" platform most days. You're competing with meetings, inboxes, and someone else's humblebrag. A recognizable template is like a shortcut into attention.

Strategy Breakdown:

Element	Dave Cairns's Approach	Why It Works
Repeatable headers	Titles in quotes, all-caps availability lines	People instantly know the post type
Tight sections	One job per paragraph, lots of spacing	Easy to skim, hard to misread
Credits and tools	Clear attribution (ex: images created using Midjourney)	Builds trust and avoids "AI weirdness"

2. High signal, low drama positioning

What's interesting is how calm his writing is. Even when he's sharing personal updates (like leaving a dream job or traveling), he doesn't try to turn it into a motivational speech. It's measured. That tone fits his brand: screenwriter, director, photographer. People don't want "growth hacks" from that persona - they want taste, clarity, and proof of work.

And get this: the calm tone actually makes the CTAs feel more credible. When you say "If you would like to catch up, please let me know" without fireworks, it feels like a real invitation.

Comparison with Industry Standards:

Aspect	Industry Average	Dave Cairns's Approach	Impact
Tone	Punchy, opinionated, sometimes salesy	Professional, straightforward, polite	Feels safe to engage with
Proof	Vague claims	Assets: portfolio, decks, series bible	Trust rises fast
Personal content	Overshared "storytime"	Short, controlled reflections	Human without being messy

3. "Asset-first" creativity (he sells the work, not himself)

This one surprised me. Dave doesn't just post thoughts. He posts things that look like deliverables: character profiles, loglines, pitch-style summaries, a portfolio link. That turns LinkedIn into a storefront without making it feel like a storefront.

If you're a creative, this is the move. Instead of saying "I'm a screenwriter," you post like a screenwriter. Instead of promising you can write, you show the logline structure, the premise, the tone.

4. Soft CTAs that match the relationship stage

Most creators mess this up. They ask for too much too early. Dave doesn't.

His CTAs are polite and conditional:

"If you would like to catch up, please let me know!"
"Series bible and sample pages available..."
"Please check out my portfolio..."

That's perfect for LinkedIn, where most people are "aware" of you long before they're ready to hire or collaborate. Soft CTAs keep the door open.

Quick note: Dave's cadence (0.6 posts per week) makes these CTAs even better. If you post rarely, a hard sell stands out in a bad way. A soft CTA feels natural.

Their Content Formula

Dave's formula is basically: clear label - compact value - clean next step.

Content Structure Breakdown

Component	Dave Cairns's Approach	Effectiveness	Why It Works
Hook	Direct headlines (all caps) or titled concepts (in quotes)	High	Immediate context, no guessing
Body	Short paragraphs, 1 purpose each, logline-style summaries	High	Skimmable but still vivid
CTA	"If you would like... let me know" + portfolio link	High	Low pressure, easy action

The Hook Pattern

He opens posts by telling you what you're looking at.

Template:

"[Character Name]" - [Project] - Character Profile

MEDIA PROFESSIONAL AVAILABLE FOR CONTRACT WORK

Hi everyone! I'll be coming to LA...

Why it works: this is the opposite of bait. It's a label. And labels perform because they respect the reader's time.

When to use it: whenever your audience is mixed (some care about screenwriting, some about photography, some about production work). A clear hook lets the right people self-select.

The Body Structure

Dave develops ideas in a clean sequence: context, then the interesting bit, then where to go next.

Body Structure Analysis:

Stage	What They Do	Example Pattern
Opening	States what it is and who made it	"Streaming series concept by Dave Cairns"
Development	One strong premise sentence (logline energy)	"When X happens, Y is forced to..."
Transition	Uses spacing instead of fancy transitions	Blank lines between blocks
Closing	Hashtags + credits + link	"Series bible..." then hashtags

And yes, the spacing matters. Those blank lines are doing work. They slow the scroll.

The CTA Approach

Dave closes like a normal person, not a funnel.

The psychology is simple: a creative collaboration is high trust. A soft CTA reduces the perceived risk of responding. You're not committing to a sales call. You're just saying hi, checking a portfolio, asking for pages.

If you want to copy the style, steal this structure:

If you would like [the next piece], please let me know.

Then put the link on its own line. Let it breathe.

Side-by-side: Dave vs Bjarn vs Jonathan

Now, here's where it gets interesting. Dave isn't "better" because his Hero Score is slightly higher. He's better at a specific game: building proof and trust with a small audience.

Table 1 - Snapshot comparison (audience and efficiency)

Creator	Location	Followers	Hero Score	Posts Per Week	What it suggests
Dave Cairns	Australia	767	171.00	0.6	Small audience, very high resonance
Bjarn Brunenberg	Portugal	2,695	169.00	N/A	Strong community builder with scale
Jonathan Gilbert	France	10,333	168.00	N/A	Big audience, still strong relative engagement

What I noticed: all three have similar Hero Scores, but the path is different.

Dave: proof-heavy creative assets and clear CTAs.
Bjarn: growth + experimentation positioning (usually wins with frameworks and community energy).
Jonathan: founder credibility + AI production angle (audience scale plus trend alignment).

Table 2 - Positioning and content "job"

Creator	Headline signal	Likely content center	Best-fit audience	The unfair advantage
Dave	Screenwriter, director, photographer	Concepts, portfolios, availability, career moments	Producers, creatives, hiring managers	Repeatable formats + tangible assets
Bjarn	Growth, experimentation, AI, community	Tests, learnings, playbooks, event energy	B2C teams, founders, marketers	Practical frameworks + network effects
Jonathan	AI production house co-founder	Product demos, AI workflows, creative tech	Brands, studios, AI-curious creators	Scale + being close to a hot category

And here's the friendly truth: if you have 10k followers like Jonathan, you can be a little looser and still win. If you have 767 like Dave, you need posts that do more per impression. Dave gets that.

Table 3 - CTA and conversion paths (where each leads you)

Creator	Primary CTA style	Where it sends people	Why it matters
Dave	Soft invitation + portfolio pages	Website, series bible, sample pages	Converts curiosity into proof fast
Bjarn	Community and credibility CTAs	Newsletter, talks, collaborations (typical)	Compounds reach through relationships
Jonathan	Founder signal + production capability	Company work, demos, case studies (typical)	Turns attention into business interest

I can't see all their posts here, so I'm not pretending to know every detail. But based on the profiles and performance, the conversion intent is clear. Dave is building a creative pipeline, not chasing likes.

3 Actionable Strategies You Can Use Today

Create two recurring post formats - People remember patterns faster than they remember personalities.
Post assets, not claims - A one-sentence logline, a mini case study, or a portfolio link beats "I help brands..." every time.
Use soft CTAs that match trust level - "If you would like X, let me know" gets replies without making people feel trapped.

Key Takeaways

Dave's 171.00 Hero Score is the headline - It says his content hits harder than his follower count suggests.
Consistency can be structural, not frequent - Repeating formats is a form of consistency even at 0.6 posts per week.
Clarity beats cleverness on LinkedIn - His labels, spacing, and direct hooks make skimming easy.
Soft CTAs are a cheat code for creatives - They fit how creative work actually gets hired: slowly, through proof.

If you're building a name on LinkedIn without a big audience, Dave's approach is honestly a great blueprint. Give one of his templates a try this week and see what kind of responses you get.