“I became an influencer simply by being myself and sharing my story.” That single statement captures the ethos behind Adele Doan’s thriving venture—LinkedIn Blue Ocean. In a digital world dominated by virality and metrics, Adele is championing a refreshing philosophy: build your personal brand by living your best life, not by chasing trends.
Ranked as Vietnam’s top LinkedIn creator (Favikon, June 2024), Adele is no stranger to influence. But her path wasn’t built on vanity metrics. It was paved with self-awareness, courage, and a deep desire to empower others. Her startup, LinkedIn Blue Ocean, is now the number-one LinkedIn growth community in Vietnam—a space that fosters authenticity, relevance, and professional empowerment in a country with immense untapped LinkedIn potential.
Key Takeaways
- Authenticity wins: You don’t need to go viral—just be yourself and stay consistent.
- Local focus matters: Adele built a scalable model by understanding Vietnam’s unique digital habits.
- Value fuels growth: Sustainable communities grow through trust, relevance, and consistent support.
From Solo Creator to Community Leader
Q: What inspired you to start LinkedIn Blue Ocean, and why focus on LinkedIn in Vietnam?
A: The name “LinkedIn Blue Ocean” speaks for itself. I founded this community because I genuinely believe LinkedIn represents a “blue ocean” of untapped opportunities for Vietnamese professionals. This platform offers tremendous possibilities for people to connect with industry peers, discover better job opportunities, and learn from professionals worldwide.
While LinkedIn has been present in Vietnam for some time, we’ve witnessed explosive growth in the past three years, largely accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic. When people were confined to their homes and searching for remote work opportunities, LinkedIn became an essential tool. Since 2021, LinkedIn’s user base in Vietnam has grown approximately 45% year-over-year.
My focus on Vietnam stems from recognizing a significant gap in the market. While LinkedIn is well-established in countries like the United States, Vietnam has only about 5.9 million active users out of a population of roughly 100 million people. This represents enormous untapped potential.
Having personally used LinkedIn for nearly a decade, I’ve experienced firsthand how powerful this platform can be for professional development. I wanted to share my expertise and help Vietnamese professionals leverage LinkedIn effectively to advance their careers, build meaningful connections, and access global opportunities that might otherwise remain out of reach.
What also drove me to create LinkedIn Blue Ocean was noticing that in developed markets, there are numerous services to help professionals grow their personal brand and LinkedIn profile, but these are typically expensive one-on-one services that aren’t financially viable for most Vietnamese professionals. I wanted to create a model that addresses the market’s needs while remaining economically sustainable and affordable for people in Vietnam. Rather than running an agency that serves only a few clients at premium prices, I opted for a community-based model with a reasonable membership fee of just $5 per month. This approach allows both myself and community members to leverage collective knowledge and support, delivering significant value at an accessible price point.
Q: What challenges did you face early on, and how did you overcome them?
A: When I started LinkedIn Blue Ocean, I encountered three significant challenges that required creative solutions:
- First Challenge: Payment Barriers
Operating my community on a platform called Skool presented an unexpected obstacle – members needed a Visa or MasterCard credit card to join. I was surprised to discover that many Vietnamese professionals don’t have credit cards. This significantly limited our community’s growth potential.
To solve this, I collaborated with local digital banks in Vietnam to find alternatives. Fortunately, I discovered a digital bank that allows people to open credit cards in just 5 minutes without requiring salary statements or employment contracts. This practical solution removed a major barrier to entry for many potential members.
- Second Challenge: Unfamiliarity with Paid Community Models
The subscription-based community model is still relatively new in Vietnam. According to recent reports, only about 2% of Spotify users in Vietnam pay for premium subscriptions, with even lower rates for platforms like YouTube and Netflix. People here are conditioned to expect free content.
To address this, I’ve taken a two-pronged approach:
- Consistently delivering exceptional value through premium content, exclusive live streams, special events, and high-quality resources that clearly justify the membership fee
- Educating the market about why this membership model is beneficial for both the community and its members
I’m transparent about the alternative – returning to the traditional influencer model where I’d create content for mass audiences and rely on bookings for income. By explaining how the membership model allows me to focus on delivering deeper value rather than chasing views, people better understand the benefits of this approach.
- Third Challenge: Reducing Churn Rate
As a startup, we initially struggled with member retention. I quickly realized that for the community to grow sustainably, the number of new members joining needed to consistently exceed those leaving. In the beginning, we were trying to do everything simultaneously, which caused us to lose focus on the most critical aspect: making our existing members happy.
I made a strategic shift from pursuing rapid growth to slowing down and becoming more accountable to our members. This change in focus gave me more time and creative energy to develop meaningful ways to support and provide value to our community.
We implemented several initiatives to improve retention:
- Created a leaderboard system to recognize active members
- Launched “Humans of LinkedIn Blue Ocean” to share member success stories
- Developed structured programs like “Road to 1000 Followers” and “Road to 2000 Followers”
- Featured members on our LinkedIn page to increase their visibility and recognition
- Continuously experimented with new ways to support members
Every day, we try something new to improve our community experience incrementally. By prioritizing member satisfaction over rapid growth, we’ve been able to reduce our churn rate significantly and build a more sustainable community.
Q: How do you decide what content or events to offer in LinkedIn Blue Ocean?
A: When deciding on content and events for LinkedIn Blue Ocean, I follow two main principles:
- Respecting the diversity in member needs
Each member who joins LinkedIn Blue Ocean has different interests and goals. That’s why we’ve created different roadmaps for members to follow:
- Some members want to sharpen their LinkedIn profile and reach their first 1,000 connections
- Others aim to rapidly grow their LinkedIn presence and follower count
- Many prefer to gradually and steadily grow their profile, share their professional journey, and connect with like-minded individuals
By providing multiple pathways, we ensure that every member can find value that aligns with their specific needs.
- Always maintaining relevance
I believe LinkedIn Blue Ocean and LinkedIn share the same core principle: staying relevant to our audience. Every piece of content in our community must be directly relevant to professional development and LinkedIn growth.
Sometimes we do talk about personal experiences, but we never stray too far from the professional context. We aim to maintain a space that is both professional and friendly.
By focusing on topics related to LinkedIn development and career advancement, we ensure that our content remains valuable and aligned with our members’ professional goals. This focused approach helps us deliver consistent value while building a supportive community centered around LinkedIn growth.
Q: Can you share any success stories from LinkedIn Blue Ocean members?
A: I believe each individual has their own measure of success, so I evaluate LinkedIn Blue Ocean’s impact through multiple lenses:
- Creator Recognition
One of our proudest achievements is having approximately 20 members ranked among the top 200 LinkedIn creators in Vietnam. This demonstrates that our community isn’t just helping people build profiles, but actually developing influential voices on the platform. These members have transformed from passive LinkedIn users to recognized thought leaders in their respective fields.
- Sustainable Member Growth
While rapid growth might seem impressive, I’m more focused on sustainable expansion. Over the past couple of months, we’ve maintained a steady growth rate of around 30%. This controlled growth allows us to maintain quality while expanding our reach.
- Community Advocacy
A key indicator of our success is how often members talk about us on LinkedIn and recommend us to their friends. Word-of-mouth has become one of our strongest growth channels, which signals we’re delivering genuine value.
Just last week, we launched our member referral program, and the response was immediate – existing members began inviting friends to join the community. For me, this is the most meaningful signal that we’re building something valuable. We may not be growing at breakneck speed, but we’re growing in a sustainable way that preserves the quality of our community.
These metrics collectively tell me that LinkedIn Blue Ocean is making a meaningful difference in our members’ professional lives. Rather than focusing solely on membership numbers, I measure our success by the tangible impact we’re having on our members’ LinkedIn presence and professional development.
Q: What’s next for LinkedIn Blue Ocean? Any exciting plans ahead?
We’re currently focused on strengthening our community through consistent weekly events, particularly our Writer Club meetups. These gatherings have become a highlight for many members, providing a structured environment for improving their content creation skills and receiving valuable feedback.
As I continue my own journey to become a digital nomad, I’m incorporating this lifestyle into the future vision for LinkedIn Blue Ocean. I’ll be traveling to different locations every few months, which opens up exciting new possibilities for our community.
My most ambitious plan for LinkedIn Blue Ocean is to host offline retreats that bring our members together in person. These retreats would take place in popular digital nomad destinations like Chiang Mai, Bali, or Da Nang, Vietnam. The vision is to create immersive experiences where members can:
- Connect face-to-face after building relationships online
- Participate in intensive workshops and skill-building sessions
- Share their experiences and insights in a more personal setting
- Network and potentially form collaborations in a relaxed environment
These retreats would represent a natural evolution of our community – moving from purely online interactions to meaningful in-person connections while maintaining our focus on professional growth and LinkedIn development.
By blending digital community building with strategic in-person gatherings in inspiring locations, we aim to create a unique experience that differentiates LinkedIn Blue Ocean from other professional communities. This approach aligns with the changing nature of work, where remote professionals increasingly seek both flexibility and meaningful connection.
6. What advice would you give to someone building a LinkedIn community?
My advice for anyone building a LinkedIn community—or any community in general—is refreshingly straightforward
Focus on the most important thing: providing value to members
And not just providing value occasionally, but doing it consistently and massively. This is truly the only sustainable way to grow your community while maintaining your own happiness and fulfillment in the process.
When you prioritize genuine value creation:
- Members naturally become more engaged
- Word-of-mouth referrals increase organically
- The community develops its own momentum
- Your purpose remains clear even during challenges
Many community builders get distracted by metrics, features, or comparison with other communities. While these considerations have their place, they should never overshadow the fundamental question: “Am I consistently providing substantial value to my members?”
The most successful communities I’ve observed are those where the founder maintains an unwavering focus on member value. This creates a virtuous cycle where value leads to growth, which enables more resources for creating additional value.
By keeping this principle at the center of your community-building efforts, you’ll not only develop a sustainable community but also find greater personal satisfaction in the journey.
Reflecting on the Bigger Mission
For Adele Doan, LinkedIn Blue Ocean isn’t just about professional branding—it’s about creating space for Vietnamese professionals to step into their potential, tell their stories, and shape their careers on their terms. Her mission to democratize influence—making it accessible, affordable, and authentic—isn’t just resonating with individuals. It’s sparking a quiet revolution in how professionals across Vietnam show up online. And in doing so, Adele is building more than a community—she’s building a movement.
Read the article in Chinese here.
