This year has been a journey of growth, challenges, and a few surprising turns. As I reflect on 2024, the milestones, highlights, and transformative moments come to mind. Here’s a glimpse into the past 12 months of my creative and professional life.
From E-Book to LinkedIn Coaching to the Content Club
At the end of last year, I published my first e-book, “LinkedIn for Illustrators – More Commissions and Success in the Creative Sector”. It was a long-held dream to create a product that wouldn’t tie my time directly to income. Even though I knew I wouldn’t make huge sums with the e-book, I was excited to share my knowledge.
The e-book addressed questions I frequently received: How do you get clients like DM or the Deutsche Umwelthilfe? How did your work end up in Flow magazine? While I loved sharing my strategies with others in Zoom calls or personal meetups, I quickly realized they were too complex for a single conversation. This realization became the foundation for the e-book.
At first, sales were modest—around 15 copies—but then I started getting invited to podcasts. By the end of 2023, I had appeared on three podcasts, talking about how I attract clients and dream projects via LinkedIn. These appearances brought more attention to the e-book and opened new opportunities.
Early in 2024, I was featured in an article in PAGE Magazine. It was a massive milestone, showcasing me as an expert on LinkedIn and personal branding for creatives. Around the same time, I was invited by the Illustratoren Organisation to give a two-hour talk to over 200 attendees about LinkedIn for illustrators. The feedback was incredible and brought a surge of interest in my e-book and strategies.
Page Magazine article (online) and invitation to talk for Illustratoren Organisation.
As more creatives reached out to me, I decided to start offering 1:1 coaching sessions. These sessions were meant to help me understand where the biggest challenges lay and how I could best help. I expected most questions to revolve around content ideas, but the primary struggle turned out to be staying consistent. This insight led to the creation of the LinkedIn Content Club (LCC) in April.
The LCC was designed to bring creatives together weekly to write LinkedIn posts, tackle mental blocks, and support one another. At first, I envisioned it as an ongoing subscription, but I later decided to structure it into 12-week cohorts, with breaks to accommodate my travels. The first cohort had 10 participants, and it was a huge success. By the second and third cohorts, we had grown to 25 participants each.
Launching the LCC was an entirely new experience for me. I had to build a website, set up funnels, landing pages, and automation—an intense yet rewarding process. It felt like learning to run a small online business while continuing my illustration work.
My new coaching webpage shop.zoluart.com and an overwiev of new products.
Drawing, Decisions, and a Passion Project
Alongside my LinkedIn journey, I continued illustrating for long-term clients and exciting new projects. One of the highlights was working with the Special Olympics again after a successful collaboration last year. This work, focused on the Olympic Games for athletes with intellectual or multiple disabilities, was both meaningful and creatively fulfilling.
This year also brought clarity about my future in the publishing world. I attended the Bologna Children’s Book Fair and the Leipzig Book Fair and realized that working solely as a book illustrator isn’t where I see myself long-term. However, one publishing project stood out: my Love Yourself card deck, which was released by Moses Verlag.
This deck was a dream come true. I conceptualized, wrote, illustrated, and partially designed it myself. It’s a product deeply rooted in my personal experiences, inspired by what I wished I’d had as a young mother. Seeing it displayed at Dussmann and other stores has been nothing short of magical.
Love Yourself Cart Deck in stores
A Dream Client and My Role as a LinkedIn Expert
One of the most rewarding moments this year was being approached by Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) for an illustration project. They found me on LinkedIn, proof that the strategies I teach in the Content Club and my e-book work. This project has been incredibly fulfilling, combining my creative skills with the opportunity to make a meaningful impact.
I also developed and hosted a LinkedIn profile optimization workshop, which helped creatives present themselves more professionally online. Building on this success, I plan to launch more products next year to support even more creatives in navigating the often unfamiliar LinkedIn business landscape.
This journey of becoming a LinkedIn consultant wasn’t something I planned—it evolved from the needs and feedback of my community. Today, it represents a significant part of my business, both in impact and financial contribution.
Other highlights this year: new childrens books on the market, new podcasts with me as linkedIn expert in them, my cart deck best selling on amazon.
A Supportive Network and Looking Ahead
Another highlight of 2024 was being invited into a small network of amazing women. Regular business discussions, coworking sessions, strategy days, and masterminds became a source of inspiration and motivation for me. I plan to nurture and grow this network in the coming year.
Looking back, 2024 was a year of movement—professionally, personally, and creatively. I’m proud of what I’ve built and the lessons I’ve learned along the way. Here’s to continuing this journey, one meaningful project at a time.
