The notifications keep appearing in the My Network section of my LinkedIn account. But they are not the usual request to connect. Instead, they were invitations from people asking me to sign up for their newsletter.
I received six click-to-subscribe requests one day recently. I signed up for a newsletter or two through this platform. Why the sudden onslaught of requests? Do people realize the power of newsletters at the same time?
The answer is very simple: LinkedIn has expanded its newsletter creation feature to more people recently (and will continue to roll out this feature to more people in the coming months.)
I started to wonder: Would brands (individuals and businesses) find these newsletters beneficial? How hard are they to create?
To answer these questions (and more), I reached out to brands and agencies that use LinkedIn newsletters, one of whom has worked on LinkedIn's published newsletters and tutorials feature. .
Connect through conversations and ideas
According to Lorraine K. Lee the ability to receive LinkedIn newsletters has increased organically from the platform's articles feature, according to Lorraine K. Lee who served as chief editor for the LinkedIn newsletter product launch.
The idea is to keep LinkedIn audiences up to date with topics and conversations that matter to them through content generated by the people they've connected with and the brands they follow. It also gives brands and other newsletter creators the chance to connect with their followers on topics they (or want to be) known about.
Lorraine advises any brand or individual to focus on authentic and open content. “A company that writes a weekly newsletter sharing high-level policies or updates won't get much traction.
A company shares employee stories or difficulties HR teams face when implementing remote work policies. ”
“Anytime you can tell a story and show what's behind the curtain – that's what will help you engage and grow your audience,” said Lorraine, who is now head of editorial at Prezi said.
Tell a story and show what's behind the curtain to engage and grow your @LinkedIn newsletter audience, say @lorraineklee via @AnnGynn and @CMIContent. Click to Tweet
Get results with added content
Andy Crestodin the co-founder of Orbit Media, created Digital Marketing Tips on LinkedIn when LinkedIn offers an invite-only option to receive newsletters. The results are crazy, he said. First of all 10 months, he gained more than 100,000 subscribers. Today, more than 118,000 people sign up for the weekly LinkedIn newsletter.
His motivation is simple – he wants to get more value out of his older blog posts. “Almost all of our content is fresh, so I got a virtual assistant to start moving old articles into LinkedIn to expose them to a new audience. They require very little adaptation, so it's a near-zero effort,” says Andy.
Each article in the LinkedIn newsletter is about half or two-thirds of the original, with a call to action to read the rest on the Orbit Media website.
This strategy paid off with increased traffic to the Orbit Media website. Since the introduction of the LinkedIn newsletter in early 2021, more than 10,056 visitors have visited his website from LinkedIn, and almost 90% of them are new visitors.
“For years we warned against building on leased land ,” says Andy, “But when the location of the rental is great and the cost is low, you should go ahead and rent.”
The @LinkedIn #newsletter strategy based on #content being reset worked for @Orbiteers. So go ahead and rent if the location is great and the cost is low, @Crestodina via @AnnGynn and @CMIContent said. Click to Tweet
Edit content for the platform to earn subscribers and leads
Christina Daves president of CastMedicDesigns, launched Get Popular PR newsletter on LinkedIn and now has over 2,500 subscribers. (Get PR Famous which is also the name of a course and live event she created.)
“I am repositioning the content by taking old articles or blog posts and update them. I also include YouTube videos that I've made in the past that would help with that particular topic,” she says. “I am a huge advocate of reusing your content and not always reinventing the wheel. You just need to tailor it specifically to this audience and your chosen theme. ”
Christina says she was blown away by the results. She publishes twice a week and averages 1,500 to 2,000 views per newsletter — about 10 to 20 more times than she gets on regular articles. Each newsletter also includes one or two of her consultations with potential clients.
“More and more people are jumping in, which will reduce the excitement and freshness of this type of content. (But) deliver great content and people will stay with you,” Christina said.
More and more people are creating LinkedIn newsletters, which can dampen excitement. But if you provide great #content, people will stay with you, @PRforAnyone recommends using @AnnGynn and @CMIContent. Click to Tweet
Check out the format that readers like
According to Sales Manager David Reid, VEM Tooling has turned LinkedIn into the primary newsletter distribution platform based on the growth of its readers and the positive response it has received. He said subscribers find the LinkedIn newsletter format more comfortable and enjoyable than traditional email newsletters, even though both formats have similar content.
As a marketing tool, says David, VEM has had more success with its LinkedIn newsletters because it reaches a wider audience and allows them to see reactions from readers clicking likes and comments. other emoticons or write a comment. (LinkedIn newsletters are also less likely to be blocked by spam filter compared to traditional email newsletters, he says.)
How to get started
The first step in creating a LinkedIn newsletter is to see if the option is available to you. To find out, visit the Creator Center by visiting the Resources section of your LinkedIn profile page. Here you will see if the newsletter feature is available:
According to LinkedIn, newsletter creator access for members (and brand pages) with:
- At least 150 followers or connections
- Recently shared original content
- Agree to abide by our professional community policies
(Note: Creator mode will affect the look of your profile , move the Activity and Featured sections before the About section. It also allows you to use hashtags below your titles.)
From there, the process is very simple. At the top of your LinkedIn home page, click “Write an article.” Create content and then click “create newsletter.”
LinkedIn offers these tips like best pratice:
- Choose a name that clearly describes the focus of your newsletter content.
- Make sure to include your logo in the newsletter and cover art for each article.
- Directly in your post title .
- Engage subscribers by adding a few lines of comments or asking questions when you share your newsletter.
After you publish your first newsletter, LinkedIn will automatically send newsletter invitations including the name and newsletter title to your connections and followers. You also get a dedicated newsletter page link that you can share on LinkedIn and other social media platforms.
Another tool for your content suite
LinkedIn newsletters provide an option to provide content and engage with a community that may not want another email newsletter to appear in their inbox.
Even if you're not the first to use the LinkedIn Newsletter feature, you can still test this tactic to see if it helps your content fly further and capture a wider audience. .
Newsletters aren't the only new feature LinkedIn is developing. Find out what the company's move into brand journalism and social audio means for content marketers in this three-minute update video from Robert Rose:
Cover photo by Joseph Kalinowski / Content Marketing Institute
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