I started writing a LinkedIn newsletter in January 2022 and it has brought in more than 350 readers to see my content and offers every week.
Watch the presentation and demonstration on YouTube then subscribe for more great content.See, we jump into the story by giving them a peek into our lives. Just a short peek. That’s all they need, just to know what’s happening and they can connect with you. Then they’ll continue to read the newsletter and that’s where you drop in the video that you did and the pieces of the blog that you chose.
Before you do any kind of content creation to support your brand and business, you must define your target audience.
Get specific – there are riches in niches
The more specific you are about your ideal client, the more likely it is you will attract those people who identify with what you have to share.
In the beginning, it is very important to know who you best serve. Often it is people just like you, one or two steps behind you in a particular skill who resonate with your journey.
What do they care about?
What is on their minds? What is their vision for the future?
Most people care about having more money, time, or support in their relationships. We feel if we can improve these three things, we would feel more confident, happy, and loved.
How can you dive more deeply into one of these topics to find what your target audience cares about most?
What questions can you answer for them?
When you choose a topic they care about, think about the challenges they face in getting what they want.
How can you help them through those obstacles to achieve their goals?
Where do they hang out online?
What generation or age group represents your ideal client? Each generation gravitates toward a different online platform.
Traditionally, the youngest group enjoys the newest technology. The oldest group usually goes with the easiest, most familiar platform.
I’ll share my answers to these questions as an example to help you better understand my brand and business. Perhaps it will also help you narrow down your target niche.
My target audience is beginning content creators in the 2nd half of life. We also call them encore entrepreneurs or people who are building a home-based business & helping others with their products and services.
If they are like me, they care about how to consistently create, publish and distribute content to expand their reach online. That way, they can help more people and become known as thought leaders in their industry.
Since this is an older group of people who are focused on expanding their brand and business, I spend most of my time on YouTube and LinkedIn. I used to spend more time on Facebook, but they have severely limited reach on that site unless you pay for advertising, so LinkedIn seems a better use of my time.
LinkedIn is focused on business-based content and connections. It is a more logical place to share thought leadership videos, podcasts, and posts related to growing an entrepreneurial business here.
Creator mode: grow your reach and influence
LinkedIn offers many advantages for content creators. It has only been recently that they have opened up the creator hub and offered creator tools. That means there is less competition for space to share our content.
Creator analytics are another tool LinkedIn offers and they continue to update and add new features to offer insights about the content we share there.
When you create a newsletter on LinkedIn, it has its own page where readers can find past editions and subscribe or share it with their connections.
Pro-Tip: Create a forwarding URL to make it easier to share your LinkedIn Newsletter page.
There are three requirements for LinkedIn to consider you a creator who may enable the additional tools they offer for creators.
Members and Pages with more than 150 followers and/or connections
This can be your personal profile or your business page. Most entrepreneurs and creators have more connections on their personal pages, especially if they have been using LinkedIn for a few years.
Recent shares of original content (any type)
LinkedIn wants to see you sharing original content including posts, images, and videos. That way they can determine that your intention is to provide value and a way for users to engage in a community conversation.
Abiding by Professional Community Policies
Obviously, it is important to follow the policies of the platforms we use to share our content. This indicates that we are serious about reaching out to help and work with others on the site in a professional manner.
Once you have met the criteria, you can turn on Creator Mode in your LinkedIn profile.
LinkedIn best practices recommend you choose a name for your newsletter that describes a clear theme that your audience can understand. Use the same brand name you use for your livestream, podcast, and blog. I use Messages and Methods for my newsletter name.
Keep in mind that when invitations go out and notifications are sent to subscribers, the name of your newsletter will be shown. It should help your readers recognize you while sparking interest in the topics you write about.
You can use a different image for every newsletter article, but I chose to design a banner with my branding and only change the title each week. This saves time and aids in brand recognition.
You’ve completed the basics, and now you are a creator on LinkedIn. Next, get your newsletter started with these steps.
Rather than sit in front of a blank screen agonizing over what to write each week, use the content you have already created to fill out your newsletter.
Use portions of your blog
Choose the parts of your blog you feel are most valuable for your LinkedIn readers.
Select your best quote
Display a quote from your recent livestream to demonstrate your thought leadership and help people get to know you better.
Embed your video or podcast
Make it easy for people to find your video or podcast by embedding it in your newsletter. Introduce it as a part of your blog and encourage readers to watch or listen to gain more insight.
Add graphics from slides
You may wish to write a catchy introduction to share the best, most recent story from your life.
I like to jump into the middle of a conversation to illustrate some point, then segue into my content from the last week. Here is an example from this week’s LinkedIn newsletter, Video in Business Continues to Grow Despite the Risks.
The DJI Pocket 2 – Handheld 3-Axis Gimbal Stabilizer with 4K Camera tumbled to the pavement with a SMACK!
My eyes flew wide in shock.
We had just been called in from wandering around the VLA, 50 miles west of Socorro, New Mexico. We were filming for our New Mexico Day Trips YouTube channel. There was a lightning storm coming our way.
I gasped and my heart sank as I looked into Toby’s eyes.
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay. These things happen. Believe me, I’ve dropped my fair share of camera equipment over the years.”
I anxiously reached down to retrieve the camera and saw the deep scratches. Then I noticed the head of the camera pulling apart.
There is always risk in creating videos, especially outdoors.
After this introduction, I segue into my video and blog post content.
Your connections and followers will be invited by notification to subscribe to your LinkedIn newsletter. Subscribing means they’ll receive a notification and email each time you publish a new newsletter article.
Connect with your podcast guests on LinkedIn and mention them by tagging them when you post a newsletter with information about their interview. They should see the tag and be curious enough to read, share and possibly subscribe to your newsletter.
In LinkedIn’s best practices for publishing a newsletter, they say, “Maintain the publishing cadence that you chose for your newsletter so that your subscribers can engage regularly with your content.” The best way to do that it to make it one of your foundational habits.
Put it on your calendar
Commit to writing and publishing your LinkedIn newsletter by putting it on your calendar for the same day every week.
Add in your best story each week
What happened in the last week that can illustrate a point you want to make in your newsletter topic? Storytelling is the best way to connect with your readers in a memorable way.
Share behind-the-scenes
If you made a mistake or a discovery about your industry or your work, share that with your readers. People love to know that you are a real person who encounters the same kinds of setbacks and frustrations that they do.
Combine content from last week and this week
You can quickly write a newsletter post when you bring together the topic and content from your last show and tease the content of your next show.
This is the technique that a television series uses to remind you of what happened in last week’s episode. They tease you with what is coming up this week and in the next episode, too. Follow their example and keep your audience coming back for more.
Change the “Connect” button on your profile to “Follow” to enable people who view your profile to follow your activity and read what you’re sharing on LinkedIn. People can continue to request to connect with you, but even if you say no, they will still see your content.
Share it with social sites and groups
When you publish and post about your LinkedIn newsletter, you’ll see a pop-up window that encourages you to share on other social media sites and with LinkedIn groups where you belong.
Tag people in your post
If you spoke about people, businesses, or products in your newsletter, tag them in your post when you share it on LinkedIn or other social media sites.
Add hashtags
Add three hashtags to the bottom of your post. People who search or follow those hashtags will see your post about your LinkedIn newsletter who may not otherwise have seen it.
Use content in email newsletter
Choose a portion of your LinkedIn newsletter to share in your weekly email update. Share the link in your email so people can go read the rest of the newsletter on LinkedIn.
Create forwarding URL for newsletter page
Use your domain and create a forwarding URL to help people get to your LinkedIn newsletter page. For instance, mine is Li.shelleycarney.com.
People who enjoy reading more than watching videos or listening to podcasts will want to read more from you. That’s why it’s a good idea to offer a blog post, a LinkedIn newsletter, and an email every week.
Encourage subscribing and sharing
Somewhere within your LinkedIn newsletter, encourage readers to subscribe and share your newsletter with others. I put this CTA in the caption below the banner image.
Use current CTA to encourage sign up
Whatever you are currently focused on as a call to action, add that to your LinkedIn newsletter. You can mention it subtly throughout the text and put a separate section for it at the end with a hyperlink to take them to your free download.
It is important to get people from your LinkedIn newsletter onto your own email list whenever possible.
Organically offer free consultation
Let people know you offer a free consultation to answer their questions along with the link to schedule with you.
Share links and info about more content
Tell your readers about what other content you create, or podcast interviews you’ve done. Embed the links so they can get there quickly.
Watch my video on YouTube to see the demonstration of how I set up, write, and publish my weekly LinkedIn newsletter.
Grow your LinkedIn audience and connect with them by posting a weekly newsletter.
While you’re focusing on LinkedIn, here is a great article by Social Media Examiner that shares the steps to Improve Your LinkedIn Post Engagement with Post Templates and Link Stickers.
Get my new course, How to Create, Publish and Distribute Content Consistently, which uses the Content Consistency Framework and Schedule for simple, successful content marketing at course.agkmedia.studio.
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Learn more about Shelley Carney and connect with her here: http://shelleycarney.com
Messages and Methods: Livecast Life 2.0 Podcast: https://livecast.life
Livecast Life: The Content Creator Lifestyle is a new book written by Shelley Carney and is now available on Amazon at http://book.livecast.life
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