Have you considered launching a LinkedIn Newsletter to build your personal brand or establish thought leadership and wondered how to begin?

Have you reflected on the pros and cons of writing articles versus launching a newsletter to enhance your LinkedIn strategy?

Understanding LinkedIn Newsletters

A LinkedIn newsletter is a series of articles published on a regular cadence of your choosing and sent directly to subscribers on LinkedIn. Unlike standalone articles, newsletters create a more consistent and direct line of communication with your audience, encouraging ongoing engagement.

Newsletters come with unique features such as subscriber metrics and a dedicated section on your LinkedIn profile, making them a valuable tool for professionals aiming to build a loyal audience.

Steps to Launch a LinkedIn Newsletter

Define Your Objective

Before diving into the technical aspects, it’s crucial to define the purpose of your newsletter. Are you looking to share industry insights, provide career advice, or highlight company news?

Knowing your objective will help you tailor your content and attract the right audience. Identify who your target readers are and what value you can provide them.

Set Up Your LinkedIn Newsletter

To start a newsletter, you need to decide if you will launch it from your personal profile or your company page if you have one. To launch from your profile, create a newsletter by navigating to the ‘Write an article’ section from the home button on the menu bar. 

Then select the ‘Create a newsletter’ option. Here, you’ll need to choose a name for your newsletter that reflects its content and write a compelling tagline to entice potential subscribers.

Manage Your LinkedIn Newsletter

You will need a cover image for your newsletter that is 1920×1080. You can start a newsletter as a draft and come back to it. Standard publishing features are available to bold, italicize, make headings and subheadings, bulleted or numbered lists, quotes, add or embed code, add a divider, hyperlink, or add an image. When completed, you can post it live or schedule it.

Content Planning and Strategy

Consistency is key to the success of any newsletter. Develop a content calendar that outlines the topics and themes you plan to cover over time. Stay organized soyour content remains relevant and engaging.

Consider setting a regular publishing schedule, whether it’s weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, or quarterly, to keep your audience engaged.

Publishing and Promoting Your Newsletter

You are ready to publish your first issue once you’ve created your newsletter and planned your content. Make sure your inaugural issue is enticing, as it sets the tone for what subscribers can expect. It should appeal to the masses.

After publishing, promote your newsletter on LinkedIn by sharing it with your network. You can also promote it on other social media platforms and through email to expand your reach.

Pros of Writing LinkedIn Newsletters

• Audience Engagement

LinkedIn newsletters generally see higher engagement rates because they are delivered directly to your subscribers. LinkedIn will push out your inaugural newsletter to your connections and followers and notify subscribers of subsequent newsletters.

 Readers who have opted in to receive your content are already interested in what you have to say. This targeted audience is more likely to interact with your content, providing valuable feedback and driving conversations.

• Brand Building

Consistently publishing high-quality content through a newsletter can significantly enhance your personal or company brand. By regularly appearing in your subscribers’ inboxes, you establish yourself as a reliable source of information and a thought leader in your field. Over time, this builds trust and increases your visibility on LinkedIn.

• Analytics and Feedback

LinkedIn provides detailed analytics for newsletters, allowing you to track metrics such as subscriber growth, impressions, engagements, views, demographics, and subscribers.

This data is invaluable for understanding what resonates with your audience and refining your content strategy accordingly.

Cons of Writing LinkedIn Newsletters

• Time Commitment

One of the biggest challenges of running a LinkedIn newsletter is the time commitment. Regularly producing high-quality content requires significant effort, from researching topics to writing and editing each issue.

Without proper planning, it’s easy to fall behind schedule, which can negatively impact your audience’s perception of your reliability.

• Content Fatigue

There’s a fine line between keeping your audience informed and overwhelming them with too much content. If your newsletter is too frequent or repetitive, subscribers might experience content fatigue, leading to lower engagement or even unsubscribes. Maintaining a balance is crucial to keeping your audience engaged and satisfied.

• Subscriber Management

Growing and retaining subscribers can be challenging, especially in the early stages. It takes time to build a substantial subscriber base. You need to consistently deliver value to retain subscribers.

Comparison: LinkedIn Articles vs. Newsletters

Reach and Audience

LinkedIn articles have a broader reach because they are accessible to all LinkedIn users and can be found through searches, network shares, and hashtags for those who use them.

In contrast, newsletters have a more targeted reach, focusing on subscribers who have specifically opted in to receive your content.

Engagement and Interaction

Newsletters may tend to have higher engagement rates because they cater to a dedicated and interested audience. Subscribers are likelier to read, comment, and share your newsletter content, leading to deeper interactions.

Flexibility and Format

LinkedIn articles offer more flexibility in publishing frequency and format and can be “one-offs.” You can publish articles as needed without the pressure of adhering to a regular schedule.

Newsletters, however, follow a more structured approach, requiring consistent and regular content delivery to maintain subscriber interest.

Conclusion

LinkedIn articles and newsletters have unique strengths and can play an essential role in your content strategy. Choosing between the two depends on your goals, audience, and resources.

A LinkedIn newsletter could be the perfect tool if you’re interested in fostering a more engaged and loyal audience. Experiment with both to find the best fit for your strategy and continuously refine your approach based on audience feedback and engagement data.

Add a LinkedIn Signature to Your Post

Once you have written your long-form content, your text must be ready for the post to be shared in your article or newsletter.

You can add emojis from emojipedia to liven up your post.

Consider adding a “LinkedIn signature” to your posts to reiterate your BIO and what you do, along with a call to action to follow your hashtag and company page.

I use the format below with emojis for my “LinkedIn signature” at the bottom of many of my posts before adding hashtags.

〰️ 〰️ 〰️ 〰️ 〰️ 〰️ 〰️ 〰️

👋 Hi! I’m Lynne with an E (E for education)

🤖 Employ keyword strategies on resumes & LinkedIn™

📊 Use data-driven decision-making & trends

👩🏻‍🏫 Share tips, strategies, & best practices

Like what I share?

🔔 Ring the bell on my profile

✍🏼 Subscribe to my weekly newsletter Career News Today

➡️ Follow #GreatCareersPHL & Great Careers Groups

➡️ Follow #CareerNewsTodayLLC & Career News Today LLC

Call to Action

What has been your experience with LinkedIn articles and newsletters? Share your thoughts and insights in the comments below! And if you haven’t already, consider subscribing to my LinkedIn newsletter, Career News Today, for more tips and strategies on making the most of your LinkedIn presence.

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