LinkedIn is rolling out yet another new feature to its users – the ability to create newsletters on its platform.
Some LinkedIn users have the ability to write about a professional topic and send out a newsletter.
This is a great tool for those of you who do not already have an email newsletter or who have a strong LinkedIn network and don’t have the contact information for those individuals in your CRM system. You can cast a very wide net for your content with this tool.
LinkedIn members can subscribe to your newsletter to receive updates when you publish something new. The most engaging newsletters specifically address a unique topic consistently enough that subscribers look forward to receiving the next article.
Anyone can discover, read and share your LinkedIn newsletter. LinkedIn members can also subscribe to it.
Starting a newsletter on LinkedIn means you’ll engage your audience from the minute you publish. LinkedIn makes it easy to invite all your connections or followers to subscribe when you create a newsletter. Also, after publishing each newsletter article, push, in-app and email notifications are sent to all your subscribers to help drive views. You’ll get real-time feedback and comments from your readers, and you can understand how your content is doing with analytics.
To create a newsletter on LinkedIn:
- Click Write an article at the top of the homepage. This takes you to the publishing tool.
- Click Create a newsletter.
- Add a title, description, publishing cadence and logo for your newsletter and click Done.
- By default, your connections and followers will be invited by notification to subscribe to your newsletter. Subscribing means they’ll receive a notification and email when you write a new newsletter article. You can uncheck this option if you do not want to invite your connections and followers to subscribe to your newsletter.
- Once you have created a newsletter, you’ll see your newsletter title near the upper right corner of the page. If you don’t see the newsletter title, click on the dropdown menu and select the newsletter you want to write in.
- You can now write the first article for your newsletter.
- You can publish up to one article every 24 hours.
- Once the article is ready to be published, click Publish at the top of the screen.
- A window will pop up for you to add more context. You can comment on what this specific newsletter article is about, ask questions of your readers, and @mention or add #hashtags. When you click Post, your newsletter will also be shared in the feed.
- Once you publish your first article, a page for your newsletter is automatically created with an overview of your newsletter, your profile information, and a list of the articles in the newsletter. You can use your newsletter page to provide a preview of your newsletter and share it on or off LinkedIn to increase your reach. You do not have to be logged in to view the page but members must log in to subscribe or share it on LinkedIn.
- Share your newsletter article on your other social channels to drive more engagement across your entire audience.
Important: Authors can only create and maintain one newsletter at a time. If you delete your newsletter, you will be limited in your ability to create a new one.
To publish a new article in your newsletter:
- Click Write an article at the top of the homepage. This takes you to the publishing tool.
- You’ll see the title of your newsletter near the Publish button. If you don’t see the newsletter title, click on the dropdown menu and select the newsletter you want to write in.
- Once the article is ready to be published, click Publish at the top of the screen.
To edit or delete a newsletter:
Navigate to the publishing tool (via Write an Article on the desktop homepage) where you originally created the newsletter and locate the newsletter you want to edit or delete.
- Click the Edit icon to the right of the newsletter’s name.
- In the pop-up window that appears, you can edit the newsletter title, description, publishing cadence, and logo.
- Click Delete newsletter in the pop-up window to delete your newsletter. If you delete your newsletter, you will be limited in your ability to create a new one.
Here are some best practices to help you create an engaging LinkedIn newsletter and reach a wider audience.
- Choose a name for your newsletter that describes a clear theme that your audience can understand.
- Upload a logo for your newsletter to increase engagement (300×300 pixels recommended).
- Upload a cover photo for each individual article in your newsletter (744 x 400 pixels recommended). Try to avoid Clipart or other generic stock images. Images with faces and people tend to resonate more with audiences.
- Choose a clear headline for each newsletter article that can help your audience understand what your article will be about.
- You could get more engagement by adding a few lines of commentary or asking a question in a post when you share your newsletter. In your post description, you could also ask members to subscribe.
- Share your newsletter articles or your newsletter page to your network on other social platforms or via email to increase your reach.
- Maintain the publishing cadence that you chose for your newsletter so that your subscribers can engage regularly with your content.
- 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.