TLDR: Learn how to effectively start and grow your LinkedIn newsletter with our tips on content creation and engagement strategies.
So what? Getting a firm grip on your LinkedIn newsletter means better, deeper and more connections with your audience.
Introduction
What if you had a direct line to your LinkedIn followers, that pretty much guaranteed people would see the content you shared? That’s how we think of LinkedIn newsletters.
This guide will take you through all the steps needed to set up a successful LinkedIn newsletter, helping you boost reader engagement and build a loyal following.
Quick Summary
This guide will help you:
- Understand the benefits of a LinkedIn newsletter: Unlike LinkedIn posts, a LinkedIn newsletter gives you a platform to do longer-form content. LinkedIn actively promotes these newsletters beyond your network, to encourage more people to use its newsletter product.
- Learn how to set up and customize your newsletter: We’ll show you how to start your first LinkedIn newsletter, step-by-step with screenshots.
- Create engaging content: We’ll give you our best practices on creating interesting newsletters that will boost reader interaction and draw more subscribers.
What are LinkedIn Newsletters?
LinkedIn newsletters are a separate part of the LinkedIn platform, allowing you to send weekly or monthly long-form newsletters to your “subscribers” (which are different from your LinkedIn “followers”). Key benefits include:
- Better engagement: Because subscribers are required to opt in, they’re already more interested in what you have to say. Because you can post longer-form content, this can lead to more interaction.
- Direct communication with your audience: LinkedIn newsletters are a consistent, personal way to share insights and updates that your network will appreciate and positioning you as an authority.
- SEO visibility: These newsletters appear as pages on LinkedIn, so they benefit from the site’s strong domain authority to rank your content higher in search engine results.
- LinkedIn promotion: LinkedIn has been actively promoting its newsletter feature, so if you create a newsletter on the site, you’ll benefit from that increased visibility and reach.
Setting Up Your LinkedIn Newsletter
Follow these steps to set up a successful LinkedIn newsletter:
Step 1: Access the Newsletter Feature
- Requirements: Before you begin, make sure you have:
– Made recent posts
– Built at least 150 followers - How to create your newsletter: Access the newsletter feature by clicking “Write an article” on your homepage, clicking the “Manage” dropdown in the upper right of the page, then selecting “Create a newsletter.”
Step 2: Create Your Newsletter
- Choose an interesting name: Choose simplicity over cleverness to ensure your newsletter’s name is easily searchable – and that it clearly communicates the content focus.
- Write a good description: Clearly outline what subscribers can expect from reading your newsletter, highlighting the value and insights they will get from each issue.
- Pick a cover image: Use a high-quality image that resonates with your audience and reflects your newsletter’s theme. To maintain authenticity, avoid using AI-generated images.
Step 3: Customize Your Newsletter
- Set publication frequency: Choose a consistent schedule that you can maintain, whether that’s weekly, bi-weekly or monthly.
- Defining your target audience: Tailor your content to meet the specific interests and needs of your professional network.
- Configuring subscription settings: Will you allow open subscriptions or will you restrict readership to connections? (We recommend open subscriptions, to build your audience.)
Content Strategy For Your LinkedIn Newsletter
At Media Shower, we’ve produced hundreds of LinkedIn newsletters for our clients (and ourselves!). A few best practices on content:
- Identify relevant topics for your audience: Watch your industry for trends, problems, common questions, and best practices. Write great content that gives some unique insight or understanding into these topics. Position your company or your brand as an industry expert.
- Balance promotional and informative content: Aim for an 3:1 ratio of informative or educational content to promotional content. So for every three pieces of industry content, include one product update or use case, preferably at the end.
- Add multimedia: Use images and videos to your content to make it more exciting and visually appealing. LinkedIn supports simple images and video in its newsletter product, but you won’t have much styling capability. Keep it simple.
How to Design Your LinkedIn Newsletter
Some important points to consider when designing your LinkedIn newsletter:
- Limited design options: LinkedIn only supports basic text, graphics, and video – so avoid complex layouts.
- Single-column layout: If you’re converting content from a traditional newsletter, simplify the design so it fits within what LinkedIn allows: everything must be in one column.
Here are some examples of simple but sophisticated LinkedIn newsletter looks:
Best Practices: The Featured Image
A LinkedIn newsletter’s featured image is its most critical attention grabber. Here are some best practices for choosing yours:
- Pixel dimensions: For the best display, make your featured image 1280 x 720 pixels.
- Thumbnail display: Your featured image is what will appear as your newsletter’s thumbnail. Make sure to see how it looks on both the newsletter page and the newsletter archive page.
- Featured people: Including photos of a real person or people (preferably the author or authors) can boost your newsletter open rates and engagement. It’s a personal touch that makes your publication more relatable and inviting.
How to Craft Engaging Content
Creating a newsletter people want to read every time it hits their inboxes is the key to retaining initial subscribers and attracting new ones. Here’s how to do it:
- Write attention-grabbing headlines: Create compelling headlines that pique curiosity and encourage clicks. Use action words and be clear about the benefits readers can expect.
- Structure for readability: Use short paragraphs, bullet points and subheadings to make your newsletter scannable. Break up your text with visuals.
- Using storytelling techniques: Incorporate stories into your newsletter to make your content more relatable and memorable. Share personal experiences or impressive case studies.
- Include calls to action: End with clear CTAs that tell readers what to do next, whether it’s subscribing, commenting or sharing.
How to Promote Your LinkedIn Newsletter
Promoting your LinkedIn newsletter – especially that all-important premiere issue! – is important for building subscribers:
- Share on LinkedIn and social media: Share your newsletter on LinkedIn and other social platforms. Ask your friends, colleagues and network members to like and repost it so your visibility gets a boost in LinkedIn’s algorithms.
- Encourage followers to subscribe: Send direct messages or include subscription prompts in your posts to convert followers into subscribers.
- Collaborate with influencers and industry leaders: Partner with influencers whose reach is larger than yours to write newsletter editions.
- BONUS TIP: If possible, wait until you have at least 5,000 followers to launch your newsletter. LinkedIn will send a notification to all your followers when you publish, maximizing your exposure.
Subscriber Benchmarks
Knowing what constitutes a good number of subscribers will help you set realistic goals:
- Aim for 25% of followers: In our experience, LinkedIn subscribers end up at about 25% of your LinkedIn followers. So if you have 10,000 followers, a good target is 2,500 newsletter subscribers.
- New and existing subscribers: Some subscribers will be your existing followers, but you’ll also attract new subscribers, growing your reach.
Best Practices for LinkedIn Newsletters
To maximize the impact of your LinkedIn newsletter:
- Publication consistency: Keep up a regular publishing schedule to maintain audience engagement. Whether it’s weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly, consistency builds trust and reliability.
- Analyzing performance metrics: At the top of your newsletter page is a link to “View analytics.” LinkedIn offers limited metrics, but you can focus on open rates, click-through rates and subscriber growth to gauge your newsletter’s success.
- Use subscriber feedback: Actively seek out and respond to subscriber feedback. Encourage readers to leave comments and interact with your content so you can better understand what people want to see in your newsletter. One great way to do this is to start the conversation by responding to the newsletter with the very first comment. This is like a P.S. that makes you an engaged commenter on the piece and helps kick off the conversation.
Case Studies: LinkedIn Newsletters to Watch
Example 1: LinkedIn’s In the Loop
- The details: Run by LinkedIn’s editorial team, “In the Loop” provides weekly insights and updates on LinkedIn’s product development and features. Its audience is composed of LinkedIn users, professionals and marketers interested in the site’s latest updates and features.
- Lessons learned:
– Consistent quality matters: “In the Loop” shares insights and updates about LinkedIn that readers find valuable, and this has led to rapid growth in subscriber numbers.
– Active subscribers build communities: The newsletter engages with readers through comments and feedback, which has built it a strong community.
– Promotion works: “In the Loop” uses LinkedIn’s platform to advertise and share its content, bolstering enhancing visibility. - Key takeaways:
– Provide consistent, high-quality content that meets your audience’s needs.
– Engage actively with your subscribers to build a loyal community.
– Use LinkedIn’s features to promote and expand your readership.
Example 2: Harvard Business Review’s Management Tip of the Day
- The details: Harvard Business Review’s “Management Tip of the Day” gives business professionals, managers and executives actionable management tips and industry insights.
- Lessons learned:
- Make your content valuable: This newsletter shares management suggestions and industry analysis that business leaders can use today.
- Present professionally: “HBR Management Tip of the Day” has a polished, professional look, making it visually appealing.
- Cross promote: The publication is promoted on other social media platforms, driving additional traffic.
- Key takeaways:
– Share valuable content that educates and informs your readers.
– Ensure a professional and visually appealing presentation.
– Use cross-promotion strategies to increase your newsletter’s visibility and attract more subscribers.
Marketer’s Takeaway
LinkedIn newsletters provide a powerful way to engage your LinkedIn network with longer-form content, benefiting from LinkedIn’s promotion and strong SEO visibility. By setting up a well-structured and consistent newsletter, you can build a loyal following and establish yourself as an industry authority.
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Ready to start your own LinkedIn newsletter? Try the award-winning Media Shower platform to create high-quality newsletter content whenever you need it. Sign up for a free trial here.