ENTREPRENEURSHIP

How I Gained 1,222 Subscribers after My First Newsletter on LinkedIn

My social media experiments pay off

I’m a writer entrepreneur in a niche segment. No get rich quick stories for me that are easily successful with a lot of blah blah. No sex stories. And no influencer stuff about products no one needs.

I’m a Wild Woman Writer about sustainability, the environment, and the planetary shifts in our world’s systems. I’m a systemic designer of conscious economies. Societies. And business models.

Owner of the brand Abundanism.

I inspire with Gaia’s wisdom. It’s not a sexy topic. Not a topic many people understand deeply. But I’m hugely passionate about my work and certainly influential with it.

So, if YOU have a passion and write about it, you’d better become a writer entrepreneur too and make it worth your while.

Passionate writers are impact makers.

In that light, I write about practical insights on marketing your work. Today, let me tell you about combining Medium with LinkedIn.

LinkedIn is nowadays the best platform out there for writer entrepreneurs. Why do I think that? This is why.

LinkedIn vs Facebook and Instagram

What makes LinkedIn such a good platform?

• It is wired for conversations with our audiences. People comment, get to know you and honestly interact with you. I get criticism from time to time, but no hate speech. Just sometimes an irritating date request, but it’s easy to counter those…
• The algorithms are great for organic, creative content aimed at certain target groups (instead of adverts)
• Although LinkedIn seems to be mainly about success stories, business glamour, and super-rational, unimaginative posts, it’s easy to stand out with creativity. And build a good following for your writing entrepreneurship
• If you want to increase the contact with your followers, you can go live and have contact with your followers and contacts
• LinkedIn has an editing team that highlights certain stories. Of course, it helps to be influential in your niche to get discovered by the algorithms. But more importantly, you should express a unique vision on a certain newsworthy topic. That’s what they highlight in their collections

As writers, we know that our audience matters. We need to be out there to get recognized for our unique writing style and content. To compare: Facebook only pushes commercial content and adverts. And Instagram doesn’t do interaction. It’s more a sending platform than a conversational platform.

Newsletter on LinkedIn

Yesterday, I sent out my first newsletter as a trial. Inspired by Tim Denning. He wrote this article about how to use the newsletter successfully. I have my own newsletter via my website Abundanism. But this seemed like too good an opportunity to miss.

After all, I do already have 7,215 followers on LinkedIn. And I did have a viral story recently, which helps too.

This is my first newsletter.

The result blew my mind. After only one newsletter, I have 1,222 subscribers. Whaaaaaat? Yes, you heard me right. 1,222 subscribers who want to receive my next newsletters. That’s 17% of my followers.

That’s magical! I never expected this. That’s a great success!

It’s a result I could never have created on my own website. With my own independent newsletter. Although, I keep growing that newsletter too of course. LinkedIn can throw me out one day. My own website is more loyal than that…

Choose a Clear Topic

If you want simple screenshots of how to turn on your creator mode on LinkedIn and how to start the newsletter, read Tim Denning’s article. It’s full of screenshots.

Turning on your creator mode has a big advantage in that you can get followers instead of just contacts. The threshold is lower for people to follow you than to send a link request. Although, I get a lot of those too.

The newsletter can be found when you start writing an article. Choose the newsletter option, give your newsletter a title and an image and get going. You can only create one newsletter on LinkedIn so make sure your audience recognizes your content and the red thread of your niche subject.

In my case nature, our planet, the universe. Links to our current human systems. And future visions about how to change those systems.

What’s it in your case? Get your red thread clear and ready to inspire and you can start growing your audience.

Be the writer entrepreneur you really want to be.

Do’s and Don’ts

What are the further do’s and don’ts of LinkedIn?

• In your style, be a real writer. It will help you to stand out between the rational, booooooring content people who just do success stories. And the “Hey, look at me” content this platform is usually flooded with
• How do you do that? Combine personal anecdotes with rational knowledge share. Combine the touching of hearts (choose inspiring pictures or reels) with rational knowledge share. In short, be an inspiring, passionate advocate of your chosen topic
• Spark conversations by asking people to share their views in the comments
• Never be arrogant. This is your tribe. Your audience. And you are a writer building a fan base. Answer the comments or at least push the like button. It’ll also help you surf the algorithms more successfully
• Be prepared to get a lot of personal DMs. Answer them!
• Be honest and constructive if you post criticism. Never be a sour spoilsport. You most probably don’t like know-it-all people with condescending comments. Well, others don’t either. Don’t be like that
• Support people in your tribe. Post about others. Praise their work. And mean it! Honesty is all…
• Don’t only have conversations underneath your own posts. You’ll get new contacts by having conversations underneath other people’s posts. Those are the people who don’t know you (yet)
• Never be boring in our comments either. Give it a bit of context so people recognize what you are about. Give it a creative vibe. Be inspiring. Always. After all, you are a writer. You know how to be good with words. Show it!

I hope many more influential changemakers will become successful with LinkedIn newsletters and change the now often so booooooooring business world into a vibrantly buzzing tribe of change.

And don’t hesitate to get in touch on LinkedIn too if you like my work.

Thank you, Mike, for adding your wise energy to my words on Abundanism. Systemic Design for a good future, and Wild Writing. © Désirée Driesenaar, 2022