The System to (Ethically) Build a Monetizable Email List on LinkedIn
Without becoming a cringe-worthy guru
People don’t use LinkedIn to make money because they focus on how cringe-worthy it is. It sounds smart. You’ll get likes.
But any critic can handpick a series of awful self-serving social media posts from any platform. The goal with social media isn’t to focus on what doesn’t work and who the biggest idiots are. No.
It’s to find out what does work and use it to amplify your ideas.
As someone with half a million followers on LinkedIn and who’s been writing there for almost 10 years, let me change your thinking.
Post non-stupid content
Rule #1 is not to remake or copy viral LinkedIn posts.
Stuff goes viral on LinkedIn, often, for the wrong reasons. X users love to come to LinkedIn and take the piss.
You don’t want an audience of comedy lovers who’ll never be invested in your writing or care when you publish a book.
‘Likes’ don’t equal meaning.
‘Likes’ don’t pay the bills either. Sorry (not sorry) influencers.
I define non-stupid LinkedIn content as these basic types of posts:
- Life lessons
- Career lessons
- A startup journey
- What you’re building in public
- What content you’re consuming
- Personal stories with one clear takeaway
If you stick to these types of posts it’s pretty easy to succeed.
Viral content on LinkedIn has one key ingredient (and people like me exploit it)
Posting on LinkedIn is about helping readers look smart. Read that again.
Unlike every other platform, LinkedIn is where our colleagues, bosses, and customers hang out. Just like the real corporate world, on LinkedIn people want to show everyone how smart they are.
Love it or hate it.
So remember this and bake it into everything you post. Making the world smarter is a much better goal than trying to be the funniest or sh*tposting with the best meme about how cringe LinkedIn is.
When you choose to build an email list, what you’re actually doing is choosing money over entertainment.
Every system needs this
Some say building an email list or writing on LinkedIn is a habit.
This is the cookie-cutter advice from the book Atomic Habits. It’s nice. It makes us feel good. But forced habits and wishy-washy goals don’t produce results.
Instead, choose to write on LinkedIn about whatever you’re obsessed with.
Then it won’t feel like work and you won’t need a Tony Robbins pump-up coach to go “Keep going little Jimmy. You can do it!”
Your obsession makes the decision of what you should write for you. Then all you need to do is show up every day and do it. If a topic is your obsession then you’ll likely already be immersed in it every day, anyway.
Read the room
Before I start writing on LinkedIn, I read the best of LinkedIn.
I have a folder full of LinkedIn creators I’ve bookmarked. I read a few of their posts to warm up and get into the LinkedIn zone.
LinkedIn is a language, a culture. Immersion is a good idea.
Once I’ve read some LinkedIn posts and sought some inspiration, I start writing. Simple. Don’t overthink it.
The copy-and-paste shortcut lovers never get traction
The growth gurus preach this: “Write one post then copy and paste it to every social media app.”
Horse sh*t.
This doesn’t work. Just ask all the authors who copy and paste huge chunks of their book to LinkedIn and never get a single like.
Content isn’t what wins on LinkedIn. No. It’s the packaging. A good idea or essay needs the right packaging.
Here are the features:
- A good headline/hook
- A compelling benefit to read
- An image to create a feeling and stand out
- A nice subtitle
- Clear formatting
- Highly concise
An average idea with good packaging will always beat a genius idea covered in complexity, and that takes hours to unpack.
Pay attention to these posts
It’s trendy to steal posts from others and call them your own.
I prefer to steal from myself. Part of my system is I take note of all my best posts. Then I build upon the best ideas in future posts. I even remix and rewrite my best posts too.
When you do this you’re what I call a data-backed writer. You aren’t pissing into the wind, hoping something sticks. You’re listening to readers and giving them more of what they say they find helpful.
Helpful writers always make the most money.
Don’t post-and-ghost
People treat social media like a one-night stand.
They hit publish on their post, then run to the TV for an episode of Game of Thrones. The problem is social media is, well, social.
You have to reply to at least some comments. And ideally you leave a few comments on other people’s posts to help build your small community.
The new badge feature most LinkedIn writers aren’t using
LinkedIn now has badges.
There are top voice badges for all sorts of topics. If you have, for example, a personal development top voice badge, then it tells people you have some credibility.
What’s more important is it tells the LinkedIn algorithm you’re LinkedIn-approved. Engagement will go up.
To get a badge there are two steps:
- Like a few posts on your chosen topic (on this page): https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/topics/home
- After a week or so you’ll get invited to the program. Then you write helpful comments on some of the articles. Pretty soon you’ll get a badge in your chosen topic.
Authority always gets more views.
Corporate Powerpoint culture tells you a lot about LinkedIn
Most social media apps have a carousel format.
A carousel is a series of slides in PDF format. The other day it hit me: carousels are just glorified Powerpoint decks.
LinkedIn carousels got out of control at one point. They were everywhere. I didn’t understand why. But now it makes sense.
The corporate world loves Powerpoints. I used to say to my boss, “Let me put the idea in a Powerpoint for you.” He loved it and wet his pants.
The LinkedIn police recently reduced the reach of these LinkedIn carousel posts because of how many people did them. Fair enough. So people stopped posting them (opportunity).
While carousels aren’t popular, they are the only content type that has a LinkedIn follow button on them. So when you post carousels you get more followers. A carousel a week is great for LinkedIn audience growth.
Final Thought
If you want to write or make money online, you need an email list.
That means you have to go where the people are. And 1b+ people are on LinkedIn. Get over your hang-ups about what everyone else is posting, and focus on what you can do.
The sign of a weak writer is one who’s focused on trends, platform culture, and how cringy something is.
Everything that works and is popular is cringe. Boom!
Build an audience on LinkedIn. Send them to your email list. Then, occasionally send an offer to your list that mentions your product or service.
