Summary

The website content advocates for cybersecurity professionals to start a LinkedIn newsletter to enhance their industry visibility and credibility.

Abstract

The article emphasizes the importance of establishing authority in the cybersecurity field through a LinkedIn newsletter. It suggests that this approach can quickly position a professional as a go-to expert in their niche, given LinkedIn's extensive network of over 850 million members, including numerous CISOs and C-level executives. The author, Taimur Ijlal, shares personal experience of the effectiveness of LinkedIn newsletters in gaining followers and industry recognition. The article outlines steps to start a newsletter, such as choosing a topic of interest and expertise, enabling Creator Mode, and consistently publishing valuable content. Despite some limitations, such as a lack of detailed engagement metrics and monetization options, the author argues that the benefits of increased brand visibility and potential career opportunities make it a worthwhile endeavor for cybersecurity professionals.

Opinions

Starting a LinkedIn newsletter is presented as an efficient strategy to gain recognition in the cybersecurity industry, as opposed to traditional methods like winning awards or speaking at conferences.
LinkedIn is considered the best platform for cybersecurity professionals to be seen and heard due to its vast professional network.
The author believes that consistency in writing and sharing content is key to becoming established in a particular cybersecurity topic.
The article suggests that repurposing content previously published on other platforms can be a practical approach to creating newsletter articles.
The author acknowledges downsides to LinkedIn newsletters, such as the lack of detailed engagement metrics and monetization features, but still views them as a valuable tool for professional branding.
The author recommends turning on the follow button in LinkedIn profile settings to expand the newsletter's reach beyond direct connections.
Taimur Ijlal is presented as an experienced authority in the field, advocating for the use of LinkedIn newsletters to monetize cybersecurity skills and offering a free ebook on the subject.

Why Every Cybersecurity Professional Should Start A LinkedIn Newsletter

A LinkedIn Newsletter can boost your name in the Cybersecurity Industry

Everyone wants “street cred” in cybersecurity. By that I mean the cred of being known as a person of authority in your field and having the respect of your peers

Becoming the “go to” guy people think about on a particular topic on cybersecurity

You can do it the hard way which is to win lots and lots of awards and speak at conferences which is perfectly fine

I have also talked about creating Udemy courses and writing books which you can see below

5 Awesome Reasons To Write A Cyber-Security Book

Make 2024 the year you become a cybersecurity writer

taimurcloud123.medium.com

But there is another easier way of doing this which is .. (drum roll)

Start a LinkedIn newsletter

Why you may ask ?

Well consider the below

LinkedIn is the largest network of professionals around the globe

It has over 850 millions members with lots of CISOs and C-level executives interested in reading about cybersecurity

All you have to do to put yourself in front them is start a LinkedIn newsletter

If you want to be “seen” in cybersecurity then LinkedIn is the best PLACE to do it and a LinkedIn newsletter is the best WAY to do it

I tested out LinkedIn’s newsletter feature last year and was blown away by its reach and how quickly you can amass followers

My newsletter at https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/6912505683598827520/

How to start a LinkedIn Newsletter ?

First of all .. pick a cybersecurity topic you are interested in. Dont try to ride the latest trends and pick something you have valuable information to share on and people will reach out to you for
I chose Cloud Security and AI as that is the easiest topic for me to write on
Turn on Creator Mode which allows you access to these options for creating content
Select ‘Write an article’ at the top of your homepage and select the option to create a newsletter ( you can only create one )

Once you have access you can go ahead and start writing your first article

You might jittery first time thinking about what people will say and if this is a huge mistake. Dont overthink it .. write and hit that publish button
If you have written on Medium or some other website on a cybersecurity topic then you can simply repurpose that content and use it
LinkedIn will suggest your newsletter to your network and get you hundreds to thousands of subscribers fairly quickly depending on how big your network is
Try to write at least one article a week and share to your network.
Be consistent and you will see people reach out to you as you become established in a topic you write consistently on.

There you have it !

A LinkedIn newsletter has possibly the lowest barrier to entry compared to other media like YouTube or Udemy.

Best of all you know your newsletter is being shared to people within your industry and profession i.e. cybersecurity

A Few Downsides

While LinkedIn newsletters are awesome .. they do have a few downsides:

Lack of metrics as you cannot really see how much people are engaging with your content apart from number of views.
You do not get the emails of the people who subscribe to your newsletter unlike other platforms like Substack
No monetisation ! (yet)

Boost your cybersecurity brand today

The pros of having a LinkedIn newsletter far outweigh these cons though.

It can turbocharge your profile and establish your credentials in front of millions of cybersecurity professionals

One of them could be your future hiring manager !

This all requires however that you publish regularly and share content that delivers value

One useful tip is to make sure to turn on the follow button in your profile settings also as seen below.

This will let people follow your activity and read your content regardless of whether you are connected or not.

This will greatly boost your newsletter circulation and reach

I hope you see the benefits that a LinkedIn newsletter can bring to your cybersecurity brand. Take the plunge today and start !

Lastly do not forget to subscribe to my newsletter below !

Thanks for reading this. For more tips .. check out my Free Ebook on how to monetize your Cybersecurity Skills HERE

Taimur Ijlal is a multi-award-winning, information security leader with over two decades of international experience in cyber-security and IT risk management in the fin-tech industry. Taimur can be connected on LinkedIn or on his YouTube channel “Cloud Security Guy” on which he regularly posts about Cloud Security, Artificial Intelligence, and general cyber-security career advice.