It has been nearly precisely two years since I launched my weekly Advanced Geekery email newsletter on Substack. Every week, I listing my newest ZDNET articles, showcase any new movies I put out, typically highlight initiatives I am engaged on (and people of readers), and share a couple of nice YouTube videos and articles value studying.
The e-newsletter is a good way for individuals who like my work to maintain up with what I produce.
Just lately, I’ve began getting requests for a e-newsletter on LinkedIn from members who’re rather more LinkedIn-centric. Ever since Twitter took its wacky dive off the credibility cliff, LinkedIn has been choosing up the slack by way of skilled and work-related social networking.
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Because it seems, beginning a LinkedIn e-newsletter is each straightforward and free. You do not want a LinkedIn Premium account. LinkedIn will notify your community if you publish the primary version of your e-newsletter, and it’ll additionally invite new followers to subscribe. Every subject you place out can be shared to your feed. Plus, anybody who indicators up as a subscriber will get an e mail notification of their inbox.
I went forward and arrange Superior Geekery on LinkedIn. The 2 editions (Substack and LinkedIn) are principally equivalent. I now write and edit every subject on Substack, then selectively copy and paste the content material over to a brand new LinkedIn e-newsletter article.
The e-newsletter on LinkedIn has rather less formatting management than the one on Substack, but it surely nonetheless seems fairly good. I can copy the textual content (with included hyperlinks) from the Substack editor, however I’ve so as to add any photos to the LinkedIn model manually. It appears so as to add about quarter-hour to my workflow, which is a small quantity of effort to succeed in a distinct viewers.
create a LinkedIn e-newsletter
On this article, I am going to take you thru the step-by-step course of I used to arrange my LinkedIn e-newsletter. If you wish to set one up for Substack, I documented that as effectively.
It goes with out saying (however look, right here I’m saying it) that that you must log in to your LinkedIn account earlier than doing anything. As soon as logged in, click on Write Article within the Begin a Put up space.
It is bizarre that you need to click on Write Article to create a e-newsletter, however that is the best way it really works.
When you’re within the article enhancing interface, go to the Handle dropdown (indicated at 1), after which click on Create Publication (indicated at 2).
Right here, you may enter all the fundamental details about your e-newsletter. Enter the title of the e-newsletter, choose a frequency (I do mine weekly), after which enter an outline. You do not have a lot house for an outline, solely a bit over 100 characters, so that you would possibly need to put together that forward of time.
You additionally would possibly need to put together a e-newsletter emblem. I exploit my little 3D printer robotic head emblem for all of the Superior Geekery initiatives. Make the emblem 300×300 pixels and add it to the shape.
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When you click on Accomplished, you formally have a LinkedIn e-newsletter. The remaining is about tips on how to put together and ship out a difficulty. Don’t be concerned. Nothing will publish or mail out till you inform LinkedIn to ship it out, so take your time making ready.
Now that you’ve got created a e-newsletter, you may put out your first subject. Guests to your profile web page will see a Publication button, which permits them to learn or subscribe to your e-newsletter.
Word the X over Create a Put up. If you wish to create a brand new e-newsletter version, that button is not what you need to click on. That is advantageous for a daily publish, but it surely would not get you into the e-newsletter enhancing interface.
There is perhaps a greater approach, however I’ve discovered that the quickest method to get to the e-newsletter enhancing interface is to click on the LinkedIn emblem on the high of the web page, then click on Newsletters within the facet menu.
This may take you to your Newsletters display, which reveals your newsletters, in addition to these you subscribe to.
Whereas we’re on this display, let me level out a couple of key objects. Your e-newsletter can be on the high (proven at 1). To this point, after two days, I’ve 91 subscribers. Clicking that may take you into one other display, the place you may start enhancing your first version.
There is a three-dot menu on the proper (proven at 3). Clicking it provides you with a share possibility, which is the place you get a hyperlink if you wish to share your e-newsletter. Here is the link to mine.
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Different newsletters you subscribe to can be beneath that. Of explicit word is the e-newsletter (at 3) by Larry Dignan, who introduced me into ZDNET and was ZDNET’s editor in chief for a dozen years. Here is a link to his newsletter as effectively.
Lastly, word the X. In the event you click on Create a Publication, you may create a brand new e-newsletter. Do not click on it.
OK, let’s transfer on. When you click on your e-newsletter’s identify, you may be taken to the display the place you may create a brand new version, which can be your e-newsletter’s precise mailing. As you may see, proper after I created the e-newsletter, I did not have any subscribers.
Now, lastly, you may be on the e-newsletter enhancing display. The picture that you simply add can be proven in your feed. It must be 1920×1080 pixels.
You need to use a brand new picture for every subject, or a picture that serves because the nameplate to your e-newsletter.
My strategy is to chop and paste the textual content from my Substack version. It is a pretty easy course of, as a result of the wealthy textual content is preserved, together with the hyperlinks.
Photos do not minimize and paste from the Substack. Additionally, if you paste in a YouTube URL, it would not mechanically increase to a pleasant thumbnail of the video, because it does in Substack.
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Including YouTube movies into the LinkedIn e-newsletter is a bit clunky. LinkedIn does have an possibility so as to add a picture or video, however you need to add the picture or the video for it to work. So what I did was add my YouTube thumbnail after which embody a hyperlink to the YouTube video itself.
Simply hold working your approach via the interface till your e-newsletter is completed. You needn’t ship it out straight away. I selected to attend till Monday morning. The best way to keep away from rapid sending is to keep away from urgent the Subsequent button. As a substitute, from the Handle menu, select Drafts.
This may present you the out there drafts, which can most likely be the e-newsletter you simply created. Go forward and click on Shut, and your e-newsletter is all able to go, however not despatched.
If you wish to find your draft e-newsletter, click on the Write Article button on the high of your feed, then click on Handle, and choose Drafts. This is similar menu you used to create the e-newsletter itself, besides you are choosing Drafts as an alternative of Create Publication.
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At this level, you may see a listing of your drafts. Most probably, you may have only one — the e-newsletter you are about to publish. Click on the three-dot icon, watch out to keep away from the prominently positioned Delete possibility, and select Edit.
Here is what the highest of my first LinkedIn subject regarded like within the editor. I at all times use a title, after which a subhead, which is proven within the inexperienced field. You will have the chance to place a remark earlier than the e-newsletter nameplate, which is then adopted by the title. So, for me, I chosen the subhead (at 1) after which clicked Subsequent (at 2).
I pasted that subhead into the realm that LinkedIn prompts with “Inform your community what this version of your e-newsletter is about…”
In the event you scroll down in that posting window interface, you may see the Schedule and Publish buttons.
I clicked the little clock icon, which introduced me to the schedule interface. Right here, I chosen Monday morning at 6 AM PT, 9 AM ET, and clicked Subsequent.
The posting interface modified to indicate the scheduled time of publication, in addition to a Schedule button as an alternative of a Publish button.
I pressed the Schedule button and was introduced with the next display.
This confirmed the e-newsletter subject was able to go. Then I simply completed my evening, went to sleep, and a bit after I bought up on Monday morning, the e-newsletter was mechanically posted. In future weeks, it’ll even be despatched to all who subscribe.
There you go. The method is a bit convoluted, however after one time via, will probably be straightforward sufficient. Every week, I am going to publish my weekly replace to Substack subscribers and followers, and to LinkedIn subscribers and followers.
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Good luck. Remark right here or on LinkedIn when you create a e-newsletter. I might like to know.
What about you? Have you ever thought of beginning a e-newsletter on LinkedIn? In the event you already publish one elsewhere, are you fascinated about repurposing it like I did? What options or limitations have you ever run into on LinkedIn versus different platforms like Substack? Do you see LinkedIn as a viable long-term house to your e-newsletter content material? Tell us within the feedback beneath.
You’ll be able to comply with my day-to-day venture updates on social media. Be sure you subscribe to my weekly update newsletter, and comply with me on Twitter/X at @DavidGewirtz, on Fb at Facebook.com/DavidGewirtz, on Instagram at Instagram.com/DavidGewirtz, on Bluesky at @DavidGewirtz.com, and on YouTube at YouTube.com/DavidGewirtzTV.
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