4 Tips for Getting your Post Featured on LinkedIn Pulse

It is safe to say that LinkedIn’s Influencers have become online celebrities in their own right, with some of their articles being viewed by millions of professionals throughout the globe. To take it a step further, in 2013, LinkedIn purchased the popular newsfeed app, Pulse, for $90 million. In turn, popular articles that were once only viewed by some within the LinkedIn network could be chosen to be featured in Pulse, allowing for exposure to millions more. Though LinkedIn has chosen to keep their selection algorithms a secret when it comes to articles chosen for its Pulse site, many professionals are hungry to know exactly how they, too, can be featured on the Pulse newsfeed.

In this post, I will explore some of the most featured posts on Pulse to discover some key characteristics of what LinkedIn editor’s look for in the selection process and, thereby, help to shed some light on what thought-leaders can do to increase their chances of using the Pulse platform to grow their brand exposure exponentially.

What is Pulse for?

When LinkedIn acquired Pulse, its purpose was to become the hub of professional and industry news. Professionals who already start their day on the platform can use it to get up to date on the latest industry happenings and developments and, thereby, start their day ahead of the curve. To this end, LinkedIn’s Deep Nishar reported that:

Millions of professionals are already starting their day on LinkedIn to glean the professional insights and knowledge they need to make them great at their jobs.

Now, as an industry influencer, if Pulse is the new industry news hub for professionals throughout the globe, it only follows that it is also a high-demand publishing platform. Though numerous articles are posted on the platform daily, with millions of professionals with access to the publishing platform, in comparison, the demand is high and the coveted publishing spots are few. Despite this, there are several influencers whose articles have landed a prominent spot on the platform as many as 20 to 30 times. In this post, we will delve into some of these articles and thought-leader strategies to determine exactly what the secret is to Pulse success.

How can I get my posts featured on Pulse?

John White has been featured in many publications throughout his career. None has created a flood of inbox inquiries as to how he did it as his 27 posts featured on LinkedIn’s Pulse. He offers some tips. In addition to expanding on his tips, we will look at some of the top performing articles on Pulse to discover the secrets they hold for success.

1. Build a Valuable Network.

The very purpose of LinkedIn as a social platform lies in its professional user-base. On one platform, millions of professionals come together to build their personal brands, learn about their industries, and network with other professionals. However, though a global platform, it is not as easy to socialize on as, say, Facebook or Twitter where connections are quite easy to come by in comparison. On LinkedIn, it can be difficult to build a following of thousands without proof that you actually know each of them. This is because, to create a personalized connection message and send it to a fellow LinkedIn member, you have to prove you have some sort of connection with them, whether through a friend or colleague, a work experience, a school affiliation or a LinkedIn group. For this reason, the practice of simply sending connection requests to hundreds in order to build your network is not feasible as it is on other social platforms. And, in addition, as a professional platform, the cordial touch of sending a message prior to sending an connect invite is an accepted best practice, making it a necessary step to building positive relationships. Regardless of the obstacles, building a healthy following is necessary. It is through social proof that your posts are likely to be featured on Pulse. Here are some steps you should take to start out and maintain your network growth.

• Import lists. LinkedIn has a handy little feature that allows you to find connections by importing lists from your email accounts.
  

• Make lists of all people with whom you’ve worked, studied or even volunteered. Using the search feature, go down your list and send a personalized message to each. To personalize it, in a private message, express your desire to connect and how you know the person.
  

• Join LinkedIn groups for exposure to industry influencers and target market connections. LinkedIn groups are a key tool for building your network. While you may not be able to send connection messages to individuals outside of your provable network, when you join, you gain access to the profiles of all members. As such, you can begin building relationships with group members by engaging with the content they post and sharing valuable information in return. Next, once a relationship has been established with industry influencers within the group, you can safely send them a personalized friend request. First, be sure to send a private message communicating your desire to connect and a reminder that you are part of a mutual group. Next, follow through with a connection request via member profiles.
  

• Do a search. Though doing a search will only allow you to message those individuals with whom you have a first-degree connection, you can still send connection requests through a search.

Bonus Tip: When performing a search, it is best to use the connect button on the search list instead of on the individual’s profile. By doing so, you bypass the need to legitimize your connection by showing an affiliate school, workplace, or volunteer group in which you have engaged in a professional experience.

• Use OpenLink to make yourself easily accessible. Lastly, for its premium members, LinkedIn offers its OpenLink feature, allowing you to receive messages from even members that are not first-degree connections. In this way, other members who wish to connect with you can do so regardless of their level of association with you or your network. This is especially helpful for influencers who may have audience members that have watched their Webinars, read their books or otherwise engaged with their services, content, or brand.

2. Choose a relevant topic.

As a professional platform, there are a handful of topics that garner more interest among LinkedIn members. Namely, those that can help members experience greater success in their professional lives. As a result, your topic should be one that will resonate with a broad LinkedIn audience. This is because social proof is likely a determining factor for Pulse selection.

To determine relevant topics, it is useful to look at some of the top performing articles posted on Pulse. Corey Eridon of Hubspot offered some valuable insights when he composed a list of the top 20 performing featured posts on LinkedIn Pulse. While looking through the list, the topics Pulse members most seek is more obvious. All relate to the workplace and most cover tips on improving professional lives, including characteristics and practices of the successful and best practices in the hiring, interview, and marketing process as well as productivity tips. Suffice to say, professionals turn to Pulse to discover how they can develop themselves into better professionals. When you speak to this need, you are much more likely to gain a prominent LinkedIn following and, therefore, appeal to the broader Pulse audience.

Bonus Tip: One practical tip to determine whether your chosen topic will resonate well with Pulse audience members is to check out the listed Pulse Channels and determine which one your post will likely fit under. If it doesn’t fit into one or more of the Channels, it’s probably best to look to another topic. To illustrate, here are two of the articles listed on Eridon’s list as well as the Pulse channels with which they align. In fact, they can fit into multiple channels.

How Successful People Stay Calm by Dr. Travis Bradberry can fit into with 3.5 million views:

• Entrepreneurship & Small Business
• Leadership and Management
• Best Advice
• Professional Women, etc.

10 Things I do Every Work day by J.T. O’Donnell with 1.8 million views:

• Self-improvement
• Careers: Getting Started
• Careers: The Next Level
• Entrepreneurship & Small Business, etc.

All of these channels would have target markets that would gladly consume the content in Bradberry’s post. However, writing a post on how to make your own soap out of goat’s milk probably wouldn’t fare well on the platform. This is confirmed in a study done by www.smallbusinessideas.com which analyzed 300 of the top Pulse posts and found that the most popular topics among them were careers at 43 percent and self-improvement at 9.33 percent, followed by productivity and how to be successful articles.

3. Create unique and valuable content.

John White relates a compelling story of why unique content is your biggest competitive advantage when seeking to land an article on Pulse. He writes that when he had just finished his highly successful article, 7 Signs it is Time to Quit your Job, he took a glance at Pulse before publishing it only to find that another post on this very topic was being featured on Pulse at that moment. Immediately, he hesitated and consulted with a group manager at Publishers & Bloggers, Elizabeth Dehn. Dehn encouraged him to go forth with publishing the post as the content was highly original and helpful. Taking her advice, White published the article and it became the most viewed article for the day worldwide. Suffice to say, just about any topic you choose to write on has likely already been covered on the Internet. Your job is to make it unique and valuable in content. Following White’s example, tell your own story, experience and take, making the topic your own. In this way, your audiences will hear content that has never before been told, making it valuable to them.

4. Pay close attention to attention grabbing headlines and images.

Lastly, it goes without saying that a gripping headline does wonders for your social proof levels. If your audience members cannot go on with their day without clicking on your post because your headline promises such profound value, your views are likely to skyrocket, allowing you a higher chance of being featured on LinkedIn Pulse. As @Brianclark so rightly shared on his Twitter status:

Never write a question headline that your audience can’t answer without clicking.

Likewise, be sure to never write a headline that won’t leave your audience hungry for deeper insight. In addition, your images will be prominently featured with your headline, so make them compelling as well.

Bonus tip: If you think your post is likely to be a hit with Pulse audiences, don’t forget to Tweet it to Tip@LinkedInPulse after it’s been published. In doing so, you can enter it into the Twitter feed viewed solely by LinkedIn editors, the very editors that consider LinkedIn posts for Pulse.

I’d love to know: Do you have any more Pulse tips that have worked for you?