You Are The Media 2023 Q&A clips

Here are some of the questions I answered onstage during my live Q&A at the You Are The Media Creator Day in Poole on 27 April 2023. Thanks to Lois Cliff for capturing the video clips!

Each clip is accompanied with a quick summary of the main points.

If you enjoy this Q&A format, come to the next event on 15 June 2023 in Bath where I'll be answering more LinkedIn questions. Meet me and get lunch included for only ￡22.

LinkedIn newsletters

A LinkedIn newsletter is essentially a LinkedIn article on steroids. Each can be up to 120,000 characters long (normal LinkedIn posts are only up to 3000 characters long).

When you create your very first newsletter, a notification will go out to everyone that you're connected with and everyone who follows you.

Publishing a newsletter is a privileged moment to get in front of all of your LinkedIn network in one go.

You need a newsletter with a compelling title (up to 30 characters) and the first episode should also be well titled and full of value. If people don't subscribe when notified about your first episode, they're probably not going to see another one from you.

Despite having a mailing list I own, I'm better at reaching people through my LinkedIn newsletter – both because of the visibility of the content on LinkedIn and the discoverability of LinkedIn newsletters on Google.

Publish a newsletter episode once per month or at any pace you can sustain.

Newsletters are great for demonstrating your depth of knowledge. Someone brand new to the industry would struggle to write thousands of words with authority.

Someone who really knows what they're doing should be able to show off their experience and skills in this medium.

Read more about LinkedIn newsletters

Personal posts on LinkedIn

I don't put out personal posts on LinkedIn, preferring to focus on being known for one thing (being relentlessly helpful? with my LinkedIn tips).

I put some personal stuff into comments on my own posts and on others' posts, so that those who pay attention can learn more about me.

It's better to be memorable for one thing, as that's easier for others to summarise compared with someone who talks about and offers lots of different things.

Add as much personality as you can in the direct messages.

LinkedIn voice notes and video

Voice notes are powerful on LinkedIn. I wouldn't necessarily leap straight into one, although I do mention my fondness for them in my profile's About statement.

I usually have a short text exchange with new connections before sending them a voice or video note. If they're a podcaster or video creator, I can probably jump straight to sending a voice or video note.

Voice notes get great response rates. Even better response rates come from sending personal videos. On desktop, I recommend free Chrome extensions such as Loom and Vidyard.

Sending voice notes and videos is slower than racing to connect with lots of people, but it's better for being more memorable and hence more referable.

Posting and engaging on LinkedIn

You don't need to post a lot on LinkedIn, unlike on other platforms.

I've posted on average about 5 times per week over the past 6 years.

It's much more important to comment. I recommend commenting about 10 times more than you post.

You can get better visibility by following relevant creators with a substantial number of followers and then looking for spots to comment with substance on what those creators post. This is great for exposing your thoughts to people in your 2nd and 3rd networks on LinkedIn.

Do your comments first and then put out your posts, as that maximises the chances of more people seeing your content.

Take time to build relationships via the direct messages, not just via public comments.

Harassment on LinkedIn

The process I recommend if you've been harassed on LinkedIn is as follows, in this order:

1. Gather your evidence, including grabbing relevant screenshots.
2. Ask the person to desist.
3. Report the person to LinkedIn.
4. Delete any offensive comments on your posts if relevant.
5. Block the person.

Being known

I keep my posts quite focused on being known for one thing. I don't post personal stuff in the main post, but I put my personality into the comments of my posts and on others' posts.

It's easier to be known and summarised for one thing than for people to try to remember lots of your skills and services.

Put as much personality as possible in your DMs. It'll make you more memorable.

LinkedIn events

You can do live video events on LinkedIn but LinkedIn doesn't support native live video.

You need to use a third-party tool such as StreamYard or Restream for broadcasting live video on LinkedIn.

That's great for engagement, and the replay is made available immediately.

You don't need to do any prep: you can just go live and your video gets uploaded to LinkedIn.

LinkedIn Live audio is not currently recorded. I would do more of these if I knew that people could listen to the replay afterwards.

You can also create an external event. This looks like it's on LinkedIn but actually has a link to it that goes to your Go To Meeting or Zoom webinar where you gather registrations.

If you’re going to do online live events, set an appointment with your audience. I call these "content appointments".

For example, say:

"I'm going to go live every Friday at 12.30 and we're going to talk about this for half an hour."

Be consistent. Research suggests having a 30-month mindset of doing something consistently will mean that you get known for that thing.

See you in Bath?

Come to the next event on 15 June 2023 for lunch and another LinkedIn Q&A with me.

Book now for ￡22