Written on February 18th, 2010 at 01:02 am by Darren Rowse
Top 10 Ways to Drive Traffic to Your Blog Using LinkedIn
A Guest Post by www.lewishowes.com on driving traffic to your blog with LinkedIn.
LinkedIn is the most powerful, yet under-utilised social networking platform on the web.
Whether you just created your first blog, or you are considered one of the top bloggers in the world like Darren Rowse, Chris Brogan, or Tim Ferriss, you are always looking for ways to generate more traffic to your site. Even more so, you are looking for qualified traffic to your site, (i.e people who are interested in the content you produce).
LinkedIn is a great way to generate free, organic, traffic to your blog.
“But Lewis, isn’t LinkedIn just a site to post my resume when I am looking for a job?”
No, wake up people! Although LinkedIn has been great for job seekers during the most recent economic cycle, it is much much more than that. Individuals and companies are achieving more professional goals than imaginable on LinkedIn. For example, LinkedIn can help you:
- Sell products
- Find new clients or employees
- Generate leads
- Receive funding for your company
- Obtain sponsorships
- Sell hundreds of tickets to your professional event
- Get national and local press coverage
- And last but not least, drive massive traffic to your blog
Achieving these goals on LinkedIn don’t come naturally. You’ve gotta work the system on LinkedIn and experiment with different methods. I’ve come up with the best ways to achieve those goals. Here are my top 10 ways to drive traffic to your blog using LinkedIn:
1. Complete Your Profile:
Numerous individuals have told me LinkedIn doesn’t work for them. I always ask them how much time they have put into using LinkedIn, their response – very little. If your profile is weak people will lose interest quickly and may never click on your website links.
If you want people to read your profile and click on your websites then make your profile concise, compelling and value driven throughout. Complete your profile 100%, add a great picture of yourself, and take the entire process very seriously. The more complete and compelling your profile is, the more people will read and visit links you have posted.
This advice goes beyond driving traffic to your blog. If someone were to Google your name (which most people do when they are researching you) your LinkedIn profile is one of the first things that pop up. Personally, my LinkedIn profile is the third result, and for Darren Rowse it comes up seventh (before Facebook or Twitter). Google your own name and check out what position your LinkedIn profile shows up. You must make your profile compelling.
2. Increase Your Connections:
The more connections you have, the more people will have access to your profile. Every time you take an action on LinkedIn (i.e. update your profile, join a group, recommend someone, RSVP to an event, etc… this shows up on the home page of your 1st degree connections). If you only have 100 connections, this limits the amount of potential clicks on your profile and website links per day. Constantly be updating and adding new connections.
3. Customize Your Website Links:
When you first create your profile your website links will look like this:
However this is not a “call to action” and you are missing potential traffic because of it. No one actually cares what your blog is unless it is relevant to them or solves a problem. Instead, customize your website links to attract more clicks and drive more traffic to your blog. If I were Darren, I would insert this:
The second image is more compelling and explains exactly what the viewer will see on the next page when they click on each link. In order to change your websites with a custom headline, click on the “edit” button next to one of the websites. View the image below for further details:
4. Answer Questions:
This is a great way to drive traffic to your blog. The more questions you answer, the better the chances are of that person asking the question to click on your blog to learn more about you. Not only will that one person be more interested in learning more about you, but also others answering that question. Additionally, when someone rates your answer as “The Best” of the mix, it will improve your thought leadership status. It moves you up the rankings as a “featured expert” in the category you answered in. When you are a featured expert people become more aware of your profile, and the chance they will click on your link to learn more about what you have to offer improves.
5. Update Status:
For you Twitter lovers out there, this should be an easy step to take. LinkedIn also has a status update feature that is a lot like Twitter, only it gives you 148 characters to work with instead of 140. Why is it so important to constantly update your status? Because it is the first thing that pops up the home profile for all of your connections. Check out your home page on LinkedIn and you will see a few status updates of those your are connected to. If they are smart, they will include some compelling copy with a call to action and a link back to their blog (something I do that drives traffic to mine).
6. Join Niche Groups:
Whatever your blog is about, there is an audience of people on LinkedIn that share interest with. To make it easy to find these people click on the “Group Search” tab and type in some key words that relate to your blog. I have a sports industry blog that focuses mostly on social media with an audience of professionals who work in the sports. I joined all of the professional sports groups I could find:
Some of these niche groups have thousands of members who are actively involved in connect with other members. If you are not in the groups where your audience for your blog is hanging out, then you are missing out on the opportunity for new readers, and organic traffic to your site. Join as many groups as you can after doing a key word search that relates to your blog.
For starters – check out the Professional Bloggers Group.
7. Post Comments In Groups:
Some larger groups are receiving hundreds of new discussion topics every few days (think of it as a forum). People are sharing points of discussion, commenting and giving further feedback and suggestions on those comments. Every time someone creates a new discussion topic, it shows up on the home profile of everyone in that group. If there are 100,000 people in the group, then you are potentially getting the attention of 100,000 other individuals for your comment.
8. Add RSS Feed to Groups:
Each group has a section that allows you to add a link to a website with the latest news you think is relevant to that group. It also allows you to add your own RSS feed or website link so it will automatically update the group every time you post a new article on your blog. This creates an automated flow of organic traffic that will show up on the home profile of everyone connected in the group. Again, this gives you more opportunities for people to view your blog.
9. Create a Group:
This may be one of the most powerful things you can do on LinkedIn. I won’t go into all of the amazing details on how this has helped me, but I will tell you that owning a group drives a lot of traffic to your site. I own several niche related groups on LinkedIn. For example, I created the Sports Industry Network group on LinkedIn and there are currently over 19,500 members. When a new person joins the group, they see a brief description of the group, my name as the owner of the group, plus my website url www.sportsnetworker.com. Since my group gets over 100 new members each week, that’s additional traffic from new members alone. That’s not even including the close to 20,000 members who are actively engaging in the group, and clicking on my blog links.
10. Add the Blog Application to Your Profile:
This might be the most obvious suggestion, but I still see some of the top pro bloggers leaving this feature out. This application posts the title and first paragraph for your most recent articles you have published on your LinkedIn profile. It is a way to give viewers of your profile a sneak peak of what they will read on your blog.
Go to “applications” and download either the WordPress or Blog Link application and add your URL for your blog.
LinkedIn continues to be one of the top sites that drives traffic to my blog, thanks to these 10 examples, but the power of LinkedIn doesn’t stop here. What other tips have you found through using LinkedIn to increase traffic to your blog?
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Lewis Howes is the co-author of the LinkedIn book, LinkedWorking: Generating Success on the World’s Largest Professional Networking Website. He founded the Sports Executives Association and SportsNetworker.com, which provides daily social media and marketing tips for sports professionals. You can connect with him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/lewishowes or on his site at www.lewishowes.com.
148 Responses to “Top 10 Ways to Drive Traffic to Your Blog Using LinkedIn” - Add Yours
Tom Smith @ Studentspayless
February 18th, 2010 1:19 am
Hello Lewis, Thankyou for a really helpfull post, since starting blogging a few months ago I have been trying out new social platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Stumble Upon and getting great amounts of feedback from them. It sounds like your are extremely confident of the potential Linked In as, so I will give it a try! If it is as good as the ones I have just mentioned, then I will be a happy man!
http://www.studentspayless.com
Susan Weiner
February 18th, 2010 1:20 am
I don’t see “manage news feeds” (mentioned in #8) in my LinkedIn Groups under the News tabs.
Does it only exist in some groups?
AnneMarie Callan
February 18th, 2010 1:23 am
Thank you for that great insight into Linked-in … I recently started using it again and these 10 tips are a great help.
Now I’m going to opt in to your list, so that I don’t miss anything you have to pass on. :)
AnneMarie
Vivek
February 18th, 2010 1:34 am
thanks for these useful tips. i have an account on linkedin but didn’t give that amount of importance. i am getting traffic from facebook, twitter, stumbleupon and the top notch blogs on which i made comments in my niche. Getting traffic from linkedin is really a good thing for me and my blog. thanks once again
Serge Van Cauwenbergh
February 18th, 2010 1:53 am
Your article contains some interesting tips. I already customized my Website Links.
Although my time is limited and I prefer to spend it on photographing instead of “wasting” it on posting comments in forums or groups, I will try to have a look at some interesting groups on LinkedIn.
Alla Goltsman
February 18th, 2010 1:53 am
Yes, LinkedIn is a good source of traffic. My LinkedIn experience started the next day LinkedIn was created and I am doing all the things mentioned in the article. What is important to remember though, people do not come to LinkedIn to communicate with me. They go there to accomplish their personal goals.
gwen
February 18th, 2010 1:55 am
Whew! never thought how useful LinkedIn to my blogs. I’d better try your tips. Actually, I just added it to my bookmarks. Thanks for sharing. :)
Gwen
Get $150,000 in Unsecured Biz Credit Lines
Jane Sheeba
February 18th, 2010 1:55 am
Ya, I have an account in LinkedIn too, but after using it for a very short while, I became uninterested. I didn’t get much response, but I must have been impatient. I have also not tried all these tips. Thanks for the great tips, I am gonna try them now, slowly one by one :) Cheers.
@JesseLuna
February 18th, 2010 1:55 am
To expand on #4, Using the Answers feature: I like to post TwtPolls there to get more responses then I follow up and update the Answer item with a link to a follow up blog post showing the Poll findings.
I have to explore LI groups more, thanks for the tips!
Marie Young
February 18th, 2010 1:55 am
Thanks for the tip about customizing your web links. I never knew that option was there.
Sean Smith
February 18th, 2010 2:00 am
Great post Lewis! I use LinkedIn is a major part of my online and social media efforts. I use it quite often and a great majority of my blog’s traffic comes from LinkedIn.
One thing I’d like to point out however… In item number 8 “Add RSS Feeds to Groups”. You can only add your RSS feed to a discussion group if you are the owner or manager of the group stated as follows in LinkedIn’s help:
“Click the ‘Manage News Feeds’ link in the box on the left side of the screen. (This link is only available to owners and managers.)”
Otherwise, you must manually submit each new blog post to the group.
Again, great post and very simple to implement. LinkedIn provides higher quality traffic in my humble opinion as the people visiting your blog from LinkedIn are professionals looking to network with and expand their knowledge through the various connections they make. I’ve made many friends through my blog that have come to it through LinkedIn and highly recommend it!
To Your Success!
Sean Smith
Jonathan Mast
February 18th, 2010 2:19 am
Great advice and excellent real life examples of how to make LinkedIn work for you. Thanks for the tips and for the details, they make your recommendations far easier to understand and implement.
Rebecca Laffar-Smith
February 18th, 2010 2:20 am
I always thought LinkedIn was a fantastic profile site for showcasing myself as an industry professional but I never really considered it a social networking site. I tend to be rather shy about requesting connections but have always been eager to get to know others through LinkedIn.
You’ve offered some great suggestions. For me, the most powerful has been using the blog tool to display a link to my blog feeds and of course, the status update which I don’t use nearly as often as I should. Again, because I didn’t really consider LinkedIn a social network I held back on using it in the same way I would Twitter, Facebook, or Plurk.
Each of these sites really seems to serve a unique purpose in my networking efforts. It is obviously time I learned to use LinkedIn to it’s greatest power too. Thanks for getting me started on that!
Joshua Black- Underdog Millionaire
February 18th, 2010 2:21 am
I never really thought of LInked-in that way. I hope that it doesn’t turn into another facebook, where the traffic is worth very little, since it is so easy to get friends, but I will give it a try. A customer is a customer, right?
Thanks for giving another idea for multiple streams of income.
-Joshua Black
The Underdog Millionaire
Jay
February 18th, 2010 2:27 am
Great post Lewis It’s really helped me a lot and introduced me to how to get traffic from social contacts etc.
Taranfx
February 18th, 2010 2:29 am
If you are a professional and a firm wants to recruit you based on your profile, Promoting a “Personal” or “2nd Business” blog from LinkedIn is such a bad idea.
Lewis Howes
February 18th, 2010 2:30 am
Joshua,
You need to take into consideration that LinkedIn has the highest average household income per user over any other social networking site (even NYTimes.com and BusinessWeek.com readers).
That being said, these are business decision makers you are targeting with your traffic from LinkedIn, not just farmvile users, or Starbucks drinking junkies (joke :)
LinkedIn is for real, and the network continue to grow (currently 60 million).
Give it a chance, and remember that you get out of it what you put into it.
Hope that helps, and thanks for your comments!
Chris Pontoon
February 18th, 2010 2:31 am
Interesting concepts. I have heard of this website buy never have really ventured to it in any way what so ever besides maybe the main log in screen. I like where you state answer questions. I feel this is a large thing in which one will gain trust in you as you help guide them and fill in the puzzle they are trying to view.
Sudeep
February 18th, 2010 2:34 am
A very informative post .. never thought of LinkedIn as a traffic builder. Like that part of changing links
Ami
February 18th, 2010 2:34 am
Hi Lewis,
My question is this:
There are many very powerful social networks today that a blogger can use to drive traffic into his blog: Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn…
Which has the biggest traffic potential?
Which is the one I should really focus on?
With my blog I currently only use Twitter and I’m thinking what should be my next step?
Thanx – Ami
Bee a Blogger | REAL-TIME Blogging Report
Shevonne
February 18th, 2010 2:47 am
These are great tips, especially customizing your web links. I hadn’t even thought about that. Thank you.
Jane
February 18th, 2010 2:55 am
I was putting off signing up for Linkedin as I didn’t want to spend more time on yet another social network. This article has proved to me I should take a look, and put in some effort to make it work for me.
Thanks!
Jane
muhammad fakhruddin
February 18th, 2010 3:00 am
Hello,just to ask a question,is that some social media site has fans from only certain part of the world?
From what I know,Friendster for example most popular at South East Asia region especially Phillipines.How about Linkedln?
Silvia
February 18th, 2010 3:06 am
Thank you Lewis for share. I had an account for some time now but never used it too much. During the last month I began to post articles, to connect with more people (every time i logg in i check people you may know) , join some groups and to begin answer questions. My goal for March is to create a niche related group.
Steven | The Emotion Machine
February 18th, 2010 3:12 am
Very useful information. I have had a LinkedIn for a couple months now but haven’t gotten around to really setting it up. I think I am going to do that right now and follow some of this advice – thanks!
Tyler
February 18th, 2010 3:42 am
Thank you very much for this insight. I have been a member of LinkedIn for several months but have never done a thing with it. This information will help me increase awareness of my site dramatically as I hope to create professional appeal for my niche site.
Jenn, BlondeShot Creative
February 18th, 2010 3:48 am
Great article. Most of things I’ve already been doing but I had no idea the blog application even existed… totally my fault for not rummaging through the site more. Thanks for sharing these tips!
Angela @ Homegrown Mom
February 18th, 2010 4:20 am
Well, I had written Linked in off as something for “business people!” I’m hesitant to join in any more kinds of networks because I am already so distracted :) But I am going to look into it now. Thanks for a great post!
Wayne John
February 18th, 2010 4:22 am
I’ve always used linked in for strictly professional reasons…professional in real life, not my online life. As things are pretty stable for me, I’ve had no need to use linkedIn, but perhaps I should take another look at it now.
Thanks for the ideas!
Michelle @ Following Your Joy
February 18th, 2010 4:23 am
Lewis,
Thank you! I’m off to LinkedIn right now to get going on some good updates. I thought I was already doing a good job (and I was), but I can do even better. :)
Appreciate the fantastic, do-able tips!
The Naked Redhead
February 18th, 2010 4:25 am
Columbus, represent! :)
What if your blog is, um, if full of less than “professional” content (meaning, it’s more personal in nature or perhaps uses the phrase “dog balls” on a regular basis)? I feel like putting my stuff on LinkedIn will cause me to be taken less than seriously by potential employers…whereas if I remain somewhat anonymous on other platforms (FB and Twitter) I don’t have to pretend I still have a day job.
I’ve actually wondered about this question ever since your first LinkedIn speech at TM. Nice to see your name on this blog, BTW. I was wondering when this was going to happen! :)
Sarah
February 18th, 2010 4:25 am
Great article, and I’ve read many articles on Linkedin already.
Will customize my websites (be more specific than just “my blog” and “my company” and start adding RSS to my groups !
Thank you !
Thomas James
February 18th, 2010 5:43 am
Hello Lewis,
Submitting news to groups results in a lot of traffic to my blog, and I think you offer a lot of other great tips as well.
However, one of your tips seems to be incorrect. It looks like you can only add your RSS feed to a group that you created, rather than all groups that you belong to. Unless you know a way to do this to all groups, I’ll need to continue to submit articles the manual way.
Thanks for the post!
Thomas
Houston Librarian
February 18th, 2010 5:58 am
I had not really thought about using linkedin for this purpose. I just signed up for it one day because everyone else was signed up.
Jennifer Fong
February 18th, 2010 6:07 am
Great post, thank you. I have also found LinkedIn to be a great driver of traffic to my blog, primarily by posting links to relevant articles within various groups using a Share This button on my site. I was not aware you could set up an RSS feed for that, and will be looking into that.
LinkedIn has added a lot since I first set up my profile. I think it’s time to revisit in order to see what else I can do with it.
Keep up the great work!
Cheers,
Jennifer Fong
Lewis Howes
February 18th, 2010 6:20 am
Thomas,
You are right, you have to manually add your articles to other groups you are in, and you can only add yours to your own group.
However, currently each group is aloud to have up to 30 RSS feeds (I believe) so you could contact the group owner and ask (nicely) if they would add your site to their news feed.
If it adds value to the members of the group, and isn’t a conflict of interest then they should be willing to do it as it generates content for their group.
Hope this helps my friend
Andee Sellman, One Sherpa
February 18th, 2010 6:35 am
Thanks for the useful information Lewis.
I think Linkedin is getting more traction eventhough Facebook has a lot more traffic at present.
I particulalry liked the piece about customising your page because it’s so simple to do yet incredibly effective
Colby
February 18th, 2010 6:36 am
Thanks for the great tips. My question is similar to Ami’s: With all the great social media sites out there to direct traffic to my blog I’m having difficulty choosing which one(s) I should concentrate my efforts.
I only have a limited amount of time and feel like my effort is half-hearted spread across several sites like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Digg, Delicious, etc., not to mention the fact that I follow several blogs and try to contribute comments here and there.
Sorry if I’m slightly off topic here, but what is the best strategy to take when getting involved with all of these different communities? Should I be half-hearted, but a part of all or should I concentrate my full effort on one?
Hulbert
February 18th, 2010 6:45 am
Hi Lewis, thanks for this article. I have never knew what LinkedIn was besides that it was a social media networking site. It sounded as if in the beginning, it was only for people seeking jobs, but after reading this, I’ve learned that there is potential to drive massive traffic back to one’s blog. Although it might not be as popular as Twitter or Facebook, I think it will getting up there fast as I see it on a lot of websites. I will definitely have to check this out.
RJ Weiss
February 18th, 2010 7:06 am
LinkedIn is my preferred social network. I have managed to make many real life connections, compared to other networks where total followers is more important.
Great SEO tip. Just changed my profile.
Matt Haughey
February 18th, 2010 8:14 am
This was a really good article for me to read today, it just so happens that I have been expanding the reaches of my articles in numerous ways including LinkedIn. This really gives a good starting point to be effective with the site and what it has to offer. If you want to read more about what I’ve been up to on my blog. Feel free to check it out.
-Matt Haughey
http://www.collegiate-preneur.com
Barry Jarvis
February 18th, 2010 8:25 am
I already use it in a professional capacity for my 9-5 job, but I must admit, i never really thought of using LinkedIn for promoting my new blog.
I’m having some relatively good success via Twitter, so i guess it would be daft to ignore the potential of other networking sites.
Omer Greenwald
February 18th, 2010 8:28 am
Thanks for this.
I think LinkedIn is indeed underestimated by most bloggers as a traffic generator.
I wasn’t aware of it’s power myself, and used mostly twitter until now.
CrisisMaven
February 18th, 2010 8:58 am
The wealth of information you provide is nothing but astounding!
Aaron - HelpCreatePlan.com
February 18th, 2010 9:29 am
Boy….its been mentioned a few times already in the comments but I have to say it again…I never would have thought of using linkedin in this way. There is definitely some untapped traffic there. I aint gonna lie – I want it….!
Many many thanks for the tips!
Greg Taylor
February 18th, 2010 9:36 am
This has been on my list of to-do’s forever. Now I know I really need to make it happen. My blog has been performing well and since it’s a niche subject (concert photography) I know it can do way better.
I will take care of this ASAP.
chris
February 18th, 2010 9:44 am
Great Post! I created a Linkedin account a while back, but I never finished my profile. I guess I just couldn’t see the value of this site. Thanks for sharing. I am heading to linkedin now.
Lewis Howes
February 18th, 2010 9:47 am
Glad to see everyone is enjoying the tips and starting to take action! Let me know how it all works out for you :)
Sean Smith
February 18th, 2010 9:48 am
For those of you wondering which social networking site to focus your effort on, the answer is all of them. You can easily update your status and automatically post your blog posts through sites like Ping.fm and Hootsuite.com. Simply set up a free account with the site of your choice and use these tools to help streamline and automate the process. This will save you valuable time while allowing you to syndicate your content to the various social networking sites in which you are a member of. I’ve been using both these tools for quite some time to automatically post my blog posts to all my social networking sites, including, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Plurk, Facebook, Digg, Delicious and more. This has allowed me to focus my main efforts on my blog.
@Taranfx – Sharing content from your blog on LinkedIn is not unprofessional at all. As a matter of fact LinkedIn is the third largest provider of traffic to my blog. I even receive several job offers as a result. The key is to ensure you are publishing content that provides value for your niche market and ensure your content also helps to establish you as an industry expert. If you do this correctly, then your blog will showcase your knowledge, as well as your character and personality, thus assisting in establishing credibility for yourself. It has been very successful through my experience. I’ve even had several employers take advantage of my consulting services.
Meredith
February 18th, 2010 9:50 am
This is great advice… I was just asking my business coaches this morning about how to better use LinkedIn… Thanks for the post!
Ruadhri McGarry
February 18th, 2010 10:02 am
Thanks for this simple but effective guide. Top class.
Ruadhri
Paul
February 18th, 2010 10:06 am
Wow, hadn’t realised you can add your RSS URL in to a group like that. I’ve just been manually posting articles that I write one by one!
Justine
February 18th, 2010 10:10 am
Impeccable timing! As a total Linkedin newbie, I found this post extremely helpful, thanks again for the great advice!
Sean Smith
February 18th, 2010 10:11 am
Hi Paul, unfortunately you’ll have to continue posting your blog posts manually to LinkedIn Groups. Currently, you can only add an RSS feed to a group if you are the group owner or manager. I know there are a lot of comments here so it is easy to overlook many of them, but I posted about this earlier. It is the 11th post from the top.
Sorry to disappoint ;-(
Janet Beckers
February 18th, 2010 10:18 am
Great article Lewis. Linked In has seemed like ANOTHER social networking site to need my attention but I have ignored it until NOW thanks to you. Interestingly, even with my basic profile and with no updates since I set it up, it has worked for me. For example I was asked to chair a conference on women in IT last year. When I asked how they heard of me, they said Linked In. That didn’t motivate me to go and get more active on Linked In but you have so thanks.
hokya
February 18th, 2010 10:35 am
i will try it then :D
Patrick Nouhailler
February 18th, 2010 10:41 am
It’s nicely done with great detailed picture on how to proceed, nice work ! The only things I’m not really doing at the moment is the answer part. When I go to Linkedin I get more into questions than answers . It’s like yahoo answer, when I go to yahoo answer it’s to ask question,not to answer questions , it doesn’t come handy, if we had a nice interface where we dont have to select category for the questions to answer then maybe I will spend more time answering question.
Paul Cunningham
February 18th, 2010 10:45 am
@Sean – oh no worries, I am a manager on at least one group in my tech niche so thats cool. I’ve also been meaning to start a few groups of my own so that will still be useful for those too.
Sean Smith
February 18th, 2010 11:08 am
@Paul – Sounds great! Looks like we share similar passions. What group are you a manager of? I’m a web designer and blogger myself, teaching others how to succeed online. I’d be happy to join and contribute to your groups! Feel free to connect with me!
P.S. Nice Thesis layout for your blog. I’m a Thesis user as well!
Kim
February 18th, 2010 11:21 am
Lots to implement — just did #3.
Thank You!!
mk akan
February 18th, 2010 11:49 am
never knew one can do much more with linkedin.com.wil check it out..thanks for the info
Cemil | Online Business Blackbook
February 18th, 2010 11:59 am
This is by far one of the most useful posts that I have read in some time. While I do have a LinkedIn account, with a half completed profile ;) I never even thought of it as another medium to attract traffic.
Very Very interesting.
J.D. Meier
February 18th, 2010 3:00 pm
I originally undervalued LinkedIn until I got schooled by enough people swearing by their results. I see how it’s a crucial part of today’s ever-connected world.
Revamping my profile was actually fun, since it was like a quick reflection on the story of my life and my portfolio of results so far … and it reminded me to write my story forward in a way that’s more compelling.
Elyse Doerflinger
February 18th, 2010 4:17 pm
Finally! – A blog posts that explains the power of LinkedIn. I’ve read many posts that say to use LinkedIn, but they never go into detail how to exactly do so. Thank you so much for this much needed post. I can’t wait to begin revamping my LinkedIn profile.
Rinaldi Syahran
February 18th, 2010 4:24 pm
Maybe linkedin just a site to send a resume when you are looking for a job. However, this can be used to improve the traffic from your blog. This can be seen from the post we have read the above. Such references are very useful for all bloggers who have know how and what tool used to increase traffic.
Blogging Tips
February 18th, 2010 4:39 pm
Thanks for the 10 Killer tips to drive traffic from linkedin.
Dropshipper
February 18th, 2010 4:58 pm
Amazing article on optimum use of Linkedin Site. Many of us actually never go in to the depth of the things. Thanks for the great information.
Muneer
February 18th, 2010 7:37 pm
Hi derren,
Thanks for the great post.
Not easy but have to do…..
E.T. Barton
February 18th, 2010 7:53 pm
I have had a LinkedIn Account for years, but only recently started using it. Some of this information I didn’t know, but the stuff I did know is definitely true.
One thing that really helped me out with LinkedIn was to ask some of my Group Members to help me edit my eBook “How to Do a Year’s Worth of Bookkeeping in One Day”. Not only did I get great feedback on what is basically a niche market, but several members of the group subscribed to my blog just because I asked for their help. So if you’re not using the Groups feature, you missing out on what is basically free direct-marketing to thousands of people (since they get your notices daily or weekly in their email inboxes).
Bala
February 18th, 2010 8:25 pm
This is great. I will try this tip so i can drive traffic to my blog.
Lewis Howes
February 18th, 2010 8:34 pm
@E.T. You are right. The groups are extremely powerful for things other than driving traffic to your site.
I find that if you create a great niche group, the members are willing to support one another. Sort of like various forums online… people will recommend others, answer your questions, share advice, etc.
I use them to throw networking events in various cities around the world as well, and get anywhere from 300-500 people to show up who are in my groups, so they can meet one another in person and take the online connection offline.
There is so much more you can do with LinkedIn than just drive traffic, so I hope everyone gets the chance to learn more about it… and if you want some free LinkedIn Marketing tutorial videos, just sign up to get them for free on my site.
Keep the comments coming everyone :)
Janice Clark
February 18th, 2010 8:48 pm
Hi Darren. seriously you have helped me a lot in making my blog up and running, your posts are like a self help book in how to make it in the blogging world.
Stone Atwine
February 18th, 2010 9:13 pm
Thanks for the advice.
I have for a very long time ignored LinkedIn in favour of Facebook and Twitter. This is a wake up call for me to get back there and get things done.
Hear Mum Roar
February 18th, 2010 9:57 pm
Thanks for explaining it. I have an account, and I just have had no clue what the point was of it, nor what to do with it. But I’ll try some of your ideas:)
Anne-Marie Kirwan
February 18th, 2010 10:38 pm
As well as posting links to my blog posts and useful resources, I use the LinkedIn status update box to let people know when I’m available for freelance work. In my experience it’s been more useful to me than Twitter. I find that people tend to follow a lot more people on Twitter than they do on LinkedIn, so a lot of tweets get overlooked.
Peter
February 18th, 2010 11:16 pm
very useful tips. thank you. I’ll create my LinkedIn profile right now.
प्रवीण त्रिवेदी ╬ PRAVEEN TRIVEDI
February 18th, 2010 11:44 pm
thanks for these useful tips. i have an account on linkedin but didn’t give that amount of importance. i am getting traffic from facebook, twitter.
online shopping cart website design
February 19th, 2010 12:26 am
i never knew linked in was good for building inbound links, and promoting blogs effectively, thanks for the post…
Christine Hueber
February 19th, 2010 12:34 am
LinkedIn has increased my traffic substantially & contributed to my online visibility tremendously — I’m a fan! It’s an excellent marketing channel for my business.
Best,
Christine Hueber
donny
February 19th, 2010 1:03 am
two thumb up :)
sepatone
February 19th, 2010 1:16 am
Hi Lewis, thank you for the information
I will try to implement it on my blog.
john mclrn
February 19th, 2010 2:22 am
hiii those this impacts but it’s a regrettable and temporary measure to combat a growing comment spam problem
==================
john
http://www.financehelpdirect.com
John Hoff - WP Blog Host
February 19th, 2010 3:19 am
The funny thing is that I’m going to Stumble the LinkedIn article LOL.
I have an account with LinkedIn, but I’m definitely one of those people who don’t do much with it.
There’s just so much to do and so little time.
Perhaps when I have more time…. yeah right, who am I kidding ;-)
Thanks Lewis for an insightful article.
Marc
February 19th, 2010 3:32 am
Ok, you have made a compelling post as I never gave it much thought until now. Looks like I will be updating my Linkedin profile.
Serendipitous
February 19th, 2010 3:41 am
About a year ago, my friend told me about LinkedIn — actually she sent me a link and I signed up for it. That’s about as far as I got, not knowing all of these great features of it that you have listed! Thanks for the heads up — Now I will utilize this in my biz!! ;)
Forgotten Liberty
February 19th, 2010 4:31 am
Great guest post. One of the most informative ones to date. I haven’t used LinkedIn yet because I figured it’s like all the rest and would just take up more of my time, but I’m going to give it a try after reading your post. Thanks.
Cori Padgett
February 19th, 2010 4:46 am
Hmmn…THANKS for this post! There were definitely several things I am now off to do to optimize the pull I get from LinkedIn that I had no idea I could do.
I had a handful of the steps you mentioned done, but everything else was an eye opener. Thanks again!
Warm regards,
C
Savvy Life Coach
February 19th, 2010 4:50 am
Fantastic post. I’m just launching my blog and didn’t realize Linkedin had so many opportunities. Thanks! I’ll definitely be trying some of these tactics.
Krishan Dutt
February 19th, 2010 4:57 am
Awesome ideas ! Though everyone knows about it, but just like many other things we don’t pay heed to get the free benefits of networking on Linkedin. A must read and practicable post
Alex Taylor
February 19th, 2010 5:08 am
LinkedIn first came up on my radar as a traffic source only a few weeks ago when someone posted a link to our website from a discussion inside a group. It’s been a great source of traffic, and there are still visitors from that thread even a month later.
The only issue with that however is that when I click to see the discussion thread, as I’m not a member of that group (and there’s no obvious way of even finding out what the group’s called!) I can’t see where the link was posted, in what kind of discussion, who posted, or the context.
Kenny
February 19th, 2010 5:22 am
Wow! I have already used some of the LinkedIn features you mentioned but thank you for finding and sharing more.
Really helpful. LinkedIn should have a link to your article to help publicize these beneficial features.
Thank you.
Sean
February 19th, 2010 5:31 am
It is amazing how many elements you need to cover to make the grade. Good advice and I will go an set it up for our site http://www.instantsandbags.com
Regards,
Sean
Avil Beckford
February 19th, 2010 8:15 am
I am very appreciative for this post, so Lewis, thank you for that. I have implemented some of your suggestions already, my username is avilbeckford. And this evening I will do more.
I have learned so much about LinkedIn that I never knew before. I am happy when I get information that I can not only use, but know exactly how to use it.
There is also a book “How to Really Use Linkedin” for download for free, the light version at http://is.gd/8G14t. I have to finish reading it and see what other gems I can pick up.
Thank you! Avil Beckford @avilbeckford
Drew
February 19th, 2010 8:18 am
Great tips!
I am a heavy LinkedIn user and find a lot of value you in it.
My main focus is to answer questions, not only does it drive traffic to my website, but more importantly, it solidifies many of the connections that I have and make throughout the site.
Cheers,
Drew
Jacob Stoops
February 19th, 2010 8:55 am
Excellent post. I especially like the add feed to a group option, as that may be a good way to plug your blog – if your blog is focused on the group niche and you produce good content.
Problogging
February 19th, 2010 9:44 am
This is a niche content site.
MLM Relationships
February 19th, 2010 10:22 am
Great article man, very good read. I really didn’t think about leveraging LinkedIn to generate more leads.
Mohamed.
Nick@Subject2.com
February 19th, 2010 1:07 pm
I’ve given my LinkedIn profile some serious care lately due to Chris Brogan’s suggestions in his book ‘Trust Agents’.
I must also say that recently he (Chris Brogan) made a good point that I was also considering. How many different Social Media platforms should I devote time to?
I’m active on Twitter, Faceook and my own blog. Do have time for LinkedIn? I’m not sure. Do I see value there? Yes! But, how much value does it bring compared to the time, effort and involvement LinkedIn requires? I’m not sure of that.
Brandy
February 19th, 2010 2:36 pm
Thanks for this post! I haven’t quite figured out how to use LinkedIn to my blog advantage but this helps a bit for sure! Great article!
Anat Kumar
February 19th, 2010 3:26 pm
It’s really very useful for me. Specially RSS, Iave not add RSS in my linkedin profile now Will add this.
Thanks,
Anat Kumar
Annabel Candy, Get In the Hot Spot
February 19th, 2010 5:05 pm
Very useful, thanks! Wish I’d read the comments earlier before I spent 20 mins working out why I couldn’t add a news feed to a group:)
Lewis Howes
February 19th, 2010 8:32 pm
@Nick Thanks for you thoughtful points about the value LinkedIn brings compared to Twitter and Facebook and the point that Chris Brogan made in his article about deleting his LinkedIn account.
I did a video follow up post with 8 reasons Chris Brogan (and you) should continue to stay on LinkedIn… and how it is better than some of the other sites:
http://www.lewishowes.com/featured-articles/chris-brogan-should-stay-on-linkedin/
I think it may change your mind once you take a look.
Hope this helps, and thank you for your comments.
Jennifer Stalford
February 20th, 2010 3:35 am
@ Annabel – my thoughts exactly! Thanks Sean Smith for explaining #8.
I didn’t know you could customize link titles #3 – just updated mine! Thanks for these tips.
abercrombie
February 20th, 2010 4:11 am
And last but not least, drive massive traffic to your blog
it’s much easier said than done, don’t you think so?
Samantha Milner
February 20th, 2010 4:59 am
Hi guys
i have never really understood the big deal with linkedin but after reading this post i have opened an account and i am following the ideas so i will give you a run through of how it goes.
kind regards
sam
X
Marie Prentice
February 20th, 2010 5:58 am
Another interesting and potentially lucrative feature of LinkedIn is it’s discussion opt-in feature. This is something I’ve experienced first hand; if you start and/or follow a discussion (or follow all discussions in a Group), LinkedIn will notify you via e-mail every single time there is an update or new comment made to that post. Talk about an amazing way of keeping your blog or website front and center in the minds of those interested in your area of expertise!
-Marie Prentice @affinityclick
http://www.affinityclick.com
Lewis Howes
February 20th, 2010 6:11 am
@sam
Glad you decided to open an account after reading this article… let me know how it turns out for you :)
@Marie
Another way to drive traffic is by posting discussions in the groups like I mention in the #7. However, every group sends out an email of the weekly updates to all of its members. So if you post a discussion and the group has over 100,000 members, then LinkedIn sends your discussion to 100,000 emails (for people who have not opted out of it anyways) and that is free marketing for you to a targeted list of people.
Hope that inspires you even more :)
Grant
February 20th, 2010 10:12 am
I googled Darren Rowse and the first hit was at problogger, wikipedia was next, twiiter came in at 6th, facebook came in at 13th and linkedin was 19th. Which google location were you using when you complied your results?
Personally I have never found that googling my name finds me in the first 5 pages (I know I have a lower profile than Darren) because I share my surname with a large city and it always dominates results. If you want to find a person you have to use a person focused tool
Cathy Miller
February 20th, 2010 10:17 am
I love LinkedIn. As a freelance writer, I have received more business from LinkedIn than any other social media that I use. To me, it is the most professional of the platforms.
The Groups are the most helpful although some take over the group with a bombardment of “infomercials.” It really depends on how the owner of the group controls the postings.
It’s a great place to share ideas and information and provides you with an opportunity to demonstrate your knowledge. I just hope it keeps that professional appeal.
Pragmatic Project Manager
February 20th, 2010 10:18 am
Hi, thanks. But I noticed with point 3 on Linked in that if you change the websites name from anything but “my website” then it inserts a “no follow” tag and the value of the link is somewhat lost….
Rajnesh Dharmat
February 20th, 2010 9:05 pm
Hi Lewis,
Congrats for the great post. I never thought that Linkedin can be Traffic Gush, but you have explained beautifully. Great information I should apply it right away.
Thanks a Ton.
Rajnesh
http://www.youarelookingfor.info
PHP Programmer
February 21st, 2010 12:54 am
LinkedIn is a great way to generate free, organic, traffic to your blog.LinkedIn experience started the next day LinkedIn was created and I am doing all the things mentioned in this.The article is good & helpful as well.I like the article and hope to see more of such articles.
chandan
February 21st, 2010 1:19 am
Linkedin is also a good social media site for connect with people and promote our service. I am also using linkedin.
Blogger Template Place
February 21st, 2010 1:50 am
Wow … Thanks dude. I need it to optimize my public profile.
webbpromoter
February 21st, 2010 7:55 am
never thought of LinkedIn actually. I just read on another forum how to receive traffic. a poster mentioned this site as well. all these free tools at our fingertips!
Steve Tylock
February 22nd, 2010 2:57 am
Good recommendations in the post in all things except suggestion #2 – connecting.
If you don’t want to be able to reach people through your connections, then by all means connect willy-nilly.
If however, you want to get introductions to VIPs of the VIPs you know, then you have to connect only to people you know and trust,
It’s a fundamental difference of opinion between two different camps on LinkedIn. The open connectors seem to say that it works for them, but when I talk to regular people, they talk about how this strategy backfires on them.
Your mileage may vary;-)
steve
–
Steven Tylock
The LinkedIn Personal Trainer
http://www.linkedinpersonaltrainer.com
http://www.linkedin.com/in/stevetylock
Lewis Howes
February 22nd, 2010 4:19 am
@Steven,
Thanks for your suggestion, but I have to agree on this one with you.
You said:
“If you don’t want to be able to reach people through your connections, then by all means connect willy-nilly.”
However, this is contradicting yourself. If you connect with more VIP’s willingly and openly then they will connect you with more of their VIP’s, it will allow your to be found by more people (right now you have less than 400 direct connection, and this means you limit yourself on the number of VIP’s that can 1. Find you on a LinkedIn search, 2. Reach out to you to connect and 3. Hire you for your services… because they can’t find or connect with you.)
You limit other possibilities by only connecting with those that you do know.
Think about it, if we only connect with those few close friends we interact with in the “real world” on a daily basis, then we already know about all of the possible opportunities through that network.
However, if you start to branch out and connect with people you somewhat know, or other VIP’s that you may not know at all… then you are opening your brand and company to an entirely new network… and more importantly you are opening it up to potentially millions more through their 2nd 3rd degree network on LinkedIn.
I have yet to see connecting with everyone for me and the thousands I have trained online and offline “backfire” for any of them. It has only helped get more business, get more leads, generate more opportunities for those who do this. Feel free to check out some of the recommendations on my profile with the feedback from people who do this… it’s pretty amazing.
Steve Tylock
February 22nd, 2010 10:40 am
@Lewis,
Thanks for the response.
Since you’re in Columbus, let’s suppose for a moment that you know Jay Schottenstein, the CEO of Retail Ventures, Inc (RVI) – you’ve played golf together, and are invited over.
Let’s also suppose that you connect to Jay on LinkedIn, and also connect to ten thousand other people.
How likely is it that you’re actually going to refer people you have no trust for when they ask to reach Jay?
I mean – you’ve been to the house… If you offend Jay, you may lose that friendship.
Yes – you’ll refer people you don’t know through to other people you don’t know, but real connections – where the other guy expects you to be a gate-keeper. How often will you introduce strangers to them?
As a marketing practice, I’m completely visible to everyone on LinkedIn – even people outside my network.
If someone finds my LinkedIn profile and can’t find a way to reach me, I didn’t want them to – because they must have no clue.
I have counseled people that _have_ had significant close relationships damaged because of complications after they connected to someone they didn’t know.
So yes – if maintaining close relationships where you would positively endorse friends of friends is of no help, an indiscriminate connection policy works fine.
But I maintain that there are plenty of other ways to accomplish that. There are dreadfully few to get introduced to the close friends of your close friends. And those are the introductions that really matter.
I’d like to refer to this article from December:
http://www.linkedinpersonaltrainer.com/archives/connect-to-people-you-know-and-trust-network-with-everyone/
I am absolutely open about networking with anyone – but there’s no LinkedIn connection until after I know the other person well enough to know that they won’t embarrass me in front of my other VIP connections. (and to me, everyone is a VIP)
[btw - you said you have to agree with me and then argued the other case - was that a Freudian slip - do you really want to agree with me?-]
steve
–
Steven Tylock
The LinkedIn Personal Trainer
http://www.linkedinpersonaltrainer.com
http://www.linkedin.com/in/stevetylock
Cindi @ Moomette's Magnificents
February 22nd, 2010 2:16 pm
I’ve made many connections through LinkedIn and thought my profile was up-to-date. I implemented all these recommendations and it’s made my profile much better for connections to understand that I have a WAHM advice niche!
Lewis Howes
February 22nd, 2010 2:55 pm
@Steve,
Thanks again for your comment… and yes, that was a slip and meant to write “disagree” with you :)
Here is my reply to your comment….
I know the Schottenstein family (although I have not played golf with them yet ;)…
You are saying that you won’t connect with anyone you don’t know because you don’t feel comfortable forwarding along an introduction to one of your VIP’s. And I completely understand your point of view, and agree with that.
However, you can still connect with that person you don’t know that well, and you don’t have to forward along an introduction if they try to connect through you to one of your VIP’s….
This has happened to me probably about 10 times in the last 2 years where I have had people I don’t know (or even friends) who asked for an introduction to someone who was an influencer in my industry. I did not feel comfortable forwarding along the introduction and therefore I emailed them back telling them why. No harm, no fowl… and I have yet to have an issue with that.
Because I’ve connected with those people I still:
1. Am able to be found and contacted by millions more people on LinkedIn
2. Am able to drive more traffic to my site because my status updates, and profile updates show up on more people’s LinkedIn home page
3. Am able to generate a TON more leads than with only a few hundred connection (of people I already know)
4. Am building my email list/database (one of the most important things for anyone doing business online these days, just ask Darren, Chris Brogan, or any other successful blogger/marketer).
5. Am opening up so many more opportunities that normally wouldn’t come my way because I’m on the “top of mind” for people who might not know me that well (as opposed to my close network of people I already know).
6. Allowing myself to influence, inspire, and help those that might not know about my services that well… therefore evoking more recommendations and increasing my thought leadership, and social proof on my profile.
Do you need more reasons?
Again, if you are worried about connecting someone you don’t know to one of your VIP’s… then worry no more, because you don’t have to forward the introduction… simply tell them why you don’t want to in a professional manner, and move on.
Thanks again for your comment.
Rika Susan's Juicing Recipes
February 22nd, 2010 4:35 pm
Thanks for this wake-up call about LinkedIn, Lewis! I didn’t know that this can become such a powerful traffic tool. Sounds like this is one we simply have to make time for.
Jonathan
February 23rd, 2010 9:13 am
Great post…one question: to add an RSS feed to the groups, don’t you have to own the group? I’m not seeing this news manage option anywhere but on my own group.
Carlene
February 23rd, 2010 11:03 am
I consider Lewis my LinkedIn Expert. I use many of his tips above and after attending a teleseminar he cosponsored a few months ago, I was able to increase my traffic to my blog and website.
Great tips and 100% doable.
If each of us just posted 3 blogs per week, and responded to at least 1 LinkedIn Group Discussion a day.(what 30 minutes?)
What a difference we’d see in our online business.
http://www.linkedin.com/in/carleneann
Theresa Ip Froehlich
February 23rd, 2010 4:30 pm
I have already been doing some of the things mentioned in this article. I will implement the ones I haven’t used yet. It really requires a great deal of persistence and consistency to keep up with this social media work.
The question is: how long till we see results?
whiteshark0121
February 23rd, 2010 6:51 pm
Driving traffic to website is really very important to make your site visible and to do this I suggest you do all the techniques listed in this post because we cannot succeed if we do just 1 or 2 strategies, I have an idea to add to this post because there are millions of people going online each day to play game. I used YourKidsClub games as it has wide variety of games that are related to my niche and can help generate more traffic.
Steve Tylock
February 24th, 2010 3:06 am
@Lewis,
Good discussion – perhaps we should have a matching blog posts just on this debate;-)
You say you have avoided introductions when you don’t know the requester but you do know the recipient… I’ll go one further – I know users that will not connect because they don’t even want to be in the pool of connections of an open connector.
It’s a choice – maintain weak connections, or maintain strong. I don’t see the middle path working well. You have to hide your connections because you can’t trust them, and you can’t really offer introductions when they would count for anything.
And – how would you respond when Schottenstein Sr. calls you up and says “Lewis, I just took a call from Slim Smith – he said we both have you in common and that you suggested he call…”
Why yes, you never made that suggestion, and it is _awful_ networking – but it happens – and it leaves you with a problem to deal with. If you can’t trust the person you connect with, you can’t be sure that they won’t do something like this – and if you connect to 500+ people, you’re likely to have found at least a handful of people that would consider doing this…
And on the points:
1. Am able to be found
I am no less able to be found on LinkedIn – really.
2. Updates drive traffic to my site
Ok – I’ll give you that – but why not get them on twitter or signup for the blog directly? If a person already knows you well enough to connect, won’t they signup anyways?
3. Am able to generate a TON more leads
Perhaps if you have a consumer product to market – but I think other advertising methods work just as well. And when you do this, you give up the deep and strong connections.
4. Am building my email list/database
I’m sure people who use LinkedIn love the fact that you mine them into your email database…
5. Opening opportunities because I’m on the “top of mind”
Instead of opening opportunities with people that already know and trust you. Which is more likely to result in a significant deal?
6. Allowing myself to influence, inspire, and help those that might not know about my services that well…
That’s just grandiose flattery of yourself – a LinkedIn connection to people you don’t know is not likely to inspire them. (IMHO)
6b) more recommendations and increasing my thought leadership, and social proof on my profile.
And this is just plain awkward – it’s not a sales letter – having more than 20 recommendations _does not_ help prove that you’re great.
“Tom’s a great guy and answers his email”
“I’ve had good success connecting to other people that freely connect after connecting to Tom”
…
“All my dreams came true after I connected to Tom!”
Ok – that last one is more than I ever see, but you don’t need 486 recommendations to “prove” that you’re good at what you do;-)
steve
–
Steven Tylock
The LinkedIn Personal Trainer
http://www.linkedinpersonaltrainer.com
http://www.linkedin.com/in/stevetylock
Lewis Howes
February 24th, 2010 9:03 am
@Steve,
I’m one step ahead of you and created a video post about 6 main reasons you should connect with everyone on LinkedIn back on my site: http://www.lewishowes.com/featured-articles/6-reasons-to-connect-with-everyone-on-linkedin/
Each one of your points made me laugh actually as you are pretty close minded and think that your way is the only way to use LinkedIn.
I could go through each one of your points and show you why you are missing a huge opportunity, also give you case studies from people who have implemented my suggestions and seen great results.
But to be honest, I would rather focus on helping more people like the 100+ who commented on this article and found it useful, as opposed to try and convince 1 person who is too close minded about any new ideas, and won’t find the value in what I say.
Fact is, connecting with everyone has more benefits then connecting with a very limited amount of people like you have done… just read the blog comments on here from people, and the testimonials of others that have massive success from doing so, or feel free to check out my site as I have a number of videos about LinkedIn and the value it has by growing your database.
In fact, you should start listening to other LinkedIn Experts like Carlene above who sees the value in what I’m sharing… thanks Carlene :)
Anat Kumar
February 26th, 2010 8:14 pm
Thanks!!!
This is really very informative and helped as about traffic. I will follw these rules and let’s see what will be the results.
Thank’s
Anat Kumar
wptidbits
March 3rd, 2010 5:41 am
Just added my website details into my linkedin. Good recommendations. Thanks!
Jamie Northrup
March 3rd, 2010 9:56 am
Hi,
Thanks for the tips, I have been a member at LinkedIn for a while, but never noticed how many different things we could do with it, specially adding an RSS feed to a group, that’s really great.
And since Alexa ranks LinkedIn as the 17th site in the United States, I would say it should not be ignored.
Thanks,
Jamie
Elizabeth Lexleigh
March 4th, 2010 5:05 am
Thanks, Lewis! A very informative post that gives your readers some new, useful tips as well as helpful reminders. I appreciate your willingness to share your experience and insights.
Martin
March 11th, 2010 6:11 pm
I’d signed up with linkedin ages ago and not given it another thought. I think I’ll revisit it after reading this. Thanks
Tod Wedge
March 12th, 2010 7:17 am
Just landed on this post via Google research. I love it. This situation change my perceptual experience and I am obtaining the RSS feeds. Cheers.
Quad Pushchair
March 17th, 2010 11:27 pm
I get so many invitations to join LinkedIn from friends but never felt like actually joining it…is it this good to get traffic? I think I will join to see it myself now.
Facebook Applications
March 19th, 2010 7:51 pm
This is just another one of the many great social networking tools that are great are driving traffic and interested readers to your site. I have had great success using LinkedIn with my business.
Schnäppchen
March 31st, 2010 1:29 am
Thnx understanding LinkedIn better. Here in Austria there’s only Facebook (private) and Xing (business network). ;)
I hope LinkedIn is coming soon…
Jared Detroit
April 4th, 2010 4:48 am
I’m glad to see that I’m doing most of these. I saw the RSS feed option on my own groups but didn’t know I could add it to other groups! For some reason I just thought it was an admin feature.
That 1 tip is golden! I can’t wait to add my RSS feed to a few select groups.
Thanks!
Spencer Turner
April 6th, 2010 6:21 am
I’ve not really tried doing anything with LinkedIn, I’ve made a profile and got involved with groups a little bit but that’s about it.
This article was just what I needed to make me realise how useful using LinkedIn could be, I’ll definitely be testing these tips out!
Thanks!
Matthew Needham
April 9th, 2010 8:50 am
Some really good tips here. I get a lot of traffic from linkedin, so I’ve tweaked the profile per your suggestions.
Thanks very much for sharing.
mkt_newbee
April 12th, 2010 11:04 pm
I have reservations on adding people to my linkedin profile (just active) since I think it should be conformed not of people you just know but of people you have worked with or you are working with at the time…
But I guess that way you might be loosing a lot of opportunities for networking?
Early stages, so many questions, and your post helped! Thx:)
Prisqua
April 17th, 2010 8:58 am
I think my profile is done up to 60% but after reading this I will find some time to finish it.
But the only thing I feel uncomfortable in inviting people that I do not personally know, I’d rather be added (kinda online shyness thing… lol)
Kofi
April 18th, 2010 7:46 am
Pricelessly priceless article. It is the most useful article I have come across on LinkedIn.No doubt it will enable me make the most of my LinkedIn presence
Keep on writing such articles,
Kofi Hagan
Affiliate Marketing
April 21st, 2010 3:40 pm
These are all very solid tips. I like to use article marketing as a traffic producer, especially for my sales pages. It seems like it is a lot harder to get traffic from forums lately as they have increased the standards for being allowed a signature. Also, blogging seems to be on the downslope. If you are creative and can think “outside the box”, then you can always come up with new ways to drive traffic. Great article.
Mrugesh
April 23rd, 2010 12:13 am
I never would have thought of using linkedin like this…. Will have to try it and let see what kind of traffic will i get for my blog..thanks Lewis :)
Scarlet
April 24th, 2010 11:38 am
This was a really inspiring article. I found it full of great info. The only problem i encountered was #8, adding my RSS feed. Maybe, it has changed since you wrote it…
Ramy
April 25th, 2010 6:48 am
Thanks for the great information about how to get traffic cause you answered the exact question i was looking for but still don’t know how to make a good manage for the Rss feed in diffrent places.
http://www.farmvilleguide.webeden.co.uk
Mark Hull
April 26th, 2010 12:05 am
Thanks for the post. I joined up on linkedin a while ago now but didnt realy get much out of it. Im going to take on your tips and give it another try.
Norton Feeler
May 11th, 2010 11:04 pm
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