Understanding the types of users on the various social media platforms can greatly inform where you choose to focus your time and efforts. The key is to make sure your target audience is actively participating there, and that you can maintain a consistent presence. If you can connect with these potential readers on a regular basis you can increase awareness for your work, build a following, and sell more books.
In addition to building a readership, social media platforms can provide opportunities to connect with other writers and with industry professionals. LinkedIn is one of the world’s largest professional networking platforms with over 130 million daily users and over 1 billion members in 200 countries. While LinkedIn offers many of the social features of other platforms, it also acts as a as a digital resume, allowing users to showcase experience, share content, gain industry insights, and connect with others to drive career growth.
At first glance, LinkedIn may appear to be better suited for business professionals, not creatives. This may have been the case when the platform initially launched over twenty years ago, but it has evolved to become a powerful networking tool for anyone wanting to boost their credibility, build their brand, connect with industry peers, share expertise, and find opportunities. Both nonfiction and fiction authors can benefit greatly from adding LinkedIn to their social media strategies. Key benefits of the platform include:
LinkedIn can be an effective way for authors to build their platform, especially if the goal is to be seen not just as an author, but as a trusted expert in a subject area. By consistently posting short insights, long-form articles, and helpful commentary, authors can build thought leadership and credibility over time. A strong presence on LinkedIn can also be beneficial for authors wanting to take their messaging or themes beyond the book and secure speaking engagements, offer services, or coach clients.
Authors can share insights, excerpts, and behind-the-scenes perspectives that invite comments and discussions, allowing potential readers to respond, ask questions, and share posts. These features enable authors to connect in a more meaningful way, strengthening loyalty and long-term engagement. These efforts lead to increased awareness for their work and ultimately, more sales.
LinkedIn helps authors connect with other authors and industry professionals by providing a shared professional space built around communication and networking. Authors can follow, connect with, and engage thoughtfully with peers, editors, publishers, agents, and media professionals. Commenting on posts and participating in discussions can build visibility and rapport over time. LinkedIn users also have the opportunity to join groups, which can provide knowledge, networking, and development opportunities. Having a strong presence on LinkedIn shows you are a professional with an active platform and with the potential to reach readers. These attributes can make you more appealing to agents and publishers.
Editors, journalists, podcasters, event organizers, and brands actively use LinkedIn to discover credible voices. A strong user profile and consistent content can demonstrate authority and relevance, while a significant following can act as social proof. Over time, this visibility can attract media interviews, speaking invitations, partnerships, and promotional collaborations, without the author having to take the initiative to pursue them. Authors can also identify opportunities by following agents and relevant organizations, monitoring posts, and networking directly through comments and messages.
LinkedIn helps authors strengthen their branding with the use of visual elements and messaging. The profile and banner images can reflect brand colors, typography, and logos, while a clear “About” section can communicate purpose, experience, and audience focus. Authors can further enhance their branding through shared content that matches the tone and themes of their work.
The publishing industry is constantly evolving, so it’s important for writers and authors to stay updated on the latest trends, market demands, and new technologies. LinkedIn can help by sharing real-time insights from publishers, media outlets, thought leaders, and professional organizations. By following relevant users, hashtags, and influencers, authors can see trends, announcements, and conversations as they happen. This steady exposure helps authors remain informed and responsive to changes within the publishing landscape.
One of the best things about social media is its global reach. Authors can reach and communicate with others from around the world on platforms like LinkedIn. The networking power of LinkedIn combined with algorithmic discovery can make authors visible to several layers of connections including first-degree, second-degree, and followers, all without any paid promotions. When shared content sparks engagement through comments, likes, and reposts, the algorithms will push it to untapped audiences, extending an author’s reach even more.
Your user profile on LinkedIn is one of the most important features. It’s not just a sales page; it’s your calling card that can showcase your talent and expertise. By approaching it strategically, you can increase your discoverability, appeal, and professionalism. Here are the key components of a LinkedIn user profile, and how you can optimize them:
This top section of a user’s profile is the first thing people will see when they land on your page, so it’s crucial that all of the components are well thought-out. This section includes your name, profile photo, background banner, and a headline that summarizes your occupation and industry in 120-220 characters. This headline is one of the most important elements and should include what genre you write, your target audience, and your topics or themes. Rather than using generic words to summarize yourself, think of keywords users might search for to find individuals with your specific experience or knowledge. For example, ALC presenter Allie Pleiter’s LinkedIn headline states, “As a 70-book bestselling author and book coach, I share my productivity secrets to tailor a writing practice unique to you so you can finally get your book out into the world.”
Your profile headshot should be a recent photo, not one from 20 years ago. If your budget allows, a professional photoshoot is recommended, but not required. Be careful to avoid poorly-lit, low-resolution selfies or photos with distracting backgrounds or filters.
The banner image is the graphic at the very top of a profile page. This image can be used to reinforce your identity as an author by showcasing book covers and a short tagline or genre label. The colors and aesthetics should match your author branding.
Just like your “About the Author” section on your website, book cover, and marketing materials, your “About” section on LinkedIn is your chance to let people know a little bit about you and any relevant information or credentials that support your authority as an author. It should establish your expertise, tell your “why”, share something personal, and invite people to find out more by following, connecting, or exploring your website. While website URLs won’t show up as live links, they can still be included.
This section is not a part of the default “Core” sections that are turned on when creating a LinkedIn profile, but is essential for authors. It can be added to your profile page by clicking on “Add section” when you are in editing mode, and then clicking on “Recommended”. This Featured section allows users to add and highlight up to three posts, articles, links, videos, images, or documents, and can be used to highlight your latest book, author website, newsletter sign-up, book trailer, and more.
Any posts, articles, images, videos, newsletters, or documents you share on LinkedIn, and any you react to or comment on, will be highlighted in this section of your profile page. Users have the ability to prioritize which type of content they want featured here. It typically features content from the last 90 days of activity.
The Experience section of your profile should include a detailed listing of all present and past jobs, including the organization, role, duration, and description of responsibilities and achievements. Authors should definitely include the job of “Author” as one of their present jobs, highlighting any forthcoming or published works. When you decide to write and publish a book, you are starting an author business.
In this section, users can add detailed information on their academic background. An additional section titled “Licenses & Certifications” can be added to a profile in editing mode, allowing users to include any special training, courses, or other relevant credentials.
The Skills section allows users to choose and list any relevant skills they have acquired, and attach them to specific jobs they’ve held or are currently holding. You’ll want to ensure you have Endorsements turned on in the settings so that your connections can endorse each skill you list.
LinkedIn users can follow companies and schools, and join or create groups, which are displayed in this section of the profile. Following different organizations and universities can keep you updated on news and events, while relevant groups can give you access to private forums where discussions and content sharing are taking place. Groups specific to writing and publishing can provide valuable writing feedback, important connections, collaboration opportunities, and more to enhance your author journey. LinkedIn users can search for relevant groups by clicking on "Groups" on the left sidebar menu of the homepage, and then scrolling down to "Search other trusted communities that share and support your goals."
Recommendations are written testimonials from your connections which may include peers, colleagues, managers, or clients. These endorsements can provide credibility, trust, and social proof, and can be garnered by providing recommendations for others. This section is not a part of the default “Core” sections that are turned on when creating a LinkedIn profile, but can be added to your profile page by clicking on “Add section” when you are in editing mode.
This section is especially important for authors that have published works. As with “Recommendations”, this section is not a part of the default “Core” sections that are turned on when creating a LinkedIn profile, but can be added to your profile page by clicking on “Add section”, then on “Additional” when you are in editing mode. This feature allows you to add publication titles, publishers, publication dates, URLs, and descriptions. Be sure the URL links to where users can find your book and make a purchase.
There are several other sections that can be added to a user profile by clicking on “Add section” when in editing mode. These include projects, courses, volunteer experience, honors and awards, and more. We encourage you to explore the entire list of options to enhance and optimize your profile page where relevant.
The goal on LinkedIn is to acquire both connections and followers. Connections are the mutual, two-way relationships with people you know or have met, and must be accepted by both parties. Followers are one-way audience members that “subscribe” to your page so they can receive any content you share in their feed. In general, if you are focusing on building a referral network, you’ll want to prioritize growing your connections. If you are wanting to share content or your expertise and build an audience, you’ll want to focus on followers. All connections automatically become followers, but followers do not automatically become connections. In addition, connections can see each other’s content and direct message one another. You won’t see your followers’ content unless you follow them back.
By default, LinkedIn shows a “Connect” button on a user's profile page. The “Follow” button option must be turned on by going to your Settings & Privacy > Visibility > Followers, and turning on "Make follow primary". This makes the "Follow" button the action for profile visitors, while keeping "Connect" available under the three-dot "More" button.
LinkedIn’s algorithms recognize and boost user content that attracts comments and likes, so the more connections and followers you have, the more engagement you’ll have, resulting in expanded visibility. One word of caution: only form connections with those individuals you know and trust, and that you are genuinely interested in maintaining a relationship with. Having too many casual connections can make your content feed overwhelming and irrelevant.
The biggest mistake many writers make with social media is using it to only promote their work, and not to form deeper connections using the “3 Es” of social media content – 1) Engage, 2) Educate, and 3) Entertain. Every piece of content should be created with intention and offer some sort of value. Your goal with each post, article, or newsletter on LinkedIn should be to engage connections and followers in a conversation, educate or inform them, or provide entertainment.
A LinkedIn post is a short piece of content you share from your profile page to appear in your network’s feed. Posts can include text, links, images, videos, documents, polls, or even events. When you create and share a post, LinkedIn first shows it to a small portion of your network. If people engage through likes, comments, or shares, it will get shown to more people, including second- and third-degree connections. The LinkedIn algorithms favor relevant content that sparks interaction and encourages sharing outside of your immediate network.
LinkedIn posts work best when they’re short, professional, and designed to encourage real interaction, not just broadcasting information. Many authors struggle with what to post on social media. In this ALC “Ask Sheila” blog post we share 40 content ideas, along with some posting best practices.
LinkedIn does allow posts to be created and scheduled ahead of time. Just look for the clock icon in the post creation box.
A LinkedIn article is long-form content, similar to a blog post, that is published directly on LinkedIn using the article editor. Unlike posts, articles live permanently on your profile and can continue to get views long after publishing. The article writing tool can be found on the homepage feed under the “Start a post” box. This takes you to a template where you can create a compelling headline, add images, subheadings, and short sections. The LinkedIn algorithms don’t push articles as aggressively as they do posts, evaluating them for relevancy, credibility, and consistency. Articles are best for deep thinking, thought leadership, and evergreen content—while posts are better for fast reach and conversation. The best approach is to use a combination of articles and posts.
Authors can write about many things in articles including area of expertise, writing process, and advice for other authors. The recommended length is 200 to 2,000 words.
One of LinkedIn’s newer features is the ability to create and distribute newsletters. This is a recurring, long-form content series similar to an email newsletter, but hosted on the platform. When a newsletter is created, all of your connections and followers are invited to subscribe. A notification is sent out to subscribers each time a new edition is released, and the newsletters are featured on your profile. This can be a great way to test the waters with email newsletters to see if it’s worth the time and effort to build an email distribution list and strategy outside of LinkedIn.
The newsletter feature can be found on the LinkedIn homepage feed at the bottom of the sidebar menu. When selected, you are prompted to provide a newsletter title, frequency, description, and image. One of the easiest ways to get started with LinkedIn newsletters is to write an article and publish it as a newsletter.
LinkedIn newsletters are ideal for building a loyal audience, establishing authority, and maintaining long-term visibility, especially when promoted through posts.
How often you decide to share new content on LinkedIn depends on your goals and the amount of time you can dedicate. One of the keys to success is consistency. Whether you post every day or just once a week, you’ll want to maintain some regularity with the frequency. Here are some tips as you plan your schedule:
• Commit to a schedule that feels doable for YOU• Plan weekly or monthly themes and ideas and create the content in batches• Remember quality over quantity• Repost your content that receives high engagement• Repost and share the content of others that is relevant to you and your audience
Most importantly, don’t forget to engage with the content shared by your connections. One of the best ways to increase awareness for your work and grow your audience is to support and endorse the work of others.
For most LinkedIn users, the free membership offers more than enough features and networking opportunities. For more advanced users, there are upgraded Premium options that offer additional tools and features for a fee, starting at around $40 per month. These paid memberships are better suited for organizations, small businesses, or career-focused individuals, looking for more insights, increased search functionality, and direct messaging to users outside of their connections. If you’ve written a book that complements a business or service offering, you may want to explore a Premium membership because it can accelerate visibility, credibility, and opportunity-building beyond what a free membership provides.
Like many other social media platforms, LinkedIn offers paid advertising as a way to boost discoverability and grow your following. The program operates through an auction-based system where costs are influenced by target audience, bidding strategy, and ad relevance score, and is accessible through company pages only, not personal profiles. Anyone with a personal profile can create a company page through the grid drop-down menu on their homepage feed.
Cost averages for a LinkedIn ad campaign typically ranges from $3.00 to $8.00 per click (CPC) and $22.00 to $35.00 per 1,000 impressions (CPM). To maintain an active campaign, LinkedIn requires a minimum daily budget of $10 and a minimum lifetime budget of $100. If you have a budget for paid advertising, this may be a channel worth testing.
LinkedIn is one of the most powerful social and networking platforms available to authors, especially those looking to build credibility, reach new audiences, and increase visibility beyond traditional social media channels. When used strategically, LinkedIn can help authors sell more books, grow their email lists, secure speaking opportunities, attract media attention, and establish long-term authority. By combining LinkedIn with other online efforts such as an author website, email marketing, and paid advertising, it can be a very beneficial layer of building your author platform and boosting your career.
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