AI & Automation
Personas
SaaS & Startup
Time to ROI
Medium-term (3-6 months)
Last year, I was helping a B2B SaaS client build their content distribution strategy. Like most businesses, they were dumping everything into traditional email newsletters. You know the drill - mailchimp campaigns, segment your lists, pray for decent open rates, rinse and repeat.
The problem? Their open rates were stuck at 12%, their email list growth had flatlined, and frankly, their newsletters felt like they were shouting into the void. That's when I suggested something that made them uncomfortable: "What if we moved our entire newsletter strategy to LinkedIn?"
Now, I know what you're thinking. LinkedIn newsletters? Isn't that just another vanity metric platform? Here's what I discovered after building newsletter audiences for multiple clients across different industries - LinkedIn newsletters aren't just another distribution channel. They're actually a completely different beast that most people fundamentally misunderstand.
Here's what you'll learn from my experience:
Why LinkedIn newsletters outperform traditional email for B2B audience building
The specific content strategy that grew our client's subscriber base from 0 to 1,200+ in 4 months
How LinkedIn's algorithm actually works for newsletter distribution (it's not what you think)
The integration mistake that kills most LinkedIn newsletter strategies
When LinkedIn newsletters work better than email (and when they don't)
If you're tired of email marketing's declining performance or you're looking for a way to build professional audiences without fighting spam filters, this breakdown of my LinkedIn newsletter experiments might change how you think about content distribution. Let's dive in.
Industry Reality
What every content marketer thinks they know about LinkedIn newsletters
Most content marketers treat LinkedIn newsletters like they're some kind of email marketing lite. The typical advice you'll hear goes something like this:
"Just repurpose your email content" - Take what you're already sending via email and cross-post it to LinkedIn
"Focus on follower count first" - Build a massive following, then launch your newsletter to capture those followers
"Post consistently and they will come" - Publish weekly and LinkedIn's algorithm will reward you with subscribers
"Use it as a lead generation tool" - Every newsletter should end with a CTA driving people to your product
"It's free marketing" - No cost, all upside, easy wins for everyone
This conventional wisdom exists because LinkedIn newsletters are relatively new, and most advice comes from people applying traditional email marketing tactics to a fundamentally different platform. The problem is, LinkedIn's ecosystem operates on completely different principles than email.
Email marketing is permission-based and direct. You own the list, control the delivery, and can measure exact performance. LinkedIn newsletters live inside a social algorithm that prioritizes engagement, network effects, and professional relevance over simple opt-ins.
The advice falls short because it treats LinkedIn newsletters as just another distribution channel instead of understanding them as a unique content format that requires its own strategy, tone, and measurement approach. Most businesses end up with newsletters that feel like corporate announcements rather than valuable professional content.
Consider me as your business complice.
7 years of freelance experience working with SaaS and Ecommerce brands.
The B2B SaaS client I mentioned was struggling with a classic problem. They had solid expertise in workflow automation, a growing customer base, but their content strategy was scattered. Their CEO was technically brilliant but hated writing. Their marketing team was small and stretched thin across too many channels.
Their traditional email newsletter had about 400 subscribers after two years of business. The open rates hovered around 12% - pretty terrible, even by today's standards. Worse, their email list wasn't growing organically. Most new subscribers came from gated content downloads, which meant people signed up, grabbed the resource, and promptly ignored everything else.
The client wanted to build thought leadership for their CEO and create a content engine that could actually drive qualified leads. They'd been posting sporadically on LinkedIn - the usual mix of company updates, industry insights, and the occasional humble brag about customer wins.
Here's what I noticed about their situation: their CEO was naturally good at explaining complex automation concepts in simple terms. When he talked about workflow optimization in client calls, people genuinely found it valuable. But none of that insight was making it into their marketing.
Traditional email felt too formal for the conversational, educational content style that actually worked for him. Plus, they were competing against thousands of other automation tools for inbox attention. The email approach wasn't leveraging their CEO's natural communication style or building any kind of professional network effect.
When I suggested LinkedIn newsletters, their first reaction was skepticism. "Isn't that just more social media noise?" The marketing manager was worried about adding another platform to manage. The CEO wasn't convinced anyone would actually read it.
But here's what convinced them: LinkedIn newsletters would let their CEO build an audience around his expertise, not just his company. Instead of fighting for attention in crowded inboxes, they'd be creating content inside a network where their ideal customers were already engaged and actively looking for professional insights.
Here's my playbook
What I ended up doing and the results.
Instead of treating the LinkedIn newsletter like a corporate publication, I positioned it as the CEO's personal knowledge-sharing platform. The key insight was this: people don't follow companies on LinkedIn for newsletters - they follow people they want to learn from.
The Content Strategy Framework
I developed what I call the "Experience Documentation" approach. Instead of writing generic tips about automation, the CEO would document real problems he solved for clients, complete with the thought process, failed attempts, and final solutions. Every newsletter issue became a mini-case study.
The structure was simple: Problem → What everyone tries first → Why that usually fails → What actually works → Specific implementation steps. This wasn't theoretical content - it was documenting actual work and sharing insights that only came from hands-on experience.
The Launch Sequence
We didn't just announce "hey, we have a newsletter now." I created a 4-week pre-launch sequence where the CEO published regular LinkedIn posts that followed the same "experience documentation" format. Each post ended with "I'm planning to share more detailed breakdowns like this in a weekly newsletter - comment if you'd be interested."
This approach did two things: it validated the content format and built anticipation. By the time we officially launched the newsletter, we already had 200+ people who had explicitly expressed interest.
The Promotion Engine
Here's where most people get LinkedIn newsletters wrong - they publish and hope. I built a systematic promotion approach:
Cross-pollination posts: Every newsletter issue became 3-4 individual LinkedIn posts throughout the week, each focusing on one specific insight from that issue
Comment engagement: The CEO actively participated in relevant conversations, naturally referencing insights from recent newsletter issues
Connection outreach: When connecting with new prospects, he'd reference relevant newsletter issues instead of generic sales pitches
Email integration: We didn't abandon email entirely - existing email subscribers got newsletter highlights with CTAs to subscribe on LinkedIn
The Algorithm Hack
LinkedIn's algorithm rewards engagement, but most newsletter creators optimize for the wrong metrics. Instead of chasing subscriber numbers, I focused on what I call "conversation starters." Each newsletter issue included 2-3 specific questions or controversial takes designed to generate comments and discussions.
The secret sauce was the CEO engaging with every single comment for the first 2 hours after publishing. This early engagement signals to LinkedIn that the content is valuable, which amplifies its reach beyond just existing subscribers.
Content Framework
Document real solutions, not theoretical advice. Each newsletter becomes a mini-case study of actual client work.
Pre-Launch Validation
Build anticipation with 4 weeks of content that follows your newsletter format. Get people asking for more before you launch.
Cross-Platform Promotion
Turn each newsletter into 3-4 individual posts. Don't just publish and hope - create a systematic promotion engine.
Algorithm Gaming
Engage heavily in the first 2 hours after publishing. Early engagement signals value to LinkedIn's algorithm and amplifies reach.
The results were honestly better than I expected. Within 4 months, the CEO went from 400 email subscribers to 1,200+ LinkedIn newsletter subscribers. But the numbers tell only part of the story.
The quality of engagement was dramatically different. Email open rates of 12% became LinkedIn newsletter "open rates" (views) of 60-80%. More importantly, newsletter issues regularly generated 50+ comments with genuine questions and discussion.
The business impact was significant: 3 enterprise deals were directly attributed to prospects who discovered the company through the newsletter. The average deal size was $45K annually, so we're talking about real revenue impact, not just vanity metrics.
But here's what surprised me most: the CEO started getting invited to speak at industry events. The newsletter positioned him as a thought leader in ways that traditional email marketing never could. Speaking opportunities led to more network connections, which fed back into newsletter growth.
The compounding effect was real. Month 1: 200 subscribers. Month 2: 400 subscribers. Month 3: 800 subscribers. Month 4: 1,200+ subscribers. The growth accelerated because LinkedIn's network effects kicked in - subscribers were sharing issues with their networks.
What I've learned and the mistakes I've made.
Sharing so you don't make them.
Here are the key lessons learned from building LinkedIn newsletter audiences for multiple clients:
Personal beats corporate every time: People subscribe to individuals, not companies. Even if you're building it for business purposes, make it personal.
Document, don't theorize: The most engaging content comes from documenting real work experiences, not sharing general industry insights.
Engagement is everything: LinkedIn newsletters live or die based on engagement in the first few hours. Build content designed for conversation, not just consumption.
Integration amplifies impact: Don't replace email entirely - use LinkedIn newsletters to feed your entire content ecosystem.
Network effects compound: Unlike email lists that grow linearly, LinkedIn newsletters can grow exponentially through sharing and algorithm amplification.
Quality over quantity: Better to have 500 engaged subscribers than 5,000 passive ones. Focus on attracting your ideal audience, not just any audience.
Algorithm timing matters: Publishing when your audience is most active and engaging heavily in the first 2 hours can 10x your reach.
The biggest mistake I see is treating LinkedIn newsletters like traditional marketing. They work best when they feel like genuine knowledge sharing between professionals, not corporate content distribution.
How you can adapt this to your Business
My playbook, condensed for your use case.
For your SaaS / Startup
For SaaS startups looking to implement LinkedIn newsletters:
Position your founder as the newsletter author, not the company
Document customer success stories and implementation challenges
Share feature development decisions and the reasoning behind them
Use newsletters to validate product ideas through audience feedback
For your Ecommerce store
For ecommerce stores considering LinkedIn newsletters:
Focus on B2B if you sell to business customers or have wholesale operations
Share supply chain insights, vendor relationships, and industry trends
Document seasonal preparation strategies and inventory management lessons
Consider it primarily for professional networking rather than direct sales