How I Write a Viral LinkedIn Article

Summary

This video script outlines the significance of LinkedIn Articles for business growth, offering a step-by-step guide to creating content that captures attention and converts to customers. It highlights the unique advantages of LinkedIn Articles over traditional blogging, emphasizing the importance of compelling headlines and cover images to boost click-through rates. The speaker shares practical tips on article formatting, including the use of white space, images, and hyperlinks, to enhance readability and drive traffic to one's website. The script also touches on the benefits of leveraging LinkedIn's algorithm for organic traffic and potential visibility in Google search results.

Takeaways

• 📈 LinkedIn Articles are a powerful tool for business growth, offering a unique platform to attract customers without the need for a separate website or blog.
• 🔍 There are two primary ways to share content on LinkedIn: posts and articles, with the latter being a distinctive feature of LinkedIn that is often overlooked.
• 📝 LinkedIn articles are akin to blog posts but without the setup and traffic-driving challenges associated with traditional blogging.
• 🚀 LinkedIn's algorithm promotes articles, potentially leading to visibility in Google search results, providing an SEO advantage for content creators.
• 🎯 The headline of an article is crucial, as it should evoke emotion and curiosity to entice clicks, and it can also include keywords for better search ranking.
• 🖼️ A compelling cover image is as important as the headline for attracting attention and clicks, and it should align with the headline to enhance the article's appeal.
• ✍️ Formatting is key when writing LinkedIn articles; using white space, bullet points, and images makes the content more readable and engaging.
• 🔗 Including hyperlinks within articles can direct traffic to your website or specific resources, facilitating conversions and business growth.
• 📊 Articles can serve as evergreen content, continuing to generate leads and appointments long after their initial publication.
• 🌟 To optimize your LinkedIn profile for business, ensure you have a clear profile photo and an impactful cover photo that reflect your professional brand.

Q & A

Why are LinkedIn Articles considered critical for business growth?

LinkedIn Articles are critical for business growth because they provide a unique platform to share content that attracts attention and potential customers without the need to set up a separate website or blog. They are integrated into LinkedIn's algorithm, which can drive traffic to the content, and they can even appear in Google search results.

What are the two main ways to share content on LinkedIn?

The two main ways to share content on LinkedIn are through posts, which are typically shorter-form content similar to what you see on other social media platforms, and LinkedIn Articles, which are longer-form content unique to the platform.

How does creating a LinkedIn Article differ from setting up a blog?

Creating a LinkedIn Article differs from setting up a blog in that it allows you to natively create content on the LinkedIn platform without the hassle of creating and maintaining a separate website. LinkedIn also helps in driving traffic to your content through its algorithm.

What is the importance of a headline in a LinkedIn Article?

The headline is arguably the most important part of a LinkedIn Article because it is the first thing that potential readers see. A strong headline invokes emotion and curiosity, encouraging users to click and read the article. It should also include relevant keywords for search engine optimization.

Why is the cover image almost as important as the headline in a LinkedIn Article?

The cover image is almost as important as the headline because it works together with the headline to attract attention and increase the click-through rate. A compelling cover image that aligns with the headline can significantly boost the article's appeal and effectiveness.

How can LinkedIn Articles help in search engine optimization?

LinkedIn Articles can help in search engine optimization by including specific keywords in the headline and content, which can help the article rank in LinkedIn's algorithm and potentially appear in Google search results, increasing visibility and reach.

What is the recommended strategy for writing LinkedIn Articles to maximize engagement?

To maximize engagement, the recommended strategy is to use plenty of white space, include images and hyperlinks, and format the article in a way that is easy to read and digest. This includes using bullet points, bold and italic text for emphasis, and breaking up large blocks of text.

How can you use LinkedIn Articles to drive traffic to your website?

You can use LinkedIn Articles to drive traffic to your website by including hyperlinks within the article that direct readers to your website or specific landing pages. This can help convert interested readers into potential leads or customers.

What is the significance of a high click-through rate in LinkedIn Articles?

A high click-through rate is significant because it indicates that the content is appealing and relevant to the audience. LinkedIn's algorithm favors content with high engagement, which can lead to increased visibility and traffic.

Why is it important to match the headline with a curiosity-driven cover photo in a LinkedIn Article?

Matching the headline with a curiosity-driven cover photo is important because it creates a cohesive and compelling message that entices users to click on the article. This synergy between the headline and cover image can significantly increase the click-through rate and overall engagement.

Outlines

00:00

📈 Leveraging LinkedIn Articles for Business Growth

The speaker emphasizes LinkedIn Articles as a powerful tool for attracting attention and customers to their business. They provide a step-by-step guide on setting up a LinkedIn article, highlighting the platform's unique opportunity for business exposure. The speaker contrasts LinkedIn posts with articles, explaining that while posts are short-form content similar to other social media, articles offer a blogging experience without the need for a website. They detail the process of creating an article, from the dashboard to the writing tools available, and stress the importance of a compelling headline and cover image to increase click-through rates. The speaker also touches on the potential for LinkedIn articles to appear in Google search results, enhancing visibility.

05:01

🖼️ Crafting a Viral LinkedIn Article with Impactful Visuals

The speaker discusses the significance of a strong cover image for a LinkedIn article, comparing it to a YouTube thumbnail in terms of its role in attracting viewers. They advise against using bland or stock images, recommending instead an image that complements the article's title and sparks curiosity. The speaker shares their own article as an example, where they used a screenshot of a business roadmap to pique interest and demonstrate the value of a step-by-step guide. They also suggest using personal images, like those with a luxury car, to build credibility. The speaker then delves into the article writing process, advocating for clear formatting with ample white space, bullet points, and images to maintain reader engagement. They also stress the importance of including hyperlinks within the article to direct traffic to the business's website or sales pages.

10:01

🔗 Driving Business Growth with LinkedIn Articles

The speaker concludes by discussing the long-term benefits of LinkedIn articles for business growth. They mention that articles they published years ago continue to generate appointments and revenue for their company. The speaker outlines the process of publishing an article, including sharing it with their audience and featuring it on their profile to increase visibility within the LinkedIn algorithm and potentially on Google search results. They highlight the ease of using LinkedIn's article feature without needing technical skills or a separate blog. The speaker also provides six tips for optimizing a LinkedIn profile for business, starting with the importance of a clear profile photo and cover photo, which are crucial for making a strong first impression on visitors to the profile.

Keywords

💡LinkedIn Articles

LinkedIn Articles are a feature within the LinkedIn platform that allows users to publish long-form content, similar to blog posts, directly on the site. They are highlighted as a critical tool for business growth in the video because they can attract attention and customers without the need for a separate website. The speaker emphasizes the uniqueness of LinkedIn Articles compared to other social media platforms, where shorter posts are more common.

💡Eyeballs

In the context of the video, 'eyeballs' refers to the attention or viewership that content receives. The speaker is focused on strategies to attract viewers to their LinkedIn content, which is essential for driving business growth and customer engagement. The term is used metaphorically to represent the potential audience or traffic that a business aims to capture.

💡Content Creation

Content creation is the process of producing material, such as articles, videos, or posts, to engage an audience. The video script discusses the importance of creating LinkedIn articles as a form of content that can be optimized for visibility and engagement. It is central to the speaker's strategy for growing their business and attracting customers.

💡Algorithm

The term 'algorithm' in the video refers to the set of rules that LinkedIn uses to determine which content is displayed to users. The speaker mentions that by creating articles on LinkedIn, they can tap into this algorithm to increase the visibility of their content, which is crucial for reaching a wider audience and attracting potential customers.

💡Headline

A headline in the context of the video is the title or main heading of an article. The speaker stresses the importance of crafting a compelling headline, as it is the first thing that potential readers see and can greatly influence whether they choose to click and read the article. A strong headline is said to invoke emotion and curiosity, which are key to attracting readers.

💡Cover Image

The cover image is the visual element that accompanies an article on LinkedIn and is displayed alongside the headline. The video script explains that the cover image is almost as important as the headline because it works together with the headline to attract clicks. A cover image should be engaging and relevant to the content of the article to increase the likelihood of readership.

💡Click-Through Rate (CTR)

Click-Through Rate (CTR) is a metric that measures the number of times an article is clicked compared to the number of times it is displayed. In the video, the speaker discusses the importance of a high CTR, which indicates that the headline and cover image are effective in enticing users to click and read the article, thus increasing its visibility and reach.

💡Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the practice of optimizing content to rank higher in search engine results. The video mentions the use of specific keywords in headlines to improve SEO and increase the chances of an article appearing in search results on both LinkedIn and Google, thereby driving more traffic to the content.

💡Viral Content

Viral content refers to material that spreads rapidly and widely across the internet, often resulting in a large number of views or shares. The video script discusses creating 'viral LinkedIn articles,' which implies content that not only attracts attention but also encourages users to share it, thereby amplifying its reach and impact.

💡Hyperlinks

Hyperlinks are references within the text that, when clicked, redirect the reader to another webpage. In the context of the video, the speaker uses hyperlinks within their articles to direct readers to their website or specific resources, which is a strategy to drive traffic and potentially convert readers into customers or clients.

💡White Space

White space in content refers to the empty or uncluttered areas around and between text and images. The video emphasizes the importance of using white space to make articles visually appealing and easier to read. It contrasts with dense blocks of text, which can be off-putting to readers and may reduce the likelihood of them engaging with the content.

Highlights

LinkedIn articles are a unique and often overlooked way to attract business attention compared to other social media platforms.

Unlike blogs, LinkedIn articles do not require setting up a website or driving traffic to it, making it easier to reach the target audience.

LinkedIn articles can potentially show up in Google search results, increasing visibility and attracting more readers.

The importance of headlines: Spending 70% of the time on creating a compelling, curiosity-driven headline is crucial for high click-through rates.

Headlines should include emotional triggers and SEO keywords to improve rankings in both LinkedIn and Google search results.

Cover images play a vital role in article virality and should align with the headline to attract clicks, similar to YouTube thumbnails.

Examples of effective cover images include personal photos that build authority, such as standing in front of a luxury car or plane.

The structure of the article is important: use white space, images, and bullet points to make it easy to read and visually engaging.

Including hyperlinks within the article is a strategy to drive traffic from LinkedIn to a website, sales page, or specific training content.

LinkedIn articles can generate significant business results even years after being published, due to continuous visibility and traffic.

The 'Publish' function on LinkedIn encourages users to share their articles with their network to boost visibility and engagement.

A well-optimized LinkedIn article can benefit from both LinkedIn's algorithm and Google's, appearing in search results for relevant queries.

Using LinkedIn articles requires no technical skills or experience with blogging, allowing anyone to effectively publish content.

Tips for optimizing LinkedIn profiles include having a clear, high-quality profile and cover photo to create a strong first impression.

Creating valuable, step-by-step guides or actionable content increases the likelihood of sharing, thereby expanding reach and engagement.

Transcripts

Besides YouTube.

LinkedIn Articles are my favorite

way in order to post content

online that attracts eyeballs

and customers for my eight figure

company. And in this video, I'm

going to show you why LinkedIn

articles are critical for the growth

of your business. And then we're

going to set one up from scratch so

you know exactly how you can do the

same. There are two main ways to

share content on LinkedIn currently.

Number one is going to be posts.

This is typically shorter form

content and this model's what you

see on Facebook, Instagram and

other social media platforms.

But number two is LinkedIn articles.

And this is something pretty unique

to LinkedIn, and it's an opportunity

that most people overlook when

they're trying to attract more

eyeballs for their business on

LinkedIn. LinkedIn articles are

essentially like blogs that you get

to share on LinkedIn, except for

you don't have to go through the

hassle of setting up a website

and then trying to drive traffic to

your blog.

Instead, you can natively create

a blog on the LinkedIn platform

through articles, and when you do

that, it becomes very easy for

you to share content to your target

market. And on top of that, LinkedIn

also puts you inside the algorithm

and then it actually finds traffic

for you.

I've actually seen sometimes even

people showing up inside Google

search results with their LinkedIn

articles, which would be very

difficult to do if you're just

trying to start a blog.

So let's dove in and let me show you

how to create a viral LinkedIn

article. So you may be familiar with

this page here. This is essentially

the LinkedIn dashboard or the

LinkedIn home page screen.

And as you can see, you can start a

post at the very top just like

most platforms are.

But that's not what we're going to

do today. And so I want to come down

to the bottom right here where it

says, write an article, and then I'm

going to pick on my regular profile

in order to write this article or

post this article from.

And then now we are already on

the actual article page.

Once again, you can see how

incredibly easy this is compared

to trying to create a website and

creating a blog post on your own.

Now you can see you have most of

your writing tools at the top

here, bold italic.

You can change the fonts, you can

add in numbers, you can add in

bullets. Then you actually have the

headline. And we're going to talk

about the headline here in a moment,

how important it is.

Then you have the cover image, which

is almost as important as the

headline, because these two are

going to play together to get you a

high click through rate, which I'll

talk about in a moment.

And then down here you can actually

start typing in your article,

you can share it. It could be a few

hundred words, could be a few

thousand words.

And I'm actually going to show you

an example of an article that I've

created. Once we get down to this

point, now, let's roll back up to

the headline itself.

Now, the headline is arguably

the most important thing of your

article, and I see so many people

kind of sleeping on it.

They just type something out that

may or may not be interesting

because they save all of the best

content for the article itself.

But if you know anything about

copywriting, you'll know that

essentially every line of copy

is getting someone's permission to

read the next line.

So if you start with a weak

headline, you're probably not going

to have anybody even click on your

article to read it in the first

place. So you need to spend probably

70% of your time on

the headline deciding what is the

thing that is going to invoke

emotion and invoke enough curiosity

that's going to get this person to

click on this actual article.

And if you know anything about

search engine optimization, you can

even put specific keywords in the

headline so that you can rank or

be put inside LinkedIn's algorithm

accordingly.

For example, if I was trying

to create a LinkedIn article on

how to create LinkedIn articles,

then I might do a headline around

how to create a viral LinkedIn

article, a step by step guide.

And when I do something like that,

then in number one, it has the

emotional aspect of the viral

part of it where someone's like,

Wow, I want a viral article.

And number two, it has the keyword

aspect of it by saying how

to create a LinkedIn article step by

step. So if someone comes in to

either Google or they come to

LinkedIn and they type in how to

create a LinkedIn article, if I

actually have a great headline,

a great cover photo and great

content, people are sharing it.

They have a really good chance of

showing up in the top search results

for that search.

So for the example article here, I'm

actually going to take another

article that I've already written,

which was how do we went from

0 to $5 million plus in

two years?

And I'm actually going to copy this

headline here and I'm going to turn

that into the headline of this new

article, just as an example.

Now, the reason why I like that

headline, this was something I

posted a year ago is because

it's once again a step by step

guide, which people really love.

And on top of it, it's kind of a

bold claim. It's like, Wow, how

would someone go from 0 to $5

million in under two years?

And then if I can match this

headline with a curiosity driven

cover photo, then I'm going to have

what's known as a high click through

rate. And LinkedIn cares about click

the rates because it is their

indication that people see

what you're posting and they

actually want to learn more about

it. For example, if I said something

instead along the lines of how

I grew my business, it probably

wouldn't be as appealing to anybody

who doesn't know who I am.

And so this headline actually

appeals to anybody that's looking to

grow their business, and it kind of

shows my credibility in here as

well. Now, the next thing that plays

into the virality of your LinkedIn

or. And the chance of actually

getting seen by other people is

going to be the cover image.

And you don't want to put a weak

cover image on here.

You don't want to put this bland

cover image on here.

And please, for the love of God, do

not put a stock cover image on

here. Instead, do something that's

going to play into the actual title

itself.

For example, it's really similar to

a YouTube thumbnail.

So a YouTube thumbnail and the

YouTube title are

really, really important for someone

to actually be able to watch her

video. If your thumbnail and your

title don't play along with each

other, if they invoke any kind

of confusion, then someone just

going to skip right past him.

So if we go back over to the

article that I actually wrote, you

can see I took a screenshot of

one of our road maps.

So we have a road map to building a

business for $1,000,000.

And you can see that I actually took

a screenshot of a small part of it

and I put it as the cover photo

here. So why do I like this

as the cover photo?

Well, because what it does is it

invokes a curiosity and it also kind

of shows somebody that this isn't

going to be some high level content,

because unfortunately, I think that

most content online when it comes to

business is just telling people to,

you know, like work harder and, you

know, be inspired where that's not

really that helpful, at least not to

my target market.

They actually want to step by step

guide and this looks like it's a

real step by step guide.

So it's like kind of a teaser of

what's to come.

So if I go back over to here, I can

actually drag this photo because I

already put it on here and I'm going

to drag it right on that spot there.

And you'll see that LinkedIn's

loading it and then boom, I have the

exact same cover photo as I did

before. If I wanted to, I could

possibly turn this into something

else interesting.

Like I could put a photo of me

in front of my plane or a photo of

me in front of my car.

Once again, validating that 0 to

$5 million, saying, Now, don't hate

me in the comments because I talked

about putting a photo of me in front

of the car. That's just simply

authority building.

So if I said I went from 0 to

$5 million in two years and then

there's the photo of me in front of

a Lamborghini, it lends credibility

to the fact that I actually made $5

million, even though we all know you

can ride a Lamborghini for 4 hours

for a few thousand dollars.

So let's go down a little bit more

here. And this is where we can

actually start writing the article

itself.

Now, the way that I write the

article and the way I suggest you

writing the article is incredibly

important because once again,

people do not like reading blocks

of text, and this is where you kind

of turn over to that blog formatting

itself. And if I go back over to the

article that I wrote, I'm going to

scroll down really quickly through

this. You can see that I have

photos in here.

I have hyperlinks as well.

It's very there's a lot of white

space which people actually enjoy

when they're reading an article.

They don't just want blocks and

blocks of text.

There's bullets, which makes it very

easy to read as well.

If I scroll down here, I think

there's more images that you can

see. So here's some more images.

It's validation.

This is actually a hyperlink to our

case study page that you can check

out. Then it shows like what a

training looks like.

That's hyperlinked to our training.

I'm hyper linking more text around

here so you can see like this is

very an engaged article

that someone's able to read.

A few quick tips I have when you're

writing these articles is, number

one, try to use as much white space

as possible. I see a lot of people

make the mistake and they crunch all

their texts together in one block of

text. And nobody wants to read that.

I mean, you can see this is a

massive amount of white text that's

inside this article here because

it's very easy on the eyes.

Remember what I said earlier about

copywriting?

You're simply getting someone

permission to read the next line, so

you want them to be able to be like,

Okay, this is easy to read.

This is easy on my eyes.

I can follow this and I don't care

how sophisticated your market is.

You could be talking to like Harvard

graduate MBAs, engineers.

You still should make this stuff

as simple as possible, because

with the advent of social media, our

attention span is like less than 5

seconds now. So once again, any time

someone's a little bit confused,

they're probably going to hop off

and not read the article itself.

All right. So if we go back over to

my LinkedIn brand new article, I'm

actually going to pay some text that

I already have here just so I can

show you a few examples.

So if I paste of the text, you can

see that I've already hyperlinked

that link right there, which

actually takes people over to one

of our sales letters.

So one of my main goals

with LinkedIn articles is to move

people over to my website

and my sales letters in order to

convince them to potentially work

with us if it's a good fit, right.

And so a great way you can do that

is by adding hyperlinks inside of

the blog post or the article.

So all you do is double tap

the actual word itself.

Come up here and you can click, add

a link to the URL and then I'll just

add in our website and

you can see right there, boom.

Now when they're reading the

article, if I were to say something

like, you know, following this

simple formula, I can hyperlink that

simple formula and send that to a

training, or I may be walk through

much more in depth what the formula

is. And like my previous article

over here, you see that there is an

image. So let me just come down here

and add an image as well.

So I'm going to click Enter and then

I can add this little plus thing

here and I can add an image, a video

slides, links.

So let me just click on image.

Great. And then I'm going to drag

and drop once again, another image

here, put that there, makes

it easy on the eyes, makes it easy

to read. And then I can also add a

hyperlink so I can once again

link back to my sales page where

I want them to watch the actual

training itself.

So as you can see here, it becomes

incredibly simple to start creating

a very, very easy to read,

a very in-depth article

that show. Cases teaches

and gives credibility to yourself

and to your audience so that you're

able to then convert those eyeballs

over to your website, your

business, your products or services.

And I have had articles that I

published a year ago, two years ago,

that still to this day, because we

have tracking and attribution I

know generates us like dozens

of booked appointments every few

months. And those people are worth

quite a bit to our company and it's

all because I took the time to

actually type it out here.

So let's say I was done with my

article. I will do at this point is

come up here and click publish and

then it's actually going to

encourage me to share this with my

audience so I could say something

along the lines of I just published

an article, you know, on how

to generate go from 0

to $5 million in two years.

Please be sure to check it out and

share and then that would put it on

my actual profile.

Then I could feature it on my

profile as well, so other people

could see it whenever they visit my

profile. And then now I would go

inside the LinkedIn algorithm.

It would start being potentially

shown on Google search results as

well, and it would start generating

a lot of traffic to this.

And I created this with no technical

skills. I don't have like a blog.

I'm not a blogger, I'm not having to

drive traffic to myself.

I'm simply leveraging the LinkedIn

article feature here in

order to generate a lot of new

business for my company by

simply posting content the correct

way on their six Tips

to optimize your LinkedIn profile

for your business.

Number one is going to be your

profile and cover photo.

This one seems simple, but I'm

amazed at how many people I still

see have a blurry profile photo

and almost no cover photo at all.

You do understand that when someone

lands on your LinkedIn page, if

you do some of the stuff that we're

talking about.