Everyone tells you how easy it is to make money online. And when it comes to Linkedin, apparently the B2B platform is a goldmine for savvy entrepreneurs. But… How do you make money on Linkedin?
I’ve been using Linkedin for probably 6 or 7 years and I’ve seen the platform change and the methods for connecting and making money have evolved.
While I haven’t personally tried everything on this list, I do know people who have done well with most of them. In fact this list of ways to make money on Linkedin is based on the people I know who have used these methods.
Before we get started though, I want to explain some Linkedin best practice.
How can you use Linkedin effectively?
The first thing to remember with Linkedin is that it is a social media platform, but it is focused on professionals. What this means is that you need to share professionally themed content designed to appeal to your target market.
Who are your target market? Well, that depends on you and your skills.
If you’re a coder specialising in AI then you might be talking to software developers and engineers. Or, if you’re a content writer or copywriter, you might be looking at attracting clients who need high volumes of quality content such as seed funded startups.
The trick is to build a content strategy to post regularly offering useful information to your audience. And making it engaging. There is a lot more to it than that to be honest.
There are many ways you can level up your Linkedin skills and we strongly recommend taking a course to help you understand how to use Linkedin effectively. One of the best courses out there is the Justin Welsh Linkedin Operating System, which is designed by top Linkedin influencer Justin Welsh.
There are plenty of options out there for other Linkedin courses.
But once you know how to manage your Linkedin effectively, you can proceed to monetising your Linkedin account. So how can you make money on Linkedin?
1. Offer Linkedin Ghost Writing and Account Management
Many business owners understand the value of Linkedin and want to improve their engagement on the platform. And, they’ll happily pay people to do that for them. In fact managing people’s Linkedin accounts is one of the top freelance ways to make money from Linkedin.
You will of course need to have a good understanding of the Linkedin algorithms, and how to build engaging content for your own account.
In fact the way to attract clients is through your own content.
Study some ghostwriters on Linkedin to see how they’ve built up their following. But the basic premise is:
- Share regular and consistently engaging content
- Have a personality. Don’t just be another Linkedinfluencer spouting the same ol’ same ol’
- Understand the power of the hook
- Engage with people on the platform and build relationships
Check out Linkedinfluencers such as Naida Allen and Luke Matthews .
2. Sell courses
Linkedin is full of people looking to build their skills and get a better or higher paying job. And offering training, courses, webinars or any other form of educational product can be an excellent way to both help people and monetise your Linkedin.
Of course, you will need to be an expert of sorts in your field. It’s no good selling a course on content writing if you’re a beginner yourself hustling for clients.
The types of courses that could do well on Linkedin could include:
- The art of closing sales deals
- How to find high paying clients for a specific niche
- The art of networking
- Professional hacks for business owners, such as getting more PR or reducing churn
Of course these are just suggestions, and Linkedin does have it’s own learning platform called…. Linkedin Learning.
And yes, these are well produced courses on a wide variety of B2B skills. But that doesn’t mean you can’t make money from Linkedin by selling your own course.
3. Sell professional services
Perhaps the most obvious way to make money on Linkedin is by selling a professional service that is in high demand. While this sounds easy, this is also what pretty much everyone else is doing on Linkedin. So you do need to understand how to sell yourself correctly.
First of all…
DO NOT SELL.
Yup, you read that right. Making a post where you reel of why someone should hire you is bound to net you exactly ZERO customers or engagement.
Or worse still, the old connect and pitch (aka the pitch slap). This is where you add people and immediately pitch them your cold email lead gen service or blog link building (or whatever it is you’re selling).
Read about how to send a connection request on Linkedin that doesn’t suck…
The trick to selling your services is to build your authority over time by posting useful and engaging content. By presenting yourself as a professional with a strong knowledge of your field, you can start to attract an audience of people who see you as the guy to go to in your field.
There is obviously a lot more to it than that. But being consistent, useful and authoritative is the long term play that will help you make money on Linkedin.
We strongly recommend the Justin Welsh Linkedin OS course to help you understand how to attract your ideal client. At just a few hours in length, this course is packed full of value that will have you creating Linkedin content strategy that attracts and converts your dream clients.
Check our review of the Linkedin OS course too.
4. Business flipping
This one is a tricky one, but there is very much a goldmine for people looking to buy and sell businesses on Linkedin.
The way flipping businesses works is that you find a brand or website that is underperforming. This could be a marketing agency, ecommerce site or even just a website domain name.
You then find a buyer for that business and sell it for a profit.
The most common way to do this is to find domain names that are expiring, buy them, and then sell them again.
On Linkedin, you’ll need a keen eye for a business that has been semi-abandoned by its founder. You could then swoop in, offer a tempting amount of money to take the brand off their hands, polish it up with your entrepreneurial knowhow and sell it on.
Check out this article about how to spot businesses that are ready to flip.
5. Affiliate Marketing
Yes, affiliate marketing works when making money on Linkedin. But, like all of the methods on this list, it will require you to have a good network and to have a good content strategy.
The best affiliate products to push on Linkedin will be B2B products, such as marketing tools or software products.
And it’s also a good idea to direct people to an offsite landing page, rather than putting affiliate links in your Linkedin posts. You could also do things like video reviews of products, or even suggesting solutions to people’s queries on Linkedin with your own affiliate link.
But if you want to make money on Linkedin, affiliate marketing works just as well as any other platform.
One note to make about this though: Be open and honest about what you’re doing. Tell people that you’re sharing an affiliate link – people don’t like it when they get duped by hidden links.
To summarise
There are plenty of ways to make money on Linkedin. But most of them will take a good understanding of the platform, and how to engage with it properly. Don’t treat it as a billboard for your services, but instead grow your network, engage with people and share useful information for your audience.
We strongly recommend taking a course to understand how to use Linkedin, and the Justin Welsh Linkedin OS is definitely one of the best out there.*
But of course there are plenty of other options – so take a look around.
Check out our guides: How to find B2B clients on Linkedin, and How to use Linkedin.
Prefer Instagram? Check out our guide how to monetise your Instagram.
*Yes this is an affiliate link. We have shared the same affiliate link a few times in this post as we genuinely believe that the Linkedin OS is a good quality course, probably the best on the market right now.
