Informed Podcast by Mark Williams. The podcast for LinkedIn™️ users Mark Williams

This week I had a thoroughly enjoyable and thought provoking chat with Copywriting expert and author of the modern classic 'A self-help guide for copywriters' Dan Nelken .
I've been a follower and admirer of Dans work for several years, so I was delighted to finally get him on the podcast to talk about copywriting techniques, LinkedIn™️ and Bunions!
Plus a post of the week about gender equality!
Here are the topics we covered;
Dan's Journey and Overcoming Self-Doubt.
Dan shared his early days working as a forklift driver, his later studies at copywriting school, and his subsequent work as a copywriter at various ad agencies, working with massive brands.
Authenticity in Professional Content
We chatted about how people find it challenging to really be themselves on LinkedIn™️ and how we need to become 'an expert in being ourselves' and why our inner critic is a 'ding dong' - I wrongly assumed this was a Canadian term!
He also shared his struggles with self-doubt and the importance of remaining true to oneself in communication
Balancing Personal and Professional Content
We discussed how sharing personal experiences can effectively engage the target audience by illustrating overcoming relevant challenges. Dan emphasized the importance of authenticity and using language to impress oneself rather than others
"Your audience is you"
We also discussed the trend of using complex vocabulary in professional settings and debated its effectiveness as a means of communication.
Content Creation Strategy and LinkedIn Success
Dan admits to being no expert in LinkedIn™️ content strategies but he has, through trial and error developed a style using images, quotes and carousel templates that resonate with his audience.
 

He also discussed his 'list and twist technique' as demonstrated in this 2 page carousel post...
 

AI & Creativity
Dan does use AI and is impressed with it's capabilities but he "prompts it to prompt him to be more creative"...not to answer questions or create for him.
Book Rankings, Deals, and Course Launches
Dan revealed his challenges with the competitive element of launching a book and bestseller rankings and how with that and marketing his course he stuck to his values and accepted that he is not going to appeal to everyone and that being helpful to others is more important than maximising sales.
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Click on the image above to view Dans book  
Embracing Self-Expression on LinkedIn
Everyone has to start somewhere and Dans advice is to start small and develop a habit for content, even if it's just 15 mins a week brainstorming ideas for posts. Figure out who you are and how you want to communicate and develop the habit of creating content ideas.
As mentioned earlier, above really is a very brief summary of a 55 minute conversation so I strongly recommend you listen to the full episode to gain the most from Dan's expertise.
Thanks again to Dan for taking the time to share so many golden nuggets.
Post of the week Plenty of good nominations this week including this highly impressive video post from Farouk Bacha in support of Lara Acosta
This weeks winner had less impressions and engagement but I've picked it because I think we can learn more from it.
An attention grabbing and recognisable image of a film star couple with a brilliant hook 'My new man!!' followed by...
Well icon…. Well screen saver.. ok not even screen saver… look I took the image from Google!
and then the (now irresistible) 'See more' link
Great structure, a great use of image and even more critical to it's success, an important and potential controversial topic.
Congratulations to Jo (although you would be much easier to tag if you used your full name...just sayin!) and thanks to Katharine Robinson for nominating it.
 
 

 

That's all for this week, feel free to say hi to Dan and let him know what you thought of the episode.
Until ne

Organic content reach is on the decline...again!
"It's inevitable, this is what social media companies do" and "All they are interested in is posting more ads" I keep seeing people comment but it really isn't as simple as that. LinkedIn is not an advertising company like Meta, they are a business that primarily generates revenue from subscriptions so the reasons for the decline in reach is more complex...
Also in this episode;
Creator mode confusion
LinkedIn™️ Games
AI-generated content screening
The new immersive video feed mystery
Post of the week

LinkedIn™️ Groups...Once heralded as a cornerstone of professional networking, their prominence has waned over time. However, amidst the shifting tides, could membership in these groups still hold untapped value? Tracy Bedwell certainly believes so. In this compelling episode, we delve into Tracy's firsthand experiences and unveil the strategic tactics she has wielded with remarkable success, shedding light on the enduring potential of leveraging LinkedIn Groups.

We often come across people on LinkedIn™️ who look interesting and produce content we find valuable...so we follow or connect and over time we feel as though we get to know them better.
But do we REALLY know them?
interesting People interviews are designed to reveal more about the background, personal lives and characteristics of some of our favourite people on LinkedIn™️.
This week, it was my immense pleasure to sit down and chat with the UK accountants mentor and speaker MARK LEE FCA .

Bruce Johnston has been helping people use LinkedIn™️ more effectively for the last 13 years and I've been a follower for 8 years. Bruce is a great wordsmith and one of the more original thinkers out there when it comes to LinkedIn™️ so I thought it was about time to bring him onto the show to share some of his insights.

LinkedIn™️ seem to love it, more and more posts are created by it and comment threads are becoming infested with it...so I thought it was time to revisit the topic of AI and try to answer this important question...
Can AI be used in a credible, authentic and ethical way on LinkedIn™️?
That plus...
New - Company page premium inc' Who viewed your company page'
An improved 'Premium benefits' page plus a special offer
Why the new 'Recruiters verification badge' is a disgrace!
Post search results now favour Articles
A great new option for profile custom buttons
An interesting piece on Colla'boring'ative articles!
Post of the week