What we’ve learned from 35 podcasts about LinkedIn

Transcription

Matt: Man, it's been quite the year for Connection Accepted. Daniel, I think... Daniel: Quite the year and quite the quarter. Matt: That's it. Quite the quarter, you're right. Like, I don't, I think we need to talk to the, we need to clarify to the audience that Connection Accepted started in, what, August or September? Daniel: When was our first episode? Matt: I think September, because it was right about as I was about to start my job, I decided it would be an even better idea to start a podcast. Daniel: Right, and so you basically pitched the idea to me of a Colin and Samir, but for LinkedIn, because there's nobody that's, there's really not that many people that are talking to all these LinkedIn top voices and gathering all this information on LinkedIn as a platform. And I think both you and I saw and continue to see the potential in the platform. Matt: I mean, it's, I just feel like it's massively underutilized, and it's so easy to grow there. And the ROI on having a following on LinkedIn is so big. But, dude, it's been a crazy 3 to 4 months. It's been a crazy quarter. Honestly nuts. So like, we start, I think, just trying to go through the whole timeline of where we started in September to now. We have a Google Meet. Daniel: It starts with a LinkedIn DM. You connect with me and then I DM you immediately. We have that call. I think I pitched you on Connection Accepted during that call. Matt: And then we had another call the next week, and I finally convinced you to do this. I was pushing you to do this. And then... Daniel: Yeah, and it was exciting for me too because I knew that we had something special. I mean, we were out there just, you know, diving into this with all the enthusiasm we could muster. I think by the time we got to the point of lining up those early guests, it just solidified in my mind that, okay, we're onto something really substantial here. You know, getting that initial buy-in from you was huge because I could see the potential of what we were building together. And it just makes this whole journey so much more rewarding when you've got that kind of partnership. Daniel: I also felt like there was a huge synergy between what I was already doing with the ghostwriting and having a podcast about LinkedIn because, and this is something that I've learned over the last few months, is podcasting is one of the most powerful ways to learn really quickly about a specific field by, you know, networking in public with people that are better than you at a certain thing. There's literally no better way to get a crazy amount of intel on, in our case, LinkedIn and social media and content. But yeah, like you'll get way more information and nuggets of wisdom from doing this than from reading a book or taking as many courses as you can. It's honestly insane because through talking to two experts on LinkedIn, at least per week, not including the time I'm spending with you, Matt, we're just becoming, like, LinkedIn gurus, which I love. It's so fun because I love spending so much time on LinkedIn, and there's nothing else I'd rather spend my time on. And it's an awesome side benefit that we get to network and meet with all these cool people on LinkedIn. Like, I'm so fortunate that it's like turned out this way already so fast. Matt: 100%. I think for me at this point, you know, besides the audience growth and the viewers... views and, you know, the potential for this as a future business. I've really grown to enjoy just the conversations we have with different people, and every guest we have on the pod, and we've probably had 25 to 30 people on the pod at this point. Daniel: There's only probably 20 that are released, but we've got a bunch that we've already filmed. Every single one of those conversations is vastly different depending on the guest, even though all of our guests tend to have one thing in common, which is they post on LinkedIn and they've grown some sort of a following or they run a business that depends on LinkedIn. But all of them are so different, and it's really cool to just see the different perspectives that they all have and their processes and approach to LinkedIn and also, you know, what they've learned from posting for such a long time. And also that a lot of us post pretty much the same way. It's been fascinating for me to see that most people just have an idea, write it down in a notes app, and then they might use ChatGPT to come up with the idea or to trim it. Maybe we'll look at it with a fresh pair of eyes, and then we'll post it. Like, it's not anything super crazy. Most of the creators don't like video. They don't like LinkedIn newsletter. And some of them like punchy titles like I do. I mean, it's pretty simple. And another trend we've been noticing as well is seeing all these YouTubers like yourself, Jordan, on LinkedIn, like Alison Chen and Kevin Lee and yourself, Matt. It's been pretty cool to see all these shifts and be part of a LinkedIn community, which has been pretty cool. Yeah. Matt: Look, I think at this point, you or I could probably go talk to Dan Roth or, you know, the chief product officer of LinkedIn and we'd have a bunch of ideas that have been validated by people that are very active on the platform. And I know the LinkedIn team probably keeps pretty close tabs on user feedback and stuff like that, but I do think that what's unique about the perspective that we gain from talking to these people on the podcast, like you said, talking to at least one to two people every single week for the past three or four months is it's the latest and greatest of what people are seeing on LinkedIn, even as the algorithm is changing and as they try to test new formats like video. Daniel: One of the recurring themes that we've heard across every single person that we ask about video is, yeah, I don't really see that much higher impressions or higher engagement just because it's video, even though LinkedIn leadership is pushing it more and more. So just examples like that and the question that we ask folks about what would you change if you were the CEO of LinkedIn or if you could talk to the CEO of LinkedIn, I think that always yields a pretty interesting response, whether it's, oh, we wish that the inbox was better, side note, Mitchell, you got to sponsor us, bro. Or things like, why doesn't LinkedIn have the ability to bold or italicize your text in their native post editing tool? It's such a basic thing. Matt: So all that to say is I think we've learned a lot about LinkedIn from running this podcast, and it's only been three to four months. So I'm so excited to see what more we're going to learn in 2026. I think there's going to be a lot of changes on the platform, and we're also going to hear a lot more from our guests. And I hope the audience has learned almost as much as we have too, because when we're recording these episodes, Matt, we really publish, I'd say at least 90% of the conversation. You know, we've been going back and forth making some edits whether or not we're gonna cut out the pauses and the ums, but we keep it like what we record is what we post to you guys. So I hope that you can get and learn as much as we are about LinkedIn. It's been awesome to learn so much and really just get an unfiltered look into how these creators create because the reality is, most of these creators, even like from Peter Walker to Bill Yost, they're just like us. They just have ideas and they post them and they're great ideas. It's nothing too crazy. Daniel: 100%. Daniel, I'm curious for you, across all of the guests that we've had on the pod so far, what has been like one or two of the biggest lessons that you've resonated the most? with or that you've learned the most from across all of our guests. That's such a tough question because really after every conversation, I come away learning at least one big theme. Like, for Noah Greenberg, I learned a lot about PR. Daniel: I learned a lot about having just pure written posts. You don't always need to have an image or a video. And then for Alison Chen, I learned more about sponsorships. And Kevin Lee, it was crazy to hear about how with YouTube, he never got the opportunities that he's getting on LinkedIn and what it's like to create content at a big company like Atlassian. And with Bill Yost and Kevin Baker, learning more about LinkedIn comedy and trying to make it almost believable just for a second, and that's what really resonates with the audience. And all that stuff inspires me to create more content. And I wish I had one great specific example for you, but because there's so many, I can't think of one. Is there one that comes to mind for you, Matt? Matt: Yeah, I think there's, like you, a lot of lessons that I've learned, and some of the ones, just a few that stick out to me are mentality-wise, talking to Lee McCabe really, for those without context, is the top voice in private equity on LinkedIn, has 45,000 followers and is just crushing it. What I learned from him about the posting mentality is you just have to get over the cringe factor early. The sooner you can get over it, the better. And you cannot please everyone. The type of content that gets traction tends to be a little bit opinionated, and by nature of that, you are going to rub some people the wrong way. But that is just normal and par for the course. Daniel: And if you play it too safe, then you're just not going to see that level of traction that you're probably looking for. So mentality-wise, I think Lee McCabe had a lot of great lessons. If I think like tactics-wise, someone who had really good insights was very early on, Charlie Hills. Probably one of the first five. I think he was one of the first five conversations we did, but Charlie Hills has a lot of really, really great tips when it comes to actually creating good content on LinkedIn. He's absolutely crushing it. It's got over 100,000 followers. So go check him out if you're looking for really actionable tips and advice. But yeah, Charlie was excellent. And I think since he runs an agency that helps people post on LinkedIn, he's keenly attuned to the day-to-day nitty-gritty challenges that people face. So a lot of his content is very tactical around like, here's how you create a really good carousel on LinkedIn. Like, here are the prompts that I use to generate a very professional-looking set of images. Things like that. And then maybe there's a third bucket, which is general LinkedIn knowledge. And I think Jason Pfeiffer, who is the editor-in-chief of Entrepreneur Magazine, had just an awesome insight there from his conversations with Dan Roth and other folks at LinkedIn, which was whether or not this is true, and I made a post about this that kind of ruffled a few feathers, but the LinkedIn algorithm isn't optimized to make you go viral. Daniel: It's optimized so that anyone can come on the platform and do an action, whether it's making a post, comment, sending a DM, they want that to lead to some sort of economic opportunity, whether it's a sales call being booked or a deal being closed or some sort of connection being made that leads to a business outcome. So, yeah, I would say those are probably the top three that come to mind when it comes to mindset and then tactics and also just high-level LinkedIn knowledge. So I'm sure there's others that I'm missing, but I'm absolutely stoked to learn more from the guests in 2026. I'm so bummed I missed that Jason Pfeiffer one. It was such a good episode. When I was editing that one, I was like, oh, I wish I could have asked him some questions. But one thing I want to get into too in this holiday episode is our $10 million goal. I get a bunch of DMs about this and I made some posts about it. And I just kind of wanted to talk about where we're at with the $10 million goal, how we think about monetizing this podcast. And really what our mission is, like what keeps me motivated, and I think it's similar with you too, Matt, is really creating content for my previous self. Like, I get DMs all the time of people who are having a positive impact from what content we're making and insights we're unlocking for the podcast to help people grow on LinkedIn. Like, that's what really keeps me motivated and can keep me going for the long term on this and to keep trying to get guests. Daniel: I mean, what is your mission and what keeps you going for this podcast, Matt? And then we'll get into the $10 million goal. Matt: Yeah, that's a great question, Daniel. For me, the main thing that keeps me going with this podcast is just my love for content, just generally. And obviously, as I said, I'm bullish on LinkedIn as a platform, so it makes a lot of sense that this podcast is focused on LinkedIn. But for me, it's mainly the love for content and just getting so much out of the conversations and from a learning perspective. I think there's no better way to become an expert than to just talk to experts. So when I look at some of the greatest podcasters out there, you know, you see like Chris Williamson, Joe Rogan, Lex Friedman, all these guys. I think what they've been able to do is incredible because they are some of the most networked people on the planet with very powerful, very successful individuals. But beyond just like the network, it's like the knowledge base that they've got from having so many conversations with experts in government or business or science. I can't imagine what it's like to be like a, you know, like an Andrew Huberman or even, you know, like a David Centra, right? Because he's talked to hundreds, if not thousands of these folks. And for me, that's kind of the motivation as well. It's beyond the business goal, which we're about to talk about, the personal development and learning that you gain from from doing this podcast. Matt: That's what's exciting to me and that's what keeps me going even when it is a lot of work running this podcast. And, you know, for the listeners, it's a lot of work. There's a lot that goes on the back end to make this thing happen, whether it's actually finding the guests or you know, filming the conversations and doing all the post production afterwards. It takes a lot of time. So I think it's great that you have the why that you have, Daniel, and that keeps you going. And for me, similarly, it's, you know, it's just the love for content and also the the desire to continue learning that drives me. I will say, I still have those things as well, as well. I think I'd be lying if it was like just one specific thing that I think about every day. Like sometimes it is that $10 million goal. Sometimes it's like, oh my gosh, I'm learning this fascinating thing about LinkedIn. Like that's going to keep me going. So it does depend and maybe that's a cop out answer. But about the $10 million goal as well, it's a lofty one and it's not going to come easy. We've turned down a lot of sponsorships, which is kind of crazy because we're picky. We don't want to be, well, first of all, we don't want, we're picky with our brand. We don't want Connection Accepted to just be associated with something that we don't want to be associated with. Simple as that. Daniel: And I don't know what else do you have to say about sponsorships, Matt? Honestly, Matt and I do not talk about this $10 million goal nearly enough. We're just spending most of our time editing the pods, getting the guests, writing our own posts on LinkedIn, like, like our job. So it's like pretty busy. So this is honestly a good time for us to think about this, Matt. Matt: Yeah, so I first want to say that the number 10 million is, you know, it is a aspirational number. And we put a number on it because we believe that when you have something that's easy to like mentally anchor on, not only is it helpful for you as you think backwards of what needs to be true or what needs to happen to achieve it, but also, it helps other people around you also get on board more easily. Case in point, you look at guys like John Hu, who runs the company Stan. Now his whole thing is building a billion-dollar business, the journey to building a billion-dollar business. And so whether or not he ever achieves that goal is actually besides the point, I think. What he's been able to do with that, though, is get a ton of support from outside people because they are rooting for him to achieve that goal. So Daniel, I think this idea actually originally came from you of, hey, we should slap a, we should have a concrete goal or a mission that other people can also get behind. That's the origin of that 10 million. Matt: But if we think about tactically what needs to be true to actually get there, I think, you know, there's been some pushback from people saying that, oh yeah, like 10 million, I don't know if that's actually possible. We've gotten questions from people on LinkedIn and from even guests on the pod about how we plan to reach that. Is it even feasible or are we just kind of like talking out of our asses? And what I would say is the podcast serves as a you can think of it as a distribution engine for what will be a $10 million business. But in the future, you know, right now we're just at the podcast, but there will be multiple streams of income or multiple business lines, you could say, associated with the podcast. Right now, we're building a very valuable audience. And most of the audience is going to be people that are executives, founders, you know, CEOs, business professionals that are interested in using LinkedIn to more effectively market their products or services and to grow their own businesses. And so that's a very high value audience to begin with. So the amount that sponsors are going to want to pay to get access to that audience is going to be really high. So sponsorships, you can think of as one stream. But beyond that, we also see an opportunity to expand into things that are a lot more scalable, such as information, right? Information products, like a course. Also, even, you know, potentially software, because we're learning so much about LinkedIn. Matt: We're learning not just about the good things, but also the problems and the pain points that power users are facing on an everyday basis. So there's a lot of different opportunities. You know, you could even say that in a world where we do tack on consulting revenue as well, because Daniel and I will very quickly, I mean, we are very quickly becoming experts in the platform. So there are multiple ways to monetize. And I think, you know, if we put like a time, I don't know, Daniel, if you've put a time horizon on that $10 million goal, but for me, it's, it's like a, it's definitely a long-term vision that starts with the podcast and ends with the podcast and like multiple businesses tied to it. That was a really long rant. Daniel: No, I totally agree with what you said, Matt. We're not just building a podcast. I think we're building a community and movement. Like I see LinkedIn is the next TikTok is so much more than just a sentence. Like, I feel like it's something that, like the LinkedIn community is something that's so strong. Matt and I are getting DMs from people that we would have never expected to get DMs for. Like, it's awesome. We have the best audience ever. Like it's, it's so impressive, the strength of the LinkedIn community and how like people are, they just love it. So that's kind of what we're building. Daniel: And the reality is if there was just a clear step path to $1 million, like it's not like a normal job when you're making a business where there's just a clear set of things you have to do or else everyone would be a 10 millionaire. So we're going to keep trying things, whether it's a course or whether it's merch, we will be doing that with, with fourth wall. So thank you to Will Baum and our previous guests for hooking us up with that. We've got some awesome polos with LinkedIn is the next TikTok on the sleeve here. Also some hoodies. I mean, some awesome stuff. All of that pod is going to get us to 10 million, but we're going to try a bunch of things and we'll keep you posted how it works. And some of the stuff will flop. Some of it won't. I know the acquired podcast even has a venture arm, which is pretty cool. And we're. Excited for the road. Like, we have so much fun filming these podcasts and just learning about LinkedIn that, you know, we'll see what happens. And we'll keep you updated the whole way. Matt: 100%. Yeah, only big things coming. I mean, we're just getting started. Cool. Anything else we haven't covered that you think would be interesting to include in this holiday special? I was thinking about doing an audience survey. I've seen other podcasts do that to like tailor for future guests because our bias is probably skewed towards who DMs us, Matt. But do you think we should do that or no? We can also cut this part out. Daniel: Yeah, I think it's a good idea to do an audience survey, for sure, just to get more information on, you know, who is actually listening to the pod. And we have a general, I think we have a general sense of who the audience is, but having numbers to back that up would be pretty helpful. All right, well, check out the audience survey in the comments below. One of the places I've been lacking is our website. I haven't been putting as many episodes with transcripts up. So maybe it'll be on our website. Maybe it'll not be by the time this episode is out. Update, it did not end up going live on the website. Apologies, so it's just in the description below. Thank you guys for the support, as always. And we can't wait for another year of Connection Accepted. Another quarter, really. Indeed, stay tuned.