John Espirian, Author at John Espirian

Reasons not to join Espresso+

Espresso+ is the community for small business owners and solopreneurs who need ongoing learning, support and accountability in promoting their businesses in an ethical, organic way on LinkedIn and online. I think it’s awesome, obviously. Despite my natural bias, even I recognise that it’s not a good option for everyone. Here are some indicators that […]

How to be a good podcast guest

In 2019, I remember aiming to be a guest on 12 podcasts. I’ve now done 60 guest podcast appearances. Here are my best tips for how to be a good podcast guest. Follow this advice to stand the best chance of getting a podcast host’s attention and becoming a great guest for their audio or […]

LinkedIn dictionary

LinkedIn doesn’t seem to have a dictionary or glossary, so I made my own entirely unofficial one. There are 143 definitions below, so you’ll need two coffees to get through this. Sorry. What have I missed? Please message me on LinkedIn. (It’s free even if we’re not connected.) 1st-level connections 2nd-level connections 3rd-level connections 3rd-party […]

LinkedIn Fix List

Last update: 28 March 2023 Here’s my list of things that need to be fixed or improved on LinkedIn. I started this in 2019. If you like these ideas or have any more to suggest, use the links below to give feedback direct to LinkedIn. Feel free to copy and paste any of my descriptions […]

How to record LinkedIn post stats

Log your LinkedIn post analytics to help you do more of what works. Do text posts work best for you? Do you get more comments from video posts? What are your most popular posts? It’s important to know what works on LinkedIn so that you can post content that’s effective for your audience. This post […]

LinkedIn voice notes

I’ve loved sending and receiving LinkedIn voice notes since they debuted in July 2018. Here’s why you might want to give them a whirl. Introduction What LinkedIn voice notes look like Voice note limits When to send voice notes Sending voice notes to non-connections Voice note downsides? Voice note glitches that LinkedIn ought to fix […]

LinkedIn data archive

Did you know that you can download all your data from LinkedIn? Here’s how. Introduction How to request your LinkedIn data archive What does the LinkedIn data export look like? More LinkedIn data archive tips Let’s wrap up Introduction. The data archive is the most robust way to get a copy of all your most […]

LinkedIn groups

I’ve had quite the downer on LinkedIn groups for a long time, but I’ve changed my mind following the experience of running my Espresso by Espirian group since the start of September 2021. Here’s what you need to know about LinkedIn groups. Introduction Benefits of LinkedIn groups Joining LinkedIn groups Benefits of running a LinkedIn […]

LinkedIn experts to follow

If my LinkedIn Learner Lounge isn’t enough for you(!), follow the smartypants below for plenty more insights about how best to use LinkedIn. Many of the following are part of the Espresso+ community, as indicated by after their name. Each person can help you professionally with some aspect of your LinkedIn presence. 🇬🇧 Gus Bhandal […]

Scheduling posts on LinkedIn

Does scheduling reduce visibility and engagement on LinkedIn posts? Did you know? Native scheduling started rolling out around 18 November 2022. See my blog post on native scheduling on LinkedIn. I gave up using a third-party scheduling tool at the start of 2017, when I decided to focus on building my LinkedIn presence. This experiment […]

A sample blog template

I’ve created this for Ella Orr, who asked in the Espresso+ community about how best to structure a blog post. Start with a hero image, like the one above. I’ve created a template in Snagit, but you can use Canva if that’s easier. Take time to get the headline right. It should be clear and […]

How long does it take to write a blog post?

How much time does it take to write a blog post? Some people seem to rattle off content in minutes. Other people agonise over it for weeks. So, what’s the truth? How long does writing a blog post take? Let’s look at some stats.

Espresso+ FAQs

Here are some of the most common questions people have asked about the Espresso+ community for small business owners and solopreneurs. Is it right for me? What do I get? How do the live calls work? Do I have to commit to a minimum term? Do I already need to know exactly where my business […]

LinkedIn newsletters

LinkedIn newsletters are like LinkedIn articles on steroids. They’re longform content – the equivalent of blog posts on your website. new – subscribe to the relentlessly helpful® newsletter on LinkedIn. Introduction Why bother with LinkedIn newsletters? What should I write about in my LinkedIn newsletter? How to create a LinkedIn newsletter Can I still create […]

Recommended copywriters

Hire a copywriter. I’m now focusing on my LinkedIn consultancy work and my Espresso+ community for small business owners, which means I’m taking on very few copywriting projects. If you need a professional writer, check out my list of recommended colleagues below. All names are listed alphabetically by surname. All links point to the corresponding […]

LinkedIn Social Selling Index (SSI)

Here’s a quick look at LinkedIn Social Selling Index (SSI) – the score that LinkedIn uses to reflect the strength of your presence on the platform. What is LinkedIn SSI? How do I see my LinkedIn SSI score? What do the LinkedIn SSI scores mean? How do I increase my LinkedIn SSI score? Keep your […]

LinkedIn link click experiment

Research at the end of 2021 by Richard van der Blom suggested that the best place to share external links on LinkedIn was directly within the body of shortform posts. So, I decided to do a short experiment in November and December 2021 to find out how many times links in my posts were actually […]

LinkedIn post anatomy

This post is my step-by-step formula for writing my short-form LinkedIn posts. I do this below by chunking up a real sample LinkedIn post. Listen to this advice shared in the May 2020 edition of the LinkedIn Sofa, part of the You Are The Media podcast: Headline Body content Subheadings Lists and emojis Links Tagging […]

LinkedIn commenting tips

Writing substantial comments is the best way to boost your visibility on LinkedIn. This article will give you tips to leave comments that help you get noticed, remembered and preferred. Top 10 LinkedIn commenting tips Annotated example LinkedIn comments Advanced LinkedIn comment tips Let’s wrap up Top 10 LinkedIn commenting tips. Here are some commenting […]