Have you made it a habit to post consistently on LinkedIn?
Whether it’s short how-to articles, anecdotes, infographics, or bite-sized videos, investing some weekly time and effort into building your LinkedIn authority can pay dividends throughout your career.
As the biggest playground for professional social networking and career-oriented content, LinkedIn is the platform for you to morph into an influencer status within your industry or niche. It provides a high-visibility pedestal to share experience-backed insights, engage with peers, and foster meaningful new connections that could lead you to career-propelling work opportunities, collaborations, and business deals.
That being said, while LinkedIn is great as a social networking platform, in the end, it’s just that. The platform controls the layout and features of your profile, limiting your ability to personalize and differentiate your brand. Additionally, the algorithm’s whims can affect the visibility and reach of your content, making it a tad unpredictable.
Enter WordPress.
Having a personal website on WordPress (here’s why WordPress in particular) as an extension to your LinkedIn influencer status is like owning a piece of digital real estate where you have the creative liberty to construct and portray your brand exactly how you envision it.
Keep reading to understand the six solid benefits of having your own WordPress website in addition to your LinkedIn profile in terms of furthering your authority as an influencer.
1. Credibility and professionalism
But when your audience seeks to delve deeper, having a personal website is akin to inviting them into your professional headquarters. It’s where they get to see you, not just as a LinkedIn influencer but as a professional entity with a structured brand. For example, check out Liz Willits’ (a marketing influencer) background photo and headline below.
And this is where WordPress shines through.
As a leading CMS, WordPress offers a plethora of professionally designed themes that are functional and aesthetically appealing. The platform’s versatility (with over 60,000 plugins) allows you to build a website that aligns with your personal brand’s ethos while maintaining a sleek, professional look and feel. Unlike your LinkedIn profile, your WordPress website isn’t confined to a standard template — it’s a blank canvas that you can paint with the colors of your professional persona.
You can share long-form content that delves into topics in-depth, and provide value that’s not restricted by the character limits as on LinkedIn posts. Put simply, your website serves as your knowledge repository, open for the world to see, learn, and engage.
And while there are other CMS options like Sitecore, WordPress offers the greatest degree of customization and control. Plus, WordPress’s vibrant community of developers and designers means you can get help quickly and affordably. No wonder brands big and small are partnering with the leading Sitecore to WordPress migration company to realize the benefits of this robust CMS.
All in all, your LinkedIn profile might be the gateway to your professional persona, but a WordPress website is where your audience gets to know the brand behind the posts. It’s how you cement your credibility, enhance your professional appeal, and provide a richer, more nuanced view of your expertise and experiences.
2. Content ownership
Creating and sharing valuable content is the cornerstone of being an influencer on LinkedIn.
While LinkedIn provides a platform for sharing your thoughts, it doesn’t provide ownership of the content you create. The content lives on LinkedIn’s servers and is subject to their terms of service. This is where having a WordPress website significantly tilts the balance in your favor.
When you create and share content on your WordPress website, you own it outright. It’s your intellectual property housed in your digital domain. Unlike social media platforms where changes in algorithms or policies could potentially affect how your content is displayed or who gets to see it, on your website, your content remains untouched and consistently accessible.
After all, the content you create is a long-term asset. Over time, you will build a rich repository of knowledge and insights that can continue to attract and engage audiences. On your WordPress website, your content is organized, easily accessible, and continues to provide value over time. It’s not lost in the endless scroll of social media feeds but remains a lasting, searchable resource for your audience.
WordPress is renowned for its robust content management capabilities. It provides an intuitive, user-friendly interface to create, manage, and organize your content efficiently. With categories, tags, and the powerful and intuitive Gutenberg editor, managing your content is a breeze.
Ultimately, owning your content equals owning your professional narrative. It’s about having control over the content you create, how it’s displayed, and how it’s accessed by your audience. A WordPress website lets you ensure that the content you painstakingly create remains your asset, contributing to your personal brand’s growth and credibility for years to come.
3. SEO benefits
Knowing that 92.96% of global traffic comes from Google (Search, Images, and Maps), it’s safe to say that Google serves as the primary gateway to information, and ranking high on its search result pages is like having a prime storefront on the busiest street (the internet).
So, as a LinkedIn influencer, don’t confine your brand’s visibility to the platform alone. Your content should rank well on search engines like Google too. This is where a WordPress website becomes a potent tool in your arsenal.
WordPress is renowned for its SEO-friendly architecture. Right out of the box, it provides clean code and proper HTML markup, setting the right foundations. Then, with plugins like Yoast SEO or All in One SEO Pack, optimizing your website for search engines becomes a breeze. These plugins guide you through the SEO process, ensuring your website adheres to the best practices that search engines love.
So when people search for topics you’ve covered, your content can show up in the search results, driving organic traffic to your site. This, in turn, amplifies your reach beyond LinkedIn, attracting a wider audience from across the web.
With a wider audience comes more engagement, more shares, and more opportunities to establish your thought leadership. The traffic from search engines can also lead to more followers on LinkedIn as people find value in your content and decide to follow you on socials. It’s a positive cycle that begins with a search query and can lead to a growing audience both on your website and on LinkedIn.
And the SEO benefits continue as a higher ranking on search engines not only brings in more eyeballs but also opens doors to more prospects. Whether it’s job offers, consulting gigs, speaking engagements, or affiliate marketing opportunities, a WordPress website with the right SEO can be your magnet for professional growth.
4. Monetization opportunities
While LinkedIn is a great platform to build and engage with your professional network, having a WordPress website opens up a world of monetization opportunities for you as a growing influencer. Here are just a few of them.
1. Sponsored posts
Sponsored posts allow you to collaborate with brands, creating content around their products or services while getting compensated for it. It’s a win-win where you provide value to your audience, promote a brand, and earn money simultaneously.
2. Affiliate marketing
By promoting products or services related to your niche through affiliate links on your WordPress website, you earn a commission for every sale made through those links.
WordPress supports various affiliate marketing plugins like ThirstyAffiliates or Pretty Links which help in managing and optimizing your affiliate links for higher conversions.
3. Digital products
Your expertise is valuable, and there’s a segment of your audience willing to pay for the in-depth knowledge you possess. Be it eBooks, email courses, webinars, or consulting services, your WordPress website serves as the perfect platform to sell digital and even physical products.
With plugins like Easy Digital Downloads or WooCommerce, setting up a digital storefront is straightforward on WordPress.
For example, Justin Welsh, the #1 ranked LinkedIn creator, has a digital storefront to sell his course on growing and monetizing a LinkedIn audience for beginners.
4. Membership content
Creating a paid community on your WordPress website is another viable monetization strategy.
You can offer exclusive content, resources, or forums to paying members, creating a steady stream of income while building a close-knit community that values your expertise.
5. Workshops and consultations
You can offer online workshops, consultations, or coaching services right from your WordPress website. Plugins like Embed Calendly and BookingPress allow you to schedule and manage bookings effortlessly, turning your website into a personal consulting platform.
Put together, monetizing your WordPress website is like building a diversified investment portfolio. Your website lets you capitalize on your influence, provide additional value to your audience, and create multiple revenue streams that contribute to your financial as well as professional growth.
For instance, Dina Calakovic, a marketing influencer, features her coaching and consulting call link on her LinkedIn profile.
5. Email list building
Unlike the fleeting nature of social media engagement, email is more personal and lasting. An email list is a direct channel to your audience, unmediated by algorithms or platform policies. It’s a pathway to nurture a community of engaged individuals who value your insights and are keen on hearing from you.
And so, as a LinkedIn influencer, nurturing a healthy email list is a step toward long-term, meaningful engagement with your audience. The biggest influencers like Codie Sanchez use this strategy to gain lifelong subscribers. From her LinkedIn profile, people can click on a link that leads to her website where people can subscribe to her newsletter (Contrarian Thinking).
Your WordPress website serves as the foundation for this, offering tools and features that simplify and optimize the process of list building.
Whether it’s creating subscription forms, managing email campaigns, or analyzing subscriber behavior, there’s a plugin for every need. Here are some notable ones:
- OptinMonster: Known for its powerful lead generation capabilities, OptinMonster allows you to create eye-catching opt-in forms, run A/B tests, and analyze results to optimize your list-building efforts.
- Mailchimp for WordPress: If you use Mailchimp for email marketing, this plugin is a boon. It seamlessly integrates with your Mailchimp account, making list management and email campaigns a breeze.
- Sumo: Sumo provides a suite of tools to grow your email list, create pop-ups, and optimize your website for conversions.
Using such WordPress plugins, you can not only collect emails for your list but also segment them based on various criteria like user behavior, interests, or engagement levels. This segmentation is key to sending personalized, relevant emails that resonate with your audience, thus fostering better engagement and ultimately conversions.
6. Showcasing portfolio and testimonials
At the end of the day, you’re building your LinkedIn influence to increase your luck surface area — you create value for people and become known for something. Slowly, you build a reputation, and “lucky breaks” will start finding you more often and in more ways.
But for that, you need to showcase your best work in the best way possible. Again, while LinkedIn lets you showcase your work, a WordPress website lets you tailor exactly how you want to portray your work, skills, experiences, and the tangible value you bring to the table. This ties back to the first point on building a credible professional appeal — something WordPress enables you to do by building a dynamic portfolio that resonates with your brand.
With an array of themes dedicated to creating a professional portfolio, displaying your work in an organized, visually appealing manner is straightforward. Whether you are a consultant, a speaker, or a content creator, a well-structured portfolio on your WordPress site allows prospects to delve deeper into your work, understand your capabilities, and witness the breadth and depth of your expertise.
Then, add testimonials to the mix. Testimonials are powerful trust signals. They provide social proof of your expertise, professionalism, and the positive impact you’ve had on individuals or organizations. With plugins like Testimonials Widget or Easy Testimonials, you can easily add, manage, and display testimonials on your site. You can choose to have a dedicated testimonials page or display them on your homepage or service pages.
Ultimately, your WordPress website serves as a comprehensive, interactive, and evolving showcase of your professional journey. It helps you create a compelling, trust-building narrative that enhances your personal brand and fosters trust with your audience.
Wrapping up
As we enter 2024, building a personal brand has transcended past a mere ‘good-to-have’ to a ‘must-have’ for anyone aiming for the zenith in their field.
From showcasing your professionalism and owning your content to better monetization opportunities and list building, the advantages of having your own WordPress website are immense.
So, if you’re a budding LinkedIn influencer hoping to catapult your personal brand to new heights, a WordPress website could very well be your rocket fuel. Get started today to make 2024 your year as a LinkedIn luminary.
Lucy Manole is a creative content writer and strategist at Marketing Digest. She specializes in writing about social media, email marketing, technology, entrepreneurship, and much more. When she is not writing or editing, she spends time reading books, cooking, and traveling.
