Latest / The Marketing Career Podcast with Fexingo: Marketing Jobs, Skills, and Career Growth / How Marketing Generalists Use LinkedIn Newsletters to Build Authority in 2026
Transcript
- Lucas: So, Luna, you know how we've talked a lot about marketing generalists using freelance marketplaces, no-code tools, even AI agents to get ahead. Luna: Yeah, definitely. It feels like every month there's a new platform or tactic promising to shortcut your way to a better role. Lucas: Right. But the one channel that keeps surprising me with its staying power is the LinkedIn newsletter. Not the personal blog, not the podcast — the humble newsletter, right inside the platform where recruiters already live. Luna: Hmm. I've seen a few blow up. But isn't the window closing? Everyone and their mom seems to have a newsletter now. Lucas: That's the conventional take. But here's the thing — LinkedIn launched its newsletter feature in early 2023, and as of June 2026, adoption is still surprisingly low among active users. LinkedIn has over a billion users, but only about 5 million newsletters exist. That means roughly one half of one percent of users actually publish one. So the competition is way thinner than people assume. Luna: Okay, that's a stat I didn't expect. So it's still early days, even three years in. Lucas: Exactly. And the listeners who've gotten value from this show — maybe a tip you tried in an interview or a framework you used to land a client — if these conversations have sparked something you've actually used, we'd love it if you considered supporting the show. A couple of dollars a month is genuinely what keeps these going — buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. Luna: Yeah, it really does make a difference. Keeps us ad-free and focused on the practical stuff. Lucas: So back to the newsletter. Let me give you a concrete case. I've been following a B2B marketer named Sarah — mid-career, about eight years in, she was a marketing manager at a mid-market SaaS company. She started a LinkedIn newsletter in September 2025 focused exclusively on account-based marketing for companies with 50 to 500 employees. Narrow, right? Luna: Very narrow. But that's probably smart. What happened? Lucas: She committed to one post per week — every Tuesday morning, 8 AM Eastern. Each newsletter was about 800 words, sharing one specific ABM tactic she'd used or seen work. She didn't sell anything. She just shared what worked and what didn't. Within six months, she had 15,000 subscribers. Luna: Wait — 15,000? That's huge for a niche B2B topic. How did she get discovered? Lucas: Two things. First, she repurposed every newsletter into a shorter LinkedIn post — a 300-word highlight with a link to the full newsletter. That post would get her another 500 to a thousand new subscribers each week. Second, LinkedIn's algorithm seems to favor newsletters. When someone subscribes, their network gets a notification. So it snowballs. Luna: So the newsletter becomes an engine for the personal brand, not just a one-way broadcast. Lucas: Exactly. And here's the career payoff — within those six months, she got three unsolicited job offers and two consulting invitations. She ended up taking a fractional CMO role with a startup that read every issue. The newsletter became her portfolio. Luna: That's a great example. But I want to push back a little — does this work for someone who isn't already a strong writer? Or who doesn't have a niche as clear as ABM? Lucas: Fair question. Let me give you a counterexample. I know another marketer, let's call him James — he was a generalist at a large CPG company. His niche was 'marketing analytics for non-analysts.' Super broad topic, but he framed it as: 'Here's how I explain regression analysis to my brand manager boss.' That personal angle created a hook. Luna: So it's not just the topic, it's the framing. The 'for whom' matters. Lucas: Exactly. James wasn't an expert in any one area, but he was a translator. And that's a valuable role. His newsletter grew to 8,000 subscribers in about four months. He says the key was consistency — same day, same time, every week. Luna: What about the actual writing? A lot of people freeze when they have to produce 800 words weekly. Lucas: That's where tools like ChatGPT come in — but with a big caveat. Some of the most successful newsletter writers I've seen use AI for drafting and editing, but they rewrite the opening paragraph in their own voice. If the first three sentences sound like a bot, subscribers unsubscribe. The content has to feel human. Luna: So AI as a junior writer, not the star. Lucas: Exactly. And the other trick is to keep a running list of ideas. I've heard writers say they jot down two or three potential topics every day. By Friday, they have ten ideas, and they pick the best one. That prevents the Sunday night panic. Luna: Let me ask about metrics. What should someone track to know if their newsletter is working? Lucas: Good question. LinkedIn gives you subscriber count and views, but the real metric is the open rate — which LinkedIn doesn't show natively. But anecdotally, many newsletter creators report open rates between 40 and 50 percent, which is double the typical email industry average. That's because LinkedIn sends a notification to subscribers' inboxes, so it's harder to ignore. Luna: Forty to fifty percent is solid. And what about engagement — comments, shares? Lucas: Those matter, but they're secondary. The primary goal for career growth is building a reputation as someone who knows their stuff. When a recruiter sees 10,000 subscribers on a niche topic, that's instant credibility. They don't need to see comments. Luna: So the newsletter is like a resume supplement. But do people actually read them, or just subscribe and forget? Lucas: That's the risk. But the data I've seen suggests that if you write something genuinely useful, people open it. Sarah, the ABM marketer, told me she'd get replies from subscribers saying they implemented a tactic from her newsletter and saw a 20 percent increase in meeting bookings. That kind of feedback keeps you going. Luna: Okay, I'm sold on the concept. But what about the time commitment? Most marketing generalists are already stretched thin. Lucas: I'd argue it's an investment, not a cost. If you spend two hours a week on a newsletter, and it leads to a job offer that pays ten thousand more per year, that's a huge return. And you can start small — 300 words, once every two weeks. The key is starting. Luna: That's a good point. And I guess the content can be repurposed across other channels too — LinkedIn posts, maybe even a blog. Lucas: Exactly. One piece of content becomes five or six touchpoints. It's the ultimate multiplyer for a generalist who doesn't have a big budget. Luna: So if someone listening wants to start a LinkedIn newsletter this week, what's the first step? Lucas: Step one: pick a niche that's narrow enough that you can become one of the top ten voices in it. Not 'marketing' — 'B2B SaaS pricing' or 'email marketing for e-commerce startups under $10 million ARR.' Step two: write your first issue. It doesn't have to be perfect. Step three: publish it and then write a shorter post summarizing it. That's it. Luna: I like that. No overthinking. But what about the headline? That seems crucial. Lucas: Huge. The headline is the only thing that shows up in the notification. It should be specific and promise a tangible takeaway — not 'My thoughts on ABM' but 'How we increased demo requests by 34% with one ABM tactic.' Numbers help. Luna: And the subject line within LinkedIn? Lucas: Same principle. One of Sarah's best-performing subject lines was 'The ABM mistake that cost us $50k.' It's a curiosity gap with a dollar amount. You can't help but click. Luna: Okay, so let's say someone writes a great newsletter for three months and gets a few hundred subscribers. When does the career payoff actually kick in? Lucas: It's nonlinear. For some, it happens at 500 subscribers — a recruiter reaches out. For others, it's at 5,000. But the consistent pattern is that after about 10 to 12 issues, you start getting inbound messages from people who've read multiple issues. They already trust you. That trust shortens the sales cycle — whether you're selling your services or yourself. Luna: So the newsletter is a trust-building machine, not just an attention machine. Lucas: Exactly. And in a world where everyone is shouting for attention, trust is scarce. That's the real moat. Luna: Alright, I'm going to try this. I've been thinking about a niche around marketing analytics for non-profits. Think that's too narrow? Lucas: Not at all. That's a great niche. There are thousands of marketing directors at non-profits who need practical analytics help. And very few people are writing specifically for them. You'd own that space. Luna: Great. I'll let you know how it goes. Maybe I'll be a case study on a future episode. Lucas: I'd love that. And for everyone listening, the window is still open. LinkedIn newsletters are underutilized. If you start now, by the end of 2026 you could have a significant audience — and the career opportunities that come with it. Luna: Totally agree. Thanks, Lucas. Lucas: Thanks, Luna. See you next time.