LinkedIn for networking
Build the kind of professional relationships that lead to genuine opportunities, referrals, and trust over years.
Anyone whose career or business depends on the strength and breadth of their professional network: founders, salespeople, consultants, executives, recruiters.
Networking on LinkedIn gets a bad reputation because much of what shows up under that banner is performative connecting and pitch-flavored DMs. Genuine networking via LinkedIn is quieter and slower: it is sustained engagement with a specific group of people whose work you actually find interesting, over a period of time long enough that the relationship survives a job change or a moment of need.
What to write about
- +Substantive comments on the posts of people whose work you respect, treated as conversation rather than visibility hacking.
- +Public credit and citation when someone else's idea shaped your thinking.
- +Sharing other people's work with your own commentary, which builds reputation as a generous reader.
- +Personal posts that give context about who you are and how you think, so connections feel like they actually know you.
- +Direct DMs that reference specific posts or shared interests, never with a pitch attached on the first message.
Example post
How to know it's working
- →Connections you have not met in person reach out for genuinely substantive conversations.
- →Referrals and intros happen organically because connections remember what you do.
- →Your DMs become conversations with peers rather than inbound pitches.
- →When you announce something (a new role, a launch, a question), the right people see it without you tagging them.
- →You can call on connections for help and have it actually work, not only be polite.
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Frequently asked questions
- Should I accept every connection request on LinkedIn?
- Filter them. Accepting irrelevant connections degrades your feed and dilutes your network. The exception is if you are early-career and still building reach; later, quality of network matters far more than quantity.
- Is cold DMing on LinkedIn worth it?
- Sometimes, and only if you have a specific reason that has nothing to do with selling something. "I read your post on X and have a question" works. "I would love to connect" with no context does not.
- How do I network on LinkedIn without it feeling fake?
- Engage with people whose work genuinely interests you. The fake feeling comes from manufactured engagement; if you only comment on posts you actually read and have something to add to, the relationship-building reads as natural because it is.
Roles where this matters
LinkedIn content strategy for startup founders
Startup founders know they should post on LinkedIn to attract investors and talent, but building a company leaves zero writing time. Edgar turns a weekly call into posts.
LinkedIn content strategy for freelancers
Freelancers need a steady pipeline of inbound leads, but creating LinkedIn content between client projects is exhausting. Edgar turns a weekly call into posts that sell for you.
Related use cases
Ready to find your voice?
Talk once a week, post all week long. Edgar turns a single conversation into LinkedIn posts that sound exactly like you.