Impressions tell you how many times your post appeared on someone's screen. I still look at them. But when I want to know if LinkedIn is bringing in business, I look at who visited my profile after a post and who started a conversation with me because of it.
LinkedIn just added two things for creators. One is a dashboard that brings your content, analytics and earnings together. The other is a test that pays some US video creators part of the ad revenue from their videos. Below I explain both, and I share the numbers I track every week, with an example you can copy.
Would I rather have one $25K client than a few hundred dollars in ad revenue? Absolutely. Will I happily take both? Obviously.
The new creator dashboard
I like having it all on one screen. The thing to watch is that impressions will usually be the biggest number there, and it's easy to judge a whole week by them. I use the dashboard to pull the numbers below, and I ignore the rest until Friday.
The four numbers I track
Each one tells me more about business than the one above it. If the top number moves and the others don't, my posts are getting attention from the wrong people.
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1. Profile visits from your posts
Your post analytics show how many people viewed your profile and how many followed you after reading that post. When someone clicks through, they want to know who you are and what you do. If this number is low on a post with high reach, the post was interesting but didn't point back to you.
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2. Conversations started
DMs, connection requests with a note, and comment threads that turn into a real exchange. LinkedIn doesn't count these for you, so I keep a tally on my phone during the week. I'd rather have a post that started three real conversations than one with ten times the reach and no replies.
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3. Calls booked
Discovery calls, coffee chats, and paid Advice Sessions if you offer them. Count the calls that came from LinkedIn, even if they were booked by email.
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4. New clients
When someone signs, I note which post or conversation it started with. After a few months you'll see which kinds of posts lead to work, and you can write more of them.
What the sheet looks like
| Week | Profile visits | Conversations | Calls | Clients | Post that started the most |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | 96 | 2 | 0 | 0 | Lessons from my first board seat |
| Week 2 | 141 | 5 | 1 | 0 | Client story: VP to C-suite in 9 months |
| Week 3 | 88 | 6 | 2 | 0 | The question I ask every new client |
| Week 4 | 120 | 4 | 1 | 1 | Client story: VP to C-suite in 9 months |
Example numbers to show the format. Look at week 3: fewer profile visits than week 2, and more conversations and calls. That's the kind of week I want more of.
If you want a fifth column, add the in-network and out-of-network split from your post analytics. It shows you whether the people you reach are the same people who end up booking calls.
Getting paid for your videos
LinkedIn is testing short ads that play before videos from select creators in the US. Creators in the test get a share of the revenue from the ads shown with their videos, and they join from the creator dashboard.
If you're invited
I'd join. You're already making the videos, and it costs you nothing to say yes.
What I wouldn't do
Change what I post to earn more from it. Ad revenue pays for views from anyone. My clients come from a much smaller group of people.
What your numbers are telling you
Once you have a few weeks in your sheet, the pattern tells you what to fix. Here are four patterns to look for, and what I'd do about each one.
People are curious, but your profile doesn't tell them what to do next. Rewrite your headline around who you help, and put one clear next step at the top of your Featured section.
You're probably not asking. After two or three good messages back and forth, offer a specific time to talk and say what you'll cover.
Look at who is booking. If they aren't the people who can buy, the posts that sent them need a sharper audience. If they are, the issue is the offer or the call itself.
Keep going. You're reaching fewer people and more of the right ones. Write your next post in the style of the one that started the most conversations.
The dashboard and the ad test are still rolling out and may change. This sheet works the same either way.
Want to build this with me, one on one?
LinkedIn Elevate Executive+ is my 1:1 program. We work together directly on your LinkedIn presence, your content and the numbers you track, based on your voice and where you want your career to go.
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