How Authors Can Build Their Audience on LinkedIn
Sofia Ritz — March 26th, 2026
LinkedIn is a vast platform, and as an author who prioritizes their writing, it can feel overwhelming and counterintuitive learning to navigate it. However, LinkedIn is a great place for authors to share about their writing. And when used strategically, through techniques like showcasing publicity and reviews, it can set you up for future media success and build a wider readership.
That’s why we’re here to break LinkedIn down into its base components so that you can refine your online presence, post more comfortably, and foster a community of readers who are waiting to discover your book.
Today, we will discuss:
Why Building a LinkedIn Audience Matters
Understanding LinkedIn Use
Posting: Where, Why, What, When, and How
Engaging With Your Community
Applying Your LinkedIn Knowledge
Why Building a LinkedIn Audience Matters
A strong LinkedIn presence is essential in the age of social media to get your name and your book title out there. The audience you build here will give you credibility in the eyes of future media partners, book review platforms, podcasters, etc. But more than this, the people you connect with on LinkedIn can become valuable guides, peers, and even readers.
By posting consistent, valuable content—thereby fostering this digital community—you position yourself as an authority in your field and build trust as a writing professional. Interacting on LinkedIn will also curate a feed full of relevant industry information, trends, and ideas, helping you stay up to date and knowledgeable about your field.
Another reason LinkedIn is a great place to grow your digital community is its LinkedIn Groups. There are a multitude of groups on LinkedIn that promote conversation on book genres, reading, writing, and almost every subject matter you can think of. Joining, posting, and engaging in these groups are helpful ways to find people who are already interested in your book’s topic.
But before you can build your audience and reap the associated benefits, it’s necessary to have an understanding of what LinkedIn is and isn’t for.
Understanding LinkedIn Use
What is LinkedIn for?
LinkedIn is primarily used to digitally network, job seek, and build your brand, but its primary use for writers is to showcase your work, build a network of people who share your interests, and create a platform where you can partner with those who promote you and your book.
You want people to check out what you’re doing, but more than that, you need people to consume and engage with your content. To that end, you’re largely going to be networking and starting/contributing to discussions relating to your book’s subject, whether it’s about your book specifically or another writer’s content.
Here, author Diane Richards promotes discussion of work by other black female writers, expanding on the lessons they offer—a powerful community-building post.
What is LinkedIn NOT for?
LinkedIn is not for blatant advertising. You want to promote your book, of course, but by showing readers what they can get out of it. Ensure intentionality with each post, and consider your audience and their needs.
Now that you have a more solid understanding of how LinkedIn’s purposes align with yours as an author, it’s time to apply those purposes to your content.
Posting: Where, Why, What, When, and How
Where to post?
As an author, it makes the most sense to post from a Personal Page or “member profile,” as this casts you in a more personable, approachable light than a Brand Page.
Emily Nemens’ page is an excellent example of a well fleshed-out author profile.
Authors are the public faces of their brands, and this profile type will best represent you as an individual. To that end, ensure you have a clear headshot and direct headline—more information on structuring your profile can be found here.
Why post?
The thought at the forefront of your mind when creating content on LinkedIn as an author should always be what your audience can get out of it. This is the fundamental mindset that will spark reader engagement, as this is the reason fellow professionals use the platform. We’re all searching for value, so discerning what would be helpful or interesting to your audience and assuring that your contributions bring that to the table, in addition to platforming your book, will keep your network captivated and coming back for more.
Emphasizing this style of content will also position you as a credible authority in the writing/publishing world, another reason for readers to seek you out on LinkedIn.
What to post?
Of course, you want to share your writing. In order to do this in a value-driven manner, there are two types of content you should be posting: book press and thought leadership (insights as a leader in your field). Ideally, these topics will go hand in hand, and there are varied posts you can make, with differing approaches, to achieve this.
Book Press and Accolades
Favorable reviews/book awards
News about your book (sharing updates)
Quotes/excerpts from your book
Any interviews or articles posted about your book
Testimonials
Thought Leadership
Value-giving content based on your book’s concepts
Links to book/industry-relevant articles (about publishing, writing, etc.)
Knowledge and insights from whichever field fits your book
Big-picture thinking: How are writing trends affecting publishing as a whole?
How-tos and behind-the-scenes information about your work
Thought leadership content should be tailored to your book’s genre as well. A fiction writer will want to post more about craft and the industry overall, while a nonfiction author’s focus should be to position themself as an authority on their book’s topic.
Outside of your own material, reposting is an excellent way to engage, but when linking/reposting something, you want to add value. Even a quick comment or remark about what you in particular found interesting about a piece of content can go a long way to personalize and add depth to existing media. This is also an opportunity to note how a post is relevant to your book, or how it applies to your work more broadly.
In a recent post, author Joel Wit expertly expanded upon another’s article, adding his unique perspective and establishing credibility.
If you’re not as confident about your knowledge, you can share obstacles you’ve faced, tips you’ve applied, what you’re learning, or questions; these are also great ways to engage.
Balancing the Personal and Professional
As with all social media, there are certain types of content that perform better on different platforms than others. On LinkedIn, it is considered best practice to prioritize professional posting; you want to avoid purely personal content. However, this doesn’t mean you can’t be yourself or show off your personality. In fact, in LinkedIn’s modern, polished business-scape, humanizing your profile is the best way to stand out.
The key here is to meet in the middle. When posting a professional story, add a human takeaway, and vice versa. This way, you can stay in line with the platform while ensuring your posts remain uniquely yours. Finding this sweet spot will build trust and humanize your online presence, both essential as an author connecting with readers on LinkedIn.
When to post?
There are differing reports as to what time is best to post on LinkedIn, but significant research shows that posting between 9-5 on Weekdays will produce the most engagement. More specifically, mid-morning (10-11 AM) and lunchtime (12-1 PM) are the times when professionals are most likely to break for lunch and scroll. Tuesday, especially, is the most active day on LinkedIn.
Granted, it’s best to experiment with your posting schedule, then review your engagement analytics to discover what the best times are for you to post.
In terms of frequency, 1-3 times a week is optimal; even one post a week will boost engagement if done consistently. The algorithm rewards consistency above all else, and you don’t want to overwhelm your audience with too many posts at any given time—this will decrease engagement. Ensure quality over quantity.
Planning content ahead of time and keeping a posting schedule can help on this front. There are various scheduling tools you can use for this purpose, with popular options being Hootsuite (paid), and Buffer (free). Organizing content in advance eases the pressure of daily posting. Many of these services also allow you to post to multiple social media platforms at once, maximizing efficiency.
How to post?
To build your audience, adapting what you share to what people are engaging with is key. This is where LinkedIn analytics come into play.
It’s rather unrealistic to track every post’s viewer demographics and performance rates, especially when starting out, but this information is available to you even without a premium membership, should you want to keep a more technical eye on things.
Regardless, it can be helpful to understand who’s liking and commenting on your posts to get a sense for where you might want to pivot or prioritize to ensure your target audience is engaged.
Format-wise, you want to try to keep posts under 1,500 words, as they tend to get better traction than longer posts. Include one or two hashtags to increase reach. Additionally, it’s best to include visuals alongside your written content, as posts with images and videos perform the best.
“Feed scrollers are naturally drawn to striking visuals. Posts with images typically average twice the comments of those that don’t.”— Steve Kearns, LinkedIn Ads Marketing Leader
It’s also ideal to experiment with a content mix, especially for different topics. Pictures, videos, infographics, documents, carousels, and polls, for example, will be most effective when paired with different types of text. Again, you want to lean into what’s most effective with your audience here as well.
Engaging With Your Community
Engagement Features
Liking, commenting, and reposting are always best practices, as they network and build professional relationships. You especially want to engage with posts related to your book’s topics to keep your name circling in the right spheres.
Connecting on LinkedIn
Don’t be afraid to connect with existing colleagues on LinkedIn about your book. These peers are bound to be some of your biggest supporters and readers—they want to root for you, so make sure you’re building off of those connections when forming your network.
LinkedIn connections are more likely to see your posts and interact with you. Frequently send invites to connect with people in your target audiences and to fellow writers. It’s also advisable to send invites to connect with anyone who likes or comments on your posts.
Again, the benefit of joining several LinkedIn groups related to your book’s topic/genre and posting, interacting in, and connecting with people in them frequently cannot be stressed enough. These are digital neighborhoods where people are already passionate about the subject of your writing, which makes them perfect for community-building.
Showcasing Media
Another way engaging on LinkedIn can boost your book is through media partnerships. The more you post, the more press you will receive, and thereby gain momentum. It is crucial to post immediately and frequently about any and all promotions—not only is this good content for your page, but it creates incentive for future media partners to connect with you.
Building an Engagement Routine
Interacting daily on LinkedIn doesn't have to be difficult or time-consuming. Even ten minutes a day can make a significant difference—we recommend breaking this time down as follows:
2 Mins. —> Check notifications, send replies.
5 Mins. —> Engage in your feed, leaving a couple of comments.
3 Mins. —> Capture ideas for further reflection.
These steps are all you need to begin building a habit of consistency and drive engagement on LinkedIn.
Applying Your LinkedIn Knowledge
Growing your audience won’t happen overnight—increasing engagement will come from building consistency and momentum over time. Starting with likes, comments, and reposts, then building to your own regular, value-driven posting, is a perfect direction to start out, adapting your approach based on engagement as you go.
Or if you’re a more seasoned poster, setting a realistic posting schedule and content plan can help with consistency and make day-of posting less stressful. Tips for planning your social media presence are available for free during our monthly webinar, “The Stress-Free Guide to Social Media for Authors,” hosted by Bookstr CEO Scott Richmond, because optimizing your social media presence doesn’t stop with LinkedIn.
Need more help building your audience across platforms? See how our Author Services can help your readership grow to new heights.
Delve deeper than LinkedIn with Social Media Success for Authors: Expert Strategies That Actually Work
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