If you’re looking to turn LinkedIn into a money-making machine, you’re in the right place.
Joe McKay has taken his LinkedIn ghostwriting side hustle from zero to a multi-six-figure business, generating millions of impressions along the way.
And he’s here to fill us in on how to make money on LinkedIn this year.
We broke down the 3 types of posts you need to make money on LinkedIn, how to navigate the platform as a side hustler, and the most common (and costly) mistake people make.
Listen to Episode 651 of the Side Hustle Show to learn:
- the 3 LinkedIn posts every side hustler must use
- why building connections strategically changes the game
- how to avoid the costly mistake most people make
Subscribe to Joe’s The Thought Follower newsletter for more LinkedIn tips and solopreneur strategies.
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Round 1: LinkedIn for Side Hustlers
The 3 Types of Posts every side hustler needs to earn money on LinkedIn:
1. Awareness Posts
Awareness posts are all about going broad. Think of these as your story-based posts that help you reach as many people as possible.
You’re sharing:
- stories about your side hustle journey
- where your business idea came from
- why you’re passionate about what you do
- the struggles/fails you’ve had along the way
Get your photo, headline, and name in front of as many eyeballs as possible. Joe predicts that in 2025, we’re going to see more focus on what he calls “norm core content” — content that is genuine and real. It may not be as polished, but it’s based on genuine insight.
There will always be that tendency to go viral with templated-style hooks, but Joe thinks it doesn’t serve you in the long term.
2 Education Posts
This narrows down who you’re speaking to.
These posts are all about demonstrating that you’re the expert your target audience should reach out to when they face the problem you solve.
But you don’t have to start from scratch. Joe calls this step “harvesting content.” Use questions your clients or audience are already asking.
You’re “harvesting” from:
- Q&As from clients
- results you’ve gotten from them
- mental models or frameworks you use
- behind-the-scenes glimpses of your work
Your single most important document is your questions database. One, it fuels future content. And two, it gives these little hints and clues as to what your perceived areas of expertise are, even before you have a side hustle yet.
3. Offer Posts
Here’s where I see a lot of side hustlers (myself included) dropping the ball. We assume that by telling stories and building trust, customers will naturally come to us.
Sure, awareness and education posts are great, but if you’re not making offers, you’re leaving money on the table.
Let your audience know exactly how they can work with you. As Joe points out, you need to consistently remind people:
- join my newsletter
- send me a DM
- book a discovery call
So they don’t have to overthink it.
It’s really important to consistently and regularly remind people exactly what you do, who you help, how you help them, and then how they can work with you.
Tips to Maximize Your LinkedIn Game
Play the Algorithm Game
LinkedIn’s algorithm has shifted to favor viral, algorithm-led content, but Joe advises not to chase virality for the sake of it. Instead, focus on your target audience and tailor your content to their needs.
“The eyeballs can feel good, and going viral can feel good, but getting in front of the right audience is the most important thing.”
Build Your Network
Don’t wait for people to find you. Proactively send connection requests to people in your target industry or role. Joe suggests starting with 10 requests per day and testing whether adding a personal note improves your acceptance rate.
Short-Form Video Is Rising
If you’re not using video, now’s the time to start. Short-form vertical videos, even selfie-style ones, perform well on LinkedIn. Tools like Opus Pro and Descript can help you create engaging clips from longer content.
Schedule Smart
Post 3 times a week (Monday, Wednesday, and Friday) before the workday starts. LinkedIn’s in-platform scheduling tool makes it easy to batch and plan your content.
Others:
- Include images (the “LinkedIn selfie” is a thing for a reason — it works!)
- Avoid external links (LinkedIn wants to keep people on platform)
- Use plenty of white space in your posts
Round 2: Donate a Business Idea
With the popularity of AI tools, here’s something that’s still pretty cutting edge but totally doable for side hustlers — building a custom GPT.
So you basically train ChatGPT on your specific content — coaching calls, recipes, or your past blog posts, and create a personalized AI tool that’s hyper-focused on your business.
If you have the paid version of ChatGPT, you can access this through the “Explore GPTs” section — then look for that little + icon in the corner.
He has an AI assistant he calls “Sarah” that reflects his ideal customer base, so he can experiment with an idea and get her feedback. This feedback is more or less an estimate of what his actual audience would say if he implemented this idea on them.
Round 3: The Triple Threat
Marketing Tactic
Joe stressed that sales happen in one-to-one conversations.
His current winning strategy is taking broadcast content (like LinkedIn posts or newsletter pieces) and personally sharing them with 3-5 prospects in his funnel.
It’s a simple message like, “Hey, I wrote this post about the three types of content you need to build your side hustle, and I thought of you.”
You lead with some value, you give it a small gift, and it sparks conversations more often than not.
New Tool
This is more like removing something than installing a tool. Joe took the mail app off his iPhone, and it changed his life. Instead of constantly checking emails, he only checks them during specific times on his computer.
Favorite Book
Joe recommends “Unreasonable Hospitality” by Will Guidara.
The book dives into creating exceptional customer experiences and inspired Joe to take his client gifting to the next level.
After reading the book, he made donations to Justdiggit charity on behalf of his clients and sent personalized video messages. The response was incredible.
Before You Go
If you want to stay connected with Joe, head over to JoeMcKay.info and subscribe to The Thought Follower newsletter for more LinkedIn tips and solopreneur strategies.
Episode Links
- Joe McKay’s The Thought Follower
- Opus Pro
- Descript
- AI tools
- Unreasonable Hospitality by Will Guidara
- Justdiggit charity
Serious About Making Extra Money?
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- Download The Side Hustle Show. My free podcast shares how to make extra money with actionable weekly episodes.