Let me just take a moment to thank you for sharing my name, information, and book with your friends, relatives, and coworkers.  Because of you, the first edition of "The Power Formula for LinkedIn Success" has become the #1 selling LinkedIn book in the world.
And here's some more great news. The 2nd edition of my book is now available at Amazon or a bookstore near you. The book is completely revised and includes the latest LinkedIn changes plus 50 pages of new content and ten "gotta have" LinkedIn resources. Be sure to pick up a copy or download it to your favorite reading device. FAQ: Should I upgrade to a paid LinkedIn account?
My latest LinkedIn user survey showed 15% of respondents have upgraded to one of the paid LinkedIn accounts, up from 8% a year ago. I personally don't have an upgraded account, but, in case you're interested, pricing starts as low as $15.95 per month.
Consider moving to one of the paid accounts if you are:
1. A human resources professional 2. A recruiter 3. Someone who consistently runs into the screen that says you should upgrade
If you are regularly seeing the screen that suggests you should upgrade, you are probably using a LinkedIn feature that is working for you, and you may want to consider going to one of the paid accounts.
For example, if you like to send InMails and/or introductions or would like to have more saved searches, you may want to upgrade your LinkedIn account.
In general, I do not recommend moving to a paid account unless you fall into one of the three categories listed above. However, in order to encourage more of us to pay for LinkedIn on a monthly basis, there will undoubtedly be more and more valuable new features available exclusively to paid subscribers.
Features available to paid subscribers
Here are a few features you might find useful:
1. Saved searches. I would love to have more than three saved searches.
2. Longer list of search results. You get up to 100 results on the free account, but a longer list could mean more leads and thus more income.
3. Who's Viewed Your Profile. With a free account, you can only see the last five people who have scoped you out. An upgraded account lets you see everyone who's looked at your profile (unless they've blocked their name).
4. Additional advanced search filters. I'd especially like to have access to filtering by company size.
5. Access to full profiles of more LinkedIn users. With a free account, you can see full profiles of your 1st and 2nd level connections. Access to specific information about more remote connections can help you develop a strategy for reaching out to those people.
6. InMails. You can purchase these for $10 each and thereby contact people to whom you are not connected. If the recipient does not reply within seven days, LinkedIn gives you a $10 credit. (Before buying an InMail, be sure to check if you are in a group with your target, because common group membership enables you to send a free message).
I've had pretty good success with InMails. Most paid accounts come with a monthly allotment of InMails. The extra income that results from response to your InMails may actually cover the cost of your upgraded account.
There you have it, the complete lowdown on whether you should start forking over your hard-earned cash to upgrade your LinkedIn account.
Has an upgraded account been beneficial for you?
|
Hi Wayne, still getting asked and still uncertain what lies behind the Premium curtain so thank you for the clarity. Fit into neither category 1 nor category 2.