Informed: the podcast for LinkedIn® users
John Espirian
"Informed" is for you if you'd like to understand more about how LinkedIn works so that you can be an effective user of the platform.
It's hard to know whom to believe with so many self-appointed gurus out there telling you the latest hacks for going viral and earning 7-figure deals. And even LinkedIn's own publications often don't speak to the reality of using the platform.
But for those who see past superficial promises and sanitised reports, this podcast provides evidence and thoughtful opinion. With a track record of more than 10 years of sensible, no-nonsense advice about honest best practice for LinkedIn, Informed is a trusted source of insight by many thousands of regular listeners.
The show was created by Mark Williams, who's affectionately known as "Mr LinkedIn". Mark retired in late 2025 and handed over the reins of the show to John Espirian, the relentlessly helpful® LinkedIn nerd. John is a LinkedIn trainer and consultant, the founder of the Espresso+ community, the creator of the UpLift Live conference (the UK's original event dedicated to LinkedIn best practice), and the author of the personal branding handbook Content DNA.
John's reputation is for getting to the point and for not being a salesy douche canoe, so you can expect short, sharp episodes with zero ads or sponsored slots. This also is NOT an interview show, so if you've read this far then please don't pitch yourself for a guest appearance. However, you're welcome to get in touch if you have a LinkedIn question you'd like John to cover on the show. (To do that, search for the "Informed podcast" company page on LinkedIn and send a message.)
This podcast is not affiliated with, endorsed by or approved by the LinkedIn® corporation. John Espirian is an independent trainer and does not work for LinkedIn® – while it would be great to have LinkedIn's endorsement, the show's independence from the corporation means you, the listener, are never fed an airbrushed political spiel.
It's hard to know whom to believe with so many self-appointed gurus out there telling you the latest hacks for going viral and earning 7-figure deals. And even LinkedIn's own publications often don't speak to the reality of using the platform.
But for those who see past superficial promises and sanitised reports, this podcast provides evidence and thoughtful opinion. With a track record of more than 10 years of sensible, no-nonsense advice about honest best practice for LinkedIn, Informed is a trusted source of insight by many thousands of regular listeners.
The show was created by Mark Williams, who's affectionately known as "Mr LinkedIn". Mark retired in late 2025 and handed over the reins of the show to John Espirian, the relentlessly helpful® LinkedIn nerd. John is a LinkedIn trainer and consultant, the founder of the Espresso+ community, the creator of the UpLift Live conference (the UK's original event dedicated to LinkedIn best practice), and the author of the personal branding handbook Content DNA.
John's reputation is for getting to the point and for not being a salesy douche canoe, so you can expect short, sharp episodes with zero ads or sponsored slots. This also is NOT an interview show, so if you've read this far then please don't pitch yourself for a guest appearance. However, you're welcome to get in touch if you have a LinkedIn question you'd like John to cover on the show. (To do that, search for the "Informed podcast" company page on LinkedIn and send a message.)
This podcast is not affiliated with, endorsed by or approved by the LinkedIn® corporation. John Espirian is an independent trainer and does not work for LinkedIn® – while it would be great to have LinkedIn's endorsement, the show's independence from the corporation means you, the listener, are never fed an airbrushed political spiel.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Jul 27, 2019 • 1h 5min
Should You Connect With Competitors?
Welcome to this weeks digest of all things LinkedIn. Today I want to address and issue which has always been a tricky question for LinkedIn users to answer…Should you connect to competitors? More of that later but first….. Interesting Stuff I Saw This Week LinkedIn Member number exceeds 645 million Iran-Linked APT34 Invites Victims to LinkedIn for Fresh Malware Infections Help clients discover your services with a new feature on LinkedIn For the full show notes go to https://linkedinformed.com/episode256/Mentioned in this episode:This show was created by the original host of the show, Mark Williams.
Jul 20, 2019 • 1h 2min
Neuroscience and LinkedIn
Welcome to a new episode and it’s great to be back after a wonderfully relaxing week away in the truly stunning Swiss alps. About a month ago I received a personalised connection request from someone who had the words ‘LinkedIn and Neuroscience’ in his headline….as you can imagine this really piqued my interest. What on earth does that mean? So I arranged to have a chat with him and he explained to me his theories and how he uses his understanding of the ‘social brain’ to achieve success on LinkedIn…….so I just had to get him on the show! But first…..Go to https://linkedinformed.com/episode255/ Mentioned in this episode:This show was created by the original host of the show, Mark Williams.
Jul 6, 2019 • 58min
LinkedIn Invitation Tsunami!
You open your laptop (or pick up your phone) in the morning, fire up LinkedIn and then notice this…… Wait….that’s not 2 invitations, it’s 2000! Where did they all of a sudden come from? This week I’m investigating what I call the LinkedIn Invitation Tsunami. What is it, why does it happen and what you should do if it happens to you. But first….. Go to https://linkedinformed.com/episode254 for the restMentioned in this episode:This show was created by the original host of the show, Mark Williams.
Jun 29, 2019 • 60min
Feeds Get More Personal
Apparently, at LinkedIn they have a saying; “People You Know, Talking About Things You Care About.” And so they have announced that they have been adjusting our feed algorithm to give us exactly that. More at https://linkedinformed.com/episode253Mentioned in this episode:This show was created by the original host of the show, Mark Williams.
Jun 22, 2019 • 1h 4min
LinkedIn Articles with John Espirian
Welcome to episode 252. I thought it was about time we revisited Articles this week. I’m not the most prolific article writer so I thought I would ask, fan of the show and business copywriting expert, John Espirian onto the show. In our chat, I ask John about what to write about, how often to do it and how long an article should be. John talks about styles of writing, how to stimulate ideas and how to best repurpose blog pieces as LinkedIn articles For more go to linkedinformed.com/episode252Mentioned in this episode:This show was created by the original host of the show, Mark Williams.
Jun 15, 2019 • 1h 4min
Scheduling LinkedIn Posts
Covered in this show; A brief history of LinkedIn Ads Can you have too many followers Do paid followers have any benefit? Spy used AI-generated face to connect with targets New invitation feature (coming soon) Scheduling posts - is it worth bothering? Post of the week Mentioned in this episode:This show was created by the original host of the show, Mark Williams.
Jun 8, 2019 • 1h 1min
Can You Spot A Fake Profile?
Welcome to another episode and a bit of a landmark really, our 250th one! Thank you so much to everyone that subscribes, listens and/or reads the show notes. I consider it a real privilege to host and produce the show and I’ve had such an amazing time putting together all 250 of them! Items in this show; 4:44 - Interesting stuff I saw this week 17:07 LinkedIn Updates 29:07 Can you spot a fake profile 51:46 Post of the week 56:06 AFQ - questionMentioned in this episode:This show was created by the original host of the show, Mark Williams.
Jun 1, 2019 • 38min
Post of the week special (x4)
This is an unusual episode in that it’s very short due to the fact I’m leaving for sunny Madrid today to attend the Champions league final frivolities….I nearly type celebrations then…but that would be tempting fate! I nearly skipped a week but I just had so many good posts to talk about……thank you all so much for nominating them, the quality seems to be increasing! So the main thrust of this episode is to talk through four brilliant posts that grabbed our attention this week but first…. For more go to https://linkedinformed.com/episode249Mentioned in this episode:This show was created by the original host of the show, Mark Williams.
May 25, 2019 • 58min
Followers For Sale!
Did you know you can buy LinkedIn Followers and more? LinkedIn refreshes Sales Navigator homepage to put focus on alerts Mike Winnet has released his first Contrepreneur episode…and it’s brilliant! More on organic reach and recency 'hot streaks' Post of the week AFQ - How can I influence my Highlights section? More at LinkedInformed.comMentioned in this episode:This show was created by the original host of the show, Mark Williams.
May 18, 2019 • 53min
New Profiles…..Again!
In this weeks show; Update on that new messaging feature - 3:50 Oleg has a new profile pic - 09:59 Josh Fechter lost his account - 12:00 New LinkedIn Member numbers - 17.29 How to spark meaningful conversations (according to LinkedIn) - 19:24 The New LinkedIn profile design - 23:24 LinkedInLive update - 31.13 Post of the week - 36:05 NOT post of the week! - 40:03 LinkedInLocal, Manchester - 43:59 AFQ - Question about invitations to connect - 45:50 Mentioned in this episode:This show was created by the original host of the show, Mark Williams.
