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
Dec 23, 2023 • 1h 20min
Last one of the year!
In this episode, I talk through the following topics; LinkedIn™️ ran a Christmas poll INteresting profiles 2024 Issues with post drafts and article analytics Spot a pod New WVYP filters - are they useful? The new 'create an image' feature for Articles using Microsoft designer 50+ factors that can impact the performance of your posts Post of the week Mentioned in this episode:This show was created by the original host of the show, Mark Williams.
Dec 16, 2023 • 59min
Brand Visibility
When your company page content consistently fails to engage an audience what can you do to make your brand more visible? That plus; Profile verification finally comes to Europe Skill assessments A new feature on profiles A new content newsletter from LinkedIn™️ - is it any good? How to report spam Post of the week Mentioned in this episode:This show was created by the original host of the show, Mark Williams.
Dec 9, 2023 • 1h 8min
Collaborative Articles Revisited
Last week I shared a message I received from Sandra Long (AKA East coast 🇺🇸Sandra) about collaborative articles where she shared that she finds them very useful asked me to have another look at them...so I did! I will share the results of my findings later but first, here's what else I cover in this weeks episode... Feedback on company page competitors A new profile feature A couple of improvements to Newsletters Why the out of office reply feature needs updating. Post of the week Mentioned in this episode:This show was created by the original host of the show, Mark Williams.
Dec 2, 2023 • 1h 8min
Catching up on the last 5 weeks of LinkedIn™️
I'm back from the trip of a lifetime! And I got married as well! This week I catch up on what has been happening on LinkedIn™️ while I've been away; Collaborative articles improve but become more like Q&A's rather than articles LinkedIn™️ break links with X (Twitter) accounts Several changes to company pages Profile videos are going to disappear Profile custom badges surpass creator website links 1 billion users...but less than 40% are active! Profile verification expands to Brazil and Australia More images allowed in image posts @mention (tagging) gets worse! The customized invitation debacle returns All that plus the lowdown on my amazing trip.Mentioned in this episode:This show was created by the original host of the show, Mark Williams.
Nov 18, 2023 • 52min
How humans behave online
Why do men approach women on LinkedIn when they would never act that way in real life? Why do people send a sales pitch DM immediately after connecting? People seem to act in strange ways with a keyboard, often very differently to the way they would in person. In this episode of LinkedInformed I had the pleasure of chatting with Jacob Elton about this fascinating topicMentioned in this episode:This show was created by the original host of the show, Mark Williams.
Nov 11, 2023 • 1h 13min
How to write better LinkedIn™️ profiles with Karen Tisdell (part 2)
Part two of my chat with Karen Tisdell about LinkedIn™️ profiles. In this final part we discuss... 🔶 Experience section 🔶 Recommendations 🔶 Skills 🔶 Background image 🔶 Pronouns and there misuse 🔶 Name pronunciation Thanks again to Karen for helping out with not just the recording but also helping me put together this summary of the podcast.Mentioned in this episode:This show was created by the original host of the show, Mark Williams.
Nov 4, 2023 • 1h 2min
411. How to write better LinkedIn™️ profiles with Karen Tisdell
Profiles are the bedrock on which everything else you do on LinkedIn™️ is built. So why do we sometimes take them for granted? Perhaps it's time to take a closer look at your profile? This week I chat with Karen Tisdell, who is a professional profile writer about what makes a great LinkedIn™️ profile. We don't agree on everything but I think you will find this discussion valuable.Mentioned in this episode:This show was created by the original host of the show, Mark Williams.
Oct 28, 2023 • 56min
410. Personalised Sales on LinkedIn™️
Business development on LinkedIn. Some focus on inbound whilst others cold approach multiple prospects (knowing they will mainly get rejected). Luis Báez 🇵🇷🏳️🌈 has a different approach...one that is more targeted and highly personalised. This week I chat with Luis, a sales enablement strategist and coach dedicated to online business owners and B2B professionals - he also used to work for LinkedIn in sales!Mentioned in this episode:This show was created by the original host of the show, Mark Williams.
Oct 14, 2023 • 45min
409. The LinkedIn™️ Cheaters
When pods combine with auto-commenting tools, we have a problem!But is it right to publicly expose people who we believe are cheating in this way?Plus:A new Chrome extensionMy thoughts on LinkedIn™️ AI enhancement toolsA great AI talk from Mo GawdatA brilliant post of the weekMentioned in this episode:This show was created by the original host of the show, Mark Williams.
Oct 7, 2023 • 1h 6min
408. LinkedIn™️ adopt a 'pay to spam' policy
LinkedIn restricts customised invitations to just 10 a month!I examine why they are doing it and why it's such a bad idea.That plus:New message inboxes 👍New content search filter 👍Added feature to new custom buttons 👍Name pronunciation goes backwards 👎Does verification make you more visible? 🤔Added value author comments 💡'Top' emerging creators (not) 👎Is it wise for LinkedIn™️ to be 'all in' on AI? 🤔Screw the views! 👍Post of the week 🏆Mentioned in this episode:This show was created by the original host of the show, Mark Williams.
