LinkedIn is sponsoring Brazen Careerist

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I am excited to announce two things. The first is that traffic to Brazen Careerist increased by forty percent last month. The second thing is that LinkedIn agreed to sponsor this blog.

The two are related. Of course, LinkedIn wouldn’t be sponsoring the blog if there was not a lot of traffic. But to be honest, they did not approach me for my traffic. In fact, they didn’t approach me at all. I asked them.

I have known the director of corporate communications, Kay Luo, for a while because she was on the phone when I interviewed Konstantin Guericke one of the LinkedIn founders. She was very fun on the phone, chiming in a few times. I ended up writing about how her network-challenged boyfriend should be using her network for his job hunt. And she was a good sport about that, so I liked her.

We kept in touch for a while, and after one email exchange when we were talking about my book, she sent me back a link that showed me how to find all the journalists in my network who could cover my book. That was really cool of her to think of. It didn’t occur to me that I could do that with LinkedIn.

So a few days later I broached the idea of her sponsoring my blog and my book tour. I couldn’t believe how quickly she got the idea approved.

This is a dream sponsorship for me because I am a huge fan of LinkedIn and I was writing about them all the time. Way before I thought of asking them to sponsor me.

Sponsorship is a difficult nut to crack in the blogosphere because there aren’t any official rules for blogger ethics except: Have them. I get approached often by people who want to do some sort of advertising/sponsorship/whatever deal. I always say no. The blog is a huge part of my life, and matching it to someone else’s brand is a big step. I have to love that brand. It has to be integral to my message. I think I’ve found that in LinkedIn.

So I will still write about LinkedIn on the blog, but every time I mention them, I’ll remind everyone that LinkedIn sponsors me. And hooray for that.

24 replies
  1. Parth
    Parth says:

    Congratulations! This opportunity is going to open up a whole lot of doors for you. LinkedIn has been very awarding for me. I found my current and last job through my contacts at LinkedIn. Best Wishes.

  2. Steven Grant
    Steven Grant says:

    I love LinkedIn. I used them to network for my last two positions.

    It makes me happy to see you partner with them. It’s like seeing two of my friends hit it off.

  3. Gautam Ghosh
    Gautam Ghosh says:

    wow ! Congratulations Penelope !

    I have interacted with Kay and Konstantin over email and have found them to be very open individuals

    That goes to show also how Linkedin is positioning itself as the place to effect a career change !

    Now if only Linkedin is interested in promoting themselves in India, I would like to get some sponsorship for my blog too ;-))

  4. Heather Robbins
    Heather Robbins says:

    Congratulations! I am a huge fan of linkedin and now a huge fan of yours..thanks to a friend of mine who shared your blog with me! I am a recruiter and I always find your advice to be on target! Definitely well-deserved!

  5. Ted
    Ted says:

    Penelope…congratulations on the LinkedIn sponsorship! Another in a long line of successful initiatives! If you were a stock, I’d invest in you!

  6. Sandra Mendoza-Daly
    Sandra Mendoza-Daly says:

    Congrats again!
    I was just introduced to LinkedIn about a month ago. I haven’t had a chance to play with it. But it obviously sounds like I need to.

    Regarding your traffic and sponsorship, I think some companies with no soul strictly look at traffic, but the good ones look at whether or not you fit in with their goals, do they share your vision. and Linked IN sees that in your blog. and so do we.

    Keep up the awesome work!

  7. Gavin Allinson
    Gavin Allinson says:

    Penelope that is so cool.

    I have your blog and linked in both listed as resources for people to help find their life purpose.

    http://www.LifePurposePrescription.com

    I’m surprised that you have not taken the opportunity to invite your readers here to link to you. I checked to make sure that we were still linked (phew)

    Gavin Allinson

    p.s. I received the review copy of your book today and have scheduled some time over the weekend to get stuck into it. Thanks a lot.

  8. Eva
    Eva says:

    That’s great! I am a fan of LinkedIn and your blog, and the two together are a recipe for even greater success!

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