2 LinkedIn Hacks: Silly and Useful

I've been called a "Forrest Gump" in online marketing.

And I won't argue -- I keep finding myself in the right place at the right time.

In addition to:

• selling what may have been the first ebook on Usenet (1994), 
• working as webmaster for FedEx.com when the site had 6 web pages (1995-1996), 
• writing some of the first PPC ads at a penny per click on GoTo.com (1998),

... I was invited to join LinkedIn on November 10, 2003 (member ID #40,961 of 100,000,000+).

Over the years I've learned a few things about marketing yourself and your business using LinkedIn -- some of it useful, some not.

Want to learn something productive, or pointless (but fun)?

How about both?

Okay, here you go ...

Pointless, Fun LinkedIn Trick
If you ever want to know what your member ID number is, you'll find it in the URL of your profile.

Here's mine: http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=40961

The number after id shows I was the 40,961th person to join.

You can find that number in anybody's LinkedIn profile -- just look after id= in the URL in your web browser, like this example:

See that? Steve Jobs is number 125,679,346 on LinkedIn.

Now for the ...

Productive LinkedIn Tip
You can use LinkedIn to store notes about any of your first-level connections. You then have access to this information anywhere you have access to a computer. It's a great way to store call notes for later reference, for example.

And you don't have to pay a dime (as of this writing) -- it's available on all free user accounts.

But you've probably never used this feature. Here's how ...

First, here's a screenshot of my friend Allison's LinkedIn profile page.

When you scroll down a bit, you find this Notes box on the right side of her profile (or anybody else who's a first-level connection) ...

I got an email from Allison yesterday that I wanted to save part of to her LinkedIn profile, so I could refer to it on any computer with Internet access.

So I copied the text from my email and pasted it into the Notes box, like this:

Now I can always remember whom to introduce her to in my network, because those notes are on her always available to me on her LinkedIn profile.

This is a great way to record important data about clients or referral partners (hobbies, sports teams, favorite restaurants, etc.) so you can refer to it when you're on the phone or responding to emails.

I hope you find at least one of these LinkedIn "hacks" useful as you build your business.

You'll find more ideas like these in my Free Report, Guaranteed Marketing.