LinkedIn has announced some new updates for its newsletter creation platform, including an updated reader UI and new tools

The first news update from LinkedIn is the updated newsletter display; Comments are now shifted to the right of the main display.
Comments will appear in a sidebar to one side and will occupy prime screen real estate on the left-the idea here is that LinkedIn thinks this will help encourage more comment engagement with the discussion and context all on one screen.

Readers can sort the comments themselves-there are two filters for comments, including "Most Relevant" and "Most Recent.".

LinkedIn is also adding some new newsletter creation elements, including the capability to embed a LinkedIn profile in your text.

You can now add member profiles and pages directly into your newsletter according to LinkedIn so that you make it easier for the readers to click straight through to those you reference. These interactive embeds will help spotlight members and pages in quite an eye-catching way.

Also introduced are new "staging links" for newsletters, so you can see what the URL of an article will look like before it goes live. This will help you understand the thing you're sending before sending it out-it's to catch the errors and glitches in actual presentation.

LinkedIn is also releasing a new integration with Microsoft Designer, so you can use the AI image generation capabilities from Microsoft to create cover images for your newsletter updates.
Some of these are going to look a little suspect- all the generative AI tools are, but when you just need an image that fits the topic, it's an easy way to add in a visual element.

In addition, LinkedIn is also upgrading its newsletter notifications to help creators drive more sign-ups:
 
"Now, every time you publish a newsletter, subscribers receive an email and in-app notification of it, and anyone following you will be prompted to subscribe if they aren't already. It's truly a surefire way to get your knowledge in front of more people."

According to LinkedIn, newsletters have experienced significant growth over the last year, with the number of people publishing newsletter articles on the platform rising 59%, and engagement on newsletters by 47%, besides more than 184,000 newsletters published in the app-underlining the potential opportunity for using the scale of LinkedIn to maximize your audience reach.
You won't "own" your audience, in the sense, because you'll be operating through LinkedIn's platform, rather than building your own newsletter list. But it may give you the reach you need to establish your brand and branch out into the newsletter business.

And if you are planning a LinkedIn newsletter, you now have more options available to maximise presentation and performance.