LinkedIn wants to be more than the place you update your resume. The professional network is rolling out a batch of tools aimed squarely at people building a side business, and for the first time a wider pool of creators may get paid when ads run on their videos.

According to Net Influencer‘s Dragomir Stojkov, the update includes a new feed for connections, a redesigned creator dashboard and paid consultation tools, all part of a push to help members build relationships and earn money outside their main jobs.

Why LinkedIn is chasing the side hustle

LinkedIn says its own users are changing. The company reports that the number of founders on the platform is up 70%, and the share of members holding more than one ongoing position has climbed 26% since 2019. It also says more than 80% of its creators make content while holding down another role.

According to PPC Land‘s Luis Rijo, those numbers come with gaps. The 26% figure has a starting year, but the 70% founder figure has no baseline date, no definition of a founder and no total count, and the 80% creator stat comes without a sample size.

Getting paid for video

The biggest money move is In-Stream Ads. Eligible creators can join the program from their dashboard and earn revenue when pre-roll video ads play before their videos. For now it’s only a test with select U.S. creators and advertisers, with broader access planned later.

What LinkedIn hasn’t said is how much creators actually get. Rijo points out that the announcement includes no payout figures, no eligibility rules and no revenue split. LinkedIn has shared ad revenue with a small, hand-picked group of creators before through its BrandLink program, but it never disclosed that percentage either.

Selling your time on your profile

The second earning tool, Advice Sessions, lets members sell 1:1 video consultations straight from their LinkedIn profile, with booking, payments and video hosting handled on the platform. It’s available now to Business Premium subscribers in the U.S., with more markets on the way.

Again, the business terms are missing. LinkedIn hasn’t said whether it takes a cut of each session or exactly how payouts work. As Rijo notes, the setup also means a member pays LinkedIn for Business Premium in order to be allowed to charge other members.

A dashboard and a calmer feed

Both money tools live inside a new creator dashboard that pulls performance tracking and content management into one place. It’s rolling out globally over the coming weeks and can be found on mobile by tapping your profile picture.

LinkedIn is also testing a Network feed that only shows posts from your connections and people you follow, starting in the U.S., India, the UK and Australia. Other additions include digital business cards, private profile notes for Premium subscribers and the ability for post authors to pin comments.

The takeaway

LinkedIn is joining the long list of platforms promising creators a paycheck, from YouTube to Spotify to OnlyFans. But until it publishes real numbers on how ad revenue and consultation fees are split, creators should treat these tools as an experiment, not a business plan. The smart move is to test them while keeping your income spread across platforms you already know pay.

Image: LinkedIn headquarters in Sunnyvale, California, photo by LPS.1 via Wikimedia Commons (CC0 public domain).