Monetization of Your LinkedIn Connections? – Part 2

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Yesterday I wrote about the emergence of OpenNetworker.com and their attempt to utilize their LinkedIn network to help advertise their group and offer a way for people with lots of LinkedIn connections to monetize them.  Later, in the same day, another site, NuLinked.com, announced an extremely similar program.

The way that either program works is similar.  You pay either a monthly or annual fee to be able to have your name and email address placed on a list that will be accessible to thousands (if not tens of thousands) networkers (i.e. members of the respective LinkedIn Groups) looking for people to safely invite in order to grow their networks.

Now both sites are opening new doors by their willingness to pay networkers an affiliate fee if they can convince their LinkedIn contacts to sign up for the program.  This is the first viral marketing program that I know of that is specifically targeting people on LinkedIn and asking them to sell a product to their contacts.  So far, LinkedIn has not made any official announcement regarding this, but I am assuming that both sites are operating in a way that is giving them legal protection.

So what is the difference between the two sites?  OpenNetworker.com, seeing that it is run by the folks at TopLinked.com, is really the pioneer and leader of providing a venue (albeit for a fee) that allows you the opportunity to receive many invites from other open networkers.  Even if you don’t use the paid service, you get access to the Invites List, and I have always had success connecting with other TopLinked.com members.  If I received an IDK, the TopLinked.com Group Manager was always efficient in handling the situation.

NULinked.com is operated by Networkers United.  This LinkedIn Group was not even mentioned on my post last year about growing your network because they did not exist at the time.  That is right.  In just several weeks time, this group has come out of nowhere to claim its spot as a large group for open networkers alongside the traditional LIONs groups and the TopLinked/Invites Welcome/Open Networker triad of groups.  Networkers United was aggressive in having its members attract other members and even when so far as setting up their own social networking platform NUWorldwide.com to provide a truly free environment free of the restrictions that are sometimes found on LinkedIn.

The success of Networkers United is no doubt the result of intelligent and tactical marketing (although some saw this as spamming) and also the realization that there are many people on LinkedIn who want to increase their connections through collaborating on such groups.   I am a member of Networkers United, and I can attest to the fact that the Group Manager is not only always willing to help out in the case of an IDK, but she also goes out of her way to try to make a personal connection with her members and informs them of a lot of behind-the-scenes things that go on in the world of LinkedIn.

Whether or not the monetization that Networkers United and TopLinked hope to do will be successful or not remains to be seen.  But as long as there are LinkedIn members with large numbers of connections looking for monetization opportunities, be prepared to start receiving a lot of emails from both sites.

For more information please visit the following sites (which do not include any affiliate ID as I am not advertising either one) :

OpenNetworker.com

NULinked.com