How to increase LinkedIn followers for free in 8 short steps

To increase LinkedIn followers for free, fix your profile so visitors follow, leave three thoughtful comments a day under large posts, publish two or three posts a week, and send a weekly batch of relevant invitations. Many people plan for 10,000 followers and connections in a year with this routine; step 8 shows how to turn that goal into a daily number you can track.

1. Why fix your LinkedIn profile before anything else?

Visitors decide within seconds whether to follow you, so your profile has to be ready for the people your comments and posts are about to send.

What to do

1. Go to your profile and upload a sharp, well-lit photo of your face.
2. Rewrite your headline with the LinkedIn headline generator so it says who you help and how.
3. Trim your About section to three short paragraphs, finishing with what readers can expect from your posts.
4. Pin your best post and one link in the Featured section.
5. Run the LinkedIn profile analyzer and fix each gap it finds.

Myth: A great photo and bio bring more reach. Reality: Reach stays the same; what changes is the share of visitors who follow you.

What you get: More follows from the same number of profile visits.

2. How do comments help you get more followers on LinkedIn?

While you are under 10,000 followers, comments in large threads put you in front of more people than your own posts can. Aim for three thoughtful comments a day under posts that are already spreading.

What to do

1. Search your topic and look for posts with thousands of reactions.
2. Pick three that went up in the last few hours.
3. Draft each comment with the LinkedIn comment generator, then rewrite it around an example from your own work.
4. Answer anyone who replies to you, and like the best replies.
5. Do this every day for 30 days.

Myth: You need a big library of your own posts before you can grow. Reality: Under 10,000 followers, comments under large posts do more. A comment that collects likes tends to move up the thread, where far more readers see it.

What you get: Profile visits and follows from audiences you haven’t reached yet.

Some people also report that comments from Premium accounts appear higher in threads. LinkedIn doesn’t document this, so treat it as an unconfirmed extra.

3. How often should you post to keep new followers?

Comments bring people to your profile, and your posts give them a reason to stay. Two or three posts a week is enough to start.

What to do

1. Choose three topics and write only about those.
2. Plan two or three posts a week, each with one clear idea and a question at the end.
3. Open each post as soon as it is published.
4. Reply to every comment in the first hour.
5. Each month, turn your best post into a fresh one.

Myth: Your own posts can wait until you have an audience. Reality: Strong posts with a clear position are half of the routine that works best; comments under other people’s posts are the other half.

What you get: A feed that turns the people your comments send into followers.

4. How many LinkedIn invitations should you send each week?

Invitations become connections and followers when the other person can see why you belong in their network. Plan for about 100 a week, sent in batches.

What to do

1. Open Search and filter People by the job title and industry you want to reach.
2. Check each profile for a topic you have in common.
3. Send 15 to 20 invitations a day, about 100 a week.
4. Add a short note for the few people you most want to reach.
5. On Friday, look at who accepted and comment on one of their posts.

LinkedIn publishes no exact weekly number. People who track their accounts see about 100, and Premium doesn’t officially raise it.

Myth: More invitations always bring more followers. Reality: Relevant people accept and follow, so a smaller, well-matched list does better than a large blind batch.

What you get: A steady flow of new connections who see your posts.

5. Can you grow a LinkedIn company page with the same steps?

Yes. A company page grows the same way a person does, and LinkedIn lets admins comment, react and reply as the page.

What to do

1. Open your page as an admin and switch to acting as the page.
2. Comment as the page under three large posts a day, the same way as in step 2.
3. Like and answer people who talk to the page.
4. Spend the page’s monthly follow invitations on the connections that fit best.
5. Publish from the page two or three times a week.

Myth: A company page needs a separate playbook. Reality: The page can comment, like and reply just as a person can, so the same routine applies.

What you get: A page that grows next to your personal profile. For more, read how to get free company page followers.

6. Do follow-for-follow and connect-for-connect help?

Exchanges add people to the base your comments and posts are building. Use them on top of the daily routine.

What to do

1. Open the LinkedIn follow-for-follow guide and find people in your niche.
2. Open the LinkedIn connect-for-connect guide and pick profiles that match your audience.
3. Follow or connect with 10 people a day.
4. Read each person’s headline before you follow back.
5. Keep your comments and posts going on the same day.

Myth: Exchanges can replace content. Reality: They work best as an addition, because followers who see your posts and comments stay active.

What you get: A wider base for your content.

7. How can LinkedInLikes add followers to your routine?

LinkedInLikes is a free community where LinkedIn members support each other’s profiles and posts. It runs alongside your daily work and doesn’t replace it.

What to do

1. Sign up with your email and confirm it to get 100 starter points.
2. Open LinkedIn follows and paste the link to your profile or company page.
3. Set how many follows you want and how many points each one is worth.
4. Get more points by following, liking or commenting for other members by hand, up to 600 a day.
5. Keep commenting and posting, and check your follower count each week.

Members follow from their own LinkedIn accounts, and we never ask for your password. If someone confirms a follow they didn’t do, you can report it within 72 hours and the points are taken back.

Myth: A growth tool does the whole job. Reality: Followers stay when your profile, comments and posts give them a reason; the community adds to the work you already do.

What you get: Follows from members on top of your own routine.

8. How do you plan a year of LinkedIn follower growth?

A number you can check each week keeps the routine on track. The calculator turns a yearly goal into a daily one.

What to do

1. Open the LinkedIn follower growth calculator.
2. Enter your current followers and connections.
3. Set a 12-month goal, such as 10,000.
4. Note the daily figure it gives you: about 27 a day for 10,000.
5. Write that number in your calendar and compare against it every Sunday.

Myth: 10,000 in a year is out of reach. Reality: It comes from steady work in the same four directions: profile, comments, posts and invitations.

What you get: A clear daily target to check against.

What to do after the eight steps

Start with step 1 today and add one step each day this week. When your profile is ready, add it to LinkedInLikes for follows, and read the LinkedIn followers course or the LinkedIn growth course for more detail.