--- title: On LinkedIn, Educate and Inform Instead of Interrupt and Sell description: The best way to engage an audience on LinkedIn is to publish valuable content. image: https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hubfs/LinkedIn%20messaging.jpg --- [Skip to main content](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/on-linkedin-educate-and-inform-instead-of-interrupt-and-sell#maincontent) [ «  View All Posts ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog) # On LinkedIn, Educate and Inform Instead of Interrupt and Sell September 21st, 2021 1 min read By [David Meerman Scott](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/author/david-meerman-scott) ![](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hs-fs/hubfs/LinkedIn%20messaging.jpg?width=1807&height=1189&name=LinkedIn%20messaging.jpg) I’ve noticed that salespeople are abusing LinkedIn more and more. They connect and then immediately go into selling mode. Social selling on LinkedIn does not simply mean transferring inane interruption selling techniques onto social media! Here’s an example of a sadly typical LinkedIn message I recently received: *“Hope you are doing well! I wanted to touch base and share a new system to help you get high paying booked sales calls from LinkedIn in case this is what you are looking for now?”* (The sales pitch goes on for several more paragraphs.) It doesn’t matter what product or service you’re offering. And it doesn’t matter what platform you are using. The best way to engage an audience is to publish valuable content. One of my most repeated quotes is “[Educate and inform instead of interrupt and sell](https://twitter.com/dmscott/status/455736493429239808)” - a simple phrase encapsulates the ideas in the [12 books](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/books) I’ve written. Follow this approach and you will be way more successful than if you practice the hard sell. [ David Meerman Scott ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/author/david-meerman-scott) David Meerman Scott is a business growth strategist, advisor to clever entrepreneurs who are building emerging companies, and the international bestselling author of a dozen books published in 30 languages. David’s high-energy keynote presentations, masterclasses, and virtual events educate, energize, and inspire. Connect: [mailto:david@freshspot.com](mailto:david@freshspot.com) Topics: [ Social Media ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/topic/social-media) [ Worst Practices ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/topic/worst-practices) [ Marketing the Moon ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/topic/marketing-the-moon) [ Personal branding ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/topic/personal-branding) [ Sales Strategies ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/topic/sales-strategies) [ Business to Business ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/topic/business-to-business) Don't forget to share this post: ## Related Articles [![](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Artemis%20earthset.jpg?width=5568&height=3712&name=Artemis%20earthset.jpg) ### Nasa’s Artemis II Lunar Mission: A PR Triumph for the USA April 11th, 2026|1 min read ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/nasas-artemis-ii-lunar-mission-a-pr-triumph-for-the-usa) [![](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Moltbook.jpg?width=1536&height=1024&name=Moltbook.jpg) ### Moltbook: A Social Network for AI Agents Where Humans Can Only Watch February 3rd, 2026|1 min read ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/moltbook-a-social-network-for-ai-agents-where-humans-can-only-watch) [![](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Screenshot%202025-10-29%20at%2010.27.19%20AM.png?width=835&height=466&name=Screenshot%202025-10-29%20at%2010.27.19%20AM.png) ### Don’t Fly Wizzness Class Video from Dave Carroll October 29th, 2025|1 min read ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/dont-fly-wizzness-class-video-from-dave-carroll) [![](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Chef%20Todd%20Edwards.jpg?width=1500&height=1010&name=Chef%20Todd%20Edwards.jpg) ### Pulling Back the Curtain to Show What Happens Behind-the-Scenes October 15th, 2025|1 min read ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/pulling-back-the-curtain-to-show-what-happens-behind-the-scenes) [![](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hs-fs/hubfs/DMS%20BM%20hybrid%202004.jpg?width=1432&height=966&name=DMS%20BM%20hybrid%202004.jpg) ### The Fandom Playbook: My New Book and Companion AI Chatbot September 24th, 2025|1 min read ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/the-fandom-playbook-my-new-book-and-companion-ai-chatbot) [![](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Stefano%20Paciotti.jpg?width=1500&height=1084&name=Stefano%20Paciotti.jpg) ### The Ham Whisperer of Rome: How Stefano’s Honest Videos Won the World’s Heart June 24th, 2025|1 min read ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/the-ham-whisperer-of-rome-how-stefanos-honest-videos-won-the-worlds-heart) [![](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hs-fs/hubfs/LinkedIn%20comments.jpg?width=1114&height=737&name=LinkedIn%20comments.jpg) ### Comments Are the Key to LinkedIn Engagement January 29th, 2025|1 min read ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/comments-are-the-key-to-linkedin-engagement) [![](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Kolkata%20Chai%20Ani%20and%20Ayan.jpg?width=1236&height=858&name=Kolkata%20Chai%20Ani%20and%20Ayan.jpg) ### Brewing Authenticity: How Kolkata Chai Co. Uses Instagram to Reach Interested Buyers November 21st, 2024|1 min read ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/brewing-authenticity-how-kolkata-chai-co.-uses-instagram-to-reach-interested-buyers) [![](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hs-fs/hubfs/boring%20robots.png?width=1432&height=899&name=boring%20robots.png) ### Your Original Content Plus AI Equals Sparkle-Darkle August 13th, 2024|1 min read ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/your-original-content-plus-ai-equals-sparkle-darkle) [![](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Jesse%20at%20Fenway.jpg?width=1256&height=843&name=Jesse%20at%20Fenway.jpg) ### Fans First Banana Ball Delights at Sold Out Fenway Park Game June 10th, 2024|1 min read ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/fans-first-banana-ball-delights-at-sold-out-fenway-park) [![](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hs-fs/hubfs/blog.jpg?width=1193&height=792&name=blog.jpg) ### Why You Need a Blog in the Age of AI and Social Networking September 5th, 2023|1 min read ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/why-you-need-a-blog-in-the-age-of-ai-and-social-networking) [![](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Threads.jpg?width=2350&height=1574&name=Threads.jpg) ### Meta's Threads Social Text App Unlikely to Topple Twitter's Dominance July 14th, 2023|1 min read ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/metas-threads-social-text-app-unlikely-to-topple-twitters-dominance) [![](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hs-fs/hubfs/DMS%20and%20YWS%20in%20Scotland.jpg?width=1500&height=1125&name=DMS%20and%20YWS%20in%20Scotland.jpg) ### How Instagram Got Us to the Castles of Scotland May 24th, 2023|1 min read ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/how-instagram-got-us-to-the-castles-of-scotland) [![](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Stoned%20Immaculate.jpg?width=1259&height=827&name=Stoned%20Immaculate.jpg) ### Modern-Day Hippies! Meet Stoned Immaculate’s Unique Buyer Persona March 14th, 2023|1 min read ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/modern-day-hippies-meet-stoned-immaculates-unique-buyer-persona) [![](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Scotus.jpg?width=1070&height=715&name=Scotus.jpg) ### Important Artificial Intelligence Case to be Argued in the US Supreme Court Today February 21st, 2023|1 min read ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/important-artificial-intelligence-case-to-be-argued-in-the-us-supreme-court-today) [![](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hs-fs/hubfs/man%20with%20typewriter.jpg?width=1189&height=788&name=man%20with%20typewriter.jpg) ### Unlocking the Potential of AI for Use with Your Own Content February 8th, 2023|1 min read ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/unlocking-the-potential-of-ai-for-use-with-your-own-content) [![Aaron Silidker showing people how to use ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hs-fs/hubfs/RoamRig%20van%20conversions.jpg?width=2566&height=1556&name=RoamRig%20van%20conversions.jpg) ### How RoamRig Built A Successful Business With Facebook Groups January 10th, 2023|1 min read ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/how-roamrig-built-a-successful-business-with-facebook-groups) [![](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hs-fs/hubfs/free%20speech.jpg?width=2210&height=1404&name=free%20speech.jpg) ### Free Speech November 29th, 2022|1 min read ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/free-speech) [![Twitter and Mastodon logos](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Mastodon%20will%20not%20replace%20Twitter.jpg?width=1002&height=520&name=Mastodon%20will%20not%20replace%20Twitter.jpg) ### No Way Mastodon Will Kill Twitter November 10th, 2022|1 min read ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/no-way-mastodon-will-kill-twitter) [![](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hs-fs/hubfs/dance.png?width=2048&height=1366&name=dance.png) ### Baseball That Puts Fans First! Banana Ball from The Savannah Bananas August 31st, 2022|1 min read ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/baseball-that-puts-fans-first-banana-ball-from-the-savanah-bananas) [![](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Twitter%20Blue.jpg?width=2160&height=1301&name=Twitter%20Blue.jpg) ### Twitter Blue Subscription Service June 29th, 2022|1 min read ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/twitter-blue-subscription-service-now-available-in-usa) [![](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hs-fs/hubfs/DMS%20metaverse%202.jpg?width=1500&height=1009&name=DMS%20metaverse%202.jpg) ### What the Heck is the Metaverse? And Should You Care? June 1st, 2022|1 min read ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/what-is-the-metaverse) [![](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hs-fs/hubfs/2017-Silver-Oak-Napa-Valley-Cabernet-72.jpg?width=2160&height=1440&name=2017-Silver-Oak-Napa-Valley-Cabernet-72.jpg) ### How Silver Oak Cellars Created Passionate Fans Over Fifty Years May 18th, 2022|1 min read ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/how-silver-oak-cellars-created-passionate-fans-over-fifty-years) [![](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hs-fs/hubfs/SCOTT_pb_3D_rev.png?width=1293&height=2430&name=SCOTT_pb_3D_rev.png) ### 8th Edition of The New Rules of Marketing & PR Publishes Today May 3rd, 2022|1 min read ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/8th-edition-of-the-new-rules-of-marketing-pr-publishes-today) ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "David Meerman Scott", "url" : "https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/author/david-meerman-scott" }, "dateModified" : "2026-01-13T16:48:26.861Z", "datePublished" : "2021-09-21T19:02:56.000Z", "headline" : "On LinkedIn, Educate and Inform Instead of Interrupt and Sell", "image" : [ "https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hubfs/LinkedIn%20messaging.jpg" ], "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/on-linkedin-educate-and-inform-instead-of-interrupt-and-sell", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "url" : "https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hubfs/_Assets/Logo/david-meerman-scott.png" }, "name" : "David Meerman Scott" } } ``` ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@id" : "https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/#person", "@type" : "Person", "description" : "Marketing and sales visionary, international bestselling author of 12 books, keynote speaker in 47 countries, and advisor to emerging companies.", "email" : "mailto:David@DavidMeermanScott.com", "image" : "https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hubfs/DMS-Homepage-Featured.jpg", "jobTitle" : [ "Keynote Speaker", "Author", "Business Growth Strategist", "Marketing Advisor" ], "knowsAbout" : [ "Content Marketing", "Fandom Marketing", "Newsjacking", "Real-Time Marketing", "Public Relations", "Sales Strategy", "Business Growth" ], "name" : "David Meerman Scott", "sameAs" : [ "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Meerman_Scott", "https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidmeermanscott", "https://x.com/dmscott", "https://www.instagram.com/dmscott/" ], "url" : "https://www.davidmeermanscott.com" } ``` ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@id" : "https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/#website", "@type" : "WebSite", "author" : { "@id" : "https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/#person" }, "name" : "David Meerman Scott", "potentialAction" : { "@type" : "SearchAction", "query-input" : "required name=search_term_string", "target" : { "@type" : "EntryPoint", "urlTemplate" : "https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/search?q={search_term_string}" } }, "url" : "https://www.davidmeermanscott.com" } ``` ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "David Meerman Scott", "url" : "https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/author/david-meerman-scott" }, "dateCreated" : "2021-09-21T18:55:50", "datePublished" : "2021-09-21T15:02:56-0400", "description" : "The best way to engage an audience on LinkedIn is to publish valuable content.", "headline" : "On LinkedIn, Educate and Inform Instead of Interrupt and Sell", "image" : [ "https://f.hubspotusercontent00.net/hubfs/413105/LinkedIn%20messaging.jpg" ], "inLanguage" : "en-us", "keywords" : [ "Social Media", "Worst Practices", "Marketing the Moon", "Personal branding", "Sales Strategies", "Business to Business" ], "learningResourceType" : "article", "name" : "On LinkedIn, Educate and Inform Instead of Interrupt and Sell", "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "url" : "https://413105.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/413105/_Assets/Logo/david-meerman-scott.png" }, "name" : "Freshspot Marketing LLC" }, "timeRequired" : "1 minutes", "url" : "https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/on-linkedin-educate-and-inform-instead-of-interrupt-and-sell" } ```