LinkedIn BrandLink: LinkedIn Is Finally Paying Creators to Post Videos

For the longest time, LinkedIn was that one platform where you’d post, get decent reach, and then… nothing. No ad cut. No fund. No monetization tab. Just vibes and connection requests from people trying to sell you SaaS. That changed in May 2025 when LinkedIn BrandLink made its big entrance, and it’s genuinely the most interesting thing LinkedIn has done for creators in years. Here’s what it is, how it works, and whether it actually matters for you.

What Is LinkedIn BrandLink

LinkedIn BrandLink is LinkedIn’s ad revenue-sharing program for creators. The short version: brands pay to run LinkedIn pre-roll video ads, 15-second spots that play before your video content, and you, the creator, get a cut of that revenue. 

It started life as something called “The Wire Program,” originally just for publishers like Adweek and The Washington Post. LinkedIn quietly expanded it in May 2025, renamed it BrandLink, and opened it up to individual creators for the first time, making it the first time LinkedIn has ever shared ad revenue directly with creators. 

The initial creator roster included names like Steven Bartlett, Gary Vaynerchuk, Guy Raz, and Allie K. Miller, all heavy hitters in the B2B space. But that list is growing, and fast.

Why LinkedIn Is Even Doing This

Because the numbers made it impossible to ignore. Between October 2024 and January 2025, video views on LinkedIn went up 36% and uploads shot up 34%. LinkedIn video content already gets 1.4x more engagement than other post formats on the platform. 

And from the brand side? Since rebranding from the Wire Program in May 2025, BrandLink revenues grew nearly 200% quarter-over-quarter, while creator and publisher payouts more than tripled year-over-year. That is not a slow roll; that’s a signal.

B2B creator management firm The Wishly Group went from managing six LinkedIn creators in August 2024 to 30 creators in April 2025, with its average number of campaigns per month increasing from 20 to 75 during the same period. The money is moving here. The only question is whether you’re positioned to catch any of it.

How LinkedIn BrandLink Actually Works

Brands buy ad slots through LinkedIn Campaign Manager, now available as a LinkedIn Campaign Manager self-serve option for select advertisers, so brands don’t have to go through a sales team to get in. Those ads run as pre-roll spots before eligible creator and publisher videos. Creators who are part of BrandLink earn a share of whatever the ad generates. Payouts now go through Stripe, which LinkedIn recently rolled out to simplify the payment process. 

Brands that go deeper can bundle BrandLink with Top Voices 360, a bigger sponsorship package that includes co-branded posts, event appearances, and exclusive editorial shows on top of the pre-roll ads.

Who Can Get Into BrandLink

This is where we have to be real with you: right now, eligibility is invite-only and based on factors like expertise, content quality, platform presence, and how a creator’s topics line up with advertiser demand. You can’t just sign up through a form the way you can with YouTube’s Partner Program.

That said, LinkedIn has been steadily expanding the creator pool, so the invite-only gate is less a permanent wall and more a growing waitlist. The LinkedIn video marketing strategy to position yourself for it is consistent, niche video content that brands in your space would actually want their ads running next to. Think about the kind of content a VP of Marketing at a mid-size SaaS company would screenshot and send to their team.

Why This Is a Big Deal for B2B Creator Monetization

Most platforms built monetization for entertainment creators first. LinkedIn is building it for professionals, which means B2B creator monetization is finally getting the infrastructure it never had before. 82% of B2B marketers say creators increase credibility with decision-makers. BrandLink is LinkedIn putting that data into a product.

Sachin Sharma, Director of LinkedIn Marketing Solutions for India, noted that today’s B2B buyers want more than sales pitches; they’re after stories and insights that feel real and credible, with 72% of B2B buyers in India who consume influencer content saying it builds brand trust.

That trust is what BrandLink is monetizing. If you’re building it, you’re already doing the hard part.

BrandLink Isn’t the Only Way to Earn Off Your LinkedIn Audience

Here’s the thing no one tells you: you don’t need to wait for a LinkedIn invite to start earning from the audience you’ve already built.

If you’re posting consistently on LinkedIn and people are actually showing up for your content, you can launch your own artha.link page right now. It’s a custom-branded page that auto-populates with thousands of niche-relevant jobs for your audience, fully branded to you, with no job-board vibes. When your audience clicks on a listing, you earn per click (RPC). When they apply, you earn per application (RPA). No products to pitch, no sponsorships to chase down, just your existing audience doing what they were already going to do: look for opportunities through a page you own.

BrandLink monetizes your video views. artha.link monetizes the career intent your audience already has. They’re not competing; they’re stacking.

FAQs

What is LinkedIn BrandLink, and how is it different from regular LinkedIn ads?

Regular LinkedIn ads are targeted by audience; the brand picks who sees their ad. BrandLink ads are placed by content context; the brand picks which creator or publisher’s video their ad runs before. You, the creator, earn a cut of that. 

How much do creators earn from LinkedIn BrandLink?

LinkedIn hasn’t published an exact revenue split for creators. When BrandLink was still the Wire Program for publishers, the cut was close to 50%. The creator split hasn’t been confirmed publicly yet. 

Can any creator join LinkedIn BrandLink?

Not yet, access is currently invite-only, based on content quality, niche relevance to advertisers, and platform presence. LinkedIn is expanding the creator pool, but there’s no public application link right now. 

What kind of content works best for BrandLink?

Video content in B2B niches, AI, leadership, marketing, entrepreneurship, the future of work. These are the categories advertisers are actively buying against on LinkedIn. 

If I’m not in BrandLink yet, how else can I monetize my LinkedIn audience?

A few options are live right now: advice sessions (paid one-on-one consultations from your profile), LinkedIn Learning (build and publish courses), and platforms like artha.link where you earn per click and per application when your audience engages with niche-relevant jobs through your branded page; no invite required.