LinkedIn CEO Says Workfluencers With Day Jobs Land $10K+ Brand Deals. Creators Earn 6x Last Year.

LinkedIn CEO Daniel Shapero told Fortune that professionals who keep their day jobs and post about their work — "workfluencers" — are landing brand deals worth hundreds to tens of thousands of dollars. The exclusive interview ran Wednesday. The pitch landing numbers and the growth stats both come from LinkedIn and Shapero; Fortune did not publish an independent audit of either.

Creators on LinkedIn are up 60% since 2024, LinkedIn said, and 83% of them still build content beside a 9-to-5. Shapero's examples are teachers, software developers and graphic designers. LinkedIn's most common day-job titles for the cohort include creative director, teacher, editor, coach, researcher, professor, graphic designer, photographer and video editor. The fastest two-year growth is in less obvious corners: computer and network security up 128%, software development 117%, sports 115% and capital markets 112%.

The money claim is the headline. "We're seeing those professionals that have day jobs, starting to secure brand deals that, in some cases, are worth hundreds to tens of thousands of dollars," Shapero told Fortune. Separately, he said creators are earning six times what they did last year from advertisers through LinkedIn's programs. The platform has also launched "advice sessions," where members book paid time with workfluencers; Shapero said some charge hundreds of dollars an hour. Those are company and CEO figures, not third-party spend data.

Demographics cut against the Gen Z-only story. Entry-level employees are the largest cohort at 36%, LinkedIn said, with senior professionals close behind at 31%. Content is mostly industry readouts and how-to expertise, Shapero said — news takes, finance models, sales craft — plus job-in-action posts. LinkedIn pointed to a Kraft Heinz researcher who films tasting food past its sell-by date as an example of the latter.

Shapero tied the boom to a sticky job market and a weak entry-level pipeline. He said people are leaving jobs at a much lower rate than before, so posting keeps work interesting when they are not moving. Fortune's piece also cites broader labor-market pressure on graduates; that context is Fortune's framing, not LinkedIn data. On LinkedIn itself, members reporting more than one ongoing position are up 26% since 2019, and "founder" is among the fastest-growing titles, up 70% year on year — again, platform figures.

For bosses who worry staff will quit to post full time, Shapero said the vast majority will not. "For most people, it's not a replacement for a day job. It's a way to expand how they build their career." He called employee posting brand-accretive and said he would hire a prolific poster. The Posthype cut is narrower: LinkedIn is selling professional expertise as a monetizable feed, with $10K-scale sponsorships and paid advice sessions as the proof points Shapero put on the record, while 83% of creators keep the paycheck that funds the side hustle.