GLOSSARY · LINKEDIN MECHANICS
Creator mode
Creator mode was a profile setting LinkedIn introduced in 2021 that switched a profile's primary button from "Connect" to "Follow", displayed follower count prominently, let members list up to five topic hashtags under their headline and unlocked tools such as LinkedIn Live, Audio Events and newsletters. LinkedIn retired creator mode as a separate toggle in 2024, making most of its features available to all members by default. The term still circulates in older guides, so it is worth knowing what it was and which parts of it now apply to everyone.
How it works in practice
When creator mode launched, LinkedIn was trying to encourage members to behave more like publishers. Turning it on told the platform that you wanted to be found as a content creator, moved the Featured and Activity sections higher on the profile, and gave a "Follow" button to visitors who were not ready to connect. It also gated newsletters, live video and audio events behind the toggle, which is why many guides from 2021 to 2023 begin with "turn on creator mode". In 2024 LinkedIn announced it was removing creator mode and rolling its features out to all members, so the toggle no longer exists in most accounts. What survives is the underlying choice: whether your profile defaults to "Follow" or "Connect" is now a setting you can change independently, and features like newsletters are offered based on your account rather than a mode.
For personal branding, the practical questions have not changed. Do you want strangers to follow your content without a connection, which suits a public audience, or do you want connection requests, which suits a networking strategy? Decide that deliberately. If you read advice that depends on creator mode, translate it: the goal was visibility and a publishing posture, and both are available without the switch.
Example
A consultant following a 2022 guide searches their settings for creator mode and cannot find it. They instead set their profile's primary button to Follow and start a newsletter directly, which is where those features now live.
Common mistake
Assuming the Follow button is always better. For someone who sells through one-to-one conversations rather than audience reach, making Connect the primary button keeps the door open for the people they actually want to talk to.