LinkedIn Growth5 min read
How to Become LinkedIn Top Voice: The Real Path
How to become a LinkedIn Top Voice, honestly: what the blue badge is, why you cannot apply for it, and the consistent work that actually gets you noticed for it.
By Animesh Kudake, Co-founder, Apna Project
The short version
- The blue Top Voice badge is invitation only. LinkedIn's editorial team selects recipients, so there is no button to apply and no way to buy or automate your way to it.
- The old gold Community Top Voice badge, earned automatically by contributing to collaborative articles, was discontinued in 2024. Chasing that route no longer works.
- What gets you noticed is depth on one topic over time: consistent, original posts and comments that build a recognizable point of view, not volume across random subjects.
- Treat the badge as a byproduct, not a goal. The habits that might earn it, publishing and engaging with substance, are the same habits that grow real reach whether the badge arrives or not.
The work that actually gets you noticed
Strip away the badge and the strategy is the same one we would give anyone trying to build a reputation on LinkedIn.
Pick one topic and stay in it. Recognition comes from being known for something specific. A feed of unrelated takes builds no authority, because there is nothing consistent to attach your name to. Choose a lane narrow enough that people can describe what you talk about in one sentence.
Publish original thinking, not summaries. The selectors are looking for a point of view. Reposts, roundups, and safe consensus takes do not signal expertise. A weekly post that says something only you would say does more than daily posts that could belong to anyone.
Engage where your topic lives. Commenting with substance on other people's posts in your niche is one of the fastest ways to become a familiar name to the exact audience that matters. This is the half of visibility most people skip, and it compounds. Our LinkedIn commenting strategy breaks down how to comment in a way that adds value instead of noise.
Be consistent for months. Every credible account of the badge stresses consistency over time. A three-week burst does not register. A steady rhythm you hold for six months does.
Common myths worth dropping
A few beliefs about the badge lead people to waste effort, so it is worth naming them directly.
"There is a follower number that triggers it." There is not. Plenty of accounts with large followings never receive the badge, and some smaller, highly focused accounts do. Follower count is not the qualifier, authority in a topic is.
"You can pay a service to get it." You cannot. Because a human editorial team makes the selection, no third party can deliver the badge, and anyone claiming otherwise is selling you nothing.
"More posting is always better." Volume without a clear point of view works against you. The selectors are looking for signal, not output, and a feed of frequent but forgettable posts reads as noise rather than expertise.
"It is permanent once earned." Recent changes tie the badge to what you are doing now rather than a one-time achievement, so the recognition reflects ongoing work. Treat it as something you keep earning, not a trophy you win once.
Treat the badge as a byproduct
Here is the reframe that makes this worth doing. If you optimize for the badge, you will be frustrated, because the decision is out of your hands. If you optimize for genuine authority in one topic, you get the thing the badge is supposed to signal, real reach and a real reputation, whether or not LinkedIn ever pins a badge on your profile.
That is not a consolation prize. A recognizable voice in your niche brings the profile visits, the inbound opportunities, and the audience that actually change your career. The badge is a nice confirmation on top of that. Building toward it is really just building a personal brand with discipline, which our full guide on how to build a personal brand on LinkedIn lays out step by step.
We spend our days on the engagement side of this, so we will be direct: the sustainable way to stay visible in a niche is a steady commenting and posting rhythm, and the hardest part is keeping it up. Tools can help you hold the pace, but the substance has to be yours, because the whole point of the badge, and of the reputation underneath it, is that the thinking is genuinely worth following.
Frequently asked questions
How do you become a LinkedIn Top Voice?
You cannot apply for the blue Top Voice badge. LinkedIn's editorial team selects recipients based on the quality, originality, and consistency of what they publish on a specific topic. The realistic path is to build genuine authority in one niche over months, so that if selection happens, you are a credible candidate. There is no shortcut or purchase option.
Can you apply for the LinkedIn Top Voice badge?
No. The current blue Top Voice badge is invitation only and awarded by LinkedIn, not requested by users. The earlier gold Community Top Voice badge, which was auto-granted for answering collaborative articles, was retired in 2024. So neither version has an application form today. You earn consideration through your public track record.
How does LinkedIn choose Top Voices?
LinkedIn's editorial team makes the selections, weighing content quality, authority within a niche, audience engagement, and consistency over time. It favors people who post original, substantive content on a clear topic rather than high-volume generalists. The exact criteria are not fully published, which is why focusing on genuine expertise beats trying to game a formula.
Is the LinkedIn Top Voice badge worth chasing?
Chasing the badge directly is a poor strategy, because you cannot control the decision. The work that might earn it, consistent original content and real engagement in one lane, is worth doing on its own, since it grows your reach and reputation regardless. Aim for the authority; treat the badge as a possible byproduct.
Written by the team building Commenti on real LinkedIn growth data. Found an error? Tell us and we’ll fix it. Accuracy beats winning.
Co-founder, Apna Project
Co-founder at Apna Project, where he helps founders and agencies turn ideas into products. Writes here on LinkedIn growth and what actually earns attention in a comment section. Commenti is the LinkedIn comment automation tool by Ampliflow.
Search "how to become LinkedIn Top Voice" and half the results promise a checklist that ends with a badge. That is not how it works, and pretending otherwise wastes your time. The blue Top Voice badge is not a setting you switch on or a milestone you unlock at a follower count. It is a recognition that LinkedIn hands out, on its own terms.
That does not mean the goal is hopeless. It means the honest path looks different from the checklist. Here is what the badge actually is in 2026, why you cannot apply for it, and the work that genuinely puts you in the running, which happens to be the same work that grows your reach whether or not the badge ever shows up.
What the Top Voice badge actually is now
There are two badges in people's memories, and only one still exists in the form most people want.
The blue Top Voice badge is invitation only. LinkedIn's editorial team selects recipients, based on the quality and consistency of what they publish. There is no application form, no purchase option, and no automation that earns it. If you see a service claiming it can get you the badge, it cannot.
The gold Community Top Voice badge was different. It was auto-awarded for contributing to LinkedIn's collaborative articles, and for a while people gamed it by leaving high volumes of answers. LinkedIn discontinued that badge in 2024, largely because the contributions had become generic and often AI-generated (Social Media Today). So the fast, mechanical route that used to exist is gone. If your plan was to grind collaborative articles, that plan no longer has a payoff.
If you want the plain definition before the strategy, our explainer on what a LinkedIn Top Voice is covers the badge mechanics in full.
Why you cannot game your way in
Because a human editorial team makes the call, the usual growth hacks do not apply. There is no threshold of posts, no follower number, and no engagement rate that triggers the badge automatically. LinkedIn deliberately keeps the exact criteria unpublished, which frustrates people looking for a formula, but the logic is sound: a public formula would immediately be gamed, the way the gold badge was.
What the selectors reward, based on how they describe it, is authority within a niche, original content, real audience engagement, and consistency over time. Notice what is missing from that list: volume for its own sake, breadth across many topics, and manufactured engagement. The badge is meant to point readers toward people worth following, so anything that looks like gaming works against you.