Struggling to write enough to post on LinkedIn?

Writing content for posts on LinkedIn attracts business.  There is no denying that.  But it’s not easy.  You need to be consistent.  The experts say posting a minimum of 3 times a week should do it, I think that number is nearer 5.  That’s a lot of writing, a lot of ideas and it can seem overwhelming.  Let me give you a little help. 

I’m not a content expert but I have learned a few useful lessons in the last year that may be of help to you. 

Double up

There are those that will tell you that you should work on content in time blocks.  In other words, block out half a day regularly to work on content.  I find that’s a lot of pressure and didn’t work for me.  But this has worked well for me.  Doubling up.  What I mean is that every time I write a post, I don’t stop until I’ve written two.  Once that first one is done, I find that I often have another related idea and writing 2 posts doesn’t take double the time of writing one.   But here’s how it escalates:

Monday            2 posts       one published             1 in backlog

Tuesday           2 posts       one published             Now you have 2 in backlog

Wednesday      2 posts       one published             3 in backlog

Thursday          2 posts       one published             4 in backlog

Friday               2 posts       one published             5 in backlog

And so on, you can see how this builds up.  What it means is that when you have that busy period or the week where you won’t have time to write new content, that you’ll have plenty in the backlog to draw on.

Use a scheduler

Now if you are lucky enough to have LinkedIn scheduling, that’s the one to use, as of course any post using the platform scheduler will likely get more views than if you are using third party software.  You can put your backlog of posts straight into a scheduler and plan when they will go out.  But please, if you do use this option, make sure you are around so that you can engage and respond to any comments made.  The point is to start some conversations so you can’t just post and run.

Log your ideas

Something strange happens when you start creating content, you keep getting more ideas.  When you first start you will be looking at a blank page and you’ll be banging your head against the keyboard in the hope that something comes out.  Then once you get going, you’ll see ideas everywhere.  Every conversation you have someone will ask a question or say something and you’ll think, oooh that’s a great post idea.  The speakers I work with are used to me saying this in our one-to-one sessions, I always come away with great ideas from them.  So, log them somewhere, anywhere, just make a note.  Don’t rely on your memory.  Then when it comes to writing your 2 posts a day, you’ll have more than enough ideas to get you going.

Commenting

Comment on someone’s post, do it in such a way that you are giving great value.  When you do, your comment can become a post for you.  This is something I learned from Gavin Ingham, clever chap.  Gavin is worth following on LinkedIn, his posts are great, as are his comments.   The other benefits are, you are helping the person whose post you are adding your comment to, they may well reciprocate in future,  you will get noticed by a new audience and the algorithm will love you for engaging with insights (that will help your SSI too).

Try this great structure

This one I learned from Justin Welsh, another great producer of content.  He suggests a 3-step process to writing content:       

• First start with the meat of the content you want to share
• Then add a scroll stopping title (so important, you want to get people to read the meat)
• Finally include a call to action. Personally, I prefer a call to engage.  Have in mind what you can say to get readers to interact, comment and add to the conversation. 

Finally, if you haven’t already done so grab this amazing analytics tool that was a game changer for me.  Try it out for free with this link https://www.shieldapp.ai/?via=maria and yes, if you do sign up, I do get a small reward, but I’m not recommending it for the money.  I’ve been using Shield since May last year and my engagement and views have rocketed as it’s helped me to understand the following:

• What time to post
• Which types of posts work best
• Which content is most engaging

Those are valuable insights.

Let me know how you get on.