The anatomy of a Linkedin article

“How do I commit to writing,” is a question, I am often asked by professionals looking to build thought leadership on Linkedin. Sometimes their challenge is finding the time and discipline, but in most cases, it’s the struggle to get started. If accomplished writers can experience writer’s block (still waiting for that book George RR Martin…), non-writers out there, shouldn’t be fretting over it. Many of us find it challenging to convert ideas, however brilliant, into insightful articles. In this article, I have broken down my process of writing to the very basics and created a cheat sheet that will enable you to write your first article.??

Don’t try to be a writer and a marketer all at once on your first try!

Yes, your article will be read better if you have a catchy headline; you and your brand will get more visibility if you SEO the hell out of it; metrics are undoubtfully important but none of this is as important as your content- This may not be the most popular opinion, but you don’t want to get too distracted when you are just starting out. So, take a deep breath, forget about writing the perfect article and just get started. Once you get the hang of organizing your thoughts onto paper, you can start mastering the technicalities.?

Ask yourself why?

?Are you writing this article to share knowledge or is this your way of getting potential investor attention? Be truthful about your objective and pick your topics accordingly. Ask if your topic meets your objective, does it resonate with the stakeholders you want to engage and most importantly, do you know enough about the topic to build it into an article. Factor all of these in before you finalize your topic. This clarity will help help you write better.

?Find a working title

?I find writing headlines extremely daunting. It’s tough to get the essence of an entire article in one sentence or less.?This is not a writing rule but more of a personal hack – get started with a ‘working title’ ie. a temporary or a tentative topic. Summarize in one line what your article is about. Use that as a starting point. Once your whole article is ready, go back to the line and see if it still makes sense. Then start evolving it into a title – Best case, you will end up with a catchy headline, worst case, you just shorten it to make it easy to understand.

For example, my thought process for this article ?

Don’t get caught up in the word count – If you can talk about a topic, you can definitely write.?

?Working toward a word count is like attempting to climb Everest without any acclimatization. Setting out to write with the mindset of filling in the word count will only bog you down. If you have something to share, just put it on paper first. Irrespective of whether I am writing a research-heavy article or an opinion piece, I always dump all of my data (Read: research, thoughts, ramblings) into a word document. This becomes my working document. Once you have some text in front of you, the task will feel less intimidating, and you will start seeing points that stand out to you. This document will also give you the outline for your article.?

?Follow this simple framework

?There are many different storytelling formats. However, if you are looking to write for the first time, go with the most conventional one – A Beginning that introduces your story, a middle that is the crux of your story and the End that ties it all together.?

Here are a few hacks that you might find helpful:

?Introduction that sets the scene:?The introduction should be your window into the article. One of the easiest ways to get your introduction structured is answering?some of the Who, What, When, Where, Why and How ( 5Ws and an H). For example, if you are writing about how AI is impacting your industry, your first paragraph could be about WHY is there a need to write about this now, WHAT does it entail, HOW does this impact your industry. Falling back on the 5W’s and an H, cliché as it seems will be your best friend when you get stuck.

The middle and the mighty:?This section is what holds your article. This is also where you quickly lose your audience. The best way to write the perfect article is to chalk out 5 points that you want to convey and elaborate on them. If you have done the data dump (mentioned in the last point), chances are you will be able to lift stuff off there and clean it up for this section!

?The end:?Remember your objective when you are writing the end of the article; if it’s a research-heavy article – summarize your findings, if it’s an opinion piece, make sure you put forth your opinion clearly as a parting thought with your audience; if it’s a thought leadership piece, make sure you give your reads an insight into the future.?

?Take it home?

Ask yourself, why should someone read your article instead of just googling the topic. Your article should have at least three or more of the following for it to have recall value with your reader.

1. Research numbers, statistics or studies that legitimize your content?
2. A strong point of view or an industry perspective?
3. Collective insights in one place?
4. Unpacking the future (Trends.., what to expect.., how to prepare for.. )
5. Case studies, examples, stories?
6. The other side to the story (the negatives, the unpopular opinion, what can go wrong)?

There is no denying that a creative and engaging story will stay with the reader for a long time. As novice writers, you may struggle with the 'creative’ aspect of storytelling for a while, but that’s no reason why you can’t channel your insights into a working framework and tell an ‘engaging’ one... So, ready to commit?

?Want to talk? You can find me at [email protected].