My 5 Rookie Errors as a Wannabe Content Creator

It's the one year anniversary of my transition from LinkedIn Lurker to Content Creator. To help someone else starting out avoid them, here’s the 5 biggest mistakes I’ve made and some learnings:

1.????Not being myself

We’ve all got those connections (maybe it’s an ex-boss, an ex-relationship, a family member) whose opinion counts a little bit too much to us. In the early days, if I’m being honest, my thoughts and articles were partially written with them in mind.

Result: use of bigger words and acronyms where they were unnecessary, the odd article that I fell asleep while writing (never a good sign)…just a real lack of authenticity.

Learning: There has to come a stage in life where your self confidence does not come from others, it comes from being free to be exactly who you are. I think I’m old enough now to have reached that stage but it’s taken me this year to complete that transition!

2.????Trying too hard to catch a bandwagon

We’ve all seen the recent Simon Kjaer posts. I’d heard someone on talksport radio talking about his captaincy example the evening of that tragic game and had the bright idea to use this as an inspirational leadership post.

Result: my post wasn’t too bad, it was sensitively written at least but 24 hours later LinkedIn was swamped with similar Simon Kjaer motivation posts. At best mine looked copycat, at worst crass given the tragic circumstances. And let’s face it, while I hadn’t copied other linkedin posts, it was hardly the most original content.

Learning: Forget the bandwagon or timing. Just write for yourself when you want to and make it original thinking wherever you can.

3.????Trying to be funny

As context, I’m generally not!

Result: More annoyingly facetious than funny, this gem of an article https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/how-smash-your-business-plan-super-league-way-tom-mills?(but please don’t bother following the link)

Learning: There’s a reason I’m not a comedian. Stick to what you are good at, always!

4.????Careless Commenting

Commenting on other people’s posts is great. It’s like writing mini-posts of your own and a powerful way to reciprocate engagement. There’s been the odd time though, where I’ve forgotten those comments are still publicly available for all my connections to see.

Result: a couple of instances where I’ve referenced a specific situation, maybe a historical example of poor leadership, which could come across as negative or as me looking to air an old grievance in public.

Learning: authenticity is one thing but you are still on show to the world and some situations are just best left in the past.

5.????Regurgitating old content

Tried it recently with one of my favourite articles about reducing e-mail traffic. Just wanted to publish something and thought enough time had passed (converted it into a few slides too to make it feel fresh).

Result: Tumbleweed! Almost literally no engagement.

Learning: Nobody likes a repeat and there are enough things to talk about in the world to think of something original. Don't post for the sake of it, post when you've got something new to say.

The best thing about writing on this platform has been the connections I’ve made and also the ideas I’ve been able to generate through reading other people’s content. I’m learning to accept the mistakes are just all part of the fun and the learning process. Writing is not easy.

Thank you for sticking by my content despite my rookie errors!