My Story of How I Wrote My First LinkedIn Post After Planning for 6 Months

3 years back my first post on LinkedIn got 5 likes, 0 comments, and 30 views.?

Today, any good post I write reaches 1 lakh+ people within a day.

How did I get here?

Here’s the story :

Back then I had 7000+ connections.

I stalked people who wrote regularly and I secretly dreamt of writing like them someday, having a personal brand and a big following.

It was just a dream.?

I wanted to start writing on LinkedIn for 6 months. But, I couldn’t.?

The reason?

1. I was scared of what people would think (log kya kahenge syndrome)
2. Procrastination -? I thought I was busy and didn’t have the time?
3. Fear - LinkedIn is a professional platform, my boss & colleagues would read
4. What topic should I write about?
5. Why would anybody read or care about my thoughts and ideas

So, how did I start?

Initially,? I started liking others' posts, commented on them, and shared the ones I liked reading.?

I found a pattern among popular writers. They openly talked about failures and what they learned from them.?

(If you noticed this article also begins with failure)

They showed how vulnerable they were and people could connect, I felt connected to them.?One day I gathered enough courage and started writing about my failures, my experiences without thinking about publishing it.?

I wrote about:

• I failed in a dozen of interviews before I cracked one to get a job
• I failed in my pre-board exams and then somehow cleared boards
• I was introverted school and how I overcame my fear of socializing

I edited them over a couple of days and polished them for social media.?

I showed the writings to a close friend - to get an idea of how people would perceive it.?

Once he said okay... I hit “Publish”

And BOOM -?the fear was gone.?

Initially, I wrote only once or twice a week. I used to wait and see how people reacted to it. I used to stare at the screen and wait for likes and comments.?

Within a month one of my posts got 100+ likes and 30+ comments. It was a huge boost.?

If you are thinking about starting writing on LinkedIn and you are not able to do it for quite some time… I know how you feel and what you are going through.?

To share anything on public platforms is not easy for everyone.?

Here are a couple of suggestions to help you get started and keep moving :

1. Make a list of situations, when you struggled, failed, and succeeded after a long time
2. Write about them without thinking about publishing. Then edit it and show it to a friend and get it checked.?
3. Don’t compare yourself to someone who has been writing for 2 to 3 years and has a big following. If you want to compare, go check their first post.?
4. Accept that for a month you are not going to get enough engagement. Start commenting on other people’s posts. Try to build your community.?
5. Avoid controversial statements. Avoid topics like politics, religion or anything that comes to your mind and you want to share.?
6. Your posts should either be informative, inspiring, motivating or related to your personal experience.?

If your content is good, if there’s quality, you don’t need to bother about the algorithm, you can set LinkedIn on fire anytime with just words.?

Bonus: Write your first post and tag me. I will try to like and comment so that you can benefit from my network and you get the initial boost.?

This is just the beginning. At this phase don’t think much about quality, engagement, or relevancy.?

Focus on sharing stories from your life, building a habit of writing, and creating a genuine interest about writing on LinkedIn.?

Once you break the initial fear of publishing on LinkedIn, experiment with different styles of writing, types of content, and find out what’s working for you and your audience.?

Gradually stick only to writing about things related to your industry, and something that you have knowledge about so that people know you for your expertise and you build an authority for your personal brand.?

Most importantly enjoy the process of creating content and not the result.?

The benefits are too good to ignore.?

I am very confident that within 3 months, you will see people reaching out to you for work, and thanking you for what you share.?

Keep writing. Keep shining.?

Cheers!!

Surojit

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