Stop Being Afraid of Hitting Publish on LinkedIn With These 9 Proven Strategies

02 Dec 2024 #misc

Publishing your first LinkedIn posts is scary.

I know that feeling. Your hands shake. Your heart is beating. You keep retyping your password. You’re publishing something on the Internet for the first time ever.

You’re in fight or flight mode, ready to run away from lions behind a bush.

What if I say something wrong? What if my boss reads what I write? What if that comes up in future interviews? What if someone makes fun of me? It’s normal to have these worries.

I felt the same way when I wrote for the first time on LinkedIn, even after writing on my blog for years.

If the fear of being exposed online prevents you from hitting “Post” or “Schedule” on LinkedIn (or anywhere else online), follow these strategies:

1. Publish a lot

The first time you do anything is scary.

The only way to overcome it is with repetition. Write a lot and publish a lot. Create a writing schedule you can sustain and then challenge yourself to double it.

Back in January 2024, I decided to revive my LinkedIn account by writing 100 short-form posts. I started with one post a week, then two, then three, and settled with one post per day, every day. Fear of writing? Gone!

If you write every day, you will hit 100 posts in about three months. The fear of writing and being exposed will disappear.

2. Schedule your posts

Otherwise, after hours of crafting a perfect post, you will find yourself with the cursor on the “Post” button hesitant to click it. And you will delay it for tomorrow. And often, tomorrow means never.

Schedule your posts, forget about them, and come back the next day.

3. Turn off email notifications

LinkedIn (and any other social media company) will try to keep you on their platform.

They will trick you with all kinds of emails. Someone posted. Someone commented. “Someone on LinkedIn viewed your profile.” Really, LinkedIn?

Turn off all email notifications and continue with your day. Otherwise, you’ll be refreshing and refreshing your browser tab and checking your email, wondering why nobody has liked or commented on your first masterpieces.

4. Understand Sturgeon’s law

90% of everything is crap. That’s Sturgeon’s law.

That’s not to discourage you. It’s to lower your expectations when writing for the first time. 90% of everything is crap. Your first posts will be in that 90%. Your first posts will be far from perfect.

Keep writing and keep improving.

I wrote my first blog post back in 2018. And “post” is a strong word. It was a word vomit. I dumped a bunch of words into a document and published it online. I still have that first post unedited to remind me how I started.

Same story with my first LinkedIn post. I made all LinkedIn sins possible in a single post. Only added an external link. Zero formatting for mobile devices. Lots of hashtags.

If after writing for months, you don’t cringe when reading your first posts, you haven’t improved much.

5. Remember the 30/30/30 rule

No matter what you do:

• 30% of people will love it.
• Another 30% will hate it.
• And another 30% won’t even care.

I learned that reading “Choose Yourself” by James Altucher.

Write for your 30% and forget about the other 60%.

6. Think of writing like buying lottery tickets

Would you expect to win the lottery the first time you buy a ticket? Nope!

Writing is the same. Every time you hit “Post,” you’re buying a lottery ticket. If you don’t win today, you buy another ticket tomorrow. If your post didn’t get the likes you wanted, there’s a chance it will next day.

Keep publishing.

7. Make it about business, career, or work

Every social network has its own vibe.

LinkedIn isn’t the exception. If LinkedIn were a person, he would be a 30-year-old office worker wearing a suit and minding his language because his boss or future boss is watching.

Everything you write on LinkedIn make it about work, business, and careers.

If you’re not sure what to write about, share:

• Lessons from your last job
• Lessons from your best boss
• The best book you have read
• The best course you have taken
• Lessons you wish you knew before starting your job

Share anything you wish you knew two years ago about your work or career.

You don’t have to share personal details or post selfies. Don’t publish what you wouldn’t publish in a local newspaper or niche magazine.

8. Be a journalist

What should I write about if I’m not an expert? Don’t let that thought stop you.

Don’t try to be an expert. Who’s an expert anyway? Share what you have learned and what you’re learning. Show your work.

Don’t create, document. Imagine you’re a journalist with a part-time job doing whatever you’re doing now.

9. Find a writing buddy

Writing your first posts can feel lonely. Probably, only your coworkers will like them when they log in to LinkedIn once every full moon or when they’re looking for a new job.

Find someone in the same journey as you and work together.

Parting Thought

Your first posts are the most challenging. Going from zero to one is the hardest part. Don’t be afraid of hitting “Post” or “Schedule.” The more you hit it, the less scary it becomes.

No matter what you write about or where you write, an online presence is the new CV and portfolio. And LinkedIn is a good place to start. Safe and professional. The boss is watching, remember?

Take a deep breath and write your first post. Commit to your next 20, 30, or even 100 posts and see what opportunities they bring.