It’s no word of a lie that I see the same comment at least once a day in most of the communities I am a part of: “I know I should use LinkedIn more, but I can’t think of what to post!”
But it’s not rocket science (unless you are a real life rocket scientist, then it kind of could be…)
In most cases, people are over-thinking it. I’ve seen them write a draft LinkedIn post, put it in a group for comments, tweak and edit it to within an inch of its life, and then still not post it because it ‘isn’t good enough’.
So, first of all:
Stop Overthinking Your LinkedIn Posts
The best posts on LinkedIn are the ones that are helpful and come from the heart. Nothing says ‘comes from the heart’ less than your over-edited, sanitised opus that you’ve spent weeks working on.
And, let’s face it, if your approach to LinkedIn posting is to spend hours writing a draft, sending it to people to critique, changing it to fit their criticism, finding the perfect picture to go with it, then editing it again – you’re going to spend more time faffing about with LinkedIn posts than you are running your actual business.
By all means have a plan, a format, or a theme you want to focus on each week/month – but please, please, please, stop overthinking it!
Start By – JUST POSTING
It really is that simple. Planning LinkedIn posts, thinking about them, drafting them, and reviewing them again and again, isn’t posting. It’s procrastinating, while feeling like you’re making steps towards using LinkedIn to promote your business. You’re lying to yourself (and I suspect you know it).
If you need to put your post ideas into a spreadsheet or calendar, by all means do it. But don’t make it difficult for yourself.
Here’s a quick and easy format to follow if you want to get started posting daily on LinkedIn, and at the end there’s a link to a Google Sheet you can use if the planner in you can’t be constrained. Take it, save it as a copy in your own Google account, change it as you feel fit.
5 Easy Prompts For Daily LinkedIn Post Ideas
Monday
What: Write a post about what you have on your plate for the week ahead. Make it personable, as if you were talking to a friend. Use lists or bullet points if you want, or just write as you would naturally.
Why: Not everyone knows what you do. You may be in their network, but that doesn’t mean they know the ins and outs of the work you could do for them. For a long time I spent time talking only about SEO copywriting on LinkedIn. When I started posting about the SEO projects I was working on with clients, and the social media campaigns, I got more enquiries about those services from people who thought I was ‘just’ a copywriter.
Tuesday
What: Write a thank you or a testimonial for someone else. It could be someone you’ve had a call with, somebody you’ve purchased a product or service from, or just someone who inspires you.
Why: There’s an opportunity to make someone feel good, of course. But, because you’re going to tag them in the post (you ARE going to tag them in the post, right?), they’ll probably comment on it, which means it reaches their network too. In addition, talking about how they have helped you in some aspect of your business life means more people see more things about your business life. And that means they know more about you and what you do.
Wednesday
What: Answer a question that someone has asked about your business. It doesn’t have to be a recent question, it could be something someone has asked in the past. Answer it as if you were on the phone with them, or in the pub. I guarantee that people ask you questions about your job or business, but if you can’t think of any, then this technique for finding blog post ideas could help you on LinkedIn as well.
Why: Because if 3 people have asked you a question about your industry, the chances are that at least 5 times that many have thought about it. The simplest questions, when answered, could show someone that you understand the things they need to know about your skills in order to work with you. You get to showcase your skills and knowledge, and will be front of mind if they ever need your services.
Thursday
What: Showcase something nice that someone has said about you. It could be a testimonial on LinkedIn or elsewhere, an email a client sent with a throwaway line praising you, a WhatsApp or Teams message where someone has said that you’re awesome, anything that has made you feel good about yourself. You do have a ‘Yay!’ file, don’t you? A folder in your email or on your phone where you file all the nice comments you get from people? If not, start one now.
Why: Because it gives you the chance to show off, mainly. But, not only that, it allows you to talk about what you did to receive the praise. When I posted about receiving praise from an agency I worked for and how much it meant to me because I’m under a NDA so can’t shout about the clients, I got 3 enquiries from marketing agencies possibly wanting to work with me. When I posted something nice a copywriter had said to me after our SEO for Copywriters As It Is 1-2-1, I got 2 more bookings within 24 hours.
Friday
What: A wrap-up of the week, and what you have learned. This could be a simple list of the things you’ve completed, how you feel the week has gone, what you’re looking forward to at the weekend; anything you want. For extra kudos points, add the hashtag #WeeklyWins and I’ll include you in our Weekly Wins round-up.
Why: It’s another chance to let people know more about what you do. If you do a lot of different things in your work (and who doesn’t), listing them out could strike a chord with someone reading. I recently got in touch with a VA because she mentioned in a weekly wrap-up that she had been chasing invoices for a client. I’ve known her online for years, and thought she did inbox management and admin, but I’d been needing someone to chase a couple of outstanding invoices, and there she was, under my nose all the time!
But What About Weekend Posts On LinkedIn?
You don’t have to post on a weekend. You don’t have to post every day during the week, for that matter. But, I often find I get a lot of interaction at the weekend, so I tend to re-use old posts that haven’t had a lot of love in the past.
Scroll through your old LinkedIn posts from months and months ago (if you have them, if not, look through some old blog posts, or comments on social media) and see if any of them are still relevant.
The sad thing about LinkedIn and social media posts in general is that they are often of a fleeting moment, seen by the few who happened upon them at the time. But they could still be applicable today. And you probably have more contacts today than you did when you posted them. So give them some love, tart them up a bit and schedule them to be posted at the weekend.
(Make sure you do this as a new post, don’t just repost the old one – I’m lazy with the best of them, but the few seconds it takes to copy and paste into a new post, change or add a few words, and then schedule, is worth it.)
Posting on LinkedIn shouldn’t be something to worry about. It’s just social media. Facebook for Business (no matter what they say). So, if you find yourself strategising and stressing about your next post, hopefully this list will give you something to think about.
- Get your quick and dirty Google Sheets template.
- Connect to me on LinkedIn.
- Book a free call to talk about this and any other issues you have with writing content.
