Winning LinkedIn Publisher Post
LinkedIn launched LinkedIn Publisher earlier this year. Every LinkedIn user now has access to a publishing platform to establish their credibility.
I have used LinkedIn Publisher as a vehicle to republish successful blog posts to a much larger audience. Starting in the middle of June, the first post was published with mixed results. With the exception of one post, views did not exceed 1,700. The one exception was Target the Company and Quit Chasing the Job.
What was special about that post?
It was picked up by LinkedIn Pulse Channel Careers Next Level.
This post generated close to 14,000 views and drove a lot of traffic to the Career Pivot Website. It also generated hundreds of subscriptions to the blog… and much more.
Pretty Successful!
5 Things on Your Resume That Make You Sound Old
On Monday, October 13th at 8 AM CT, I copied the post What Does Your Resume Say About Your Age into LinkedIn Publisher and pushed the publish button. Within 30 minutes, I received an e-mail from a LinkedIn Publisher editor asking me to change the title to 5 Things on Your Resume That Make You Sound Old. Once again, the post was picked up by LinkedIn Pulse Channel Careers Next Level.
Within a couple of hours my website was being hammered with views. Around Noon CT the Career Pivot website went down.
As I write this post, the same LinkedIn Publisher post has been viewed over 500,000 times. That is over half a million views!
The after effects have been extraordinary:
- 100+ Books Sold
- 250+ Subscriptions to blog
- 50+ Likes to FB Page
- 100+ Twitter Follows
- 2000+ Followers on LinkedIn
What Happened and Why?
So, what was different?
This was a very successful post on the Career Pivot website in June. It had over 4,000 views in just over a few weeks. I knew it was good content. It is not what you think is good, but what your readers think is good!
- It had a title that was controversial
- The content was relevant but controversial
When I wrote the original post, I did not think either was controversial.
The five things I listed that make you sound old on your resume are:
- aol.com
- Home phone #
- Home address
- Defunct or obsolete skills
- Two spaces after a period
It was the title and the two spaces after a period that got people riled up. I never knew people could get so excited about two spaces after a period!
What was key in being selected for the LinkedIn Pulse Channel?
What do you need to do to be eligible to be selected? I do not know.
This has been a topic on a number of LinkedIn groups and there is no consensus on how this works. Let’s talk about how you might figure this out.
Your Personal Brand and LinkedIn Publisher
Write on topics in which you want to be viewed as a thought leader. Select a LinkedIn Pulse Channel that matches your interests. Look at posts in that channel that are not written by a LinkedIn Influencer! You want to find material that was written by an ordinary Joe or Jane like you and me. These posts were selected by the LinkedIn Pulse Editorial staff.
What is common among these posts? Is it the topic? Is it the title? Is it the writing style?
Once you have determined a winning style, how does that fit with your personal brand?
By doing this research, you increase the possibility that your posts will be picked up by the editorial staff of LinkedIn Pulse.
Start Writing
Craft titles the pique people’s interests. As much as I hate to admit it, titles starting with a number get views!
Make sure what you write has a bite to it. Edgy is good!
I encourage all of my clients to start publishing on LinkedIn Publisher. I encourage you to try this yourself.
Be prepared for some negative comments!
If I can produce a winning LinkedIn Publisher post, then you can to. If you were suddenly introduced to half a million people through your post, what would that do to your personal brand?
You might not become famous, but it would likely establish you as someone to follow.
Are you ready to write a winning LinkedIn Publisher Post!
Check out my book Repurpose Your Career – A Practical Guide for Baby Boomers
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