As another January hits the calendar it’s easy to make lots of promises for the year ahead. Analogies of new year, new start appear. The old chestnut of ‘New Years resolutions’ is the lunch time question of choice for at least the first 2 weeks back in the office. Some funny memes are knocking about too.
The issue is that whilst these help to set a positive intention often these are nothing more than high level plans and vague ideas that lack clear action so they’re easy to let slip. Before you know it it’s Blue Monday and things have either not started or are already tailing off. But rather than getting sucked into the negativity that is creeping up, put the brakes on it. Now.
There’s still time to make a clear statement of intent for 2017. To take on a clear and achievable short term action with proven benefits.
How? Easy. The portal of LinkedIn gives you the platform that aspiring writers and bloggers could only dream of a few years ago. It gives you an opportunity that you’ll be crazy not to take. It enables you to write an article that has potential reach across 467 million people across 200 countries!!!
Scared? Don’t be. Here’s 10 reasons why you should grab the opportunity and post an article on LinkedIn in 2017.
Give something back.
Having knowledge is not power. Sharing knowledge is power. You have multiple years of experience in your profession. You’ve managed to work with lots of different people. You’ve discovered the things to do and not to do, stuff that works and stuff that doesn’t. It’s time to give others the opportunity to benefit from your experience. This is not being smug, it’s being humble. Offering help and support to your network is a generous gift.
Kick fear in the balls.
Does the thought of writing your thoughts down and sharing your experiences with strangers worry you? Good. It shows you have humility. Does it raise your heart rate slightly? Does it make your mouth a little drier? These are the symptoms of fear – right? Yes. But they’re also the symptoms of excitement. Embrace that feeling and use it to create something interesting to share.
Raise your profile.
Writing an article will get you noticed. First by your personal network, and if any of them like, comment on it or share it, then their networks also see it and so on… Maybe not immediately, but over time the word spreads and you can reach a huge number of people. An article published on my blog last year reached a couple of hundred people, but when the same article was posted on LinkedIn, it got featured in a couple of the pulse channels and within 3 months it had been read by over 11,000 people!
Establish yourself as an authority.
When you write about a topic an association is born. It demonstrates a certain confidence and depth of understanding in your subject matter which helps to build your credibility. Future companies or recruiters looking you up on LinkedIn will see that not only do you list skills on your profile, but you are willing to share stories and experiences that validate them.
Personal growth.
If you’re seeking something that’ll give you a feeling of accomplishment and satisfaction, of feeling like you’ve done something useful, by yourself, for yourself then this is it! To some it may seem a small achievement to write and publish and article online, but all the more reason to do it! It’s a rewarding achievement none the less.
Improve your writing.
Want to improve your French? Go to France. Want to learn how to box? Get in the ring. Want to learn to code? Join codecademy. You get the idea…writing more makes you a better writer.
Start 2017 with a positive intention that has a clear action and outcome.
No fluffy goals or insurmountable, large challenges. A clear, realistic and achievable target to kick the year off in style.
Grow your network.
The reach of LinkedIn is huge and you’ll quickly start getting and bunch of requests for new connections. Like minded people and potential future colleagues will be knocking on your (virtual) door.
Leave it any longer and you’ll miss the boat.
Give it another 12 months and this ship could have sailed. You need to strike while the iron is hot. The usage of LinkedIn is growing rapidly, but along with this the number of posts and general noise in people feeds is also increasing almost to the point of being unmanageable, so you need to take action and make your move now.
Get published on an established blog.
Here’s my promise to you – anyone who is inspired by this post and follows it up with writing and posting an article on LinkedIn in 2017, contact me directly and I’ll re-post your article on my established blog dysfunctionalrequirements.com (as well as sharing with my network and across other social networking sites).
With these 10 reasons in mind why not start the year with a bang? Why continue to sit in the shadows when you have so much to offer? Why not make this year YOUR year?
Go for it. Good luck and I look forward to reading your posts…