How To Overcome Post Anxiety + My Tech Stack
Originally Posted On 8.27.22 (LinkedIn)
Post Anxiety, And How To Overcome It
LinkedIn might be the best & scariest platform to write on as a full-time professional.
Decision-makers use the platform, and actually engage. So when you write authentic, useful content, influential people may notice it.
Nowhere else on the internet is your boss (or someone senior at your company) more likely to read your content. So, if you post inauthentic or useless content, influential people may also notice it.
So if you're a little anxious about posting, I understand.
Here are some ways to deal with Post Anxiety and get going.
#1 -- Run An Expected Value Analysis
This is how I got comfortable taking the leap into LinkedIn writing.
I listed possible good and bad outcomes, and assigned a dollar value and likelihood to each. Then, I calculated an expected value based on that information.
The analysis demonstrated that I needed to get started. It also got me comfortable that the risks were worth the potential benefits.
#2 -- Start In A Different Sandbox (Twitter, Medium)
You don't have to start your social media writing journey on LinkedIn. Twitter, Medium, or other platforms could also get you started.
On Twitter and Medium, you could even start anonymously. Getting likes & comments on your writing might boost your confidence.
Warning: Building a Twitter / Medium following takes time, so you'll write into the void for awhile.
But, that might be a benefit if the thought of writing to hundreds or thousands of people is terrifying.
#3 -- Write Mini-Post Comments
Commenting will help you:
Build trust with people who can engage with you later
Give you ideas for your own posts
Get comfortable writing in public
"Great post" or "congratulations" type comments aren't going to build your confidence. Take a little time to ask a thoughtful question or give your own personal take on the post in 1-3 lines.
In addition to overcoming anxiety, commenting should be a part of your LinkedIn strategy. That'll be a topic for a future Newsletter.
#4 -- Run Through A Structured Pre-Post Checklist
Come up with a list of criteria you want to meet before you post something.
That'll help you stay objective, keep your emotions in check, and keep anxiety down.
I shared my pre-post checklist in last week's newsletter - I hope that helps you build your own criteria.
#5 -- Form A LinkedIn Engagement Group
Early on, I called a friend who was also new to posting. We had an informal agreement to like and comment when we saw each other's posts.
That helped us build momentum because LinkedIn looks for early likes/comments to determine distribution.
You could also form a small group of creators with a commitment to support each other.
I see lots of these "circles" on LinkedIn. Many of them seemed to form organically, but I suspect many were pre-planned too.
#6 -- Have Someone You Trust Review You Writing
Ask someone you trust to review your first 5-10 posts (ideally someone with LinkedIn writing experience). If I can help sanity check a post or two for you, please let me know.
My Technology Stack For Writing
1/ Notion (free) - Keep your ideas, drafts, and posts in one place.
I love that it syncs all my notes between my phone and PC.
2/ Hemingway App (free) - Get an "extra” pair of eyes on your writing.
Hemingway flags long sentences, passive voice, adverbs, and phrases with simpler alternatives.
3/ Google Slides (free) - Build text-based Carousels to enhance your text-only posts.
See an example from my 6.26.22 post here.
4/ Canva (free & paid options) - Add visuals to your posts without a designer.
I use Canva to create the headers for this Newsletter. I also plan to test their carousel templates.
5/ Shieldapp.ai (paid) - Keep track and analyze your engagement metrics in one place.
The summaries in the Appendix are screen caps from Shield.
Post Tear Down (One Of My Worst)
On April 9, 2022, I posted:
This post got 1,045 views, 3 likes, and 0 comments.
(My average post gets ~3,500 views and ~22 likes. This is way below the mark.)
I posted this with no plan, very little post experience, & no pre-post checklist.
I got what I deserved.
Here's what made the post unsuccessful:
1) The first line "hook" is terrible
It's a vauge line that isn't attention-grabbing. What kind of thoughts? Scale what?
2) It's not educational, entertaining or inspiring
Maybe thought-provoking at best, but that's a real stretch.
3) I failed in making it authentic to me
I believe in the power of writing things down (in and outside the context of social media), but I failed to illustrate why I think it's important.
4) After providing no value to the reader, I close with an open-ended, hard to answer question.
It's no surprise I got 0 comments.
This post was hard for me to re-share given how cringe-worthy it is.
But, that's the point of this Newsletter. To help you (and me) learn from my mistakes.
In The Next Edition
Early thoughts on content strategy (or lack thereof)
Reactions to this article -> Personal Branding Is A Sick Nightmare That's Slowly Dying. Thank God. (Source: Medium, paywalled).
More post tear downs
*** Appendix ***
Post Engagement - Raw Data
Engagement data for each post YTD
Summary Post Statistics (3.25.22 - 8.27.22)
