Progress Report: Year 2 of LinkedIn
Seven months ago, I wrote this article laying out my goals for my second year of writing on LinkedIn.
The TL;DR from that article is that I spent Year 1 bouncing from topic to topic without a clear content strategy.
For Year 2, I said I’d write 2 posts per week focusing on credit marketplaces (and the general industry) and 2 more per week on personal stories, lessons learned, or random topics.
I said Year 2 would be a success if:
I felt like I'm writing unique, thoughtful content in my area of expertise
I executed the content plan I laid out through March 25, 2024
With 3 months left in Year 2, I’m overdue for an honest assessment of how I’m doing.
Here goes.
How Much Have I Written In Year 2?
Truth be told, I’ve been super time constrained since I set these goals in May.
Work’s been busy. Family life’s been busy. I’ve been taking better care of myself (diet and exercise), and that’s taken time away.
Additionally, the writing itself has opened up networking and business opportunities I’ve been researching. It’s all good stuff, but it’s taken time away from me on the keyboard.
With all that said, I’ve pounded out 212 posts in 264 days since March 25, 2023 (Year 2).
Two big caveats:
I’ve deleted 20% of what I’ve written within hours of posting it (leaving ~170 posts you might still find in my LinkedIn archive)
I’ve repurposed a bunch of content (I’d guess 40% of my posts are in this category)
With that said, I’m happy with the volume I’ve put in.
Am I Writing Unique, Thoughtful Content In My Area Of Expertise?
Feeling good here.
The first reason is because I get a steady stream of inbound requests to discuss credit marketplaces (the topic I write about).
The second is because LinkedIn is distributing my content WAY more than I was used to seeing last year.
Last year I averaged about 3,500 views/impressions per post.
Here are the view counts for a few recent posts:
distribution from scratch (7,542 views)
5 lies lenders tell themselves (8,796 views)
8 misconceptions (13,311 views)
fintech prediction (135,536 views)
LinkedIn appears to be focusing on promoting content in the author’s core subject area. (I wrote about those algorithm changes here, if you’d like to learn more).
The third reason I’m feeling good is because when I meet people in the industry, they seem to remember my content or the category I write about.
No one’s knocking down my door for more content, but I’m not sure if that’s even a thing.
Have I Executed The Content Plan I Laid Out?
I answer this one with a bit of hesitation.
I think I’m always a little disappointed in my volume and quality of content.
But, if I look at the goals I wrote out for myself this year, I’ve delivered on what I said I’d do.
Any Surprises So Far This Year?
Here’s a few:
Invisible Fans - I’m still surprised by the number of people who have never commented or liked a single post who show up in my DMs with “been following your content for over a year and really like what you’re doing.” The invisible fan base is real.
Leverage in Editing - My posts perform about 50% better when I write, let them sit for 24 hours, edit, let them sit for 24 hours, and edit again. It’s a recipe for success, but I often lack the patience to do it. The temptation to hit publish is strong and I’m still training myself to follow the process.
On Hyper-Growth - I still don’t get how some people show up cold on LinkedIn and add 20,000 to 100,000 followers in 6 months. It’s insanity and I don’t understand it. It’s taken me almost 2 years to add 3,000 followers with near-daily writing. This doesn’t bring me down in any way, but it gets me curious about how they do it and excited about the possibilities should I ever unlock that sort of growth.
Who’s Lurking In The Shadows? - It’s still amazing to me how few of my financial services colleagues post anything beyond the new job announcement or an occasional report. My feed is full of professional creators in their 20s and 30s outside of my industry. I like some of their stuff, but where the hell are my peers? I’ll spend some time next year seeing if I can bring some of them out of their shells.
What Will Year 3 Look Like?
Here’s some pivots I’m already making that I expect to carry into Year 3:
Writing for its own sake — no # of posts goals
Instead, I’ll set goals on how much time I spend writing + thinking
Prefer to post nothing vs. something mediocre
Starting to monetize my writing (hoping to have multiple ways to monetize over time)
Doubling down on LinkedIn
Plus, some aspirations I haven’t actioned on yet:
Making a real run at building an X audience
More long-form industry content on Substack
Building relationships & community among financial services colleagues who want to start writing online
What are you curious about? Respond to this email with a question or drop a comment here on Substack. I read and respond to all of them.
Appendix
Metrics To Date (March 25, 2022 - Dec 13, 2023)
Year 2 (March 25, 2023 - December 13, 2023)