From invisible to in-demand: LinkedIn for engineers and managers Part 2
- Gregor Ojstersek and John Crickett from Engineering Leadership <gregorojstersek@substack.com>
- Hidden Recipient <hidden@emailshot.io>
From invisible to in-demand: LinkedIn for engineers and managers Part 2Let opportunities come to you by focusing on creating engaging content!
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The live webinar will be on Mar 24, 8:00am PST / 4:00pm CET. Let’s get back to this week’s thought! IntroBeing active on LinkedIn has shown to be one of the best decisions I have made. As I mentioned in the previous article, I’ve been able to get SO many different opportunities because of it. So, that’s why you shouldn’t neglect it and focus on improving it as much as you can. It will pay dividends in the long run and especially in the current market, it’s really important that you stand out in a certain way. Lucky for us, we have John Crickett today with us again for Part 2 of how to stop being invisible and be able to get opportunities on LinkedIn. John is a seasoned engineering professional who has worked both as a senior IC (Staff+) and a senior manager (VP, Head of Software Development).
We helped each other with advice and support and did many collaborations, including 4 of the articles together and many other online events. Who would know that LinkedIn can help build such great partnerships and friendships! Here are the articles we did together:
And today’s article is the 5th one! Steps 1 to 5Make sure to also read the first part, where we define how to start with LinkedIn and how can you prepare your profile and your overall LinkedIn journey for success. You can read the article here: And now, we are diving deeper into writing content, the overall structure and how to engage with people. John, over to you! Step 6 - Share original content that resonates with your audienceThe core of building an audience and personal brand on LinkedIn is writing. You can write posts, comments, articles and newsletters. The first two are the most important. In this section, we’ll focus on posts because they are the best tool for you to get your views, experience and expertise in front of your ideal audience. What to writeThe first step is to decide what to write about. There are three broad approaches you can use to help you decide:
What follows is a guide to help you get started producing content. How to writeRather than face a blank page, work through the following to help generate some ideas. As you’re doing that, note down the ideas - they will give you a starting point for future writing. There are three broad approaches you can use for your content. They are:
Your content can also fall under the following two categories:
Finally, you can also write content that is:
Structuring your postA great way to simplify the process of writing a post is to have a clear structure to work with. Fortunately, there is a simple structure that works for posts on LinkedIn.
That looks like this: Headline - Why you should read this post right now! The body is where we fulfill on the promise made in the headline by:
Now, take this structure and write your own post! Step 7 - Engage with your audience
In the early days, I tried to respond to every comment. For the most part, I still do - except for the odd one that doesn’t make sense or could be someone trolling (fortunately that’s been very infrequent). Here are the five key principles I use:
Step 8 - Comment on other people’s contentCommenting on other people’s posts is one of the quickest ways to grow your following on LinkedIn. Particularly in the early days when you don’t have an audience of your own. There are two benefits:
Step 9 - Build a content pipelineNow that you’ve got the building blocks of growth ready it’s time to start building the systems that will help you grow. The core of that is a content pipeline (or production line if you prefer). My pipeline has the following components:
You can operate this as a strict pipeline if you like.
Note-taking apps help here. Step 10 - Level up your copywriting game
But wait a moment, copywriting is writing for advertising and sales, isn’t it? Yes it is and I think that’s why it’s an important skill to learn for personal branding - you’re writing to “sell” your audience on your ideas. Because that’s what thought leadership is. Copywriting is a huge subject, worthy of study in its own right, but there are several key points we can focus on when building our personal brand. Before you writeAsk yourself these questions:
The answers to these questions will help you determine how to write the piece. Creating the first draftThe next step is to plan your writing. That means noting down your core issue and any points you want to make. At this stage I just write single sentences as they come to me, making no effort to organize them. That can come later. Structuring and editingAfter I have the bones of my content I start thinking about how to structure it. Here are the key points to consider:
The final editWhen you think you have a final draft, read it out loud. This will show up things you wouldn’t otherwise notice. To learn moreGregor here again! If you wish to move from being invisible to in-demand together with a group of like-minded people → John Crickett and Dagna Bieda are hosting a cohort-based course. In the course, you’ll get a full roadmap to turning LinkedIn into an engine for career growth, visibility, and inbound opportunities. The course starts in 2 days, so make sure to not miss it, if that’s something you’re looking for. Dagna and John have been kind enough to give a discount to Engineering Leadership readers → use code ENGLEADER for 20% off or click here: Last wordsSpecial thanks to John Crickett for sharing his experience with LinkedIn with us and also sharing his blueprint of how he was able to do it. You can find him on LinkedIn and also check out his newsletter Coding Challenges. Let’s end the article with the following:
Sometimes “just DO it” is the best attitude we can have. You got this! We are not over yet! Top 3 Biggest Productivity Killers in the Engineering IndustryCheck out my latest video. If you’re looking to be more productive as an engineer or a manager → I have shared the top 3 biggest productivity killers and how you can minimize the effect of them. Plus, one additional bonus one! New video every Sunday! Subscribe to not miss it here: Yesterday, we finished the 5th cohort of the course Senior Engineer to Lead: Grow and thrive in the roleWe've had such a great group and so many insightful questions being asked. I always get reminded how fun it is to talk engineering/engineering leadership topics with people that are equally excited about the topic. Liked this article? Make sure to 💙 click the like button. Feedback or addition? Make sure to 💬 comment. Know someone that would find this helpful? Make sure to 🔁 share this post. Whenever you are ready, here is how I can help you further
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