Member stories

Why I Publish on LinkedIn: The Power of Storytelling

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In the second post of a three-part series, LinkedIn asks members to share why they publish on LinkedIn. Robbie Abed is the Director of Marketing at Y Media Labs -- a mobile interactive agency for leading brands and emerging startups.

Why do you feel it’s important to share your professional perspectives with the world?

Career advice always sounds the same: meet the right people, don’t play office politics, work hard, and do good work. It all means nothing in the end unless you can relate it to your specific situation. Telling someone to always negotiate their salary is different than someone telling a story about how they managed to negotiate their salary when the company wasn’t offering raises as an option.

I share my experiences rather than generic career advice because the chance to make an impact is greater. After I published How a Broke Trip to Aldi Changed My Life, a post about how not being able to afford my groceries in the checkout line sparked a determination in me that led to my first job, I received hundreds of InMails, connection requests and emails from professionals around the world, with many people sharing the ways in which my story resonated with them. Many of them mentioned that because of that post, they could finally relax knowing that someone else has been through that situation and succeeded.

Why did you decide to publish on LinkedIn?

I write about career advancement, and I had never really found a platform that allowed me to reach my exact audience--professionals looking for their next career move and business founders. So, when LinkedIn gave me the opportunity to publish content to my network, I jumped all over it.

The audience was a perfect fit and I was able to reach a wider professional audience than ever before. I received messages all the way from New Zealand to Hawaii about how they appreciated what I wrote and how it impacted them. It was amazing to see how much my writing resonated with not only professionals in the US, but with professionals around the world.

How has publishing on LinkedIn connected you to new opportunities?

After publishing on LinkedIn, I had senior executives reach out to me because of my writing. In some cases it was to set up a meeting, in others it was just a note to say that they enjoyed reading what I had to say. Some of them had upwards of 20 more years of experience than I do and it was something that had never happened to me, ever.

Making those connections has been great, but the biggest opportunity that has come from publishing on LinkedIn is meeting my idol and LinkedIn Influencer James Altucher. I’ve always admired James because it was through reading his work that I learned to “bleed on the page.” He’s the reason I write so authentically and candidly. When I reached out to him for coffee a huge part of the reason he agreed to meet was because he saw my writing on LinkedIn--specifically my post about how I took 250 coffee meetings in 400 days. It was amazing to connect with each other through writing on LinkedIn, and now he’s a mentor of mine.

What would you say to someone thinking about publishing on LinkedIn?

The biggest hesitation I hear from people when I tell them to start writing on LinkedIn is, “I don’t know what I will write about.” People hold back because they don't think what they have to say is unique. But if you want to build your brand, if you want to get your name out there, you need to take that step and put yourself out there. And it doesn't have to be perfect.

Pick an experience from your past and write what you’ve learned about it. Chances are, you aren’t the only one who has experienced it. I think you’ll be amazed by the feedback.

Stay tuned for the final post in our series in the coming weeks.

Have you published yet?

Click ‘Publish a post’ on your Homepage and give it a try – then share your posts on your social channels to increase your reach.You can also check out some easy best practices here and take inspiration from The Most Memorable Posts of 2014.

Editor’s Note: If LinkedIn has helped you transform your career or business, please