Over the past few months, I've edited many brain dumps, drafts and posts by my young professional colleagues, an exciting firsthand look at all the knowledge you all have to offer.
Thus, I’ve created this guide to help young professionals new to writing on the web create great content that informs, engages, and most importantly is just a good read. 
1) Write Your Passions
  • No matter how junior you are in your career, you have a passion and you are an expert in something. If you’re searching for inspiration for a post, think about what it is that really gets you out of bed in the morning.  Your reader will feel your zeal for the issue at hand radiating through the screen.   Unsurprisingly, this was also the first piece of advice in Dan Roth’s killer tip sheet to all folks writing on the platform
 2) You’re Only As Good As Your Headline
  •  Standing out in a sea of one million posts is hard to do when you have a dull headline—especially one that doesn't capture the brilliance of your post.   As Roth says, go for clear over clever when writing a headline. Unless you are in the 99th percentile of pun skills, be sure to write a title that makes it very clear what the value proposition of your post is.  And as always in web writing, short and snappy wins.   If you can’t say it in 10 words or less, say it another way
 3) Lose That College Prose  
  • There’s no maximum word count on the publishing platform, but less is often more. Additionally, be wary of writing long, academic sentences that you perfected on your history papers as the web interface is not kind to long blocks of text.   See two examples of the same sentence below, one optimized for getting an A, the other optimized for the web:
“On the basis of the information currently available, it can be concluded that vanilla ice cream is the preferred ice cream of youths aged 14-18.”
“Kids these days like vanilla ice cream”
4) The Hiring Manager for Your Dream Job is Reading
  • One of the great successes of the publishing platform to date is the plethora of member testimonials that have said they've gained visibility and career opportunities as a result of writing on LinkedIn. We all have thoughts about our next move; as you write, think about how your post could help distinguish you as the ideal candidate for the field or position you wish to enter.   
 5) Let Your Voice Shine Through  
  • While the third-person summary is still en vogue among many LinkedIn members, it does a disservice to the platform’s ability to help a professional’s identity from shining through. The same logic could be applied to posts written as though they were technical procedure manuals for installing a washing machine.   A good rule of thumb is to ask yourself:  “Would a good friend of mine reading this be able to tell that I was the author?”   If the answer is yes, your post will do well on the platform.
 6) Hyperlink Wisely
  • The hyperlink is a beautiful tool allowing you to provide evidence for your arguments and direct your user to rich content that supplements your post without writing clunky, collegiate prose. Hyperlinks are used liberally by most of the top publications on the web and are a great ally, so long as they are not abused.  I find a good rule of thumb is to stick to maximum one per paragraph.
 7) Be Confident  
  • Imagine, if instead of making him an “offer he couldn't refuse, Vito Corleone made “an offer by me that couldn't be refused by him.” Passive voice is a vice that strangles good writing everywhere but is particularly off-putting in your posts as it entirely dilutes your argument and call to action.  Furthermore, your posts are tied to your professional brand, all the more reason to use active language to show confidence and credibility.   
 8) Kill the Cliché   
  • Tempting though they may be, recycled idioms dilute the message of your post and can make it far too similar to the plethora of content already on the web. Take the extra few minutes to think through what you’re really trying to say before taking the easy way out. 
 9) Think, Don’t Synergize
  • With many thanks to Joe Caputo, please do not move the needle, deep-dive, or go after low-hanging fruit in your posts.   While young professionals may think inserting corporate jargon makes them sound like seasoned white-collar studs, it does just the opposite.   Don’t’ be Lumberg. 
 10) Always be Closing
  • According to Roth, the publishing platform was created to “unlock the incredible insights stuck in the brains and cubicles of professionals like you.” There are 1,001 places to write blogs on the web but LinkedIn delivers our members insights that make them better at their jobs.  In order for your post to fulfill that promise, there should be a clear call to action in the last two paragraphs of your post.   Otherwise, put that coffee down! 
 “The art of writing is the art of discovering what you believe”- Gustave Flaubert.   I wholeheartedly encourage you to write and unlock the professional insights buried deep in your brains.  I look forward to reading all of your great posts.