Here’s why you haven’t found your groove with LinkedIn yet and what to do about it.

It’s hard to deny the multitude of benefits that LinkedIn has to offer a budding freelance medical writer, across all aspects of networking and marketing. But that doesn’t mean you’re jumping out of bed every morning, excited to post and engage with people on the platform. There’s a lot of negativity associated with social media in general, and LinkedIn is no exception. So, I’d like to dig into this topic further and offer some practical solutions.

First and foremost, the thing that matters most, when making any business and lifestyle-related decisions, is that you feel good about what you’re doing and not doing. Any time you get into “should” mode, you’re fighting a losing battle with yourself, and nothing good ever came out of that. Through the eyes of LinkedIn, this usually means several of the following:

• “I should post at the same time every day.”
• “I should post ## times per week.”
• “I should ensure all of my content is original.”
• “I should repurpose all of my content to make it go further.”
• “I should write content ahead of time so I always have something ready.”
• “I should write posts in real-time so that they are more genuine.”
• “I should stay away from controversial topics to avoid conflict.”
• “I should write only controversial things so that I stand out.”
• “I should only write about things in my niche.”
• “I should broaden my range of topics so that people don’t get bored.”
• “I should follow a weekly or monthly content schedule.”
• “I should avoid content schedules because things will seem repetitive.”
• “I should use as many hashtags as possible to expand my reach.”
• “I should stay away from hashtags ’cause the algorithm doesn’t like them.”
• “I should make comments of # posts before I post anything of my own.”
• “I should avoid commenting on posts of people who do the same thing as me.”
• “I should only engage with people in the same industry as me.”

If any of these are true for you, stop right there. There’s no such thing as a “should” in business—it’s whatever you want it to be. You went into business for yourself for a reason and you’re the boss. The LinkedIn police isn’t going to break down your door because you wrote something on Tuesday and posted it today, at 8:03am instead of 8:00am on the dot.

The first step to making headway in any aspect of your business is to find a way to make it genuinely feel good, so that you want to do it and aren’t getting in your own way. There are tons of reasons why you aren’t using LinkedIn consistently yet, but the chances are you haven’t been paying attention to what they are, validating them, and processing them accordingly. So, once you’ve given yourself permission to drop the “shoulds,” it’s time to get real with yourself about what’s getting in your way, internally. Do any of these ring true for you?

• “I’m worried that I’ll upset people with my content.”
• “I don’t like the idea of people unfollowing me because they dislike my content.”
• “I’m afraid of how people will react to my content.”
• “I don’t want people to think any less of me, if we don’t share the same views.”
• “What if no-one reads or likes my posts? That would be awful!”
• “I’m concerned that I’ll get comments I won’t know how to respond to.”
• “I don’t know how my colleagues are going to react when they find out I’m starting a business.”
• “I don’t want to be the only person who disagrees with some of the big players in my industry—I’ll be singling myself out.”
• “I have strong opinions and don’t know if others can handle that or accept that about me.”
• “What if I can’t block someone who is causing issues on my LinkedIn?”
• “What if the reason want to block someone doesn’t make sense to other people? I don’t want to seem immature or spiteful.”
• “I believe people are going to steal my ideas and copy my stuff, and I hate that!”
• “I don’t want to see other people who are more successful than me because it’ll make me feel bad about myself.”
• “I worry that I don’t have anything interesting or important to say.”
• “What if I spend loads of time writing something and nobody cares?”
• “I don’t believe that posting or engaging on LinkedIn will actually get me clients, so what’s the point?”

Pay close attention to which of these thoughts have crossed your mind at least once, in relation to your LinkedIn usage, and identify any others that I’ve missed off the list. I can’t stress enough that all of these thoughts, feelings, and beliefs are totally normal and to be expected. They haven’t arisen out of nowhere—there are real reasons why you think and feel the way you do, and that’s perfectly okay.

The next step is to list out the evidence you’ve seen that supports each of the concerns you have about LinkedIn. For example, if you’re worried that your colleagues will harass you on LinkedIn, the reason could be that they have been harassing you in real-life so it’s not beyond reason that they could take it to the internet—cyber bullying is a thing. You may have several pieces of evidence for each thought, feeling, or belief. That’s fine—get ’em all out onto paper.

By taking the time to acknowledge these emotions, validating them as genuine concerns that make sense, you’ll start to strip away the negativity associated with them and drop the judgement. You’ll see that they’re not so irrational after all. Or, even if they are irrational, there’s still a very good reason why you have these fears and they are understandable.

Next, I implore you to imagine that there’s another universe in which you are totally fine with posting on LinkedIn regularly and actually enjoy it. You have a different set of thoughts, feelings, and beliefs that support your way of using LinkedIn and do not go against your values or feel threatening to your existence in any way. Alternate reality ‘you’ is showing up as their authentic self each time they use LinkedIn, never having to compromise on what they wish to express. They’re confident, grounded, and professional in how they use the platform. Their LinkedIn usage supports their business activity so organically and fluidly that they feel energized each time they log in and say what they want to say.

Now, write out the set of thoughts, feelings, and beliefs that alternate ‘you’ has. What encouraging things run through their mind when they use LinkedIn? And what positive reinforcement are they getting through their interactions with the platform that keep them coming back for more? Really feel into this new ‘you,’ get into their head, and extract everything that’s going on up there. Remember: this is already happening in the other universe, so you’re not making any of this up—you’re simply observing what’s going on.

At any point in time, you can choose to operate your business as alternate ‘you.’ They are still you—just with a different set of thoughts, feelings, and beliefs that they have accumulated through a different set of experiences, interactions, and positive feedback. Their truth is just as much ‘truth’ as your truth. Both realities are exactly that—real. Most of our existence is actually just the choices we make. If you choose to be the version of you who feels intimated, fearful, or disempowered when using LinkedIn, that’s how you’ll feel. But if you choose to be the version of you who feels at peace with LinkedIn, utilizing it as a tool that supports their business in a way that feels good to them, that’s how you’ll feel.

For example, my 1:1 coaching student, “Sarah” was primarily thinking “I should stay away from controversial topics to avoid conflict.” Having taken women’s studies and gotten involved with a number of advocacy groups over the years, she’s become very opinionated. Sarah’s fear of “I have strong opinions and don’t know if others can handle that or accept that about me” originated from a history of workplace bullying. There were times when she had expressed herself and wasn’t accepted, which was extremely hurtful. When Sarah recognized that her avoidance of LinkedIn made complete sense—she couldn’t be herself if she wanted to keep the peace—she was able to be compassionate about the situation. It isn’t her fault that this traumatic stuff happened. The people who reacted negatively were in the wrong. And she’s left that job and those people behind because she knows she deserves to be treated with kindness and respect. Sarah herself was not the issue.

Alternate reality Sarah is following a business owner who shines a light on other entrepreneurs in all of her content. Sarah really resonates with this approach to marketing because of her consistent involvement with women’s advocacy efforts over the years. And it’s no coincidence that Sarah’s freelance medical writing business focuses on empowering women through health. Inspired by the other business owner, Sarah decided to start a LinkedIn newsletter about women’s health advocacy. Now, not only can she talk about topics she feels passionate about—however controversial they may be—she can do it in a collaborative way that lifts women up in the process. Sarah interviews women doing things that are outside the box in healthcare and writes opinion pieces about them in her LinkedIn newsletter. It’s a win-win-win because the entrepreneur she’s featuring gets more exposure to promote their cause, Sarah gets more exposure to promote her freelance writing business (LinkedIn articles tend to get a lot more impressions than posts without articles), and Sarah is able to express her controversial opinions in a format that feels good to her.

Embracing LinkedIn as a tool for your freelance medical writing business means recognizing and overcoming the mental barriers that may hinder your use of the platform. The key to successful engagement is not in rigid schedules or forced content but in finding joy and authenticity in your interactions. This means letting go of “shoulds” and reshaping your perspective and approach, turning LinkedIn into a valuable asset that complements your professional journey. Experiment with different strategies and embrace only those that make you feel empowered and connected. You’ll be amazed at what alternate ‘you’ can do!

A big part of The ‘Thriving & Free’ Medical Writer Program™ is helping you find your purpose so that you—like Sarah—can let your niche guide all of your business activities, organically. To be considered as my next 1:1 student, apply here. Or get started right away by enrolling in the ‘Do It Yourself’ version of the program.