Being Concise
How do I write well?
- Tips & Tricks
- Sample Posts
- Ben & Eli
- Action Steps
Today: Learn how to write concisely.
LinkedIn caps posts at 1300 characters.
1300 characters are roughly 200-250 words depending on word length. It's not a lot and like you, we've faced situations where we are way over the limit and have to cut things down.
One of our favorite ways to deal with this is creating posts outside of LinkedIn.
Type the post first in Grammarly and then once it's ready, publish it on LinkedIn. You can replace Grammarly with any other online writing tool that has a character counter or even Microsoft Word.
A helpful tip is to write all of your thoughts on the subject out, no matter how lengthy.
From there, read the content over in whole and identify the main points and subjects of the post, making sure that it flows and makes sense, correcting any wording that doesn't feel right.
At this point, you'll need to start paring down. If you have 1400 characters, you only need to remove unnecessary words. If you have 5000 characters, you're going to need to remove entire paragraphs.
Anything that is not necessary to the overall message and presentation of your content can be taken out. Think about how you can say the same thing you are trying to convey but in fewer words.
Sometimes a shorter post with fewer words are more powerful and direct.
We've taught you about the one-line per sentence writing format and by now you've seen it all over LinkedIn. While it's a great way to make your content easily readable, it's also a good way to practice being concise. If you force yourself to have no two sentence lines, you'll have to get your message across effectively within those few words.
Other quick tips for eliminating pesky characters:
- Remove any extra spaces after periods
- Avoid these words: and, so, like, very, really, probably, also, then, just, etc.
- Simplify complex words
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If you're struggling to say something in a quick and clear way, consider why you're including it in the text. It may be something that could be removed completely. Examine the entirety of the text and determine its importance within the context of your message.
I love being concise. Enough said. Stick to what you want to say and trim the rest. Your readers appreciate it.
Today: Learn how to write concisely.
- Write a concise post.
- Include the hashtag #30DS at the bottom.
- Join the Facebook group.
Tomorrow: Learn how to build an audience.
"Vigorous writing is concise."
~William Strunk, Jr.~