On February 19, 2014, LinkedIn began rolling out its new publishing method, long-form posts, to all members. According to LinkedIn’s Official Blog post, The Definitive Professional Publishing Platform:

“When a member publishes a [long-form] post on LinkedIn, their original content becomes part of their professional profile, is shared with their trusted network and [can] reach the largest group of professionals ever assembled. Now members have the ability to follow other members that are not in their network and build their own group of followers.”

LinkedIn’s total publishing platform includes: 1) sharing updates via your Home page and 2) publishing long-form posts, or articles. Both are accessed from the same place on your Home Page. Perhaps the coolest thing about these long-form posts is that they are searchable outside of LinkedIn. That means readers don’t even need to have a LinkedIn account in order to view your work. Think of the reach you can have!

If you don’t yet have access to LinkedIn’s new long-form post publishing feature, you can request it by filling out this application for early access. According to the LinkedIn Help Center, you will be notified by email once you are approved. I did not receive an approval notice; however, if you are active on LinkedIn (as you should be!) you will quickly become aware of the new icon when it appears.

To create a long-form post once you are given Publishing rights, click the pencil icon in the Share an update field:

You will arrive at the Create a New Post page. To publish an article, simply add your content, along with images and pertinent links.

Be sure to proofread and preview your article before publishing! Once you click Publish, your post is shared. As with status updates, you will also have the option to tweet your long-form post. Here’s what people in your network will see in their inbox when you post an article:

Here is what your post will look like on the Home page of your connections:

Each time someone likes or comments on your post, it is brought to the top of the page again.

Your post will also appear in the Posts section of your profile, just beneath your photo. Visitors to your profile can click through to the post page where they can then follow you and comment on your article, even if they are not currently in your network. Social media statistics and share buttons above your post allow readers to spread your work beyond LinkedIn!

Published and draft posts are listed in the right sidebar of your Create a New Post page. View and edit published and draft articles and measure their success by clicking on “See your posts and stats.”

When you have your Notifications summary turned on in Settings (Privacy & Settings > Communications > Set the frequency of emails), you will also receive status updates on your posts:

Remember that publishing industry-relevant long-form posts will establish you as a thought-leader in your field. You might also find your post featured in LinkedIn’s Pulse. For LinkedIn’s tips and best practices for publishing long-form posts, visit LinkedIn’s Help Center topic “Long-Form Posts on LinkedIn Overview.”

Have you utilized LinkedIn’s new long-form post feature? If so, what benefits have you enjoyed? And if not, what are you waiting for?