LinkedIn Article: A Beginner's Questions Answered Before You Write

If you run a small business and you are weighing up your first LinkedIn article, here is the honest short answer: it is worth doing when you have a topic that needs more room than a post, a few focused sessions set aside to write it, and a plan to promote it once it is live. An article does not land in people's feeds the way a post does. Your first readers usually arrive because you shared it, and later readers can find it through search.

Below we answer the questions owners ask us most often before they open the editor. We take them roughly in the order people worry about them, and we finish with a simple go/no-go check so you can decide before you commit an afternoon. If you want to dig deeper afterwards, we keep our free guides on LinkedIn articles, SEO and AI search in one place.

Will anyone actually read my first LinkedIn article?

Some people will. How many depends far more on what you do after publishing than on the writing itself. It helps to understand how articles behave differently from posts.

• An article lives on its own page. A post is read directly in the feed. An article has to be clicked through to, so it needs a reason to click before anyone reads it.
• Initial feed reach is lower. One of the ranking guides sums it up as lower visibility in the feed at first, but higher long-term discoverability. Posts get strong early distribution and then fade as newer posts push them down.
• Articles can be found later. They sit on your profile, can be shared on other platforms and can appear in search engine results. That is why articles are described as having a longer life and bringing impressions over time.

For a small business with a modest network, a realistic first week looks like this: the people who see your promoting post, a few colleagues and customers who click through, and some comments if you ask a genuine question. The search traffic, if it comes, builds over the following weeks and months.

What the evidence actually supports

You will read many confident claims about articles. Here is what we can stand behind and what we would treat with caution.

• Supported: articles allow far more length and formatting than posts, and they can be indexed by search engines. Both points are consistent across the guides we reviewed.
• Interesting but limited: one guide cites an OtterlyAI study of LinkedIn citations across six AI platforms, in which articles made up 72.2% of citations and feed posts 26.1%. That is a single study, reported second hand. It measures being cited by AI tools, not how many people read you.
• Not supported by anything we have seen: claims that readers have more "brain energy" at certain hours, or that one exact time of day is perfect for articles. The same guide that makes those claims notes that LinkedIn does not publish exact timings. Treat precise timing rules as opinion.

Is LinkedIn still relevant in 2026?

We will not quote user numbers we cannot verify. The more useful test is a practical one: are your customers, partners or future hires on LinkedIn, and do they search Google for the problems you solve? If the answer to either is yes, an article gives you a page that works in both places. If your buyers are not there at all, a LinkedIn article will not change that.

How much time will it take?

Longer than a post, and longer the first time than later. The guides we reviewed put a typical article at 1,000 to 3,000 words, with the right length depending on the topic. A short informational piece sits at the lower end. A detailed how-to guide needs more.

We cannot give you a measured figure, but as a planning assumption: a focused piece of around 1,000 words is often manageable in a half day if you know the subject well. A thorough guide of 2,000 to 3,000 words is better spread over two or three sessions, with a break before editing. The writing is only part of the job. Budget time for:

• Choosing the topic and the single reader you are writing for
• A rough outline of your main points
• Drafting, then editing for typos and clarity
• Finding or creating a cover image
• Writing a clear title and a strong opening
• Previewing the article and fixing formatting
• Filling in the SEO title, description and URL
• Writing the post that promotes it
• Replying to comments in the days after publishing

If that list feels like too much this month, that is a perfectly good reason to start with a post instead.

Is an article or a post the better first move?

Think of it as depth versus speed. Here is how the two formats differ, based on the details in the ranking guides.

• Length: a post allows up to 3,000 characters. An article allows up to 125,000 characters.
• Formatting: a post is unformatted text. An article supports headers, bold, italics, lists, dividers, block quotes, images, video and embedded content.
• Where it appears: a post appears in the feed. An article has its own page, can be promoted with posts, shared elsewhere and found in search results.
• Analytics: both show impressions, members reached, engagement and demographics. Articles also show article clicks or views.

Our decision rule for a first move:

• Choose a post for a quick take, an announcement, a single lesson, a poll, or to test whether an idea gets a reaction.
• Choose an article for a how-to guide, a case study, original research, a framework or a considered opinion, especially if you want people to find it months from now.

Not sure? Write a post on the idea first. If it attracts real comments and follow-up questions, that is your signal to expand it into an article, and those questions become your headings.

Can I sell in it, or will it get flagged?

This is the question most guides skip. LinkedIn describes articles as a way for members to exchange ideas and learn from each other. According to the rules summarised in the guides:

• Focus on informative, work-related topics.
• Do not publish job postings, ads or promotional content for events, products and services.
• Keep content business-oriented and respectful. Avoid misleading, fraudulent, hateful, defamatory or illegal content.
• Do not publish work you do not hold the rights to unless you have permission.

So how does a business get leads from an article?

By being useful, not by pitching. The article itself should teach something your ideal customer wants to learn, achieve or solve. Expertise is the advertisement. In practice:

• Explain how you approach a common problem, step by step.
• Share a case study or a lesson from your own work, focused on what the reader can take away.
• Link to reputable sources when you cite statistics or claims.
• Use links to your own website sparingly. A single call to action at the end is the usual approach.
• Use descriptive link text so readers know where they are going.

A good test: if you removed your company name, would the article still be worth reading? If yes, you are on the right side of the line.

Red flags readers notice

Beyond the formal rules, some habits quietly damage credibility:

• Promoting your brand instead of delivering useful content
• Sensational headlines that overpromise
• Dense, hard-to-follow text with no headings
• Poor quality or irrelevant images
• Mistakes and typos
• Too many hashtags
• Ignoring people who comment on or share your article

What do I need before I open the editor?

Beginners tend to hit practical blockers before they write a word. Check these first.

A computer, not just the app

According to the guides, the option to write an article sits on the LinkedIn home page on desktop, under the box where you create a post, and it is not available in the mobile app. If you mostly use LinkedIn on your phone, plan to sit at a computer for the writing and publishing. LinkedIn changes its apps from time to time, so check your own version, but do not count on finishing an article on a phone.

The right permissions

All LinkedIn members can publish articles to their own profile. To publish an article on a company page, you need to be a super admin or content admin of that page. If your page was set up by someone else, ask for access before you start.

A browser that cooperates

Some browser extensions, with Grammarly and Lazarus named as examples, can stop you clicking into fields in the publishing tool. If the title or body box will not respond, try disabling extensions or using a different browser.

Clear ownership of what you publish

You own the copyright to articles you create and publish on LinkedIn, and LinkedIn may distribute your content if its editors think other members will be interested. You can republish work from elsewhere, such as your own blog, as long as you hold the rights.

Your raw materials

• A topic you genuinely know
• An outline or list of main points
• Any sources, data or examples you want to cite
• A cover image in the right size (see the next section)

What should it look like: header, title and structure?

The cover image (the header)

The cover image is the first thing readers see on the article page and in previews. The supported formats are JPEG, JPG, PNG and WEBP. The recommended size is 1920 pixels wide by 1080 pixels high, a 16:9 aspect ratio. Choose something high quality that clearly reflects the topic, not a generic stock picture. Images inside the body support the same formats plus GIFs, which must be under 400 frames.

The title

Write a clear, descriptive title that tells the reader exactly what they will get. Avoid sensational wording that overpromises. Then make your opening work hard: one guide suggests the first 40 to 60 words should make the benefit obvious, which matches our own experience of what keeps readers going.

A simple template you can follow

You do not need anything clever. This structure works for most first articles:

1. Introduction: the problem or question, who it matters to, and what the reader will get.
2. Main points: three to six sections, each under its own heading, each answering one part of the question.
3. Implications or examples: what this means in practice, with a real example or data where you have it.
4. Ending: a short summary and one natural next step, such as a question for the comments or a single link.

Formatting that helps readers

• Headings and subheadings so readers can skim to what they need
• Short paragraphs with plenty of white space
• Numbered lists for steps, bullet points when order does not matter
• Bold or italics for key phrases, used sparingly
• Block quotes to call out an important idea, dividers to separate sections
• Images, charts, short videos or embeds from YouTube, Vimeo or SlideShare where they clarify a point

How do I get it found and shared once it is live?

Publishing is the halfway point. Here is the sequence the guides describe, with our notes.

1. Preview. Open the Manage menu and choose Preview. Fix any formatting issues.
2. Add SEO details. Under Manage, choose Settings. Set an SEO title, an SEO description and a custom URL that reflect the words your readers would actually search.
3. Write the promoting post. Click Next and add a comment introducing the article. Hashtags work better here than inside the article; keep it to fewer than five.
4. Publish or schedule. Click Publish, or use the clock icon to schedule for later. One guide advises avoiding low-traffic periods such as holidays and weekends.

Then give it a push:

• Feature it on your profile. Click Me, then View profile, then Add profile section. Choose Add featured from the Recommended menu, click the plus button, then Add an article.
• Pin it on your company page if you published there, so it sits above other posts.
• Share it in relevant LinkedIn groups, but only where it adds value and is not promotional.
• Mention it in your email newsletter and on other platforms you use.
• Follow up with more posts. One guide recommends teasing an article with several posts across 7 to 14 days: an announcement, a pull quote, a short list of tips from the article, and a later update.
• Reply to every comment. It is the easiest way to turn readers into conversations.

Should I write one article or a series?

Start with one. It is tempting to plan a ten-part series, but one guide lists publishing inconsistently instead of on a regular schedule as a common mistake. Write one good article, promote it properly, then decide.

To decide, look at your analytics. On a profile, click Me, go to Posts and Activity under Manage, select Articles, then click View analytics on the piece. You will see data on discovery, engagement, demographics and performance. Ask:

• Did the right kind of people read it?
• Which questions came up in comments?
• Did any of those questions deserve their own article?

If the answers point somewhere, you have the start of a series. Each article can also feed several posts: a lesson, a story, a common mistake, a reader question.

When to look at example articles

Studying examples is useful, but only after you have picked your topic. Otherwise it is easy to copy a style that does not suit your subject. Once you know what you are writing about, search LinkedIn and Google for articles on that topic and note how they open, how they use headings and how they close.

The go/no-go check before you write

Answer each question with a plain yes or no.

1. Can you name the one type of reader this is for, and what they should be able to do afterwards?
2. Do you know the topic well enough to explain it without padding?
3. Does the topic genuinely need more than a 3,000-character post?
4. Have you set aside enough time to write, edit and promote it?
5. Do you have access to a computer, and the right admin role if publishing on a company page?
6. Do you have a plan to promote it, at least a launch post and a couple of follow-ups?
7. Are you comfortable writing to teach rather than to sell?

All yes: go. Open the editor and follow the structure above.

A no on question 3: write a post instead. If it sparks questions, expand it later.

A no on questions 4, 5 or 6: fix the gap first. Book the time, sort out permissions or draft your promoting posts, then start.

A no on questions 1, 2 or 7: pause. Pick a narrower topic you know well, or reframe the piece around what the reader learns rather than what you offer. That single change is what separates an article people save from one they scroll past.

Frequently asked questions

How can I write an article on LinkedIn?

Log into LinkedIn on a computer and click Write article on your home page, just under the box where you create a post. Add a cover image, a clear title and your text, then use the Manage menu to preview it and add an SEO title, description and URL. Click Next, write a short post introducing it, and click Publish or schedule it with the clock icon.

How do I write an article on the LinkedIn mobile app?

According to the guides we reviewed, the Write article option is not available in the LinkedIn mobile app. Plan to write and publish from a computer. You can still read, share and reply to comments on your article from your phone.

LinkedIn articles vs posts: which should I use?

Use a post, up to 3,000 characters, for quick takes, announcements and starting conversations in the feed. Use an article, up to 125,000 characters with full formatting, for guides, case studies and ideas you want people to find through search later. If unsure, test the idea as a post first and expand it if it gets strong questions.

What are red flags on LinkedIn?

For articles, the clearest red flags are content that reads like an advert, sensational headlines that overpromise, and anything misleading, hateful, defamatory or illegal. Readers are also put off by typos, poor images, walls of text with no headings and too many hashtags. Ignoring people who comment is another signal that you are broadcasting rather than engaging.

Is LinkedIn still relevant in 2026?

The useful question is whether your customers, partners or hires use it, and whether they search Google for what you do. LinkedIn articles can appear in search results, and one study cited by a ranking guide found that articles made up most LinkedIn citations in AI tools. If your audience is there, an article can work for you on LinkedIn and beyond it.

What size should a LinkedIn article header image be?

The recommended cover image size is 1920 by 1080 pixels, a 16:9 aspect ratio. Supported formats are JPEG, JPG, PNG and WEBP. Choose a high-quality image that clearly reflects the topic of the article.

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