How to Start a LinkedIn Post

The first line of your LinkedIn post has one job: to make someone stop scrolling. If it succeeds, you have a chance to share your message. If it fails, the best post in the world will go completely unread. This guide breaks down the simple principles and proven formulas you can use to write opening lines that grab attention and earn that coveted “see more” click, every single time.

Why Your LinkedIn Opener is 90% of the Battle

Think about how you use LinkedIn. You open the app, your thumb starts moving, and you scroll through a near-infinite feed of updates, promotions, and personal stories. What makes you pause? It’s almost always a punchy first sentence that piques your curiosity or speaks directly to a problem you’re facing.

LinkedIn knows this. That’s why the platform automatically truncates posts after just a few lines, hiding the rest of your content behind a small “...see more” link. Every other word you write in your post is fighting for relevance, but your first sentence is fighting for survival. Its only goal is to convince the reader that clicking that link is worth their time.

An effective opener acts like a great movie trailer. It introduces a compelling conflict, hints at a valuable lesson, or teases a satisfying conclusion - all without giving the whole story away. It creates an information gap in the reader's mind that they feel a psychological pull to close. In a world of fleeting attention, a powerful first line is your single greatest asset for turning a passive scroller into an engaged reader.

The Principles Behind a Powerful Post Opener

Before jumping into specific formulas, a few core principles underpin every successful LinkedIn hook. Internalizing these ideas will allow you to craft compelling openers from scratch, rather than just relying on templates.

Spark Curiosity, Don't Give It All Away

The biggest mistake people make is summarizing their entire post in the first line. If you say, “Today, I'm sharing tips on effective time management for remote workers,” you’ve given the game away. There’s no mystery. A better approach is to create a question in the reader’s mind. Start in the middle of a story (“The client’s feedback was just three words…”) or make a bold claim that demands an explanation (“90% of time management advice is useless.”). The goal is to make the reader think, “Wait, what? I need to know more.”

Be Hyper-Specific and Concrete

Vagueness is the enemy of engagement. Our brains are wired to pay attention to concrete details and numbers. Vague statements are easy to ignore because they don’t paint a picture. Compare these two openers:

• "I learned some valuable lessons recently in business." (Vague and forgettable)
• "I lost a $50,000 client because of one stupid mistake." (Specific, emotionally charged, and intriguing)

Using numbers, specific dollar amounts, timelines, or distinct objects makes your opening line feel tangible and real. It grounds your story in reality and makes it instantly more believable and compelling.

Speak Directly to a Pain Point or Aspiration

Every professional on LinkedIn is trying to achieve something (get a promotion, grow their business, find a job) or solve a problem (deal with a bad boss, beat burnout, land more clients). The most effective hooks tap directly into these universal desires and struggles. Frame your opener around a benefit for the reader. What's in it for them? Will they learn how to save time, make more money, or avoid a common mistake? An opening line that promises a solution to a nagging problem is nearly impossible to ignore.

Use Simple, Human Language

LinkedIn might be a professional network, but people still want to connect with other people. Ditch the corporate jargon, buzzwords, and overly formal language. Write like you speak. Use simple words and short sentences. An authentic, conversational tone builds rapport and makes your content far more approachable. Think of it less like writing a business report and more like sharing a compelling story with a friend at a coffee shop.

7 Proven Formulas to Start Your Next LinkedIn Post

With those principles in mind, here are seven actionable formulas you can adapt and use to kick off your LinkedIn posts with energy and intrigue.

1. The "Contrary Opinion" Hook

This formula works by challenging a widely held belief or a common piece of advice. It immediately positions you as a thought leader and generates curiosity because people want to understand your reasoning. It taps into our natural desire to see a debate unfold.

• Good Example: "Stop setting goals. You're just setting yourself up for failure."
• Bad Example: "Goal setting is an important part of professional development."

How to use it: Think about a common assumption in your industry. Is "the customer is always right" actually true? Is networking at conferences the best way to find clients? Take a stand and state your unpopular opinion clearly and confidently. The rest of your post should then back it up with a logical argument or personal experience.

2. The "Storyteller" Hook

Humans are wired for stories. Starting your post with the beginning of a narrative is one of the most powerful ways to hook a reader. It pulls them into a scene and makes them want to know what happens next.

• Good Example: "At 23, my boss told me I'd never make it in marketing. He was almost right."
• Bad Example: "It's important to persevere through a challenging career."

How to use it: Begin your post right in the middle of a moment. "The Zoom call went silent," or "Ten years ago, I only had $100 in my bank account." Provide a specific time, place, or event that anchors the reader in a story they’ll want to see through to the end.

3. The "Data-Driven" Hook

As mentioned earlier, specific numbers command attention. Using a surprising statistic or a powerful data point in your first line establishes immediate credibility and highlights the importance of your topic.

• Good Example: "Just 8% of people actually achieve their New Year's resolutions. Here's why the other 92% fail."
• Bad Example: "Many people fail to achieve their resolutions."

How to use it: Look for shocking data related to your field. Did a recent study discover something counterintuitive? Have you generated impressive results for a client (e.g., "We helped a client increase their leads by 412% in 60 days.")? Lead with the number and then use your post to explain the story or the lesson behind it.

4. The "Vulnerability" Hook

In a feed often filled with polished success stories, authentic vulnerability stands out. Sharing a mistake, a failure, or a moment of uncertainty builds an instant human connection. It shows you’re real and relatable, which fosters trust with your audience.

• Good Example: "I completely froze during my first big presentation. It was a disaster."
• Bad Example: "Public speaking can be challenging, but it's a learnable skill."

How to use it: Don't be afraid to admit a flaw or a past failure. Start with a simple and direct admission: "I messed up." or "Here's the worst career advice I ever followed." This humility disarms readers and makes them lean in to hear what you learned from the experience.

5. The "Direct Question" Hook

Posing a question immediately engages the reader’s mind. It shifts them from a passive consumer of content into an active participant. They naturally start to formulate an answer in their head, which makes them more invested in reading your perspective.

• Good Example: "What's the single most productive thing you do each day?"
• Bad Example: "This post is about productivity."

How to use it: Ask a question that is open-ended, thought-provoking, and relevant to your target audience. Aim for questions that tap into shared experiences or challenges, such as, "When did you know it was time to quit your job?" or "What's one limiting belief you're trying to overcome?"

6. The "One-Liner" Hook

Sometimes, less is more. A short, punchy, declarative statement can be incredibly effective. It’s confident, easy to read, and creates a massive information gap because it lacks context. The brevity itself is what creates the intrigue.

• Good Example: "Meetings are a trap."
• Bad Example: "I want to share my thoughts on how to make meetings more effective."

How to use it: Condense the main idea of your post into a single, bold statement of five words or fewer. "Your resume is irrelevant." or "Stop creating content." The reader is practically forced to click "see more" to understand the controversial idea you've just put forth.

7. The "Listicle Tease" Hook

The "listicle" format (e.g., "7 Ways to…") is popular for a reason: it promises clear, scannable, and valuable information. By teasing the list in your first line, you signal to the reader that they’re about to receive a structured and easy-to-digest piece of content.

• Good Example: "There are only 3 things holding your career back. Here they are."
• Bad Example: "I’m going to discuss several career-limiting factors in this post."

How to use it: Frame your post's key takeaways as a finite list. Use phrases like "The 5 biggest mistakes...," "4 rules for effective feedback...," or "My 3-step process to..." This structure makes a clear promise to the reader about the value they'll get from your post.

Formatting Your Hook for Visual Punch

How your opening line looks is almost as important as what it says. Your goal is to make it as easy as possible to read on a mobile screen while someone is scrolling quickly. The key is white space.

Ideally, your entire hook should be a single line of text, existing as its own paragraph. This creates a visual break from the posts above and below it, drawing the eye directly to your words.

For example, structure it like this:

This is my powerful, one-sentence opening hook.

...and now the rest of my post starts here, after a line break. This creates tons of scannable white space that makes the hook stand out and feel less intimidating than a big block of text.

Avoid starting your post with a crowded, multi-sentence paragraph. Give your opener room to breathe. That visual space is an invitation for the eye to rest, and in the "war for attention" on the LinkedIn feed, that moment of rest is often all you need to get your foot in the door.

Final Thoughts

A killer opening line is your ticket to being heard on LinkedIn. It's not about clickbait, it's about earning attention by promising value, sparking curiosity, or building an authentic connection right from the start. By mastering these principles and formulas, you can consistently turn scrollers into readers and create posts that truly resonate.

Once you’ve perfected your opening lines, building a consistent content rhythm is what separates good from great. To help with our own content process, we built Postbase. Planning our posts, hooks included, on a single visual calendar and then scheduling them across different platforms from one place has been a lifesaver. It lets us stay focused on writing valuable content instead of getting tangled in the logistics of publishing it.