How to Write a Compelling LinkedIn Post

Trying to stand out on a crowded LinkedIn feed can feel like shouting into the void, but a few simple techniques can turn your posts from invisible to influential. The difference between a post that gets a handful of likes and one that sparks conversation and builds your brand often comes down to strategy, not luck. This guide will walk you through a step-by-step process for crafting LinkedIn posts that capture attention, deliver value, and actually get results.

Start With a Clear Goal and Audience in Mind

Before you write a single word, you have to answer two fundamental questions. Skipping this step is like starting a road trip without a map or a destination - you'll burn gas but probably won't end up anywhere meaningful.

1. What is the Goal of This Post?

Every piece of content should have a job to do. Are you trying to:

• Build thought leadership? Your goal is to share unique insights, frameworks, or experiences that position you as an expert.
• Generate leads? You want to guide readers toward a resource, a webinar registration, or your company's service page.
• Increase brand awareness? Your focus is on sharing your company's mission, values, or success stories with a wider audience.
• Drive engagement? You want to start a conversation, poll your network, or get valuable feedback on an idea.
• Grow your network? You're looking to connect with people in a specific industry or role.

Choosing one primary goal will bring clarity to your message. A post designed to showcase thought leadership will read very differently from one aimed at generating direct leads. Trying to do everything at once often results in a muddled post that accomplishes nothing.

2. Who Are You Talking To?

You aren’t writing for everyone on LinkedIn. You’re writing for a specific person. Picture them in your head. What is their job title? What are their biggest challenges and frustrations at work? What do they care about? What language do they use?

Writing for a junior marketing coordinator requires a different tone and different examples than writing for a VP of Engineering. When you write for a specific person, your content becomes instantly more relatable and impactful. It feels like a direct conversation rather than a broadcast to an anonymous crowd.

Grab Their Attention With a Killer Hook

On LinkedIn, your first two lines are everything. The platform hides the rest of your post behind a "...see more" link, meaning you have about ~200 characters to convince someone to stop scrolling and click. If your opening is weak, the rest of your post - no matter how brilliant - might as well not exist.

A great hook makes a promise, sparks curiosity, or presents a bold idea.

Hook Formulas to Get You Started:

• The Contrarian Take: "Everyone thinks X is a big deal. They're wrong. The real issue is Y."
• The Personal Confession: "I made a huge mistake early in my career, and it taught me everything about [topic]."
• The Startling Statistic: "90% of startups fail. Here are the 3 non-obvious reasons why."
• The "How To" Promise: "How to do [desirable outcome] without [common pain point]."
• The Story Starter: "The worst client meeting I ever had started with a spilled coffee and a broken projector."
• The Simple Question: "What's one piece of career advice you wish you'd received 10 years ago?"

Your hook should be short, direct, and packed with intrigue. Avoid generic openings like "I'm excited to announce..." or "In today's fast-paced world...". Get straight to the point.

Craft the Body: Deliver Real Value

Once you’ve earned the click, you must deliver on the promise of your hook. The body of your post is where you build trust and establish credibility. The goal here isn’t to sound smart, it’s to be genuinely useful. A post that helps someone solve a problem, see an issue from a new angle, or feel understood is a post that will get shared.

Tell a Personal Story

Facts tell, but stories sell (and connect). People connect with vulnerability, challenges, and successes. Sharing a brief, relevant story from your career is one of the most powerful ways to build a connection with your audience.

Example Framework:

1. The Situation: Briefly set the scene. (e.g., "Early in my career, I was put in charge of a failing project...")
2. The Challenge: What was the specific problem you faced? (e.g., "...our top client was threatening to leave.")
3. The Action: What did you do to solve it? (e.g., "Instead of sending another apology email, I booked a flight...")
4. The Result &, Lesson: What happened, and what did you learn? (e.g., "We kept the client, and I learned that face-to-face communication solves problems faster than anything else.")

Share Actionable Tips or a Framework

People love content that gives them a shortcut or a clear plan. Break down a complex topic into a simple, digestible list. Don't just give advice, give a step-by-step process.

Format this for easy scanning using numbers or bullet points. For example:

“Need to write better subject lines? Here’s a 3-step framework:

1. Start with an action verb.
2. Add a specific number or outcome.
3. Inject curiosity.”

Offer a Fresh (and Maybe Controversial) Perspective

A popular opinion is an echo. A well-argued, unique perspective is a signal. Challenge a commonly held belief in your industry. Did everyone love a recent marketing campaign that you thought missed the mark? Explain why. Do you think a popular business book is overrated? Lay out your case.

This isn't about being negative for the sake of it. It’s about demonstrating your ability to think critically and adding a new layer to an existing conversation. Just be ready to defend your position respectfully in the comments.

Format for Skimming, Not Reading

No one on social media reads dense paragraphs. They skim. Your job is to make your content as easy to scan as possible. A huge wall of text is an instant turn-off, signaling a big time commitment most users aren't willing to make.

Simple Formatting Rules:

• Embrace Whitespace: Use plenty of line breaks. Post single sentences on their own line. This creates a visual rhythm and makes the content feel less intimidating.
• Keep Paragraphs Short: Stick to one or two sentences per paragraph. This is the single most effective way to improve readability on mobile, where the majority of users consume content.
• Use Lists and Bullets: Use numbers or bullet points (emojis like ✅, 👉, or ✨ work great as bullets) to break up information and make key points stand out.
• Add Emphasis (Sparingly): Use bolding or italics to highlight a few key phrases, but don't overdo it. The mobile app doesn’t support markdown, but these can be formatted using third-party tools or by typing your message on a desktop first.

Amplify Your Message with Visuals

Posts that include an image or video get far more engagement and visibility than text-only updates. The visual stops the scroll, and the text provides the context.

Images and Carousels

• Selfies &, Personal Photos: Believe it or not, photos of your face perform exceptionally well on LinkedIn. They humanize your content and help people feel like they know you. A smiling headshot accompanying a career reflection or a lesson learned is a classic, effective strategy.
• Document Carousels (PDFs): This is one of the most powerful content types right now. Create a multi-page PDF in a tool like Canva where each page presents one core idea, tip, or step. This format encourages users to click through, which tells the LinkedIn algorithm that your content is engaging, leading to greater reach.
• Infographics &, Charts: If you have data to share, visualize it. A simple chart or graphic can communicate a complex idea much faster than text can.

Video

• Keep it short and to the point: The sweet spot for LinkedIn video is typically under 90 seconds.
• Add captions: Over 80% of social media videos are watched with the sound off. If you don't use captions, you're missing most of your potential audience. You can burn them into the video directly or upload an SRT file.
• Start strong: Your first 3 seconds are even more important here than they are for text. Show movement or start talking immediately to capture attention.

End With a Clear Call to Action (CTA)

You’ve hooked your reader, delivered value, and formatted it perfectly. Don't let them just scroll away. Guide them on what to do next. A compelling LinkedIn post should start a conversation, not end one.

An effective CTA is simple and direct.

Great CTA Examples:

• Ask an open-ended question: "What’s the best career advice you've ever received? Share it in the comments."
• Drive conversation: "Agree or disagree? Let me know your thoughts below."
• Encourage sharing: "If you found this useful, share it with someone who needs to see it."
• Point to a resource (use sparingly): "If you want to go deeper, I wrote a full guide on this topic. Link in the comments." (Posting the link in the first comment can sometimes help algorithms promote the post more widely).

A good post serves your audience first. The CTA shouldn't be a demand, it should feel like a natural next step for someone who found your content valuable.

Final Thoughts

The key to writing a great LinkedIn post is shifting your mindset from broadcasting to connecting. By starting with a clear goal, a specific audience, a powerful hook, scannable formatting, and a real desire to provide value, you create content that doesn't just get seen - it gets remembered and acted upon.

Once you’ve perfected your writing process, consistency becomes the next big hurdle. We built Postbase because we knew that even the best content can get lost in cluttered spreadsheets and unreliable scheduling tools. Our visual content calendar helps us plan out all of our LinkedIn content in one place, so we can see what's going live, reschedule posts with a simple drag-and-drop, and stay consistent without all the chaos.

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