How to write a LinkedIn post, from idea to publish

To write a LinkedIn post, pick one point you can back with something you saw or did, open with the most specific sentence you have, give the body a simple shape, and stop when the point is made. Then read it once on a phone and cut every line that does not move the reader forward. The rest of this guide walks through each step with examples.

None of it depends on knowing how LinkedIn ranks posts, which LinkedIn does not publish. It depends on writing something a reader in your field would want to finish.

Step one: pick the one point

Most weak posts try to say three things. A reader scrolling the feed can hold one. Before you write a word, finish this sentence: 'After reading this, the reader will know that...' If you need 'and' to finish it, you have two posts.

Good points come from your own work more often than from the news. Look at the last week for moments where something surprised you, a client asked a sharp question, or a number moved.

• A question a client asked that you answered well, or badly.
• A number from your billing, analytics or pipeline that changed, and why.
• A decision you made and the tradeoff behind it.
• A mistake you fixed and what you would check first next time.
• A method you use every week that others in your field do differently.

If you cannot say where the point came from, it is probably an opinion anyone could post. Those are the easiest posts to scroll past.

Step two: write the opening

LinkedIn folds longer posts behind a 'see more' link after the first few lines. Those lines decide whether anyone reads on, so they need to name the subject in concrete terms and give the reader a reason to care.

The quickest way to a good opening is to write the body first, find the most specific sentence in it, and move that to the top. Compare these two:

• Vague: 'Onboarding matters more than most founders think.'
• Specific: 'A client cut onboarding from nine steps to four. Support tickets in week one halved.'

The second one names a situation, a change and a result. The reader knows what the post is about and wants to know how. Avoid openings that promise a surprise without naming anything, and avoid a greeting or a warm-up line. The reader has not agreed to read the second sentence yet.

Step three: give the body a shape

A post with a shape is easier to write and easier to read. Pick one before you draft, based on what the point is.

• Before and after: what it looked like, what changed, what it looks like now, and the one thing that made the difference.
• Framework: a short numbered set of steps or questions, each with one line of explanation.
• Receipt: a number you own, where it came from, and what it means for someone in the reader's position.
• Finding: something you noticed across several cases, the evidence, and what to do about it.
• Answer: a question someone asked you, and your answer in plain words.

Whatever the shape, keep paragraphs to one to three short sentences and use a line break between them. Most people read LinkedIn on a phone, where a five line paragraph turns into a wall.

Use concrete nouns wherever you can. 'A four person accounting firm in Leeds' tells the reader more than 'a small business'. A number you can stand behind beats an adjective. If you do not have the number, leave a gap and go and get it rather than rounding a guess.

Step four: end without engagement bait

The last line should close the point. Good endings do one of three things: state the lesson in a sentence, say what you would do differently, or tell the reader what to try this week.

Skip the lines that exist only to farm reactions: 'Agree?', 'Comment YES if you want the template', 'Tag someone who needs this'. Readers recognise them, and they make a useful post read like a trick. If you want comments, write something people have a real view on, and they will leave one without being asked.

A genuine question is fine when you want the answers. 'How do you price the first month for a new retainer?' invites people who know something. 'Thoughts?' invites nothing.

Step five: the edit pass

Leave the draft for at least an hour, ideally overnight. Then edit in this order, because each pass makes the next one easier.

1. Read only the first two lines. Would you tap 'see more' if a stranger wrote them? If not, find a more specific opening in the body.
2. Cut the throat clearing. The first paragraph of most drafts is warm-up and can go.
3. Check every claim. Each number and each fact should be something you can point to.
4. Remove filler words and hedges that add length without meaning.
5. Read it aloud. Anywhere you stumble, the reader will too.
6. Look at it on a phone. Break long paragraphs and check where the fold lands.

A good edit usually makes a post shorter. If yours got longer, you probably added explanation the reader did not need.

Step six: publish at a time you can repeat

Publish when your readers are starting their working day, in their timezone, and pick one slot you can keep every posting day. A post on a steady rhythm does more over a year than a brilliant post followed by a month of silence. If you write in batches, schedule the posts rather than holding them in drafts, so the rhythm survives a busy week.

A checklist before you post

• The post makes one point, and you can say it in a sentence.
• The first two lines name the subject and give a reason to read on.
• The body has a clear shape: before and after, framework, receipt, finding or answer.
• Every number is yours or has a named source.
• Paragraphs are short and separated by line breaks.
• The ending closes the point and does not beg for reactions.
• You read it aloud and on a phone.
• It goes out in your usual slot.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Writing about a topic instead of a situation. 'Hiring is hard' is a topic. 'Two hires in a row left after six weeks, and the job ad was the reason' is a situation.
• Explaining the lesson three times in different words.
• Starting with context the reader does not need yet, such as how long you have worked in the field.
• Adding a list of hashtags at the end out of habit.
• Posting the same shape every time until readers can guess the post from its first line.

How GoodSocials handles this

GoodSocials writes each post from an idea with its shape chosen up front, such as a framework, a data breakdown or a receipt, and puts the draft on your board to approve, revise or reject. When a receipt needs a number only you know, the card asks you for it instead of inventing one.

If a draft gets something wrong, a revise comment rewrites that card and updates the matching brand principle, so the next post starts from your correction. A quality gate holds any draft with an invented number, an unsupported claim or nothing to say before it can be scheduled.