Writing LinkedIn posts people read

0:00 Writing posts people read

On LinkedIn, most of your post is invisible. Only the first two or three lines show before the "more" link. If those lines don't earn a click, nothing else you wrote matters. So in this lesson, we'll start there. You'll learn the anatomy of a strong post, six hook patterns, how to format for a phone screen, and five reusable post frameworks. I'll rewrite a weak post live, and show you how to use AI to tighten a draft without losing your voice.

0:36 Anatomy of a strong post

Why is this so important? Because the feed is a competition for attention, and your reader is busy. They're scrolling between meetings. They'll give you about a second to show them why this matters to them. A strong post has five parts. The hook, one or two specific lines that make the right reader curious. Context, why this matters now. Value, the insight, steps, story or lesson. A takeaway, the one thing to remember. And a conversation prompt, a specific question that invites a real answer. Miss the hook and nobody sees the value. Miss the value and the hook feels like a trick.

1:21 Six honest hook patterns

Here's the analogy. Think of a newspaper. The headline gets you to stop. The first paragraph tells you why it matters. The body gives you the facts. And good editors never write a headline the story can't support. Your hook is the headline. And like a good newspaper, your hook must be honest. Here are six hook patterns that work. A specific true result. A contrarian view. A mistake or lesson. A sharp question. A list promise. And a story opening. For example: "My first client meeting in Riyadh lasted three hours. We discussed business for ten minutes." You want to know what happened, don't you?

2:07 Formatting for mobile

Next, formatting for mobile. Most people read LinkedIn on a phone, so write short paragraphs of one to three lines with white space between them. Use numbered lists for steps. Use plain language, and explain jargon unless your audience uses it every day. Go easy on emojis, and use only a few relevant hashtags, if any. They matter much less than they used to. And end with a specific conversation prompt. "Thoughts?" is weak. "Finance leaders, which reconciliation would you automate first, and why?" is strong, because it tells people exactly how to join in.

2:48 Five post frameworks

Let's look at five reusable frameworks. One, problem, insight, steps, question. Two, before, after, bridge: the painful situation, what it looks like now, and exactly what changed. Three, myth versus reality. Four, the teardown, where you take a public example, like an ad or a job post, and show three things that work and two you'd change. Be respectful, critique the work, not the person. And five, the lesson story: situation, challenge, action, result, lesson, in under two hundred words. Rotate these across your pillars, and after four weeks, check which ones earned saves, sends and real conversations.

3:31 Example: product launch rewrite

Now a realistic rewrite. Here's the before, from a software company in the Gulf. "Excited to share that our company has launched a new automation product for finance teams. Check out the link below." Then four hashtags, including "excited." It's about the company, not the reader. Here's the after. "Finance teams in the Gulf spend days every month matching bank statements by hand. We interviewed thirty finance managers last quarter. The same three reconciliations came up again and again." Then the three, as a list. Then proof with a caveat: "Automating just the first one saved one distributor about two days every month-end. Their numbers, yours will vary." And a specific question at the end.

4:21 Watch me: AI as editor

Watch me write with AI, the right way. First, I write the rough draft myself, from my own experience. I can even record a voice note and transcribe it. Then I paste it into an assistant with this prompt. Edit this LinkedIn post for clarity and mobile readability. Keep my voice, my examples and my opinions. Do not add facts, numbers or stories. Shorten sentences over twenty-five words. Suggest three alternative first lines, and flag anything that sounds like a cliché. Now I look at the result. One suggested hook is great. But the assistant also changed "we nearly lost the client" to "we faced challenges." That softens my meaning, so I put my words back. Finally, I read the whole thing out loud. If it doesn't sound like me, it isn't finished.

5:19 Links and stories

One question I get constantly: should I put links in my posts? Many practitioners believe posts with external links get less reach. LinkedIn wants to keep members on the platform, so that's plausible, but LinkedIn doesn't publish exact rules, and anyone who claims certainty is guessing. So here's a practical approach. When the link is essential, include it. When it's optional, put the value in the post itself, and offer the link on request or in a follow-up. Then test it yourself with your own audience. The same goes for stories. Story posts connect because they show personality and lessons, but keep them relevant to your pillars. Respect other people's privacy, change identifying details, and don't over-dramatize. A calm, specific story about a real mistake is far more persuasive than a dramatic one that feels invented. Your readers can tell the difference.

6:21 Common mistakes

Here are the common mistakes. Mistake one, starting with "Excited to announce" instead of the reader's interest. Mistake two, long, dense paragraphs that look like homework on a phone. Mistake three, posts about your company with no value for the reader. Mistake four, walls of hashtags. Mistake five, misleading hooks that the post doesn't deliver. And mistake six, posting and disappearing. The first hours after posting are when conversations start, so reply thoughtfully to comments. And please avoid engagement bait like "comment YES for my guide" when it's purely there to game the feed.

7:02 Recap

Let's recap. The first lines decide whether anyone reads the rest, so write an honest, specific hook. Structure every post as hook, context, value, takeaway and conversation prompt. Format for mobile with short paragraphs and lists. Rotate five frameworks: problem-insight-steps, before-after-bridge, myth versus reality, teardown and lesson story. Use AI as an editor, never as the source of your experiences or facts. And stay around to reply.

7:31 Try this now

Here's your try this now. Pick three ideas from your idea bank. Write each one using a different framework and a different hook pattern. Run each through the editing checklist in the lesson. Then use the AI editing prompt on just one of them, and compare it with your own version. Which one sounds more like you? Publish the best post this week, and reply to every comment within the first few hours. In the next module, we look at formats, from document posts to video and newsletters.