My viral 8-steps LinkedIn writing framework

Hey,

Serious question: Why are there so many AI writing tools launching every other week?

The funny thing is, they’re racking up customers like mad. Stanley recently hit 1M ARR.

I even got approached by a developer to co-build one with him. Not my cup of tea for now, so I kindly declined.

The thing is, we have an issue on our hands: more people want to post on LinkedIn, but they don’t want to spend hours doing it.

And I get it, I use AI in 80% of my content too. It helps speed things up so I can focus on actually running a business. Hence, I avidly use ChatGPT and Stanley for content writing.

But here’s the thing. Most AI posts reek AI and are not written very well because AI can only write as good as you.

If you know the right writing techniques, you’ll be able to prompt AI better.

Even Stanley uses your posts to mimic your writing style.

So, let’s fix that first, shall we?

I recently broke down the perfect way to write a LinkedIn post and it went viral (twice). So, I’m breaking it down in detail inside this newsletter, let’s go:

Step #1: Hook:

This is the first line of your post and the goal here is simple: grab attention of the reader to make them stop the scroll.

Part of writing a good first line is knowing your audience. What do they care about? e.g. my audience cares about learning LinkedIn growth tips from me, hence:

“The only 7 LinkedIn Tips you need to read today”

Some hook writing tips:

• Include numbers if you can.

• Keep it short & punchy [7-10 words].

• Open a loop to keep them reading.

• Use the right keywords to get attention e.g. “LinkedIn tips” resonate with my audience.

Step #2: Re-hook:

This is the 2nd line of your post, and the goal here is to retain attention and intice the reader to keep going and click “see more.” E.g. the following sentence makes the reader curious:

“Tip no. 4 is my #1 growth hack.”

Step #3: Credibility Builder

Now this step will blow your mind.

This one simple statement gets me the most amount of inbound leads and DMs on a daily basis. Because this tiny statement allows me to establish my authority in every single post I write on LinkedIn.

Even if you are writing an educational post, insert yourself into the post by signalling to your audience that you are an expert on this topic.

The signal I’ve used to establish my authority in this example is by qouting how I’ve grown so much on LinkedIn myself. Therefore, you should pay attention to what I’m saying:

“I’ve grown my LinkedIn to 77,000+ followers.”

Step #4: The Meat

This is where you’re teaching, showing, or suggesting something.

It's the information the reader is looking to consume and that you're attempting to convey.

Make sure to keep it skimmable and perhaps use bullets or white space - it helps with readability.

Step #5: Lesson

This step is how you now make the post about the reader.

Especially if you’re sharing a story, now is when you can insert the reader into your story.

Give them one key-takeway from your post or one message they should take from it.

Step #6: Power Statement

But don’t end your post just yet.

Psychology suggests that we tend to remember and act on things we hear last (recency effect).

Here’s your chance to be remembered. Give your reader a powerful ending, something that stays with them or makes them think.

Step #7: Call-to-Engage

One of the reasons why your posts are not getting much engagement is because you’re not asking for it!

Ask a simple question at the end of your post to invite engagement.

It could be as simple as suggesting to drop an emoji in the comments.

Step #8: Call-to-Action

A call-to-engage could be your call-to-action, but I suggest going a step ahead and guiding your reader what next step to take.

• Do you want people to share your post? Ask them to.

• Do you want people to DM you? Ask them to.

Whatever action you want your audience to take after reading your post, let them know in one short sentence.

Final thoughts:

I am an advocate of using AI for writing but remember → always nail the basics first.

Join me Live on 27th Nov!

Charlie Hills & I are a hosting a FREE LinkedIn workshop on Nov 27th. We have a combined LinkedIn audience of 260,000+ and are spilling tea on all our top engagement strategies.

Topic: How to build an Engaged LinkedIn Community
Date: 27th November
Time: 5-6 pm GMT

See you soon,
Fatima Khan