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Welcome to the 37th issue of The LinkedIn Creator.

For the past few weeks, we’ve been sharing everything we know about growing profitably on
LinkedIn.

We’ve got more in store so look out for our Sunday emails that cover a range of specific
topics.

Engagement strategies, creator systems, ideation, and more…

Last week we looked at ‘A Pro Creator’s Greatest Marketing Asset’. This week it’s ‘5 Content
Truths Every Creator Must Know.”

Enjoy! And don’t forget:

 You can access all free resources below:

1. 160 LinkedIn Post Templates

2. 203 LinkedIn Hook Templates
3. 114 Expert LinkedIn Tips
4. 27 LinkedIn Headline Examples
5. 21 LinkedIn Profile Picture Examples
6. 20 LinkedIn Banner Image Examples
7. 14 LinkedIn About Section Examples
8. 15 LinkedIn Experience Section Examples
9. 9 LinkedIn Featured Section Examples
10. The LinkedIn Company Page Playbook

The 5 Content Truths Every Creator Must Know:

1. Nothing is “original”

It's been said for millennia:

"What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new
under the sun."

– The Bible, Ecclesiastes 1:9-10

Most paintings are made up of the same colours, shapes, and forms.

Most blockbuster films follow the same core storytelling structures.

Most pop music consists of the same 4 chords.

Everything you see, hear, and read online is a remix of ideas that have come before. So if
you ever find yourself stuck for ideas:

“Think of your work as a collage. Steal two or more ideas from your favorite [creators] and
start juxtaposing them. Voila.” – Austin Kleon

And to be clear, it’s not about 'stealing' as in plagiarising or ripping others off. It’s about
putting your unique spin on it. To do this, try weaving these into your content:

• Personal anecdotes and stories

• Surprising stats and facts

• Your unique perspective

• Relevant examples

• Quotes

It’s what all successful creators do. Draw and build on content that’s come before.
2. 80% of readers will only read your hook

The average person scrolls 300ft of social feed a day.

That’s the height of the Statue of Liberty. Crazy, right?

Thought leaders the world over claim that attention is the new oil. But capturing it isn’t
easy. The competition is fierce.

And in a world full of distractions, if you fail to hook the reader, you’re dead in the water. It
doesn’t matter how good your content is. Or, how much time you spent making that
carousel.

If your hook fails, your post fails.

So when creating content, spend a disproportionate amount of time on your hook. Jot
down 15-20 alternatives (use these LinkedIn Hook Templates to help you). Then pick the
best one.

Some hook-crafting tips:

• Open a curiosity loop in the reader’s mind. Imply a solution, leave a question
unanswered

• Pronouns like “You” and “I” make your hooks more conversational, relatable

• Numbers serve as a great attention-grabbing pattern interrupt

• Keep your first sentence or two short (8 words or less)

• Ask yourself: Would this hook stop me from scrolling?

• Write in plain English. Use simple words

• Clear beats clever

• Study hooks

“On the average, five times as many people read the [hook] as read the body copy.” — David
Ogilvy

3. No trust, no readers

Most LinkedIn content is educational.

Growing profitably on LinkedIn requires you to educate prospects on:

• The problems you solve

• The solutions you offer

• The results you drive, etc.

But here’s the problem:

Most people who will see your content don’t know you. And if they don’t know you, they
won’t trust you. And if they don’t trust you, they won’t listen to you.

So, how do you build trust with your target audience?

Well, according to marketing phenom Neal O’Grady – there are 3 ways to leverage
credibility to get attention (and build trust):

1. “I’ve done this amazing thing, so you can trust my advice.”

2. “I’ve done a ton of work, so you don’t have to.”

3. “Here’s something I learned from a famous person [or company] you know and love.”
As your following and engagement grows, earning reader trust gets easier.

It’s why you’ll sometimes see big accounts post average content that goes viral. Their
audience trusts them.

Think of earning audience trust like a flywheel.

At first, it takes a tonne of energy to get the wheel spinning – but after a while, momentum
takes over, and things get easier.

4. If you ignore the data, you’re doomed

“Data is gold in the realm of social media.” – Justin Welsh

One of the best things about creating content is the fast feedback loop.

You can quickly understand what topics resonate most with your target audience. Then use
these insights to refine your content strategy over time.

Study:

1. Your performance metrics (e.g. engagement rates, likes, click-through rates,

and reposts) to see what topics, formats, and hooks work best.

2. The comments to assess your audience’s feedback.

Pro tip: Review your data on a weekly or bi-weekly basis – Tools like Kleo (free) and Shield
Analytics (paid) can speed up this process.

However, it’s not enough to just look at the data.

You want to understand the WHY behind the numbers. After each review, make 1-3
intelligent assumptions that inform data-driven adjustments – examples:

Assumption 1: Longer, in-depth posts generate more engagement than shorter updates
because they provide more value to the reader.
Adjustment 1: Experiment with writing 3 longer posts per week that offer at least 5 detailed
insights.

Assumption 2: Responding to audience feedback in your content (e.g. addressing

common questions) increases loyalty and engagement because it shows you’re listening.

Adjustment 2: Incorporate audience feedback into future posts and assess whether the
comments verify the assumption.

“Without data, you are blind and deaf and in the middle of a freeway.” – Geoffrey Moore

5. Copywriting is THE foundational creator skill

Why?

Because it helps you:

1. Get and keep attention in a busy feed

2. Learn what’s (actually) important to your target audience

3. Write content that builds trust, allays objections, and converts prospects

Copywriting is a skill that will benefit you no matter what field you’re in.

The ability to engage, persuade, and sell with the written word is nothing short of priceless.
And LinkedIn is the perfect place to practice.

Start here:
And while we’re on the subject of copywriting…

Here are 14 quick-fire LinkedIn writing tips (BONUS CONTENT):

1. Flush out the brain sludge before you start writing

“My mind is a storm.” – Elon Musk

Before you begin writing, clear the pipes. Open a blank doc and just write anything that
comes to mind.

Forget grammar, spelling, or even making sense. This time’s for you to defrag your mental
hard drive.

Do this for 5-10 minutes prior to writing.

Start with a clean slate.

2. Endless one-line sentences get boring

LinkedIn has a lot of this.

Sentence after sentence.

Line after line.

Problem is, great writing requires rhythm.

It ebbs and flows. It speeds up, then slows.

Yes, standalone sentences are quick to read.

Yes, they give emphasis.

And yes, they break things up.

But too much of any one rhythm becomes tiresome.

Mix it up.

3. Always credit your sources

If someone’s already said it perfectly, quote them. But always cite their name.

Never plagiarise.

4. Having trouble nailing the hook? (maybe it’s hiding…)

If you know what you want to write, start writing.

Focus on the body of your post. Once you have some meat on the bone, read back what
you’ve written.

You may just find the perfect hook staring back at you… halfway down the page.

(Still can’t find it? Get inspired by these hook templates: story hooks, creative hooks, viral
hooks)
5. Cut the jargon

George Orwell once said: “Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word, or a jargon word if
you can think of an everyday English equivalent.”

The same still holds true today – especially online where people skim and attention is
fleeting. Write in plain English so everyone can understand.

Write simply.

6. Read your stuff aloud before you post

Ask yourself:

• Does it flow?

• Does it sound natural?

• Does it sound like something I’d actually say?

If you answer “no” to any of these, fix it.

7. Keep your promise to the reader, always

Creators break promises to readers all the time.

“5 lesser-known B2B sales tactics”

…that are all blindingly obvious.

“This one strategy increased my coaching business sales by 500%”

... but it’s hidden behind a paywall.

“What I learned from working with Steve Jobs in the ‘80s”

…which turns out to be some anecdote about working hard and staying consistent.

If you mislead the reader, you lose their trust. If you make a big promise, deliver on that
promise.

8. Write for skimmers

Online, people skim.

You’re not writing a book, whitepaper, or essay. You’re writing for social media.

Under your post lies an endless feed of new posts (potential dopamine), which the reader
can scroll to at any moment.

So make things easy for the reader:

Preview and format your LinkedIn content with the Kleo extension (it’s free)

9. Write to ONE person, never a crowd

“In writing, your audience is one single reader.” – John Steinbeck

Reading LinkedIn posts is not a group activity. It doesn’t matter whether you're Billy Nobody
or Justin Welsh, only one person can read your content at any one time.

Your post may reach enough people to fill a stadium (or several) – but don’t think about
that.

Write as if you’re writing to a friend.

10. Become a collector of stories

If there’s one thing LinkedIn loves more than “humble” announcements, it’s stories.
Everyone has stories. The problem is we forget most of them.

Start collecting stories, no matter how mundane they seem. Spend 15 minutes noting
down what happened each day. Then link the best ones to your work, business, or career –
and tell them on LinkedIn.

You’ll be surprised how many stories there are hidden in plain sight.

Here’s a story-collecting template you can use.

11. Edit on a different screen

If you write on a laptop, edit on your phone.

A different device gives you a fresh perspective. Errors you couldn’t see before, reveal
themselves. This approach can also spark new ideas.

12. Start and finish strong

Crap hook, low readership.

Crap ending, low engagement.

So, spend a disproportionate amount of time crafting a compelling hook.

Then ask yourself: What single point do I want people to take away?

And that’s your ending. Simple.

13. There’s always a fresh way to explain an old idea

And it’s up to you, the writer, to find it. This is what makes writing so hard – it requires
thinking.

(No one said it was easy)

But don’t despair…

Instead, take an old idea and relate it to a personal experience of yours. Give some
examples. Share an opinion. Draw a surprising comparison.

Put your unique spin on it.

14. Batch your content creation

Carve out 3+ hours every week to sit down and write your content for the following week.

This way, you’ll avoid anxiously staring at your computer screen each day an hour before
you’re meant to post.

Create (and schedule) content ahead of time. Batch it.

Thanks for reading, and until next week!

Did you miss it? I posted 10 LinkedIn Post Templates on LinkedIn earlier this week +4 other
insightful posts.

Follow The LinkedIn Creator to never miss a post.

PS. Know someone who’ll enjoy this newsletter? Please forward it to them. It only takes 10
seconds. Writing it takes days.

PPS. If there are any creators, topics, issues, etc, you’d like us to cover in future, please
REPLY with your ideas and suggestions.

BTW – Ever struggle to find inspiration and create LinkedIn content?

If so, try Kleo, the free Chrome extension used by 55,000+ LinkedIn users to:

- Find viral LinkedIn posts for inspiration

- Study any creator’s LinkedIn content
- See data and insights for any creator
- Locate posts using search and filters
- Preview your content before posting
- Improve the look of your content