Prompt for a LinkedIn Post

Why the first two lines decide everything

On LinkedIn, the feed shows only the first one or two lines of a post before collapsing the rest behind a "see more" link. That means a reader makes the decision to expand — or scroll past — based on a fragment. If those opening lines are a warm-up ("I've been thinking a lot about leadership lately..."), the post is dead on arrival no matter how good the payoff is. The prompt above forces the hook into that visible zone. Strong hooks tend to do one of three things: state a surprising number, admit something counterintuitive, or open a loop the reader needs to close ("I turned down a promotion last year. Here's why it was the best career move I've made."). When you fill in the [topic] field, think first about which of those angles your material supports, because the hook is the single highest-leverage sentence in the entire post.

Formatting for the way people actually read

LinkedIn is read on phones, in spare moments, at a glance. Dense paragraphs signal effort and get skipped. That is why the prompt asks for short lines and white space — often one sentence per line, with blank lines between thoughts. This is not decoration; it is a readability strategy that keeps the eye moving downward. The rhythm of a well-formatted post pulls a skimmer through to the end, where your call to action lives. If the AI returns a wall of text, reply with "break this into single-sentence lines with white space between each idea" and it will restructure instantly. Aim for a post that can be absorbed in under thirty seconds without any paragraph feeling like a commitment.

Insight beats advice, and stories beat both

The fastest way to make a LinkedIn post forgettable is to offer generic advice everyone has heard: "communication is key," "always add value," "be authentic." The prompt explicitly demands a real insight, story, or lesson, because specificity is what makes a post feel earned rather than recycled. A concrete story — a project that failed, a client conversation that changed your thinking, a mistake you would warn others about — carries a point of view that generic advice cannot. When you use this prompt, feed it a genuine detail from your own experience in the topic field. The more specific and slightly vulnerable the material, the more the post will resonate, because readers reward posts that sound like a person talking, not a brand broadcasting.

Ending in a way that sparks comments

LinkedIn's algorithm heavily rewards comments, and comments are far more valuable than likes for reach. That is why the prompt closes with a question or soft call to action rather than a hard sell. The best closing questions are easy to answer and invite disagreement or personal experience ("Am I wrong about this?" or "What would you have done?"). Avoid stuffing hashtags at the top, where they clutter the hook; a few relevant ones at the very end are enough for discoverability. The "professional but human" tone instruction is what ties it all together — it keeps the post credible for a work audience while stripping out the stiff corporate voice that makes so much LinkedIn content invisible.

Why this prompt works

LinkedIn truncates posts after a couple of lines, so the hook is everything. This prompt front-loads it, formats for skimming, and demands a real insight rather than platitudes — the combination that earns comments and reach in the feed.

How to customize it

• Put your most interesting line first; everything else is hidden behind 'see more'.
• Share a specific story or lesson; generic advice gets ignored.
• End with a genuine question to drive comments.

Prompt variations to try

Story-first personal post

Write a LinkedIn post that opens with a short personal story about [topic]. Start mid-scene with a hook line under 12 words. Use single-sentence lines and white space. Land on one clear lesson the reader can apply, then end with a question inviting their own story. Human, reflective tone. A few relevant hashtags at the end only.

Contrarian take (authority)

Write a LinkedIn post that challenges a common belief about [topic] for [audience]. Open with the belief stated plainly, then flip it in the second line. Back the contrarian view with one specific example or number. Keep lines short and skimmable. End by asking readers whether they agree or disagree. Confident but not arrogant.

Listicle / carousel outline

Write a LinkedIn post about [topic] structured as a numbered list of 5 practical takeaways for [audience]. Give it a hook line that promises the payoff (e.g. '5 things I wish I knew about X'). One short line per point, no fluff. Close with a soft CTA asking which point resonated most. Add 3 relevant hashtags at the end.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Wasting the hook on a warm-up line. Openers like "I want to share some thoughts..." get buried behind "see more." Put your sharpest, most specific line first.
• Writing dense paragraphs. On mobile a block of text looks like work and gets skipped — break ideas into short, single-sentence lines with white space between them.
• Offering generic advice. "Add value" and "be authentic" say nothing. Replace platitudes with one specific story, number, or lesson from your own experience.
• Ending with a statement instead of a question. Comments drive reach far more than likes, so close with an easy, genuine question that invites people to respond.
• Stuffing hashtags at the top. Hashtags in the hook zone clutter the part that decides whether anyone reads on — move a few relevant ones to the very end.

Frequently asked questions

How long should a LinkedIn post be?

Do hashtags actually help on LinkedIn?

How do I make an AI-written post not sound like AI?

Should every post end with a question?

Tip: replace the parts in [square brackets] with your own details before you send. The more specific you are — audience, tone, goal, constraints — the better the AI output.