Hi there,
I uncover the patterns behind viral LinkedIn posts, so your content gets noticed.
In this issue, you’ll find:
Why copying winners fails (survivorship bias and the 10 hidden factors you can’t see)
How to steal the principle, not the post (starting with their hooks)
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Stop Copying Creators (Why Their Tactics Won’t Work for You)
Let me say something strange for a guy who breaks down top creators’ content.
Stop copying them.
Yes, including the ones I write about. Including Jasmin. Including whoever’s post is going viral in your feed right now.
I know how that sounds coming from me. Analyzing creators is basically what this newsletter was about initially. But here’s the thing I’ve learned from studying them for years:
The people who copy tactics lose.
The people who understand tactics win.
There’s a huge difference between the two. And today I want to show you exactly why lifting someone else’s playbook usually backfires, and what to do instead.
Let’s get into it.
You’re Only Seeing the Winners
Here’s the first problem with copying.
You only ever see the creators who made it.
You see the person with 100K followers sharing “the exact strategy that got me here.” You don’t see the thousand people who ran that identical strategy and got nowhere.
They tried the same thing. It didn’t work. So they quit and disappeared. You never hear from them.
This is survivorship bias. And it wrecks your thinking.
When you copy a winner, you’re assuming their tactic caused their success. But you can’t actually know that. Because you’re not seeing everyone who used the same tactic and failed.
Maybe the tactic worked. Or maybe it was timing. Or luck. Or their audience. Or something they’re not even telling you about.
You’re copying the visible move and assuming it was the cause. Usually, it wasn’t the whole story.
The Stuff You Can’t See
Every tactic works because of context. And most of that context is invisible to you.
When a creator’s post goes viral, you see the post. You don’t see everything underneath it that made it land.
Like what?
Their audience. A post that crushes with a US-based, Gen Z, mobile-scrolling audience might flop with a European, B2B, desktop-reading one. Different people behave differently. Their audience isn’t yours.
Their timing. Being first to a format wins. Being the hundredth copycat loses. The carousel trick that worked in 2023 is dead now. What worked when they did it might be over by the time you copy it.
Their existing trust. A creator with 100K followers can post one line and get 500 comments. Not because the line was genius. Because 100K people already trust them. You post the same line and hear crickets. Same words, totally different result.
Their niche. Advice tailored to a fitness coach won’t map cleanly onto a B2B consultant. The formats, the tone, the topics - all different.
Their story and voice. Often the thing that made a post work was the personal story inside it. That story is theirs. You can’t copy it. And a copied voice always sounds off.
You see a post that worked. You don’t see the ten hidden factors that made it work.
Copy the post, miss the factors, get a different result. Every time.
Why Copying Actually Hurts You
It’s not just that copying doesn’t work. It actively costs you.
You bury your own voice.
When you’re busy imitating someone else, you never develop the thing that would actually make you stand out: you.
Your voice is your edge. Copying trades it away.
You look like a knockoff.
People can tell when you’re doing a discount impression of a bigger creator. It reads as inauthentic. You become “off-brand version of that other person” instead of yourself.
You learn nothing.
This is the real cost. When you copy, you skip the testing. And testing is how you build judgment.
The creators you admire got good by experimenting on their own audience for years. If you just copy their endpoint, you never build that skill. You stay dependent on other people’s playbooks forever.
Copying feels like a shortcut. It’s actually a dead end.
What to Do Instead
So if copying is out, what’s the move?
Learn from creators without imitating them. Here’s how.
Steal the principle, not the post.
This is the whole mindset shift.
Don’t copy what they did. Understand why it worked, then find your own version.
A creator writes a vulnerable “solo dad” post that goes viral. The lesson isn’t “post about being a solo dad.” The lesson is “vulnerability paired with a lesson can perform really well.”
That principle is yours to use. Your vulnerable story will be completely different. But the underlying mechanism is what you’re borrowing, not the words.
Principles transfer. Posts don’t.
Study their hooks above everything else.
If you’re going to obsess over one thing, make it hooks. The hook is where 80% of the battle is won or lost. No matter how good your post is, a weak first line means nobody reads it.
So when a post crushes, zoom in on the first line. Don’t copy the topic. Don’t copy the story. Study the hook itself.
Ask:
Why did this stop me?
Was it a bold claim?
A surprising number? A contradiction? Curiosity? Tension?
Something that made you need to know what came next?
Figure out the mechanism. The exact reason it pulled you in.
Then build your own hook using that same mechanism, for your topic and your niche.
You’re not stealing their hook. You’re learning why it worked and applying that lesson to something only you could write.
Do this enough and you build a mental library of hook types that work. That’s worth infinitely more than copying one viral post.
Treat every tactic as a hypothesis.
When you read advice (mine included), don’t take it as law. Take it as a theory to test.
“Personal stories get more reach” isn’t a rule. It’s a hypothesis. Test it on YOUR audience. See if it’s true for you.
Some things that work for everyone else won’t work for you. Some things nobody talks about will work great for you. You only find out by testing.
Trust your own data over borrowed advice.
Your numbers tell you more than any guru ever will.
Remember: a 200-view post that lands you a client beats a 20,000-view post that gets you nothing. Your data knows your audience. Outside advice doesn’t.
When what you see in your own analytics conflicts with what a creator told you, believe your data.
Give it time.
One test isn’t proof. A single post that flopped doesn’t mean the approach is dead. A single post that hit doesn’t mean you cracked the code.
Look for patterns across many of your own posts. That’s where the real answers are.
The Honest Truth About This Newsletter
So where does that leave you and me?
Keep reading creator breakdowns. Keep reading this newsletter. Keep studying Jasmin and everyone else worth learning from.
But change how you read them.
Don’t read them looking for scripts to run. Read them looking for principles to adapt.
When I break down a creator’s post, the value isn’t “go do exactly this.” The value is “here’s the underlying reason this worked, now go find your version.”
The breakdowns are raw material. You’re the one who has to shape it into something that fits your voice, your niche, your audience.
Advice is a starting point. Never the finish line.
Your audience is the only real judge. Not me. Not Jasmin. Not any creator you admire.
Study everyone. Copy no one. Test everything.
That’s how you actually get good at this.
Your Homework
This week, do this:
Find a post from a creator that stopped you cold. Don’t copy it.
Zoom in on the hook. Figure out exactly why it worked. What mechanism made you stop?
Write your own hook using that same mechanism, for your topic. Different words, same underlying move.
Next time you read advice (including mine), ask “is this actually true for MY audience?” Then test it instead of assuming.
Check your own data this week. Let it tell you what’s working, not a guru.
The creators you admire didn’t get there by copying.
They got there by understanding.
Now it’s your turn.
That’s it for this week.
If you catch yourself about to copy a creator this week and stop to study the principle instead, reply and tell me what you found. That shift changes everything.
See you next time.
That’s a wrap for today.
See you next week! If you want more LinkedIn tips, be sure to follow me on LinkedIn (link).
If you love this episode and want to support us, spread the word about us by sharing The LinkedIn Secrets with colleagues. I really appreciate it!
Thank you for reading!
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Your compadre,
Anton “LinkedIn growth strategies” Cherkasov