LS #53: 5 Simple Steps to 10x Your LinkedIn Engagement
Hi there,
I analyze top LinkedIn posts to help you craft content that resonates.
In this issue, you'll find:
The 3 high-performing LinkedIn posts this week
5 Simple Steps to 10x Your LinkedIn Engagement
The 3 high-performing posts this week
1. I just hired a 17-year-old to build a $1B company with me.
Why this post?
This post went viral, receiving almost 1.2k likes in 2 days. It received 20 more engagement and views than Vitalii's posts this week.
BREAKDOWN
Opens with a bold statement: "I just hired a 17-year-old to build a $1B company with me"
Names the person (Jason) to make it feel real and personal
Shows photos of them working together in a nice office with water views
Tells the story of how they met at a hackathon event
Uses specific details like "JSON in Slack" and "all-green GitHub timeline" to show Jason's skills
Lists 3 key qualities he noticed: rule-breaking, passion, and ownership
Explains his decision-making process about hiring someone so young
Ends with a powerful message about hands-on education being better than classrooms
HOW TO CREATE YOUR OWN POST:
Share a story about hiring or working with someone unexpected (too young, no degree, different background)
Use specific examples and evidence to prove their skills are real
Explain how you discovered this person and what made them stand out
Include photos that show you actually working together
List the specific qualities that convinced you to take a chance on them
POST IDEAS FOLLOWING THIS TEMPLATE:
"I just hired a college dropout to lead our engineering team. Here's why her bootcamp skills beat most CS graduates."
"This 19-year-old has no marketing degree but just created our best campaign ever. Sometimes passion beats education."
"I hired someone with zero sales experience who's now our top performer. Here's what I saw that others missed."
"This self-taught programmer with no formal training just solved a problem our senior developers couldn't crack."
"I gave a high school student an internship and they just saved our company $50k. Age doesn't predict ability."
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2. “I’m the head of marketing”
Why this post?
Another post that went viral this week—it got 1.3k likes in 3 days and performed 18-28 times better than Clemence’s other posts this week.
BREAKDOWN:
Uses the structure from the famous Victoria Beckham interview where her husband asked her to "be honest" about her claim that she came from a “working class”.
Opens with someone claiming to be "head of marketing"
Responds with a simple request: "Be honest"
Creates a dialogue format like a text conversation
Asks a follow-up question: "So how many marketers work at your company?"
Reveals the truth: "Just me"
HOW TO CREATE YOUR OWN POST:
Pick a common exaggeration or misleading claim in your industry
Set up a dialogue between two people using quotation marks
Start with someone making an inflated claim about their role or success
Use "Be honest" as a way to challenge the claim
Ask a simple follow-up question that reveals the truth
3. They were 6 months from IPO.
Why this post?
This post performed 4-40 times better than Justin's other posts this week.
BREAKDOWN:
Opens with a bold, controversial opinion: "Don't be authentic"
Makes a shocking claim: "People don't want the real you"
References Seth Godin (a famous expert) to add credibility to her argument
Explains what people actually want from personal brands in three simple points
Shares a deeply personal story about being a struggling single mom
HOW TO CREATE YOUR OWN POST:
Hook with mystery: Opens with "They were 6 months from IPO" - makes you want to know what happened
Problem reveal: "Then investors found out where engineering hours were actually going" - creates tension
Cliffhanger ending: "The spreadsheet killed their public offering" - leaves you wanting more
Story structure: Uses a simple before/during/after format that's easy to follow
Specific details: Mentions exact percentages (40% executive requests, 30% urgent reports, 30% actual work)
Shocking numbers: "$8M per year in PowerPoint creation" - makes the waste concrete and memorable
Multiple examples: Shows pattern across different companies (Stripe, Airbnb, Notion)
Clear lesson: Ends with actionable advice about checking your own company's ratio
POST IDEAS FOLLOWING THIS TEMPLATE:
"They had 10,000 customers and $0 revenue" - Reveal how a startup's pricing model was broken
"The meeting that cost them $2M" - Show how one bad decision in a conference room led to massive losses
"Why their best employee quit via text" - Expose toxic management practices through one person's story
"The email that saved the company" - Tell how one honest message prevented disaster
"They spent 6 months building the wrong product" - Reveal how companies ignore customer feedback
LinkedIn engagement guide
5 Simple Steps to 10x Your LinkedIn Engagement
Most LinkedIn posts die a slow, painful death.
You spend 30 minutes crafting the perfect update about your startup journey, hit publish, and... crickets.
Two likes. Zero comments. Your post disappears into the LinkedIn void.
I used to be that founder. Then I cracked the code and went from ghost town to 1,000+ likes per post.
The secret? Stop posting like a CEO. Start posting like a human.
The Engagement Reality Check
What doesn't work:
Posting motivational quotes with stock photos
Sharing company updates nobody cares about
Writing corporate-speak that sounds like a press release
Posting randomly whenever you remember
What works:
Personal stories that teach lessons
Controversial takes that spark debate
Behind-the-scenes failures and wins
Consistent value delivered on schedule
Step 1: The Hook That Stops the Scroll
The 3-Second Rule: If someone doesn't stop scrolling in 3 seconds, you've lost them forever.
Top-Performing Hook Formulas:
The Problem Hook:
"Why our $10K ad spend failed (and what I learned)"
"How we lost our biggest client in 24 hours"
"The mistake that cost us $50K in revenue"
The Contradiction Hook:
"Everyone says follow your passion. I disagree."
"Popular opinion: Content is king. Here's why it's wrong."
"Stop networking. Start this instead."
The Number Hook:
"3 words that changed our business"
"7 minutes that saved us 7 hours"
"1 email that generated $100K"
What Makes Hooks Work:
Personal stakes (our money, our failure, our success)
Specific numbers (not "a lot" but "$50K")
Immediate curiosity gap
Promise of a lesson learned
Step 2: The Story Structure That Sells
The PAIN Framework:
Problem: What went wrong?
Action: What did I do about it?
Insight: What did I learn?
Next: What should you do?
Example Post Using PAIN:
"How I lost $25K on our first product launch:
Problem: I spent 6 months building a feature nobody wanted. Zero customers in week 1.
Action: Instead of doubling down, I called 50 prospects. Asked what they actually needed.
Insight: I was solving my problem, not theirs. Big difference.
Next: Before building anything, talk to 20 potential customers. Save yourself the heartbreak.
What's the biggest assumption you made about your customers?"
Why This Works:
Vulnerability builds trust
Specific details feel authentic
Clear lesson provides value
Question drives engagement
Step 3: The Timing That Maximizes Reach
Posting Schedule (Based on 1000+ Posts):
Best Days: Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday
Best Times: 8:00-10:00 am and 12:00-2:00 pm (your audience timezone)
Worst Times: Friday evenings, Monday mornings, weekends
Weekly Content Calendar:
Monday: Motivational/Mindset post
Tuesday: Tactical how-to post
Wednesday: Behind-the-scenes story
Thursday: Industry insight/prediction
Friday: Lessons learned/reflection
The Golden Hour Strategy:
Post at 8:30 am when your audience is:
Drinking coffee
Checking LinkedIn before work
Most engaged with content
Not in back-to-back meetings yet
Step 4: The Engagement Multiplication Method
Most people post and ghost. I post and engage.
First-Hour Engagement Plan:
Minutes 1-15: Respond to every comment personally
Minutes 16-30: Like and comment on 10 industry leaders' posts
Minutes 31-45: Comment on 10 peers’ posts
Minutes 46-60: Comment on 10 ICPs’ posts
Comment Strategy:
Instead of "Thanks!" I write:
"Great point about [specific thing they mentioned]"
"I had the opposite experience with [related story]"
"This reminds me of [relevant example]"
The Tag-to-Engage Method:
I tag people when:
They're mentioned in my story
They'd have valuable perspective
They've experienced similar situations
They could benefit from the lesson
Example: "This reminds me of what @[Name] shared about customer discovery. Have you seen similar patterns?"
Step 5: The Algorithm Hack Nobody Talks About
LinkedIn's algorithm rewards dwell time, not just likes.
How to Maximize Dwell Time:
The Cliffhanger Close:
End with a question that requires thought
"What's been your biggest hiring mistake?"
"How do you handle difficult customer conversations?"
"What would you do differently in my situation?"
The List That Loops:
"Here are 5 mistakes I made building our team:"
People scroll down to read all 5
Then scroll back up to like/comment
Double engagement on the same post
The Controversial Take:
"Unpopular opinion: Most startups shouldn't raise VC money"
People read to see if I'm serious
Some agree, some disagree
Both groups comment = algorithm loves it
Engagement Multiplier Tactics:
The Follow-Up Comment: After posting, I add a comment with additional context: "One thing I didn't mention in the post..."
The Question Pyramid:
Main post asks broad question
Comment adds specific follow-up
Response to comments with deeper questions
The Cross-Pollination:
Reference previous posts in new ones
"Remember the $50K mistake I shared last week?"
Creates content ecosystem
Increases overall profile engagement
The Engagement Math That Matters
Engagement Formula: Personal Story + Specific Details + Clear Lesson + Engaging Question = High Engagement
Weekly Tracking Metrics:
Engagement rate per post type
Best performing hook styles
Comments that turn into conversations
Profile visits from engaged users
Common Engagement Killers
1. The Humble Brag
"So grateful for our 500% growth this year..." Nobody likes a show-off.
2. The Generic Wisdom
"Hard work pays off in the end." Everyone's heard this 1,000 times.
3. The Sales Pitch
"Check out our amazing new feature..." LinkedIn isn't a billboard.
4. The Wall of Text
One giant paragraph with no breaks. People scroll past walls of text.
The 30-Day Engagement Challenge
Week 1: Write 5 posts using the PAIN framework
Week 2: Comment meaningfully on 50 industry leaders' posts
Week 3: Test 3 different hook styles and track results
Week 4: Engage with every comment within 1 hour of posting
Track These Metrics:
Average likes per post
Comments per post
New followers per week
Profile views per week
The Engagement Success Formula
Personal Stories (people connect with humans) + Consistent Value (teach something useful) + Active Engagement (conversations not broadcasts) + Strategic Timing (when your audience is online) = 10x Engagement
That's a wrap for today.
See you next week! If you want more LinkedIn tips, be sure to follow me on LinkedIn (link).
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Your compadre,
Anton "LinkedIn growth strategies" Cherkasov