Someone asked me the other day how to post on LinkedIn. And true to form, the same way I answer most questions, I'm going to let the answer grow up into an article.
But before the how-to, I have to be honest about the where, because I don't want to pretend I love the place.
Let me get my feelings about LinkedIn out of the way first
I don't really like LinkedIn that much (The people ... the platform is great, but you guys have made the platform unbearable because of your attention-seeking shenanigans).
I mostly cross-post things I originally write on DEV, and every time I open the app I get the same feeling: this is a place full of fictional, overly exaggerated content that does not depict reality. Every third post is someone's toddler teaching them a profound lesson about B2B sales. Every rejection is secretly a blessing. Everybody is humbled and thrilled and excited to announce.
I hate to say it, but it feels like Facebook, for people in suits.
You know the memes. LinkedIn vs. Real Life. If this was posted on LinkedIn. They're funny because they're true. The gap between what happens and what gets posted is the whole joke.
And yet. Here's the part I can't argue my way out of: it's still the best place to get hired, and we can't beat that. Recruiters love it. That's just the terrain. Like it or not, we have to play the game. If you can't beat them, join them.
So this is me joining them, on my own terms.
One thing before the mechanics: I don't trick the algorithm
I know the tricks: the “comment ‘GUIDE’ and I’ll DM you the link” bait, the single-word-per-line posts stretched out to look profound, the fake vulnerability, the rage bait, and people posting photos of themselves completely out of context just to farm engagement. I know exactly how all of it works, and I don't do any of it.
Not because I'm above it, but because I'm just not that kind of person. I do this for passion. For the love of the game. If the writing is good and it finds people, great. If it doesn't, I still got to write the thing I wanted to write.
That's the lens for everything below. None of this is "how to hack reach." It's how to post something real on a platform that mostly rewards the opposite, and honestly, being real is the most underrated hack there is.
Okay. If you're actually here to post on LinkedIn, this one's for you.
Step 1: Use "Write an article" - it kills two birds
Right below where you normally type a post, there's a Write an article option. Use it.
Here's why it's the move: an article isn't a replacement for a normal post; it's both at once. When you publish the article, LinkedIn also drops a post into the feed that links to it. So you get the long-form piece and the feed appearance from a single publish. Two birds, one button.
The normal post box is for a thought. The article is for a thing. If you're writing something with a beginning, a middle, and an end, put it in the article.
Step 2: Write a title that promises something
The title is the whole handshake. It's the one line deciding whether anyone reads the other five hundred.
Don't be clever at the cost of being clear. Tell the reader what they're getting, and if you can, put a little tension in it. Even the meta version works, "How to exaggerate a topic LinkedIn-style, and what it'd look like on an actual blog", because it tells you exactly what's coming and winks while it does it.
Say what the article is. Then make them slightly unable to not click it.
Step 3: The header image, and the AI conversation nobody wants to have
Every article wants a header image. I make mine with Gemini. The goal is not to over-style it; simple and clean beats busy and desperate every time.
But I'll be honest instead of impressive here, because I've been realising something uncomfortable: people hate AI-generated graphics. And more than that, people are starting to hate AI-generated content in general. You can feel the eye-roll through the screen the moment something smells generated.
So let me draw the line exactly where I think it belongs:
AI is for corrections. It is not for the soul of the thing. Use it to catch your typos, tighten a clumsy sentence, maybe knock out a plain header graphic. Do not use it to write the actual piece. What you write should come from your heart, because AI lacks the one thing that makes writing land: emotion. A great article makes people angry (Jokes ... that's called rage-baiting, don't do it), or makes them laugh, or somehow both. AI can't feel, so it can't reliably make you feel. That gap is the single biggest thing separating writers people love from content people scroll past.
The header is low stakes; keep it simple. The words are the whole game; keep them yours.
Step 4: Break it into short, clear sections
Nobody reads a wall of text on LinkedIn. They're on their phone, in a queue, half-paying-attention.
Cut the piece into short sections with clear headers, each one doing a single job. Let it breathe. A reader should be able to skim your headers alone and still get the gist, and the ones who skim are exactly the ones you're trying to convert into people who actually read.
Step 5: If you want engagement, end on a question
Here's the one that quietly does the most work: if your goal is attention, end with a question.
A statement closes the door. A question leaves it open; it hands the reader something to do, and the thing it hands them (a comment) is the exact thing the platform rewards. You're not tricking anyone. You're just ending the conversation the way conversations actually end: with a turn back to the other person.
Step 6: Add visuals, and yes, I mean memes
Add images that actually relate to the ideas. Not stock-photo handshakes. Real, relevant visuals.
For me, that means memes. I add them on purpose, because a good meme is a funny way into a difficult concept; it sneaks the point past the part of the brain that's braced for a lecture. It also keeps the visual learners with you, and it breaks up the text so the whole thing feels less like homework.
The bonus, on this platform specifically: a meme is a tiny flag that says a real human wrote this. On a feed full of suspiciously polished nonsense, that's worth more than it looks.
So, the whole thing in one breath
Use the article button (it counts as both a post and an article). Write a title that promises something. Keep the header simple and let AI nowhere near your actual words. Break it into short sections. End on a question. Sprinkle in visuals that earn their place.
But underneath all six steps is the same single idea: be real on a platform that mostly isn't. LinkedIn will always be Facebook for people in suits. You can't change that. What you can do is be the one post in the feed that made someone laugh, or think, or feel slightly less alone in whatever they're stuck on, and do it because you love the game, not because you cracked the algorithm.
So here's my question, since I'm told a good article should end on one:
The next time you open LinkedIn, are you going to add to the pile of fiction, or are you going to post the one true thing?
Top comments (1)
I honestly found LinkedIn a waste of time. Who has actually gotten a job off LinkedIn? All it serves as, is a profile with the same stuff you put on your Resume. It adds no credibility and it adds no depth to anything you did. A portfolio site imo does more to show who you are and what you do, than seeing what industry names you follow and who followed you back, because they want to grow their connection pool...
The bit that just ticks me off, is that LinkedIn URLs are required for most job listings now, which makes no sense to me. I'd rather post my Dev.to profile than LinkedIn, because it's just a page you polish up when you're looking for a job, but you also dont do it immediately, because otherwise your employer knows you're scoping for a new job and that carries it's own risks.