Storytelling

---
name: linkedin-storytelling
description: Build the body of a LinkedIn post with proven narrative structures. Use for questions about post structure, the AIDA / PAS / BAB frameworks, story-driven posts, system reveals, contrarian takes, or writing the body itself. Do NOT use for the opening line (use hooks) or the closing CTA (use cta).
---

# LinkedIn Storytelling & Post Structure

You build the body of a LinkedIn post. Each one carries a single idea, uses the Step 1/2/3 and ↳ structure where it fits, and runs at roughly an eight-word median line with plenty of whitespace.

## Reference

Read `{SKILL_BASE}/resources/writing/writing-guide.md` for Growth Today writing voice, sentence rules, vocabulary, and the default Step Framework.
Read `{SKILL_BASE}/resources/writing/post-templates.md` for seven ready-to-fill templates, each with character counts and layout notes.
Read `{SKILL_BASE}/resources/writing/content-strategy.md` for complete storytelling frameworks and examples.
Read the content pillars in `{SKILL_BASE}/resources/writing/writing-guide.md` to identify which pillar the topic belongs to and which formula fits. Check this before choosing a formula.
For any company-specific numbers, client results, and product details to embed in the post body, ask the user for the current figures, never invent or hardcode them.

---

## The Default Structure: Step Framework

For any process, workflow, or system reveal, this is the Growth Today default:

```
[HOOK, from hooks sub-skill]

[1-line credibility or context]

Here's [what we built / the exact system / how it works]:

Step 1: [Action label]
↳ [Specific detail, tool, method, output]
↳ [What happens next, 1 sentence]

Step 2: [Action label]
↳ [Specific detail]
↳ [What happens next]

Step 3: [Action label]
↳ [Specific detail]
↳ [Result or output]

The result: [Specific metric]

[CTA, from cta sub-skill]

P.S. [Mandatory, from cta sub-skill]
```

**When to use:** Workflow reveals, automation builds, client case studies, "here's how we do X" posts. This covers most MoF content.

---

## Core Frameworks (and when to reach for each)

Five classic story structures underneath the six formulas below. Pick by what the post has to do. Each maps to one of the Growth Today formulas.

### AIDA (Attention, Interest, Desire, Action)
Reach for it on: teaching posts, launches, case studies. Maps to the System Reveal.
```
[Attention]  a bold opener or a hard result
[Interest]   context that pulls the reader in further
[Desire]     the system, framework, or change itself
[Action]     one clear ask, a save, a comment, a follow
```

### PAS (Problem, Agitate, Solution)
Reach for it on: pain-point posts, "here is how we fixed it" stories. Maps to the Contrarian Take.
```
[Problem]    name a pain the reader is living right now
[Agitate]    show what leaving it alone costs, in money, time, or lost deals
[Solution]   the approach or tool that clears it
```

### BAB (Before, After, Bridge)
Reach for it on: transformation stories, process reveals. Maps to the Journey Post.
```
[Before]     the rough starting point, with specifics
[After]      where it landed, with concrete numbers
[Bridge]     the two or three moves that got you across
```

### Mistake to Lesson
Reach for it on: honest reflections, founder stories, building in public. Maps to the Journey Post.
```
Open on the slip ("This one cost us.")
What actually happened, with the specifics
What it cost you, in time, money, or trust
The lesson you pulled out of it
The reframe, why you would not undo it
```

### Contrarian
Reach for it on: thought leadership, debate posts, standing apart. Maps to the Contrarian Take.
```
Open on the claim ("[Common belief] is off.")
Grant the usual view for a beat
Lay out your evidence
Reframe how to think about it
Add the nuance, you are not calling it always wrong
```

---

## 6 Formulas: Choose Based on Funnel Stage

### Formula 1: System Reveal (MoF: highest consistency)
Use for: Clay workflows, automation builds, campaign systems
Structure: Bold result → credibility line → Step 1/2/3 with ↳ → "The result:" → CTA → P.S.
Character target: 1,800-2,500

### Formula 2: Trend Explainer (ToF: highest reach ceiling)
Use for: AI news, new model releases, industry shifts with GTM angle
Structure: Trending topic → "Here's what it means for your GTM" → Visual (required) → 3-5 ↳ points → soft close → P.S. (follow type)
Character target: 1,000-1,800
**Visual is mandatory for ToF posts. Text-only ToF consistently underperforms.**

### Formula 3: Resource Drop (BoF: highest conversion)
Use for: Lead magnets, template giveaways, trigger lists
Structure: Specific result → what the resource is → 3-5 ↳ teaser items → comment-gate CTA → P.S. (service signal)
Character target: 800-1,500

### Formula 4: Contrarian Take (MoF: high engagement per impression)
Use for: Hot takes, "X is dead", industry myths
Structure: "[Belief] is wrong." → acknowledge common view → "Here's what's actually happening:" → ↳ evidence → "Here's what actually works:" → ↳ alternatives → proof point → "Over to you:" question → P.S.
Character target: 1,000-1,800

### Formula 5: Journey Post (MoF/BoF: trust building)
Use for: Agency milestones, client wins, building in public, "how it started/how it's going"
Structure: "How it started: [specific bad state]" → "How it's going: [specific good state]" → 3-5 numbered lessons with ↳ detail → closing conviction statement → P.S.
Character target: 1,200-2,000
**Text-only acceptable here. Personal vulnerability + specific results = trust.**

### Formula 6: Tool Comparison (MoF: high save rate)
Use for: Tech stack reveals, head-to-head comparisons
Structure: "I tested X tools." → "Here's what I found:" → Tool 1: ↳ verdict → Tool 2: ↳ verdict → Tool 3: ↳ verdict → "Overall winner for [use case]:" → "Over to you:" → P.S.
Character target: 1,500-2,500

---

## Structural Rules (Non-Negotiable)

**Sentence length:**
- Median: 8 words per line (aim 7 to 8)
- Hook lines: 9 words
- Hard ceiling: 20 words per sentence
- Most lines should fall in 4 to 14 words

**Paragraphs:**
- 1-2 sentences max, then blank line
- No exceptions, no wall-of-text posts

**Arrow usage:**
- ↳ for sub-points under a step or category (nested info)
- → for action items, flows, or processes (sequential)
- Never use bullet points (- or •), always arrows

**Bold unicode:**
- 1-3 key phrases per post maximum
- Use for the most important insight, result, or term
- Never use for decoration

**Emojis:**
- 0-2 per post maximum
- Only structural: 👇 before CTA, numbered sections 1️⃣ 2️⃣
- Never decorative mid-sentence

---

## Storytelling Rules

1. **One post = one idea**, never combine two topics
2. **Specificity beats generality**, "4.7% reply rate" beats "better results"
3. **Lead with the result, not the story**, "We generated 40 meetings. Here's how." not "Here's a story about how we tried something new..."
4. **Show the system, not the outcome**, explain the steps, not just the win
5. **"We" for agency/team posts, "I" for personal stories**, be consistent throughout
6. **Active voice**, "We built" not "A system was built"
7. **Name tools directly**, Clay, Instantly, n8n, HubSpot, Apollo, not "our CRM" or "our automation platform"
8. **Create tension early, resolve it late**, open a loop in the first lines that the reader wants closed, and hold the payoff until the end

---

## Transition Patterns (Use These)

Bridges between sections, ranked roughly by how often they tend to appear in strong posts:

1. **"Here's [what we did / the exact system / how it works]:"**, the standard reveal bridge, by far the most common
2. **"Instead of ..."**, contrarian pivot
3. **"Step 1: / Step 2: / Step 3:"**, numbered walkthrough
4. **"The result:"**, payoff reveal
5. **"Over to you:"**, discussion-opener close (use sparingly; it lives in the cta sub-skill)
6. Situational, rarer but useful when they fit: **"Think of it as"** (analogy), **"But here's the thing:"** (tension), **"Most people miss ..."** (pain opener)

---

## Examples (structure first, then the coded example)

**Formula 1: System Reveal (Clay + Claude ICP workflow).** Structure: bold result, one credibility line, Step 1/2/3 each with sub-points, then "The result:" with a metric.
```
We automated ICP research for every new client campaign.
What used to take 3 days now runs in 4 hours. Here's the exact system:

Step 1: Define ICP parameters in Clay
↳ Industry + company size + 3 intent signals
↳ Claygent filters automatically, no manual list building

Step 2: Claude scores each account
↳ Pulls LinkedIn activity, recent news, hiring signals
↳ Scores 1-10 against ICP fit criteria in real time

Step 3: Output feeds directly into Instantly
↳ Personalized first line auto-generated per account
↳ No SDR touches the list until there's a reply

The result: 12 hours saved per campaign. Reply rates up 3.1x.
```

**Formula 4: Contrarian Take (cold email personalization).** Structure: the claim, acknowledge the common view, "here's what's actually happening" with evidence, "here's what works instead" with alternatives, a proof line, then an "over to you" question.
```
Personalization won't save a bad list.

Most outbound teams spend weeks perfecting their copy.
The open rate goes up. The reply rate stays flat.

Here's what's actually happening:
↳ They're reaching the right message to the wrong people
↳ Personalization amplifies relevance, it doesn't create it
↳ A perfectly written email to an unqualified account is still noise

Here's what actually works instead:
↳ Spend 80% of setup time on account selection
↳ Use signal-based triggers to time outreach (not spray-and-pray)
↳ Personalize on the signal, not on the LinkedIn headline

We've seen this pattern across [X]+ B2B clients.
The ones with 4%+ reply rates obsess over targeting. Not copy.

Over to you: where does your team spend most of its setup time?
```

**Formula 5: Journey Post (building in public).** Structure: "how it started" bad state, "how it's going" good state, numbered lessons each with a sub-point, then a closing conviction line.
```
How it started: every client onboarding took us 3 days manually.
How it's going: 4 hours. Zero human touches.

Here's what we built:

1. Intake via a form (one link, one click)
↳ All ICP, goals, and tool access collected automatically

2. An automation tool routes everything into our workspace and comms tools
↳ Client workspace created, team notified, checklist populated

3. Clay table auto-built from intake data
↳ First prospect list ready before the first call

4. Make.com sends welcome sequence
↳ Onboarding guide, calendar link, first touchpoints, all automated

We didn't hire for this. We built it.
And now every new client gets the same experience, every time.
```

---

## Output Format

When structuring a post body:
1. Name which formula you're using and why
2. Write the full body with proper whitespace, ↳ arrows, and bold unicode
3. Do not write the hook (that's the hooks sub-skill) or P.S./CTA (that's the cta sub-skill)
4. Keep paragraph structure tight, 1-2 sentences, then line break
5. Flag the character count estimate


---

*Created by [Growth Today](https://www.growthtoday.co), an AI-native GTM engineering firm. Maintained and updated by [Brigitta Ruha](https://www.linkedin.com/in/brigittaruha/). More open Claude Skills for go-to-market teams: https://www.growthtoday.co/claude-skills*