LinkedIn Playbook

Inherits from: voice-dna/core-voice.md

Tone

Casual, builder, competent. Shifts slightly by content pillar (see Content Pillars below).

Opening Line Style

• Always lowercase first word (unless proper noun or first-person I — always capitalize I, I'm, I'll)
• Strong hook in first 2 lines. Lead with pain, contrarian take, or action.
• No generic greetings
• Hook inspiration: For scroll-stopping styles (curiosity, contrarian, data bombs, story openers, problem-first), see voice-dna/viral-hooks.md. Same voice, amplified impact.

Good openers from your posts:

• "cold email is dead on arrival if you're only checking for google and microsoft."
• "most outbound still opens with 'hey saw you're growing'"
• "the cursor era has begun. at least for me."
• "I almost nuked an entire enterprise list by accident."
• "my CPU after I run Clay + HubSpot + 6 Loom tabs + clickup + VEED + claude code 🧱"
• "when the client says... why can't we just send 200 emails a day per inbox. 😅"

Bad: "I wanted to share something interesting that happened today."

Paragraph Structure

• 1-2 sentences maximum per paragraph
• Lots of whitespace for mobile scrolling
• Short punchy lines create rhythm
• Single-line statements for emphasis: "that's the whole loop."

Emoji Usage (Structural, Not Decorative)

Emojis serve specific functions in your posts:

Workflow step markers: ✅ 🔧 🔗 🕷️ 🧠 🧩 ➡️ 🔹 Identity markers: ⚡ 🧙‍♂️ Tone signaling: 😅 😒 😏 🙂 (self-deprecating, frustrated, knowing) Section labels: use emoji at start of bullet to create visual structure

Don't scatter emojis randomly. Each one should mark a step, signal tone, or anchor identity.

Content Pillars

Pillar 1: Plays Series (Highest Performing)

Format: "gtm plays i use every day, part [n] ⚡"

Structure:

1. Pain point or contrarian hook (lowercase)
2. Series title + play number
3. Step-by-step workflow with emoji markers
4. "Why this matters" context
5. "No gatekeeping" resource delivery to comments
6. Identity sign-off

Screen recording or screenshot attached. The post is the hook, the comments have the prompts/formulas/full docs.

Pillar 2: Building & Sharing

Format: Narrative, reflective, personal journey

Structure:

1. Personal opener (what you built, what broke, what you learned)
2. The process (messy, real, not polished)
3. The insight or shift in thinking
4. Invitation to connect or follow along

Longer sentences allowed here. More storytelling, less structure. This is where the Cursor origin story, Cmd+Shift+5 workflow, and meta-content-about-content lives.

Pillar 3: GTM Memes

Format: Short text + meme/gif/video

Structure:

1. Setup line (the relatable GTM pain)
2. Punchline or meme context
3. Engagement ask ("what's your version?")
4. Brief sign-off

Pop culture references: anime (Dragon Ball Z Yamcha), wrestling (John Cena), music (Avicii). Always a real lesson underneath the humor.

Pillar 4: Release Reactions

Format: First-hand builder take on new tool features or platform changes

Structure:

1. What changed / what's new
2. How you tested it against real GTM work
3. Specific workflow or use case it enables
4. Forward-looking take on what this means

Pillar 5: Skill/System Shares

Format: Sharing your actual frameworks, skill files, validation systems

Structure:

1. What you built and why
2. How it works (enough to be useful, not so much they don't need the file)
3. Where to get it (comments, link)
4. Comment thread with deeper insights and reasoning

Sign-Off Style

Your sign-off is an identity anchor, not a CTA. Use variations of:

• "shawn, the gtme alchemist 🧙‍♂️"
• "shawn ⚡ GTM Engineer"
• "-shawn ⚡ | the gtme 🧙‍♂️ alchemist"
• "shawn 🧙‍♂️ | GTM Alchemist"

Always include the ⚡ or 🧙‍♂️ or both.

CTA Style

Value delivery CTAs (your primary style):

• "prompt's in the comments 👇"
• "formula + HTTP API setup in the comments 👇...no gatekeeping"
• "don't sleep on the comments. prompt + scoring guide is there."
• "documented the full process... full doc is in the comments 👇"

Co-building CTAs (for building & sharing posts):

• "dm me if you're building something similar"
• "if you're building with cursor and figuring it out too. dm me."
• "follow along if you want to see how it plays out"

Engagement CTAs (meme posts only):

• "what's your version? drop it in the comments"
• "what's the coldest cold email practice you've seen still running in 2026?"

Never:

• "What do you think? Comment below!"
• "Agree? Hit that like button!"
• "Follow me for more tips!"

Comment Strategy

Your comments section is a content delivery channel:

• Full prompts and formulas go in comments
• Follow-up insights and deeper reasoning in comment threads
• Reply to commenters with one-line value adds, not generic thanks

Avoid

• Quotation marks (write phrases directly, not "in quotes")
• Corporate speak
• Generic advice without specifics
• Performing expertise (authority signaling)
• Over-polished content
• Gatekeeping resources
• Numbered series without screen recordings or screenshots