li-carousel
Document posts are the highest-dwell format on LinkedIn, because a swipe is counted and a scroll is not. The format rewards one idea broken into steps. It punishes a text post cut into pieces.
When to use it instead of a text post
Use a carousel when the idea has sequence - steps, a countdown, a
before/after progression, a framework with parts. Use a text post when the
idea is one claim. Splitting one claim across eight slides is the most common
way carousels fail, and if that is what the user has, say so and hand them to
/li-post.
Structure
8-12 slides. Under 8 is a text post. Over 12 and the completion rate falls off a cliff.
1 COVER the hook, 6 words or fewer, plus one line of promise 2 THE STAKE why this matters, in one sentence 3-N ONE IDEA PER SLIDE. A headline of 3-7 words, and at most 25 words under it. If a slide needs a paragraph, it is two slides. N+1 RECAP the whole thing as a list, so the screenshot is useful LAST CTA one action. Follow, comment a keyword, or the link. One.
Slide copy rules
- Slide 1 is 80% of the result. Six words. Big. The rest of the deck cannot save a cover nobody swipes.
- Number every slide (3/10). Completion goes up when people can see the end.
- No slide is a paragraph. If you cannot say it in 25 words, split it.
- The recap slide is the one people screenshot. Make it standalone.
- The user's handle on every slide, small, bottom corner. Screenshots travel without you.
Making the PDF
LinkedIn wants a PDF, 1080x1350 (4:5) for maximum feed real estate, under 100MB, under 300 pages. Build it as HTML and print to PDF:
bash# one page per slide, 1080x1350, no margins # then: Chrome headless --print-to-pdf, or any HTML-to-PDF you already use
Write the HTML with one <section> per slide, width:1080px; height:1350px; page-break-after:always, a single accent colour, and type no smaller than
28px - people read these on a phone at thumbnail size. If the user has a brand
skill or design system in this project, use it and do not invent a palette.
Output
The slide-by-slide copy first, as a numbered list the user can read in ten
seconds. Then the accompanying post text - a carousel still needs 2-3
lines above it, which is the actual hook in the feed. Run both through
/li-human. Then build the PDF only if the user approves the copy.
Nothing is uploaded to LinkedIn. The user posts the PDF themselves.
