Why Matt Gray's LinkedIn posts go mega-viral

Welcome to the first-ever issue of Cool Story. 🎉🍾🥂

This is a newsletter about writing social content that makes things happen (particularly on LinkedIn).

Most of what we’re going to do here is obsess over the Top Voices of LinkedIn and figure out how they always manage to go viral.

Then, we’ll steal their secrets. Eventually, we may become Top Voices ourselves.

There aren’t too too many of you here yet, so I want to take a moment to say thank you. And also, to appreciate things when they’re kinda small.

Like when a great party winds down to your best buds + your “will they/won’t they” smoking the last cigarettes on the rooftop at 3AM.

We’re the kids who liked that band before everyone else did right now. Take it in.

Before it gets all complicated, riddled with ads, and bots in the comments trying to get you to click that link (do not, under any circumstances, click the link).

In all seriousness, Cool Story is in it for the long haul. And I appreciate every single one of you who can say “FIRST !!!” this morning.

Now let’s get down to business.

Each week, I tear down a post from one of LinkedIn’s most popular accounts, show you how it’s done, and give you a content template you can stick in your swipe file. 

Slowly but surely, I will teach you how to write like LinkedIn’s Top Voices.

Their secrets aren’t so secret. And if you’re trying to build your brand online so your business can boom instead of bust, this newsletter is about to become a Monday morning must-read.

Let’s get started!

This week’s post

For our first edition, we’re starting at the tippy-tippy top of the LinkedIn Top Voices pile with Matt Gray.

Matt is the Founder and CEO of Founder OS, which helps business owners establish a lead machine powered by content.

Naturally, his content is a pretty big driver of his success. He regularly goes viral on LinkedIn, with many posts bringing in thousands of likes. Like, tens of thousands.

Today we’re taking a look at a template he uses often: The Long-Form List:

This is one of Matt’s go-to templates (here’s another example). It frequently goes viral and has been so successful that he offers it as one of his “Power Formats” in his program.

Here’s how it works:

It’s pretty straightfoward.

Matt opens with a strong hook and teases the list before the “see more” fold. (pro-tip, that’s the first three lines INCLUDING the blank double space).

Then, he follows the exact same formula for each item:

• Item # + a heading (which itself is a mini-hook for the item)

• Subhead to hook you more, and then the mini-list

• A summary where Matt deploys something he calls “hook stacking” to transition you to the next item. (Hook stacking means he just keeps dropping those punchy attention grabbers to keep you moving along.)

Steal the template:

So our template for the long list post looks like this:

[Hook]

[Item # + header]
[subhead (optional)]
- Mini-list item 1
- Mini-list item 2
- Mini-list item 3

[Summary/transition]

— Repeat for all the items you’re including on your list —

[CTA]

That’s cool, but how do I actually use this?

Here are a few more tips.

How many items should go on my list?
Opinions vary. Coschedule says 25. If you just went “holy shit,” don’t worry, Matt Gray himself suggests 7-9. I think that’s a good number to shoot for. Avoid too few items, and avoid the number 10 like the plague.

Keep the CTA short and sweet
Matt uses multiple CTAs to close out his post, but he’s a bigshot, so he can do whatever he wants. For minnows like us, we cannot afford to have our audience distracted. Pick one CTA, make it sound natural, and bonus points if you have that same CTA all over your profile.

You’re the boss
Don’t forget that a template is just a template. Don’t like the hook stacking idea? Don’t do it, just give a little summary. Or none at all. Customize it to your brand and tone. Here’s an example of this template being used on my own profile for you to compare/contrast:

Cool Story is FREE, but I do have a BIG ask…

I’m trying to grow the newsletter this year, so if you think others in your networks would benefit from Cool Story, please share it with them.

TWO more QUICK things:

• Let’s make sure we’re connected on LinkedIn, where I share tips for creating better, more authentic content every day. Hit the bell to never miss a post.

• If you’re a coach, consultant, or entrepreneur and you’re interested in investing in your personal brand on LinkedIn, Zenpost can help. When you’re ready, let’s find a time to chat.

(see, that’s how to make a CTA natural)

(see you next week)