Posting Best Practices
Yasmina Akni Ebourki
Last updated: Nov 15, 2024
If you're new to LinkedIn and beginning to create content, you've probably come across posts by Chris Donnelly.
Donnelly is a prominent content creator and entrepreneur with over 907,000 followers, known for his insights on leadership, personal development, and his widely-read newsletter.
In this article, we'll dive into what makes Chris Donnelly's LinkedIn approach so effective and why his posts consistently go viral.
TL;DR: Chris Donnelly has mastered LinkedIn with a strategy that blends impactful visuals, concise writing, and a strong personal brand. With over 907,000 followers, his posts focus on entrepreneurship and leadership. His content mix includes 57% image-based posts and 32% carousels, with carousels reaching a broader audience and boosting visibility.
What Makes Chris Donnelly’s LinkedIn Writing Style Stand Out?
Chris Donnelly’s LinkedIn posts are a striking combination of simple yet impactful images and carousel formats paired with clear, powerful language that supports his memorable personal brand.
His writing is direct and often relies on short, punchy phrases that quickly capture attention, allowing his messages to resonate deeply with his audience
By blending compelling visuals with concise, meaningful content, Donnelly successfully connects with his audience while showcasing his expertise in entrepreneurship and leadership—his primary areas of focus.
One of the standout features of Donnelly’s profile is his mastery of LinkedIn’s most engaging formats.
He has created a cohesive visual brand by consistently using a green color theme, featured prominently in his profile banner and throughout his carousel images.
This recognizable color identity reinforces his presence on the platform, making his posts instantly identifiable and visually distinct, which further enhances his brand consistency and professional appeal.
Key Elements of Chris Donnelly’s LinkedIn Style
Chris Donnelly’s success on LinkedIn can be attributed to several key elements that help him connect effectively with his audience and build a powerful personal brand.
His writing style is both conversational and motivational, speaking directly to the reader as if having a one-on-one conversation.
This tone creates a strong connection with his audience, making his content feel personal and engaging.
Chris uses short, impactful phrases that are easy to read and scan, focusing on brevity and clarity.
His posts are structured around clear, actionable advice that directly addresses the problems or challenges his audience might face, ensuring readers understand the message quickly without needing to pause and read the whole content.
Another key strategy Chris uses is the ability to evoke emotion in his posts, whether it’s a sense of fear, motivation, or curiosity.
By creating emotional engagement, he captures the reader’s attention and encourages them to reflect on their own lives and careers.
His posts often spark deep introspection or provide motivation to take action.
Chris has also developed a strong visual identity on LinkedIn, using a consistent green color theme that appears in his profile, banner, and carousel images.
This visual branding makes his content instantly recognizable and reinforces his personal brand.
The use of green creates a cohesive and distinctive presence, helping his posts stand out in the LinkedIn feed.
His posts are always well-structured with a clear call to action (CTA) at the end, encouraging readers to engage by liking, commenting, or sharing.
This strategy fosters an ongoing conversation with his audience and increases interaction, making his content more impactful.
Chris understands the importance of not just inspiring but also providing actionable steps for his audience to take.
The main themes he focuses on are leadership, entrepreneurship, and coaching, with leadership making up 27% of his total posts.
While some influencers post multiple times a day, Chris typically posts eight times a week, consistently publishing between 7:00 and 8:00 a.m. daily, with occasional posts on Tuesdays or Fridays.
Interestingly, Fridays tend to generate the highest engagement, showing that his audience is most active on this day.
Chris’s posts receive an average of 2,901 likes and generate significant impressions, demonstrating the success of his content strategy.
His ability to maintain consistent engagement without overwhelming his followers is a key factor in his LinkedIn success.
Top 10 Hooks from Chris Donnelly
Another powerful aspect of Donnelly’s posts is his mastery of “hooks”—phrases that grab attention immediately and compel readers to keep reading.
While many know that a strong hook is key to a successful post, his hooks are unique in that they often evoke an emotional response rather than just being catchy headlines.
Given his focus on leadership, his hooks are crafted to touch on relatable truths and impactful insights.
Here are some of his most effective hooks, which can serve as inspiration for your own LinkedIn posts:
People don’t just quit bad jobs.
15 Uncomfortable Truths Every Employer Should Read
Dear anyone with ambition:
How to create a multi-million $ one-person business.
Once an employee has handed in their notice…
Stop trying to hire the smartest people.
7 Reasons Your High Performers Are Quitting
Want to stand out in your career?
20 Brutal Career Truths
"Follow your passion" is bad career advice.
As you can see, all these hooks revolve around universal themes that not only capture interest but also spark curiosity and emotional engagement, prompting readers to dive into the content and share their own perspectives.
Chris Donnelly’s Most Used Format
So, which LinkedIn format has delivered the best results for Chris Donnelly?
An analysis of his content reveals that image-based posts are his most-used format, making up about 57% of his total content.
Carousels account for another 32%, and recently, he’s also incorporated short video clips—a strategy that aligns with LinkedIn's growing focus on video content, similar to influencers like Steven Bartlett.
However, the key here isn’t just the volume of posts, but what actually generates the most reach and engagement.
Despite posting more images, carousel posts tend to perform better in terms of engagement, driving higher reach.
Image posts generate the highest average likes in terms of engagement—approximately 2,900 per post.
Although carousels make up a smaller portion of his content, they often reach a wider audience, significantly increasing visibility.
Carousel posts, in particular, have proven to be excellent tools for visibility, enabling Chris to share educational content on topics like entrepreneurship, leadership, and personal growth in a visually engaging and interactive format.
