The Ultimate Guide to Writing Viral LinkedIn Posts with ChatGPT

Most people use ChatGPT wrong. They ask it to "write a LinkedIn post about marketing," and they get a generic, robotic wall of text that nobody reads. If you want to go viral, you need to treat ChatGPT as a junior copywriter, not a magic wand. Here is the step-by-step workflow to writing high-performance LinkedIn content with AI.

Step 1: The "Brain Dump" Prompt

Don't ask ChatGPT to come up with ideas from scratch. It doesn't know your life. Instead, give it the raw materials.

Prompt:

"I want to write a LinkedIn post about [Topic]. Here is my raw brain dump: [Paste your messy notes, bullet points, or a transcript of you talking]. Structure this into a LinkedIn post. Do not add any new facts. Just organize my thoughts."

Step 2: The "Hook" Generator

The first 3 lines determine if your post gets read. AI is great at generating volume here.

Prompt:

"Write 10 different hooks for this post. 3 should be controversial, 3 should be questions, and 4 should be 'how-to' statements. Keep them under 15 words each."

Step 3: The Formatting Pass

LinkedIn requires specific formatting for readability. Huge paragraphs kill engagement.

Prompt:

*"Rewrite this post using the following formatting rules:

• No paragraph longer than 2 lines.

• Use bullet points for lists.

• Use a conversational tone (grade 5 reading level).

• Remove all hashtags from the body text."*

Step 4: The Human Polish

AI cannot replicate "voice." You must go through the final output and:

1. Replace generic adjectives (e.g., "transformative") with specific data.

2. Add a personal anecdote.

3. Ensure the CTA sounds like you.

The "Anti-Robot" Filter: Words to Ban

The biggest giveaway that you used ChatGPT? The vocabulary. AI loves certain words that humans rarely use in casual conversation.

If your post contains these words, delete them immediately:

• "Delve" (The #1 offender)
• "Tapestry"
• "Landscape" (in a metaphorical sense)
• "Testament"
• "Spearhead"
• "Game-changer" (overused)
• "Unlock"
• "Unleash"

Pro Tip: Add this to your Custom Instructions: "Never use the words: delve, tapestry, landscape, testament, unlock. Use simple, punchy Anglo-Saxon words, not flowery Latin-based words."

5 Custom Instructions (System Prompts) for LinkedIn

To get consistent results, you need to set your "Custom Instructions" in ChatGPT settings. Copy-paste this into the bottom box ("How would you like ChatGPT to respond?"):

Role: You are an expert LinkedIn Ghostwriter who writes for B2B founders.
Tone: Conversational, punchy, authoritative but humble. Grade 5 reading level.
Formatting:
- Use line breaks frequently.
- No paragraphs longer than 2 sentences.
- Use "→" for lists instead of standard bullets.
Constraints:
- Never use hashtags in the middle of sentences.
- Never start with "In today's fast-paced world..."
- Always end with a specific question to drive engagement.

The "Iterative Refinement" Loop

The first draft is never the final draft. You must "talk back" to the AI to sharpen the output.

Common Fixes:

• Too Boring: "Make the first sentence more shocking. Start with a contrarian opinion."
• Too Long: "Cut the word count by 30%. Remove all adverbs."
• Too Generic: "Add a specific example involving a SaaS company with $10M ARR."
• Too Preachy: "Change the tone from 'Teacher' to 'Learner'. Share this as a mistake I made, not advice I am giving."

Real-World Example: Brain Dump to Viral Post

The Input (Messy Brain Dump):

"I was thinking today about how hard it is to hire sales people. Like, resumes are fake. People lie. I had this guy last week who looked great on paper but couldn't sell a pen. I think we should stop looking at resumes and just do roleplays. Resumes are dead."

The Prompt:

"Turn this brain dump into a viral LinkedIn post. Hook: Controversial. Structure: Story -> Lesson -> Action."

The Output (ChatGPT + Human Polish):

Resumes are the worst way to hire sales reps.

I learned this the hard way.

Last week, I interviewed a candidate who looked perfect "on paper." 5 years experience. Ex-Oracle. President's Club winner.

I hired him.

He quit in 3 days. He couldn't handle rejection.

The paper lied. The resume is a lagging indicator of ability.

Here is my new rule: No Roleplay, No Offer.

I don't care where you worked. I care if you can handle a "No" right now.

Sales leaders: Are you still hiring based on logos, or are you hiring based on skills?

Notice the formatting? Short lines. specific details ("Ex-Oracle"). Strong opinion.

Advanced Strategy: "Style Transfer"

If you like a specific creator's style (e.g., Justin Welsh), feed ChatGPT 3 of their posts and ask it to analyze their style. Then, ask it to rewrite your post in that style.

Prompt:

"Analyze the writing style of these 3 examples: [Paste examples]. Now, rewrite my post using this exact style/tone."

The Human-in-the-Loop Protocol

The biggest mistake creators make is copy-pasting directly from ChatGPT to LinkedIn. This is a one-way ticket to zero engagement.

The Protocol:

1. Generate: Use the prompts above to get a 80% draft.
2. Edit (The 20%): Read it out loud. If you stumble, rewrite it.
3. The "So What?" Test: Ask yourself, "If I saw this in my feed, would I care?" If the answer is no, add a specific insight or contrarian take.
4. Visual Check: Does it look like a wall of text? Break it up.

Comment Rocket Integration: Our "Smart Snippets" feature allows you to save your best human-edited hooks and CTAs. You can then insert them into AI-generated drafts with one click, ensuring every post starts and ends with your voice, even if the middle was drafted by AI.

Conclusion

ChatGPT is a tool for speed and structure. You provide the substance. For more specific prompts, check out our prompts guide.