- name:
- write-b2b-sponsored-post
- description:
- Use this skill when writing or reviewing a sponsored LinkedIn post — "draft the sponsored post for [creator]," "why is this post's CTR terrible," "review this creator draft." The hook–story–resolution–CTA structure, the four credibility signals that make a story land, CTA patterns ranked by conversion, and the five anti-patterns that make audiences smell an ad.
Use for drafting or reviewing sponsored creator posts. Produces a post that reads like a practitioner's recommendation, not a press release — the difference is worth roughly 4× on click-through.
The four-layer structure
- hook (line 1) — stop the scroll: concrete, specific, surprising. The feed truncates at ~210 characters and readers decide in a second, so line 1 gates everything. Works: "I cut our SDR team's prospecting time by 6 hours per week." Fails: rhetorical questions, generic claims, brand-name openers
- story (lines 2–8) — the lived experience. Four credibility signals: time-of-day detail ("every Monday at 9am"), specific numbers ("47 stale leads"), a failed attempt before the fix (~2× credibility), and internal stakes ("my CEO asked why quota attainment dropped"). All four beats one or two by 30–60%
- resolution (lines 9–12) — the product in 1–2 sentences with ONE measured outcome. "Now I spend 20 minutes instead of 3 hours and reply rate went 4% → 11%" — never a feature list
- CTA (final line) — one tracked action naming the specific deliverable: "if you want the exact dashboard config I'm running, I wrote it up: [link]". Single specific CTAs convert 2–3× better than generic or multiple CTAs
Dropping any layer costs 60–80% of CTR.
Format
800–1,400 characters, 4–6 paragraph breaks. Under 600 reads as an ad; over 1,800 loses readers before the resolution; dense walls drop completion ~40%.
The five anti-patterns
By damage order: (1) inauthenticity — creator has never posted about the category before; (2) ad-shaped opener; (3) feature-list resolution; (4) multiple CTAs; (5) brand-controlled rewrites that strip the voice the audience came for — reliably halves CTR. Three or more of these → under 1% CTR.
Brief so the creator can write
Four sections, one page: context (what/who/why), constraints (only factual and legal guardrails — never messaging mandates), one tracked CTA with its deliverable, and three tone-anchor examples from adjacent verticals. Shorter briefs produce better posts — trust the creator's voice; that's what's being paid for.
What good looks like
A great sponsored post could run unsponsored and still earn its engagement — specific numbers, a real failure, one outcome, one CTA. A mediocre one is marketing copy with a personal pronoun. The overlooked failure: a technically clean post from a creator with no history in the category — audiences detect the mismatch instantly.
MUST keep all four layers. MUST limit to one tracked CTA. NEVER rewrite a creator's draft into brand voice.