Write a scroll-stopping opening line

Posting on LinkedIn feel like that thing you heard about duck quacks not echoing? 

i.e. you post, and nothing happens while you watch what feels like everybody-other-than-you getting engagement.

It's your opening line

It’s not arresting enough to stand out in the feed. Let alone give anyone a reason to stop scrolling and click ‘more…’

It could be the most insightful thought piece LinkedIn has ever seen. 

Without that line? It’ll get lost to a platform that caters to short attention spans, accessed on devices we use distractedly. 

How often do you catch yourself endlessly scrolling without seeing?

So’s everybody else. Including the person you want to stop scrolling on your post.

We already had a look at a ‘safe’ way to write a great opening line for it (here).

Now we’re going to look at a fun way.

Writing a scroll-stopping opening line: pop culture references

These are great for several reasons:

1 - They're fun.

2 - They’re familiar and evocative.

3 - You can go down the rabbit hole of finding ones that resonate with your target audience the most. 

4 - They make you say your piece creatively. You can't just slap a quote at the top and write about something else. You have to find a way to work your point back into it.

5 - Best bit? You’ve linked your post to a piece of pop culture. It makes it easier to remember.

Here are a couple of examples I ran recently. 

First one is... self-explanatory. The second led in to a post about the importance of having a brand voice.

"First rule of LinkedIn? We don’t talk about the first rule of LinkedIn. We wait for the self-appointed LinkedIn police to show up in the comments."

"Your business feel like that line from Matrix? Y’know, 'Sorry, kid. You got the gift, but it looks like you're waiting for something... Your next life, maybe.'

Or, to put it another way: you’ve got everything that = yes, but somehow it’s… not. Something hasn’t happened yet."

I find it works.

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