O39: Selling on LinkedIn (Without Being Salesy)—Part 6: Your Writing Strategy
This simple 3-point structure will help you write posts faster, more consistently, and with greater impact...on your business.
Today’s email is for you if you’re experiencing these problems:
You want to be consistent with posting on LinkedIn, but you’re a perfectionist.
You feel like you don’t have enough time to invest in LinkedIn.
You’ve posted before, but nothing ever seems to land.
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This is the 12th installment of the 4-Farmland Matrix (4FM) series. In it, we unpack a simple four-part framework that helps you identify and capitalize on your most promising sales opportunities—whether they’re new prospects, current clients, or ones that got away.
So far, we’ve covered these topics:
The 4-Farmland Matrix: Overview
Farmland 1: New (Desirable fields yet to be acquired)
033: Selling on LinkedIn (Without Being Salesy)—Part 1: Your Connections Strategy.
034: Selling on LinkedIn (Without Being Salesy)—Part 2: Your DM Strategy
035: Selling on LinkedIn (Without Being Salesy)—Part 3: Engagement Strategy
036: Selling on LinkedIn (Without Being Salesy)—Part 4: Your Posting Strategy
038: Selling on LinkedIn (Without Being Salesy)—Part 5: Your Idea-Generation Strategy
Preview
In a previous article, I introduced the four ‘components’ of Systematic Prospecting in your sales process:
Systematic Social Selling
Systematic Outreach.
Systematic Referrals.
In the past three articles, we’ve discussed the second component—Systematic Social Selling—with our ‘Selling on LinkedIn’ series:
Today, we break down Part 6: Your Writing Strategy.
Overview
You’ve got 20 minutes and a solid idea for a LinkedIn post.
But instead of writing, you overthink.
You tweak the first sentence. Rewrite the second. Scrap the whole thing.
And, ultimately, decide not to post altogether.
Sound familiar?
That was me for years.
I couldn’t stay consistent with posting content on LinkedIn.
Why?
Because writing posts felt overwhelming. I couldn’t get out of my own head.
But not anymore.
Today marks a 270-day streak (beginning November 7, 2024) of posting at least once.
And that consistency has been great for business.
So, what changed? What got me over the hump to write and post every day?
I developed a more systematic approach to writing my LinkedIn posts.
I call it the 3-S Framework—Sizzle, Steak, and Stake.
It gives me a repeatable structure that unlocks my brain to write faster, easier, and better.
Here’s how it works.
The 3-S Framework
1. Sizzle (The Hook)
The harsh truth: It doesn’t matter how powerful ideas are. If you don’t grab attention, you’ll be ignored.
So, write your first sentence with this singular purpose:
Stop. The. Scroll.
2. Steak (The Meat)
The Steak is the substance (the main points, argument, or story) in your post that backs up your hook.
3. Stake (The Big Takeaway)
The Stake is where you plant your “flag,” that lasting impression you want to leave with your audience. Design it to provoke thought…and action.
A Couple More Examples…
Example 1:
Example 2:
In this example, I add the half S—“3.5 Soft CTA” (call to action).
The Bottom Line
If you’ve ever stared at a blank screen, unsure how to start or finish a LinkedIn post, the 3-S Framework gives you a reliable path forward.
Let’s recap:
The Sizzle earns attention. It’s your hook…the first line that stops the scroll.
The Steak delivers value. It’s the main story, idea, or insight you want to communicate.
The Stake drives your point home. It’s the key takeaway you want your audience to remember.
In all three examples, the structure remained consistent, even though the topics and tones varied.
The first post challenged leadership behavior.
The second reframed the mindset around prospecting.
The third promoted a sales training event.
Different goals. Different contexts. But the same underlying structure.
That’s the power of the 3-S Framework.
It removes the guesswork. It speeds up your writing process. And it helps you consistently publish posts that are clear, focused, and impactful.
Give it a try.
Until next time 👊
Sean
Sean M. Lyden is the founder and CEO of Systematic Selling, a sales systems and coaching company for growth-minded SMB founders and owners looking to scale their sales (without the chaos).
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