Ben Hall's AuthorDNA
The writing patterns that make your content uniquely yours
What is AuthorDNA?
AuthorDNA is a hidden linguistic profile - the subconscious patterns and habits unique to how someone writes. We analyze posts across 243 style metrics specific to B2B social content and compare them to thousands of other authors.
These are the markers most people don't even notice - but they're what makes writing sound authentic.
Does More Of...
Patterns you use more often than typical LinkedIn authors
Percentage of sentences trailing off with ellipsis
13x more distinctive
See example from 24 Oct 2025
Closing length relative to total post
1.3x more consistent
Unique words divided by total words
1.1x more consistent
Hook length relative to total post
1.3x more consistent
Where LinkedIn's 'see more' cuts off
1.3x more consistent
Hook lines relative to total lines
1.3x more consistent
Ellipsis (...) usage per 1000 words
13x more distinctive
See example from 24 Oct 2025
Does Less Of...
Patterns you use less often - that's part of your style too!
Whether there's a clear opening hook section
rarely consistent
Whether any emoji are used in the post
rarely consistent
Variety of different emoji used (unique/total ratio)
rarely consistent
Percentage of sentences ending with a question
rarely consistent
Whether the hook contains a question
rarely consistent
Whether the ending is a question
rarely consistent
Whether the ending includes emoji
rarely consistent
Signature = unique to you
| Distinctive = stands out from average
| Consistent = reliable pattern
Your AuthorDNA Profile
You probably didn't realize, but you use ellipses to trail off your sentences 13 times more than the average LinkedIn author. That's not a typo. Thirteen times. It's as if you’re constantly inviting your audience to fill in the blanks, leaving every thought just open enough to spark curiosity - or maybe just to keep them guessing.
This works because it creates a conversational tension, like you’re letting readers lean in, expecting more. Now try briefing this to a ghostwriter: "Can you make sure 13% of my sentences drift off with an ellipsis - but don’t use too many questions, and barely any emoji." They’d think you were joking. You couldn’t replicate this consciously if you tried. It’s not a formula - it’s in your AuthorDNA.
And let’s be honest: posting less than once a week over 529 weeks? That’s not frequency, it’s scarcity - and yet your imprint is unmistakable. This is exactly what Drumbeat captures - the patterns you can’t articulate but your audience feels. Your company’s message, in each team member’s authentic voice, at scale.
Style Evolution
How your writing has changed (Jul 2015 - Sep 2025)
Recent 6 posts since Dec 2023
vs
Earlier 13 posts before Dec 2023
Opening hashtags Stopped (was 15%, now rarely)
Stopped
Style patterns based on 19 posts. Recent trends may differ from overall averages shown above.
Signature Phrases
Your most frequently used words and phrases
Posting Consistency
31 Jul 2015 - 08 Sep 2025
0 posts/week avg
18/529 active weeks
511 inactive weeks
Deep Dive
Explore all 17 categories of writing style
Call-to-Action Patterns 7
| Feature | Your DNA | vs Others | Consistency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average position of CTAs in the post | Near top | LOW | VARIES |
| Whether CTAs are concentrated at the end of the post | 0% | LOW | STEADY |
| Whether CTAs include emoji | 0% of posts | LOW | STEADY |
| Whether CTAs include hashtags | 6% of posts | LOW | VARIES |
| Whether any call-to-action exists | 24% of posts | LOW | VARIES |
| CTAs phrased as questions vs statements | 6% | TYPICAL | VARIES |
| CTAs using command verbs (Click, Share, Comment, etc.) | 12% | TYPICAL | VARIES |
Emoji Usage 5
| Feature | Your DNA | vs Others | Consistency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Emoji count per 1000 words | 0% | LOW | STEADY |
| Number of different emoji types used | ~0.0 | LOW | STEADY |
| Total number of emoji in the post | ~0.0 | LOW | STEADY |
| Variety of different emoji used (unique/total ratio) | 0% | LOW | STEADY |
| Whether any emoji are used in the post | 0% of posts | LOW | STEADY |
Formality & Tone 9
| Feature | Your DNA | vs Others | Consistency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Percentage of words that are contractions | 2% | HIGH | VARIES |
| Usage of positive contractions (it's, I'm, we're) | 2% | HIGH | VARIES |
| Count of negative contractions used | 0% | LOW | STEADY |
| Ratio of negative to positive contractions | balanced | LOW | STEADY |
| Usage of negative contractions (don't, won't, can't) | 0% | LOW | STEADY |
| Count of positive contractions used | 65% | TYPICAL | VARIES |
| Number of different contraction types | 53% | TYPICAL | VARIES |
| Total number of contractions | 65% | TYPICAL | VARIES |
| Variety of different contractions used | 30% | TYPICAL | VARIES |
Function Words 21
| Feature | Your DNA | vs Others | Consistency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Usage of 'at' per 1000 words | 0 - 28 | HIGH | VARIES |
| Usage of 'if' per 1000 words | 0-25 per 1k words | HIGH | VARIES |
| Usage of 'of' per 1000 words | 0 - 52 | HIGH | VARIES |
| Usage of 'who' per 1000 words | 0-14 per 1k words | HIGH | VARIES |
| Usage of 'with' per 1000 words | 0 - 38 | HIGH | VARIES |
| Usage of 'because' per 1000 words | ~0 per 1k words | LOW | STEADY |
| Usage of 'for' per 1000 words | 0-13 per 1k words | LOW | VARIES |
| Usage of 'which' per 1000 words | ~0 per 1k words | LOW | STEADY |
| Overall grammatical word usage | 109 - 301 | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Usage of 'a' per 1000 words | 0 - 56 | TYPICAL | VARIES |
| Usage of 'and' per 1000 words | 0 - 41 | TYPICAL | VARIES |
| Usage of 'as' per 1000 words | 0-18 per 1k words | TYPICAL | VARIES |
| Usage of 'but' per 1000 words | 0-10 per 1k words | TYPICAL | VARIES |
| Usage of 'by' per 1000 words | 0-8 per 1k words | TYPICAL | VARIES |
| Usage of 'is' per 1000 words | 0 - 35 | TYPICAL | VARIES |
| Usage of 'on' per 1000 words | 0-25 per 1k words | TYPICAL | VARIES |
| Usage of 'so' per 1000 words | 0-9 per 1k words | TYPICAL | VARIES |
| Usage of 'that' per 1000 words | 0-20 per 1k words | TYPICAL | VARIES |
| Usage of 'the' per 1000 words | 1 - 57 | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Usage of 'to' per 1000 words | 1 - 50 | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Variety of function words used | 30% | TYPICAL | STEADY |
Hashtag Usage 12
| Feature | Your DNA | vs Others | Consistency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average character length of hashtags | 7 - 16 | HIGH | STEADY |
| Proportion of all-lowercase hashtags | 100% | HIGH | STEADY |
| Proportion of hashtags in the opening | 50% | HIGH | VARIES |
| Proportion of hashtags placed at the end | 50% | HIGH | VARIES |
| Whether the opening line contains a hashtag | 50% | HIGH | VARIES |
| Hashtag density per 100 words | 0.0 - 4.3 | LOW | VARIES |
| Proportion of hashtags in ALL CAPS | 0% | LOW | STEADY |
| Proportion of hashtags using CamelCase | 0% | LOW | STEADY |
| Proportion of hashtags woven into the text | 0% | LOW | STEADY |
| Ratio of inline hashtags to end hashtags | 0% | LOW | STEADY |
| Total number of hashtags | 0.0 - 1.7 | LOW | VARIES |
| Whether any hashtags are used | 24% of posts | LOW | VARIES |
Opening Hooks 14
| Feature | Your DNA | vs Others | Consistency |
|---|---|---|---|
| ALL CAPS words in the hook | 2% | LOW | VARIES |
| Negation words in the hook | 0.0 - 0.5 | LOW | VARIES |
| Number of emoji in the hook | ~0.0 | LOW | STEADY |
| Whether the hook contains a question | 0% of posts | LOW | STEADY |
| Whether the hook contains emoji | 0% of posts | LOW | STEADY |
| Whether the hook starts with a conjunction | 0% | LOW | STEADY |
| Whether there's a blank line after the hook | 12% | LOW | VARIES |
| Whether there's a clear opening hook section | 0% of posts | LOW | STEADY |
| Character count of the hook | 98 - 276 | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Character position where the hook ends | 98 - 276 | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Hook length relative to total post | 94% | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Hook lines relative to total lines | 90% | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Use of 'you/your' in the hook | 2% | TYPICAL | VARIES |
| Where LinkedIn's 'see more' cuts off | 94% | TYPICAL | STEADY |
Line Structure 18
| Feature | Your DNA | vs Others | Consistency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average spacing between blank lines | 47% | LOW | VARIES |
| Blank lines per 100 total lines | 0 - 27 | LOW | VARIES |
| Number of visual text blocks | 0.5 - 2.5 | LOW | STEADY |
| Predictability of line length pattern | Very consistent | LOW | VARIES |
| Proportion of blank space | 10% | LOW | VARIES |
| Ratio of lines starting with ALL CAPS | 0% | LOW | STEADY |
| Ratio of lines starting with numbers | 0% | LOW | STEADY |
| Ratio of lines starting with punctuation | 0% | LOW | STEADY |
| Ratio of lines starting with quotes | 0% | LOW | STEADY |
| Spacing between content-rich lines | 65% | LOW | VARIES |
| Variation in block sizes | 0% | LOW | STEADY |
| Variation in line lengths | 0 - 140 | LOW | VARIES |
| Average characters per line | 65 - 195 | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Average lines per text block | 0.8 - 1.6 | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Average words per line | 11 - 34 | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Lines containing exactly one sentence | 48% | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Percentage of single-word lines | 2% | TYPICAL | VARIES |
| Percentage of very short lines (<5 words) | 9% | TYPICAL | VARIES |
List Patterns 15
| Feature | Your DNA | vs Others | Consistency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average items per dash/bullet list | 0% | LOW | STEADY |
| Average items per emoji list | 0% | LOW | STEADY |
| Consistency of emoji bullet indentation | 0% | LOW | STEADY |
| Consistency of numbered list formatting | 0% | LOW | STEADY |
| Nesting depth of numbered lists | 0% | LOW | STEADY |
| Number of dash/bullet list sections | ~0.0 | LOW | STEADY |
| Number of emoji bullet list sections | ~0.0 | LOW | STEADY |
| Number of numbered list sections | ~0.0 | LOW | STEADY |
| Use of fraction-style numbering (1/, 2/) | 0% | LOW | STEADY |
| Use of inline enumeration | 0% | LOW | STEADY |
| Variety of emoji used as bullets | 0% | LOW | STEADY |
| Whether any list structure is used | 0% of posts | LOW | STEADY |
| Whether dash/bullet lists are used | 0% of posts | LOW | STEADY |
| Whether emoji bullet lists are used | 0% of posts | LOW | STEADY |
| Whether numbered lists are used | 0% of posts | LOW | STEADY |
Vocabulary & Phrases 10
| Feature | Your DNA | vs Others | Consistency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Common idioms and expressions per 1000 words | 0% | LOW | STEADY |
| Count of idiomatic expressions | ~0.0 | LOW | STEADY |
| Count of words used only once | 14 - 42 | LOW | STEADY |
| How often three-word phrases repeat | 0% | LOW | STEADY |
| How often two-word phrases repeat | 80% | LOW | VARIES |
| Length of longest repeated phrase | 24% | LOW | VARIES |
| Number of unique words used | 15 - 48 | LOW | STEADY |
| Percentage of words used only once | 91% | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Ratio of meaningful words to grammatical words | 5% | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Unique words divided by total words | 91% | TYPICAL | STEADY |
Sentence Openings 16
| Feature | Your DNA | vs Others | Consistency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Count of sentences starting with pronouns | 0.0-2.2 per post | HIGH | VARIES |
| Count of sentences starting with subordinate clauses | 0.0-0.5 per post | HIGH | VARIES |
| Sentences starting with adverbs (%) | 6% | HIGH | VARIES |
| Sentences starting with pronouns (I, You, We, They) (%) | 2 - 71 | HIGH | STEADY |
| Sentences starting with subordinate clauses (%) | 9% | HIGH | VARIES |
| Count of sentences starting with -ing verbs | ~0.0 per post | LOW | STEADY |
| Count of sentences starting with There is/It is | ~0.0 per post | LOW | STEADY |
| Count of sentences starting with adverbs | 0.0-0.3 per post | LOW | VARIES |
| Count of sentences starting with conjunctions | ~0.0 per post | LOW | STEADY |
| Count of sentences starting with time words | ~0.0 per post | LOW | STEADY |
| Sentences starting with 'There is/are' or 'It is' (%) | 0% | LOW | STEADY |
| Sentences starting with -ing verbs (%) | 0% | LOW | STEADY |
| Sentences starting with And, But, Or, So (%) | 0% | LOW | STEADY |
| Sentences starting with time words (%) | 0% | LOW | STEADY |
| Count of sentences starting with discourse markers | ~0.0 per post | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Sentences starting with Actually, Basically, etc. (%) | 0% | TYPICAL | STEADY |
Closing Patterns 11
| Feature | Your DNA | vs Others | Consistency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether the closing has a signature phrase | 29% of posts | HIGH | VARIES |
| ALL CAPS words in the closing | 2% | LOW | VARIES |
| Number of emoji in the closing | ~0.0 | LOW | STEADY |
| Whether the closing has emoji clusters | 0% | LOW | STEADY |
| Whether the ending has a call-to-action | 12% of posts | LOW | VARIES |
| Whether the ending includes emoji | 0% of posts | LOW | STEADY |
| Whether the ending includes hashtags | 24% of posts | LOW | VARIES |
| Whether the ending is a question | 0% | LOW | STEADY |
| Whether there's a clear closing section | 41% of posts | LOW | VARIES |
| Character length of the closing | 96 - 308 | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Closing length relative to total post | 98% | TYPICAL | STEADY |
Paragraph Structure 13
| Feature | Your DNA | vs Others | Consistency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Closing paragraph length vs body average | 1% | HIGH | STEADY |
| Consecutive long paragraphs | 0% | LOW | STEADY |
| Consecutive short paragraphs | 0.5 - 2.7 | LOW | STEADY |
| How much paragraph length varies | 32% | LOW | STEADY |
| Total number of paragraphs | 0.7 - 2.7 | LOW | STEADY |
| Variation in length changes between paragraphs | 19% | LOW | VARIES |
| Average change in length between paragraphs | 67% | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Average sentences per paragraph | 0.9 - 2.5 | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Average sentences per paragraph | 0.9 - 2.5 | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| How frequently new paragraphs start | 0 - 139 | TYPICAL | VARIES |
| Length of your longer paragraphs (80th percentile) | 1.1 - 2.7 | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Opening paragraph length vs body average | 1% | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Typical paragraph length (median) | 0.9 - 2.5 | TYPICAL | STEADY |
Parts of Speech 9
| Feature | Your DNA | vs Others | Consistency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Percentage of words that are determiners | 2 - 18 | HIGH | STEADY |
| Balance/distribution of different word types | Moderately varied | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Percentage of auxiliary/helper verbs | 6% | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Percentage of words that are adjectives | 8% | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Percentage of words that are adverbs | 5% | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Percentage of words that are nouns | 9 - 26 | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Percentage of words that are prepositions | 10% | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Percentage of words that are pronouns | 4 - 18 | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Percentage of words that are verbs | 5 - 20 | TYPICAL | STEADY |
Post Basics 7
| Feature | Your DNA | vs Others | Consistency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Count of complex words (3+ syllables) | 1.8 - 8.2 | LOW | STEADY |
| Total sentence count | 1.1 - 4.1 | LOW | STEADY |
| Total syllables in the post | 24 - 87 | LOW | STEADY |
| Total word count of the post | 15 - 57 | LOW | STEADY |
| Average word complexity (syllables per word) | 1.3 - 1.9 | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| How easy the text is to read (higher = easier) | 35 - 82 | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Percentage of complex words (3+ syllables) | 6 - 26 | TYPICAL | STEADY |
Punctuation Style 17
| Feature | Your DNA | vs Others | Consistency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ellipsis (...) usage per 1000 words | 0-110 per 1k words | HIGH | VARIES |
| Percentage of sentences trailing off with ellipsis | 0 - 52 | HIGH | VARIES |
| Semicolon usage per 1000 words | 0-8 per 1k words | HIGH | VARIES |
| Colon usage per 1000 words | 0-15 per 1k words | LOW | VARIES |
| Em dash (—) usage per 1000 words | ~0 per 1k words | LOW | STEADY |
| En dash (–) usage per 1000 words | ~0 per 1k words | LOW | STEADY |
| Mixed punctuation clusters per 1000 words | ~0 per 1k words | LOW | STEADY |
| Multiple exclamation marks per 1000 words | ~0 per 1k words | LOW | STEADY |
| Multiple question marks per 1000 words | ~0 per 1k words | LOW | STEADY |
| Parentheses usage per 1000 words | ~0 per 1k words | LOW | STEADY |
| Percentage of sentences ending with a question | 0% | LOW | STEADY |
| Question marks per 1000 words | ~0 per 1k words | LOW | STEADY |
| Quotation mark usage per 1000 words | ~0 per 1k words | LOW | STEADY |
| Comma usage per 1000 words | 15-83 per 1k words | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Exclamation marks per 1000 words | 0-36 per 1k words | TYPICAL | VARIES |
| Hyphen usage per 1000 words | 0-28 per 1k words | TYPICAL | VARIES |
| Percentage of sentences ending with exclamation | 0 - 52 | TYPICAL | VARIES |
Quotes & Narrative 10
| Feature | Your DNA | vs Others | Consistency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average length of quoted passages | 0 - 151 | HIGH | VARIES |
| Lines starting with quotation marks | 0% | LOW | STEADY |
| Number of quotation blocks | 0.0 - 0.8 | LOW | VARIES |
| Presence of dialogue attribution patterns | 0% | LOW | STEADY |
| Use of story transitions | 5% | LOW | VARIES |
| Lines using past tense | 34% | TYPICAL | VARIES |
| Number of narrative/story signals | 0.0 - 2.0 | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Total characters in quoted content | 0 - 151 | TYPICAL | VARIES |
| Whether the post contains quotations | 35% of posts | TYPICAL | VARIES |
| Whether the post tells a story | 35% of posts | TYPICAL | VARIES |
Sentence Rhythm 16
| Feature | Your DNA | vs Others | Consistency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parenthetical breaks per 1000 words | ~0 per 1k words | LOW | STEADY |
| Variation in clause count across sentences | 57% | LOW | VARIES |
| Average number of clauses per sentence | 1.1 - 2.4 | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Average number of words per sentence | 9 - 19 | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Average words per sentence | 9 - 19 | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| How much sentence length varies (normalized) | 42% | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| How often paragraphs contain just one sentence | 48% | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Length of your longer sentences (80th percentile) | 12 - 27 | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Length of your shorter sentences (20th percentile) | 3 - 17 | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Overall sentence complexity | 10 - 42 | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Percentage of sentences over 20 words | 17% | TYPICAL | VARIES |
| Percentage of sentences under 8 words | 24% | TYPICAL | VARIES |
| Typical sentence length (median) | 9 - 19 | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Variation in sentence lengths | 1 - 10 | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Word count of shortest sentence | 2 - 16 | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Word count of the longest sentence | 12 - 27 | TYPICAL | STEADY |
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