Ben Widdowson ᯅ'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
Count of sentences starting with adverbs
43x more signature
Sentences starting with adverbs (%)
41x more signature
Percentage of emoji that are neutral/functional
6x more signature
See example from 08 Dec 2025
Proportion of hashtags woven into the text
13x more signature
Percentage of words that are adverbs
4x more signature
Proportion of hashtags using CamelCase
5x more signature
Emoji count relative to sentence count
7x more signature
Does Less Of...
Patterns you use less often - that's part of your style too!
Proportion of all-lowercase hashtags
rarely consistent
Typical paragraph length (median)
1.9x less consistent
Hook length relative to total post
1.8x less Where LinkedIn's 'see more' cuts off
1.8x less How easy the text is to read (higher = easier)
1.8x less Signature = unique to you
| Distinctive = stands out from average
| Consistent = reliable pattern
Your AuthorDNA Profile
You probably didn't realize, but you start 41 times more of your sentences with adverbs than the average LinkedIn writer. That means your posts open with words like "Interestingly," "Actually," or "Surprisingly" at a rate that almost no one else does - it's a signature move hiding in plain sight.
Why does it work? Because it signals constant motion and curiosity. You pull readers into your train of thought before they even realize it, setting the pace for everything that follows. Now try briefing that to a ghostwriter: "Start 43x more sentences with adverbs, but make it feel natural." They'd laugh you out of the room. This isn't a style guide - it's the DNA of how you think, not just how you write. Even if you tried to force it, you'd probably miss the mark.
You post once a week, but your style is anything but average. This is exactly what Drumbeat captures - the invisible patterns you can't articulate but your audience feels. Your company's message, in each team member's authentic voice, at scale.
Signature Phrases
Your most frequently used words and phrases
Posting Consistency
25 Jun 2025 - 08 Dec 2025
1 posts/week avg
15/25 active weeks
10 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 | Upper half | HIGH | STEADY |
| CTAs using command verbs (Click, Share, Comment, etc.) | 38% | HIGH | VARIES |
| Whether CTAs include emoji | 62% of posts | HIGH | STEADY |
| Whether any call-to-action exists | 92% of posts | HIGH | STEADY |
| CTAs phrased as questions vs statements | 0% | LOW | STEADY |
| Whether CTAs are concentrated at the end of the post | 0% | LOW | STEADY |
| Whether CTAs include hashtags | 4% of posts | LOW | VARIES |
Emoji Usage 38
| Feature | Your DNA | vs Others | Consistency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average distance between repeated emoji | 33% | HIGH | VARIES |
| Average emoji per line of text | 38% | HIGH | STEADY |
| Count of neutral/functional emoji | 0.4 - 5.2 | HIGH | STEADY |
| Count of positive/celebratory emoji | 0.0 - 0.7 | HIGH | VARIES |
| Emoji count per 1000 words | 8 - 40 | HIGH | STEADY |
| Emoji count relative to sentence count | 66% | HIGH | STEADY |
| Emoji density in the hook section | 10 - 67 | HIGH | STEADY |
| Emoji usage in the middle section of the post | 0 - 145 | HIGH | VARIES |
| Emoji used to replace words entirely | 18% | HIGH | VARIES |
| How consistently emoji pair with specific words | 2% | HIGH | VARIES |
| How consistently the same emoji is used for bullets | 10% | HIGH | VARIES |
| How often the same emoji repeats across the post | 9% | HIGH | VARIES |
| Number of bullet point lines using emoji as markers | 0.0 - 1.4 | HIGH | VARIES |
| Number of different emoji types used | 0.1 - 3.9 | HIGH | STEADY |
| Number of emoji in the opening hook | 0.6 - 1.7 | HIGH | STEADY |
| Percentage of emoji that are 'corpspeak' type | 5% | HIGH | VARIES |
| Percentage of emoji that are neutral/functional | 94% | HIGH | STEADY |
| Percentage of lines containing at least one emoji | 37% | HIGH | STEADY |
| Total count of repeated emoji across the post | 0.0 - 1.8 | HIGH | VARIES |
| Total number of emoji in the post | 0.0 - 4.9 | HIGH | VARIES |
| Variety of different emoji used (unique/total ratio) | 73% | HIGH | STEADY |
| Variety of different emoji used as bullets | 3% | HIGH | VARIES |
| Whether any emoji are used in the post | 81% of posts | HIGH | STEADY |
| Whether emoji are used as bullet point markers | 10% | HIGH | VARIES |
| Whether the post starts with an emoji | 5% | HIGH | VARIES |
| Average number of emoji appearing together in clusters | 0% | LOW | STEADY |
| Count of negative/warning emoji | ~0.0 | LOW | STEADY |
| Largest group of adjacent emoji | 0% | LOW | STEADY |
| Number of emoji clusters (groups of adjacent emoji) | ~0.0 | LOW | STEADY |
| Percentage of emoji that are negative/warning | 0% | LOW | STEADY |
| Percentage of lines that contain only emoji | 0% | LOW | STEADY |
| Proportion of emoji appearing in clusters | 0% | LOW | STEADY |
| Proportion of emoji that appear multiple times | 0% | LOW | STEADY |
| Balance between positive and negative emoji | 6% | TYPICAL | VARIES |
| Consistency of emoji bullet indentation | 0% | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Emoji density in CTA sections | 10% | TYPICAL | VARIES |
| Number of emoji in call-to-action lines | 0.0 - 0.7 | TYPICAL | VARIES |
| Percentage of emoji that are positive/celebratory | 6% | TYPICAL | VARIES |
Formality & Tone 9
| Feature | Your DNA | vs Others | Consistency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ratio of negative to positive contractions | 115:1 | HIGH | VARIES |
| Usage of negative contractions (don't, won't, can't) | 23% | HIGH | VARIES |
| Variety of different contractions used | 38% | HIGH | VARIES |
| Count of positive contractions used | 31% | LOW | VARIES |
| Count of negative contractions used | 19% | TYPICAL | VARIES |
| Number of different contraction types | 50% | TYPICAL | VARIES |
| Percentage of words that are contractions | 67% | TYPICAL | VARIES |
| Total number of contractions | 50% | TYPICAL | VARIES |
| Usage of positive contractions (it's, I'm, we're) | 44% | TYPICAL | VARIES |
Function Words 21
| Feature | Your DNA | vs Others | Consistency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Usage of 'with' per 1000 words | 2 - 22 | HIGH | STEADY |
| Usage of 'a' per 1000 words | 0 - 22 | LOW | VARIES |
| Usage of 'as' per 1000 words | 0-5 per 1k words | LOW | VARIES |
| Usage of 'because' per 1000 words | ~0 per 1k words | LOW | STEADY |
| Usage of 'but' per 1000 words | 0-2 per 1k words | LOW | VARIES |
| Usage of 'for' per 1000 words | 0-15 per 1k words | LOW | VARIES |
| Usage of 'if' per 1000 words | 0-7 per 1k words | LOW | VARIES |
| Usage of 'is' per 1000 words | 0-13 per 1k words | LOW | VARIES |
| Usage of 'on' per 1000 words | 0-10 per 1k words | LOW | VARIES |
| Usage of 'so' per 1000 words | 0-2 per 1k words | LOW | VARIES |
| Usage of 'that' per 1000 words | 0-6 per 1k words | LOW | VARIES |
| Usage of 'which' per 1000 words | 0-1 per 1k words | LOW | VARIES |
| Usage of 'who' per 1000 words | 0-2 per 1k words | LOW | VARIES |
| Overall grammatical word usage | 79 - 193 | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Usage of 'and' per 1000 words | 2 - 35 | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Usage of 'at' per 1000 words | 0-14 per 1k words | TYPICAL | VARIES |
| Usage of 'by' per 1000 words | 0-7 per 1k words | TYPICAL | VARIES |
| Usage of 'of' per 1000 words | 2 - 23 | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Usage of 'the' per 1000 words | 17 - 45 | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Usage of 'to' per 1000 words | 3 - 44 | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Variety of function words used | 36% | TYPICAL | STEADY |
Hashtag Usage 12
| Feature | Your DNA | vs Others | Consistency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average character length of hashtags | 9 - 16 | HIGH | STEADY |
| Hashtag density per 100 words | 1 - 11 | HIGH | STEADY |
| Proportion of hashtags in ALL CAPS | 22% | HIGH | VARIES |
| Proportion of hashtags placed at the end | 46% | HIGH | STEADY |
| Proportion of hashtags using CamelCase | 78% | HIGH | STEADY |
| Proportion of hashtags woven into the text | 51% | HIGH | STEADY |
| Ratio of inline hashtags to end hashtags | 0 - 594 | HIGH | VARIES |
| Total number of hashtags | 1.7 - 6.6 | HIGH | STEADY |
| Whether any hashtags are used | 88% of posts | HIGH | STEADY |
| Proportion of all-lowercase hashtags | 0% | LOW | STEADY |
| Proportion of hashtags in the opening | 2% | LOW | VARIES |
| Whether the opening line contains a hashtag | 17% | TYPICAL | VARIES |
Opening Hooks 14
| Feature | Your DNA | vs Others | Consistency |
|---|---|---|---|
| ALL CAPS words in the hook | 5% | HIGH | VARIES |
| Number of emoji in the hook | 0.0 - 1.4 | HIGH | STEADY |
| Whether the hook contains a question | 31% of posts | HIGH | VARIES |
| Whether the hook contains emoji | 58% of posts | HIGH | STEADY |
| Whether there's a blank line after the hook | 31% | HIGH | VARIES |
| Whether there's a clear opening hook section | 77% of posts | HIGH | STEADY |
| Hook length relative to total post | 40% | LOW | STEADY |
| Where LinkedIn's 'see more' cuts off | 40% | LOW | STEADY |
| Whether the hook starts with a conjunction | 0% | LOW | STEADY |
| Character count of the hook | 126 - 338 | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Character position where the hook ends | 126 - 338 | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Hook lines relative to total lines | 45% | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Negation words in the hook | 0.0 - 0.7 | TYPICAL | VARIES |
| Use of 'you/your' in the hook | 2% | TYPICAL | VARIES |
Line Structure 18
| Feature | Your DNA | vs Others | Consistency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average spacing between blank lines | 1.9 - 3.5 | HIGH | STEADY |
| Blank lines per 100 total lines | 30 - 43 | HIGH | STEADY |
| Lines containing exactly one sentence | 87% | HIGH | STEADY |
| Percentage of very short lines (<5 words) | 24% | HIGH | STEADY |
| Predictability of line length pattern | Fairly consistent | HIGH | STEADY |
| Proportion of blank space | 37% | HIGH | STEADY |
| Ratio of lines starting with ALL CAPS | 7% | HIGH | VARIES |
| Ratio of lines starting with numbers | 5% | HIGH | VARIES |
| Spacing between content-rich lines | 1.5 - 1.9 | HIGH | STEADY |
| Variation in block sizes | 83% | HIGH | VARIES |
| Average words per line | 11 - 17 | LOW | STEADY |
| Ratio of lines starting with quotes | 0% | LOW | STEADY |
| Average characters per line | 72 - 119 | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Average lines per text block | 1.0 - 1.8 | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Number of visual text blocks | 3.1 - 6.8 | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Percentage of single-word lines | 2% | TYPICAL | VARIES |
| Ratio of lines starting with punctuation | 3% | TYPICAL | VARIES |
| Variation in line lengths | 73 - 264 | TYPICAL | STEADY |
List Patterns 15
| Feature | Your DNA | vs Others | Consistency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average items per emoji list | 50% | HIGH | VARIES |
| Consistency of numbered list formatting | 12% | HIGH | VARIES |
| Nesting depth of numbered lists | 46% | HIGH | VARIES |
| Number of emoji bullet list sections | 0.0 - 0.4 | HIGH | VARIES |
| Number of numbered list sections | 0.0 - 0.4 | HIGH | VARIES |
| Variety of emoji used as bullets | 3% | HIGH | VARIES |
| Whether any list structure is used | 23% of posts | HIGH | VARIES |
| Whether emoji bullet lists are used | 12% of posts | HIGH | VARIES |
| Whether numbered lists are used | 12% of posts | HIGH | VARIES |
| Average items per dash/bullet list | 0% | LOW | STEADY |
| Consistency of emoji bullet indentation | 0% | LOW | STEADY |
| Number of dash/bullet list sections | ~0.0 | LOW | STEADY |
| Use of fraction-style numbering (1/, 2/) | 0% | LOW | STEADY |
| Use of inline enumeration | 0% | LOW | STEADY |
| Whether dash/bullet lists are used | 0% of posts | LOW | STEADY |
Vocabulary & Phrases 10
| Feature | Your DNA | vs Others | Consistency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ratio of meaningful words to grammatical words | 8% | HIGH | STEADY |
| Common idioms and expressions per 1000 words | 0% | LOW | STEADY |
| Count of idiomatic expressions | ~0.0 | LOW | STEADY |
| Count of words used only once | 35 - 94 | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| How often three-word phrases repeat | 0.0 - 3.0 | TYPICAL | VARIES |
| How often two-word phrases repeat | 0.0 - 7.3 | TYPICAL | VARIES |
| Length of longest repeated phrase | 0.0 - 3.6 | TYPICAL | VARIES |
| Number of unique words used | 39 - 114 | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Percentage of words used only once | 86% | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Unique words divided by total words | 83% | TYPICAL | STEADY |
Sentence Openings 16
| Feature | Your DNA | vs Others | Consistency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Count of sentences starting with There is/It is | 0.0-0.3 per post | HIGH | VARIES |
| Count of sentences starting with adverbs | 0.0-10.8 per post | HIGH | VARIES |
| Count of sentences starting with discourse markers | 0.0-0.6 per post | HIGH | VARIES |
| Count of sentences starting with subordinate clauses | 0.0-0.4 per post | HIGH | VARIES |
| Count of sentences starting with time words | 0.0-0.6 per post | HIGH | VARIES |
| Sentences starting with 'There is/are' or 'It is' (%) | 1% | HIGH | VARIES |
| Sentences starting with Actually, Basically, etc. (%) | 5% | HIGH | VARIES |
| Sentences starting with adverbs (%) | 9 - 229 | HIGH | STEADY |
| Sentences starting with subordinate clauses (%) | 3% | HIGH | VARIES |
| Sentences starting with time words (%) | 6% | HIGH | VARIES |
| Count of sentences starting with -ing verbs | 0.0-0.2 per post | LOW | VARIES |
| Count of sentences starting with conjunctions | 0.0-0.2 per post | LOW | VARIES |
| Sentences starting with -ing verbs (%) | 32% | LOW | VARIES |
| Sentences starting with And, But, Or, So (%) | 64% | LOW | VARIES |
| Count of sentences starting with pronouns | 0.0-2.0 per post | TYPICAL | VARIES |
| Sentences starting with pronouns (I, You, We, They) (%) | 0 - 41 | TYPICAL | VARIES |
Closing Patterns 11
| Feature | Your DNA | vs Others | Consistency |
|---|---|---|---|
| ALL CAPS words in the closing | 6% | HIGH | VARIES |
| Number of emoji in the closing | 0.0 - 1.5 | HIGH | STEADY |
| Whether the ending has a call-to-action | 50% of posts | HIGH | VARIES |
| Whether the ending includes emoji | 62% of posts | HIGH | STEADY |
| Whether the ending includes hashtags | 85% of posts | HIGH | STEADY |
| Whether the closing has a signature phrase | 8% of posts | LOW | VARIES |
| Whether the closing has emoji clusters | 0% | LOW | STEADY |
| Whether the ending is a question | 0% | LOW | STEADY |
| Character length of the closing | 139 - 488 | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Closing length relative to total post | 52% | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Whether there's a clear closing section | 100% of posts | TYPICAL | STEADY |
Paragraph Structure 13
| Feature | Your DNA | vs Others | Consistency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Closing paragraph length vs body average | 89% | HIGH | STEADY |
| Consecutive short paragraphs | 2.6 - 5.5 | HIGH | STEADY |
| How much paragraph length varies | 0 - 12 | HIGH | VARIES |
| Variation in length changes between paragraphs | 0 - 18 | HIGH | VARIES |
| Typical paragraph length (median) | 0.8 - 1.2 | LOW | STEADY |
| Average change in length between paragraphs | 71% | TYPICAL | VARIES |
| Average sentences per paragraph | 0.7 - 2.1 | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Average sentences per paragraph | 0.7 - 2.1 | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Consecutive long paragraphs | 12% | TYPICAL | VARIES |
| How frequently new paragraphs start | 37 - 79 | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Length of your longer paragraphs (80th percentile) | 0.0 - 5.5 | TYPICAL | VARIES |
| Opening paragraph length vs body average | 1% | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Total number of paragraphs | 3.1 - 6.6 | TYPICAL | STEADY |
Parts of Speech 9
| Feature | Your DNA | vs Others | Consistency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Percentage of words that are adverbs | 6 - 23 | HIGH | STEADY |
| Percentage of auxiliary/helper verbs | 3% | LOW | STEADY |
| Percentage of words that are adjectives | 4% | LOW | STEADY |
| Percentage of words that are pronouns | 4% | LOW | STEADY |
| Percentage of words that are verbs | 8% | LOW | STEADY |
| Balance/distribution of different word types | Fairly consistent | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Percentage of words that are determiners | 4% | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Percentage of words that are nouns | 9 - 21 | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Percentage of words that are prepositions | 7% | TYPICAL | STEADY |
Post Basics 7
| Feature | Your DNA | vs Others | Consistency |
|---|---|---|---|
| How easy the text is to read (higher = easier) | 10 - 52 | LOW | STEADY |
| Average word complexity (syllables per word) | 1.6 - 2.0 | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Count of complex words (3+ syllables) | 6 - 32 | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Percentage of complex words (3+ syllables) | 14 - 26 | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Total sentence count | 1.1 - 8.7 | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Total syllables in the post | 72 - 274 | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Total word count of the post | 41 - 151 | TYPICAL | STEADY |
Punctuation Style 17
| Feature | Your DNA | vs Others | Consistency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parentheses usage per 1000 words | 0-14 per 1k words | HIGH | STEADY |
| Percentage of sentences ending with a question | 0 - 34 | HIGH | VARIES |
| Comma usage per 1000 words | 0-49 per 1k words | LOW | VARIES |
| Ellipsis (...) usage per 1000 words | ~0 per 1k words | LOW | STEADY |
| Em dash (—) usage per 1000 words | 0-3 per 1k words | LOW | VARIES |
| En dash (–) usage per 1000 words | ~0 per 1k words | LOW | STEADY |
| Exclamation marks per 1000 words | 0-14 per 1k words | LOW | VARIES |
| Hyphen usage per 1000 words | 0-24 per 1k words | LOW | VARIES |
| 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 |
| Percentage of sentences ending with exclamation | 8% | LOW | VARIES |
| Percentage of sentences trailing off with ellipsis | 0% | LOW | STEADY |
| Quotation mark usage per 1000 words | 0-5 per 1k words | LOW | VARIES |
| Semicolon usage per 1000 words | ~0 per 1k words | LOW | STEADY |
| Colon usage per 1000 words | 9-38 per 1k words | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Question marks per 1000 words | 0-15 per 1k words | TYPICAL | VARIES |
Quotes & Narrative 10
| Feature | Your DNA | vs Others | Consistency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average length of quoted passages | 0 - 41 | LOW | VARIES |
| Lines starting with quotation marks | 0% | LOW | STEADY |
| Lines using past tense | 20% | LOW | STEADY |
| Presence of dialogue attribution patterns | 0% | LOW | STEADY |
| Total characters in quoted content | 0 - 41 | LOW | VARIES |
| Use of story transitions | 4% | LOW | VARIES |
| Whether the post tells a story | 23% of posts | LOW | VARIES |
| Number of narrative/story signals | 0.2 - 1.7 | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Number of quotation blocks | 0.0 - 1.1 | TYPICAL | VARIES |
| Whether the post contains quotations | 46% of posts | TYPICAL | VARIES |
Sentence Rhythm 16
| Feature | Your DNA | vs Others | Consistency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average number of words per sentence | 16 - 28 | HIGH | STEADY |
| Average words per sentence | 16 - 28 | HIGH | STEADY |
| How often paragraphs contain just one sentence | 85% | HIGH | STEADY |
| Length of your longer sentences (80th percentile) | 22 - 44 | HIGH | STEADY |
| Parenthetical breaks per 1000 words | 0-14 per 1k words | HIGH | STEADY |
| Percentage of sentences over 20 words | 43% | HIGH | STEADY |
| Typical sentence length (median) | 13 - 29 | HIGH | STEADY |
| Variation in sentence lengths | 6 - 24 | HIGH | STEADY |
| Word count of the longest sentence | 24 - 58 | HIGH | STEADY |
| Percentage of sentences under 8 words | 13% | LOW | VARIES |
| Average number of clauses per sentence | 1.3 - 3.0 | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| How much sentence length varies (normalized) | 67% | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Length of your shorter sentences (20th percentile) | 5 - 15 | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Overall sentence complexity | 15 - 86 | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Variation in clause count across sentences | 0.0 - 3.5 | TYPICAL | VARIES |
| Word count of shortest sentence | 3 - 14 | TYPICAL | STEADY |
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