Craig Welch'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
Hook lines relative to total lines
1.5x more consistent
Closing length relative to total post
1.3x more consistent
Hook length relative to total post
1.4x more consistent
Where LinkedIn's 'see more' cuts off
1.4x more consistent
Closing paragraph length vs body average
3x more Percentage of words used only once
1.1x more consistent
Unique words divided by total words
1.1x more consistent
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
Whether the ending includes emoji
rarely consistent
Whether the hook contains emoji
rarely consistent
Number of different emoji types used
rarely consistent
Total number of paragraphs
4x less consistent
Signature = unique to you
| Distinctive = stands out from average
| Consistent = reliable pattern
Your AuthorDNA Profile
You probably didn't realize, but your closing paragraphs are three times longer than the rest of your post body. On top of that, your hooks take up 1.4x more space than average, and LinkedIn’s ‘see more’ cutoff hits you 40% more often than most. It’s like you build up tension, then pour everything into that final moment - every single time.
Why does it work? It signals to readers that you’re not just posting for engagement or a quick dopamine hit. You’re drawing them in, making them commit, and then rewarding those who stay for the end. Now try briefing this to a ghostwriter: “Write posts where the ending is three times longer than the average paragraph, but don’t use emojis, and make the hook extra long but almost invisible.” They’d think you’d lost it. This isn’t a style guide - it’s muscle memory you didn’t know you had.
And you’ve only posted once every ten weeks over the past seven years. That’s not a drumbeat - it’s a pulse. But that’s exactly what Drumbeat captures: the invisible patterns your audience feels, even if you can’t explain them. Your company’s message, in every team member’s authentic voice, at scale.
Signature Phrases
Your most frequently used words and phrases
Posting Consistency
27 Jun 2017 - 28 Sep 2024
0.1 posts/week avg
27/379 active weeks
352 inactive weeks
Deep Dive
Explore all 17 categories of writing style
Call-to-Action Patterns 7
| Feature | Your DNA | vs Others | Consistency |
|---|---|---|---|
| CTAs phrased as questions vs statements | 12% | HIGH | VARIES |
| Average position of CTAs in the post | Near top | LOW | STEADY |
| CTAs using command verbs (Click, Share, Comment, etc.) | 6% | 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 | 28% of posts | LOW | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Count of negative contractions used | 0% | LOW | STEADY |
| Count of positive contractions used | 3% | LOW | VARIES |
| Number of different contraction types | 3% | LOW | VARIES |
| Percentage of words that are contractions | 28% | LOW | VARIES |
| Ratio of negative to positive contractions | balanced | LOW | STEADY |
| Total number of contractions | 3% | LOW | VARIES |
| Usage of negative contractions (don't, won't, can't) | 0% | LOW | STEADY |
| Usage of positive contractions (it's, I'm, we're) | 28% | LOW | VARIES |
| Variety of different contractions used | 3% | LOW | VARIES |
Function Words 21
| Feature | Your DNA | vs Others | Consistency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Usage of 'because' per 1000 words | 0-15 per 1k words | HIGH | VARIES |
| Usage of 'is' per 1000 words | 0 - 60 | HIGH | VARIES |
| Usage of 'of' per 1000 words | 0 - 68 | HIGH | VARIES |
| Usage of 'on' per 1000 words | 0 - 49 | HIGH | VARIES |
| Usage of 'which' per 1000 words | 0-7 per 1k words | HIGH | VARIES |
| Usage of 'and' per 1000 words | 0-22 per 1k words | LOW | VARIES |
| Usage of 'but' per 1000 words | ~0 per 1k words | LOW | STEADY |
| Usage of 'by' per 1000 words | 0-6 per 1k words | LOW | VARIES |
| Usage of 'if' per 1000 words | 0-4 per 1k words | LOW | VARIES |
| Usage of 'that' per 1000 words | 0-15 per 1k words | LOW | VARIES |
| Usage of 'who' per 1000 words | ~0 per 1k words | LOW | STEADY |
| Variety of function words used | 19% | LOW | STEADY |
| Overall grammatical word usage | 112 - 301 | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Usage of 'a' per 1000 words | 0 - 67 | TYPICAL | VARIES |
| Usage of 'as' per 1000 words | 0-23 per 1k words | TYPICAL | VARIES |
| Usage of 'at' per 1000 words | 0-26 per 1k words | TYPICAL | VARIES |
| Usage of 'for' per 1000 words | 0 - 35 | TYPICAL | VARIES |
| Usage of 'so' per 1000 words | 0-13 per 1k words | TYPICAL | VARIES |
| Usage of 'the' per 1000 words | 0 - 98 | TYPICAL | VARIES |
| Usage of 'to' per 1000 words | 0 - 56 | TYPICAL | VARIES |
| Usage of 'with' per 1000 words | 0-29 per 1k words | TYPICAL | VARIES |
Hashtag Usage 12
| Feature | Your DNA | vs Others | Consistency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average character length of hashtags | 8 - 17 | HIGH | STEADY |
| Proportion of all-lowercase hashtags | 53% | HIGH | STEADY |
| Proportion of hashtags in ALL CAPS | 7% | HIGH | VARIES |
| Proportion of hashtags in the opening | 90% | HIGH | STEADY |
| Proportion of hashtags using CamelCase | 40% | HIGH | VARIES |
| Proportion of hashtags woven into the text | 10% | HIGH | VARIES |
| Whether the opening line contains a hashtag | 100% | HIGH | STEADY |
| Hashtag density per 100 words | 47% | LOW | VARIES |
| Proportion of hashtags placed at the end | 0% | LOW | STEADY |
| Total number of hashtags | 0.0 - 0.9 | LOW | VARIES |
| Whether any hashtags are used | 16% of posts | LOW | VARIES |
| Ratio of inline hashtags to end hashtags | 0 - 208 | TYPICAL | VARIES |
Opening Hooks 14
| Feature | Your DNA | vs Others | Consistency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Use of 'you/your' in the hook | 3% | HIGH | VARIES |
| Character count of the hook | 25 - 243 | LOW | STEADY |
| Character position where the hook ends | 25 - 243 | LOW | STEADY |
| Negation words in the hook | 0.0 - 0.3 | LOW | VARIES |
| Number of emoji in the hook | ~0.0 | 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 | 3% | LOW | VARIES |
| Whether there's a clear opening hook section | 0% of posts | LOW | STEADY |
| ALL CAPS words in the hook | 2% | TYPICAL | VARIES |
| Hook length relative to total post | 98% | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Hook lines relative to total lines | 98% | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Where LinkedIn's 'see more' cuts off | 98% | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Whether the hook contains a question | 16% of posts | TYPICAL | VARIES |
Line Structure 18
| Feature | Your DNA | vs Others | Consistency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ratio of lines starting with ALL CAPS | 6% | HIGH | VARIES |
| Ratio of lines starting with quotes | 6% | HIGH | VARIES |
| Average spacing between blank lines | 5% | LOW | VARIES |
| Blank lines per 100 total lines | 0 - 15 | LOW | VARIES |
| Number of visual text blocks | 0.7 - 1.5 | LOW | STEADY |
| Percentage of single-word lines | 1% | LOW | VARIES |
| Percentage of very short lines (<5 words) | 4% | LOW | VARIES |
| Predictability of line length pattern | Very consistent | LOW | VARIES |
| Proportion of blank space | 4% | LOW | VARIES |
| Ratio of lines starting with numbers | 0% | LOW | STEADY |
| Ratio of lines starting with punctuation | 0% | LOW | STEADY |
| Spacing between content-rich lines | 20% | LOW | VARIES |
| Variation in block sizes | 0% | LOW | STEADY |
| Variation in line lengths | 0 - 144 | LOW | VARIES |
| Average characters per line | 20 - 234 | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Average lines per text block | 100% | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Average words per line | 4 - 40 | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Lines containing exactly one sentence | 73% | TYPICAL | STEADY |
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 | 98% | HIGH | VARIES |
| Count of idiomatic expressions | 0.0 - 0.2 | HIGH | VARIES |
| Count of words used only once | 6 - 32 | LOW | STEADY |
| How often three-word phrases repeat | 0% | LOW | STEADY |
| How often two-word phrases repeat | 92% | LOW | VARIES |
| Length of longest repeated phrase | 25% | LOW | VARIES |
| Number of unique words used | 5 - 37 | LOW | STEADY |
| Percentage of words used only once | 93% | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Ratio of meaningful words to grammatical words | 4% | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Unique words divided by total words | 92% | 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 discourse markers | 0.0-0.3 per post | HIGH | VARIES |
| Count of sentences starting with subordinate clauses | 0.0-0.2 per post | HIGH | VARIES |
| Sentences starting with 'There is/are' or 'It is' (%) | 2% | HIGH | VARIES |
| Sentences starting with Actually, Basically, etc. (%) | 6% | HIGH | VARIES |
| Sentences starting with adverbs (%) | 8% | HIGH | VARIES |
| Sentences starting with subordinate clauses (%) | 3% | HIGH | VARIES |
| Count of sentences starting with -ing verbs | ~0.0 per post | LOW | STEADY |
| Count of sentences starting with conjunctions | ~0.0 per post | LOW | STEADY |
| Count of sentences starting with pronouns | 0.0-1.0 per post | LOW | VARIES |
| Count of sentences starting with time words | ~0.0 per post | 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 adverbs | 0.0-0.5 per post | TYPICAL | VARIES |
| Sentences starting with pronouns (I, You, We, They) (%) | 9% | TYPICAL | VARIES |
Closing Patterns 11
| Feature | Your DNA | vs Others | Consistency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Character length of the closing | 14 - 270 | LOW | STEADY |
| 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 | 16% of posts | LOW | VARIES |
| Whether the ending includes emoji | 0% of posts | LOW | STEADY |
| Whether the ending includes hashtags | 16% of posts | LOW | VARIES |
| Whether there's a clear closing section | 44% of posts | LOW | VARIES |
| ALL CAPS words in the closing | 2% | TYPICAL | VARIES |
| Closing length relative to total post | 100% | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Whether the closing has a signature phrase | 16% of posts | TYPICAL | VARIES |
| Whether the ending is a question | 16% | TYPICAL | VARIES |
Paragraph Structure 13
| Feature | Your DNA | vs Others | Consistency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average change in length between paragraphs | 0.5 - 2.8 | HIGH | STEADY |
| Closing paragraph length vs body average | 1% | HIGH | STEADY |
| How much paragraph length varies | 0.0 - 4.1 | HIGH | VARIES |
| Opening paragraph length vs body average | 2% | HIGH | VARIES |
| Consecutive long paragraphs | 0% | LOW | STEADY |
| Consecutive short paragraphs | 94% | LOW | STEADY |
| Length of your longer paragraphs (80th percentile) | 0.6 - 2.6 | LOW | STEADY |
| Total number of paragraphs | 0.8 - 1.4 | LOW | STEADY |
| Variation in length changes between paragraphs | 0% | LOW | STEADY |
| Average sentences per paragraph | 0.6 - 2.5 | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Average sentences per paragraph | 0.6 - 2.5 | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| How frequently new paragraphs start | 15 - 146 | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Typical paragraph length (median) | 0.6 - 2.5 | TYPICAL | STEADY |
Parts of Speech 9
| Feature | Your DNA | vs Others | Consistency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Balance/distribution of different word types | Fairly consistent | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Percentage of auxiliary/helper verbs | 6% | TYPICAL | VARIES |
| Percentage of words that are adjectives | 7% | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Percentage of words that are adverbs | 5% | TYPICAL | VARIES |
| Percentage of words that are determiners | 7% | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Percentage of words that are nouns | 6 - 28 | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Percentage of words that are prepositions | 6 - 20 | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Percentage of words that are pronouns | 8% | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Percentage of words that are verbs | 2 - 20 | TYPICAL | STEADY |
Post Basics 7
| Feature | Your DNA | vs Others | Consistency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Count of complex words (3+ syllables) | 0.0 - 7.9 | LOW | VARIES |
| Total sentence count | 0.5 - 2.9 | LOW | STEADY |
| Total syllables in the post | 4 - 72 | LOW | STEADY |
| Total word count of the post | 3 - 46 | LOW | STEADY |
| Average word complexity (syllables per word) | 1.3 - 1.8 | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| How easy the text is to read (higher = easier) | 40 - 83 | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Percentage of complex words (3+ syllables) | 5 - 24 | TYPICAL | STEADY |
Punctuation Style 17
| Feature | Your DNA | vs Others | Consistency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ellipsis (...) usage per 1000 words | 0-31 per 1k words | HIGH | VARIES |
| Percentage of sentences ending with a question | 0 - 45 | HIGH | VARIES |
| Percentage of sentences trailing off with ellipsis | 6% | HIGH | VARIES |
| Question marks per 1000 words | 0-57 per 1k words | HIGH | VARIES |
| Quotation mark usage per 1000 words | 0-41 per 1k words | HIGH | VARIES |
| Colon usage per 1000 words | 0-45 per 1k words | LOW | VARIES |
| Comma usage per 1000 words | 0-37 per 1k words | LOW | VARIES |
| En dash (–) usage per 1000 words | 0-2 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 |
| Parentheses usage per 1000 words | ~0 per 1k words | LOW | STEADY |
| Semicolon usage per 1000 words | ~0 per 1k words | LOW | STEADY |
| Em dash (—) usage per 1000 words | 0-5 per 1k words | TYPICAL | VARIES |
| Exclamation marks per 1000 words | 0-83 per 1k words | TYPICAL | VARIES |
| Hyphen usage per 1000 words | 0-46 per 1k words | TYPICAL | VARIES |
| Percentage of sentences ending with exclamation | 0 - 42 | TYPICAL | VARIES |
Quotes & Narrative 10
| Feature | Your DNA | vs Others | Consistency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lines starting with quotation marks | 6% | HIGH | VARIES |
| Average length of quoted passages | 0 - 77 | LOW | VARIES |
| Number of narrative/story signals | 0.0 - 1.5 | LOW | STEADY |
| Number of quotation blocks | 0.0 - 0.7 | LOW | VARIES |
| Presence of dialogue attribution patterns | 0% | LOW | STEADY |
| Total characters in quoted content | 0 - 77 | LOW | VARIES |
| Whether the post tells a story | 16% of posts | LOW | VARIES |
| Lines using past tense | 34% | TYPICAL | VARIES |
| Use of story transitions | 7% | TYPICAL | VARIES |
| Whether the post contains quotations | 28% of posts | TYPICAL | VARIES |
Sentence Rhythm 16
| Feature | Your DNA | vs Others | Consistency |
|---|---|---|---|
| How often paragraphs contain just one sentence | 73% | HIGH | STEADY |
| Length of your shorter sentences (20th percentile) | 4 - 21 | HIGH | STEADY |
| Word count of shortest sentence | 4 - 21 | HIGH | STEADY |
| How much sentence length varies (normalized) | 17% | LOW | VARIES |
| Parenthetical breaks per 1000 words | 0-6 per 1k words | LOW | VARIES |
| Variation in clause count across sentences | 47% | LOW | VARIES |
| Variation in sentence lengths | 0.0 - 8.2 | LOW | VARIES |
| Word count of the longest sentence | 7 - 28 | LOW | STEADY |
| Average number of clauses per sentence | 0.6 - 3.0 | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Average number of words per sentence | 7 - 23 | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Average words per sentence | 7 - 23 | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Length of your longer sentences (80th percentile) | 7 - 28 | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Overall sentence complexity | 0 - 71 | TYPICAL | VARIES |
| Percentage of sentences over 20 words | 21% | TYPICAL | VARIES |
| Percentage of sentences under 8 words | 28% | TYPICAL | VARIES |
| Typical sentence length (median) | 7 - 22 | TYPICAL | STEADY |
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