Mark K. Smith'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
Whether the opening line contains a hashtag
5x more signature
Proportion of hashtags in the opening
5x more signature
Proportion of all-lowercase hashtags
4x more signature
Opening paragraph length vs body average
2x more consistent
Average character length of hashtags
2x more consistent
Typical paragraph length (median)
1.7x more consistent
Hashtag density per 100 words
4x more See example from 17 Apr 2025
Does Less Of...
Patterns you use less often - that's part of your style too!
Blank lines per 100 total lines
rarely consistent
Proportion of blank space
rarely consistent
Average spacing between blank lines
rarely consistent
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 there's a blank line after the hook
rarely consistent
Signature = unique to you
| Distinctive = stands out from average
| Consistent = reliable pattern
Your AuthorDNA Profile
You probably didnât realize, but you open your LinkedIn posts with a hashtag five times more often than the average user. Not only that, but your opening hashtags are twice as long as most, and when you use them, 4x more are all-lowercase. Itâs like your posts come with their own encrypted preamble - a signature that shows up before youâve even said hello.
This works because it instantly signals a distinct tone and territory - youâre framing the conversation before it starts, making each post unmistakably yours. Now try briefing that to a ghostwriter: âOpen every post with an unusually long, all-lowercase hashtag, and make sure the opening is twice as dense as the body.â Theyâd think youâd lost it. You couldnât design this style if you tried - itâs hardwired, not written.
And you do all this while posting just 0.1 times per week, less than once weekly across seven years. This is exactly what Drumbeat captures - the patterns you canât articulate but your audience feels. Your companyâs message, in each team memberâs authentic voice, at scale.
Signature Phrases
Your most frequently used words and phrases
Posting Consistency
22 Jun 2015 - 25 May 2022
0.1 posts/week avg
15/362 active weeks
347 inactive weeks
Deep Dive
Explore all 17 categories of writing style
Call-to-Action Patterns 7
| Feature | Your DNA | vs Others | Consistency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether CTAs include hashtags | 17% of posts | HIGH | VARIES |
| Average position of CTAs in the post | Near top | LOW | VARIES |
| CTAs phrased as questions vs statements | 0% | 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 any call-to-action exists | 22% 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ratio of negative to positive contractions | 111:1 | HIGH | VARIES |
| Usage of negative contractions (don't, won't, can't) | 42% | HIGH | VARIES |
| Count of positive contractions used | 17% | LOW | VARIES |
| Number of different contraction types | 28% | LOW | VARIES |
| Total number of contractions | 28% | LOW | VARIES |
| Usage of positive contractions (it's, I'm, we're) | 42% | LOW | VARIES |
| Count of negative contractions used | 11% | TYPICAL | VARIES |
| Percentage of words that are contractions | 84% | TYPICAL | VARIES |
| Variety of different contractions used | 28% | TYPICAL | VARIES |
Function Words 21
| Feature | Your DNA | vs Others | Consistency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Usage of 'as' per 1000 words | 0-18 per 1k words | HIGH | VARIES |
| Usage of 'but' per 1000 words | 0-15 per 1k words | HIGH | VARIES |
| Usage of 'so' per 1000 words | 0-19 per 1k words | HIGH | VARIES |
| Usage of 'and' per 1000 words | 0 - 37 | LOW | VARIES |
| Usage of 'because' per 1000 words | ~0 per 1k words | LOW | STEADY |
| Usage of 'by' per 1000 words | ~0 per 1k words | LOW | STEADY |
| Usage of 'if' per 1000 words | ~0 per 1k words | LOW | STEADY |
| Usage of 'of' per 1000 words | 0-19 per 1k words | LOW | VARIES |
| Usage of 'that' per 1000 words | 0-8 per 1k words | LOW | VARIES |
| Usage of 'to' per 1000 words | 0 - 44 | LOW | VARIES |
| Usage of 'which' per 1000 words | ~0 per 1k words | LOW | STEADY |
| Usage of 'with' per 1000 words | 0-11 per 1k words | LOW | VARIES |
| Variety of function words used | 22% | LOW | STEADY |
| Overall grammatical word usage | 88 - 249 | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Usage of 'a' per 1000 words | 0 - 61 | TYPICAL | VARIES |
| Usage of 'at' per 1000 words | 0-27 per 1k words | TYPICAL | VARIES |
| Usage of 'for' per 1000 words | 0-28 per 1k words | TYPICAL | VARIES |
| Usage of 'is' per 1000 words | 0 - 50 | TYPICAL | VARIES |
| Usage of 'on' per 1000 words | 0-31 per 1k words | TYPICAL | VARIES |
| Usage of 'the' per 1000 words | 8 - 71 | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Usage of 'who' per 1000 words | 0-7 per 1k words | TYPICAL | VARIES |
Hashtag Usage 12
| Feature | Your DNA | vs Others | Consistency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average character length of hashtags | 8 - 14 | HIGH | STEADY |
| Hashtag density per 100 words | 4 - 22 | HIGH | STEADY |
| Proportion of all-lowercase hashtags | 86% | HIGH | STEADY |
| Proportion of hashtags in the opening | 95% | HIGH | STEADY |
| Total number of hashtags | 1.5 - 6.9 | HIGH | STEADY |
| Whether any hashtags are used | 89% of posts | HIGH | STEADY |
| Whether the opening line contains a hashtag | 100% | HIGH | STEADY |
| Proportion of hashtags placed at the end | 5% | LOW | VARIES |
| Proportion of hashtags using CamelCase | 8% | LOW | VARIES |
| Proportion of hashtags woven into the text | 0% | LOW | STEADY |
| Ratio of inline hashtags to end hashtags | 0% | LOW | STEADY |
| Proportion of hashtags in ALL CAPS | 5% | TYPICAL | VARIES |
Opening Hooks 14
| Feature | Your DNA | vs Others | Consistency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Negation words in the hook | 0.0 - 1.0 | HIGH | VARIES |
| Whether the hook contains a question | 28% of posts | HIGH | VARIES |
| Number of emoji in the hook | ~0.0 | LOW | STEADY |
| Use of 'you/your' in the hook | 1% | 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 | 0% | LOW | STEADY |
| Whether there's a clear opening hook section | 0% of posts | LOW | STEADY |
| ALL CAPS words in the hook | 2% | TYPICAL | VARIES |
| Character count of the hook | 96 - 356 | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Character position where the hook ends | 96 - 356 | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Hook length relative to total post | 98% | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Hook lines relative to total lines | 96% | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Where LinkedIn's 'see more' cuts off | 98% | TYPICAL | STEADY |
Line Structure 18
| Feature | Your DNA | vs Others | Consistency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average characters per line | 87 - 339 | HIGH | STEADY |
| Average spacing between blank lines | 0% | LOW | STEADY |
| Blank lines per 100 total lines | 0% | LOW | STEADY |
| Lines containing exactly one sentence | 21% | LOW | VARIES |
| Number of visual text blocks | ~1.0 | LOW | STEADY |
| Percentage of single-word lines | 0% | LOW | STEADY |
| Percentage of very short lines (<5 words) | 7% | LOW | VARIES |
| Predictability of line length pattern | Very consistent | LOW | VARIES |
| Proportion of blank space | 0% | LOW | STEADY |
| 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 | 6% | LOW | VARIES |
| Variation in block sizes | 0% | LOW | STEADY |
| Variation in line lengths | 0 - 231 | LOW | VARIES |
| Average lines per text block | 0.5 - 1.9 | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Average words per line | 9 - 56 | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| How often three-word phrases repeat | 0.0 - 8.8 | HIGH | VARIES |
| Common idioms and expressions per 1000 words | 0% | LOW | STEADY |
| Count of idiomatic expressions | ~0.0 | LOW | STEADY |
| Count of words used only once | 12 - 45 | LOW | STEADY |
| Length of longest repeated phrase | 83% | LOW | VARIES |
| Number of unique words used | 11 - 52 | LOW | STEADY |
| How often two-word phrases repeat | 0 - 10 | TYPICAL | VARIES |
| Percentage of words used only once | 93% | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Ratio of meaningful words to grammatical words | 6% | 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 There is/It is | 0.0-0.3 per post | HIGH | VARIES |
| Count of sentences starting with conjunctions | 0.0-0.6 per post | HIGH | VARIES |
| Count of sentences starting with discourse markers | 0.0-0.4 per post | HIGH | VARIES |
| Count of sentences starting with subordinate clauses | 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. (%) | 7% | HIGH | VARIES |
| Sentences starting with And, But, Or, So (%) | 3% | HIGH | VARIES |
| Sentences starting with pronouns (I, You, We, They) (%) | 0 - 54 | HIGH | VARIES |
| Sentences starting with subordinate clauses (%) | 4% | HIGH | VARIES |
| Count of sentences starting with -ing verbs | ~0.0 per post | LOW | STEADY |
| Count of sentences starting with time words | ~0.0 per post | LOW | STEADY |
| Sentences starting with -ing verbs (%) | 0% | LOW | STEADY |
| Sentences starting with time words (%) | 0% | LOW | STEADY |
| Count of sentences starting with adverbs | 0.0-0.4 per post | TYPICAL | VARIES |
| Count of sentences starting with pronouns | 0.0-1.8 per post | TYPICAL | VARIES |
| Sentences starting with adverbs (%) | 3% | TYPICAL | VARIES |
Closing Patterns 11
| Feature | Your DNA | vs Others | Consistency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether the ending includes hashtags | 89% of posts | HIGH | STEADY |
| Whether the ending is a question | 28% | HIGH | VARIES |
| Number of emoji in the closing | ~0.0 | LOW | STEADY |
| Whether the closing has a signature phrase | 6% of posts | LOW | VARIES |
| Whether the closing has emoji clusters | 0% | LOW | STEADY |
| Whether the ending has a call-to-action | 11% of posts | LOW | VARIES |
| Whether the ending includes emoji | 0% of posts | LOW | STEADY |
| Whether there's a clear closing section | 33% of posts | LOW | VARIES |
| ALL CAPS words in the closing | 2% | TYPICAL | VARIES |
| Character length of the closing | 90 - 341 | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Closing length relative to total post | 96% | TYPICAL | STEADY |
Paragraph Structure 13
| Feature | Your DNA | vs Others | Consistency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average sentences per paragraph | 1.8 - 4.9 | HIGH | STEADY |
| Average sentences per paragraph | 1.8 - 4.9 | HIGH | STEADY |
| Closing paragraph length vs body average | 100% | HIGH | STEADY |
| Opening paragraph length vs body average | 2% | HIGH | STEADY |
| Typical paragraph length (median) | 1.8 - 4.9 | HIGH | STEADY |
| Average change in length between paragraphs | 33% | LOW | STEADY |
| Consecutive short paragraphs | 39% | LOW | VARIES |
| How much paragraph length varies | 25% | LOW | STEADY |
| Total number of paragraphs | 0.5 - 1.9 | LOW | STEADY |
| Variation in length changes between paragraphs | 33% | LOW | STEADY |
| Consecutive long paragraphs | 17% | TYPICAL | VARIES |
| How frequently new paragraphs start | 0 - 103 | TYPICAL | VARIES |
| Length of your longer paragraphs (80th percentile) | 1.9 - 4.9 | 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 | 5% | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Percentage of words that are adjectives | 7% | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Percentage of words that are adverbs | 4% | TYPICAL | VARIES |
| Percentage of words that are determiners | 8% | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Percentage of words that are nouns | 16 - 45 | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Percentage of words that are prepositions | 7% | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Percentage of words that are pronouns | 7% | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Percentage of words that are verbs | 4 - 16 | TYPICAL | STEADY |
Post Basics 7
| Feature | Your DNA | vs Others | Consistency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Count of complex words (3+ syllables) | 2.5 - 9.3 | LOW | STEADY |
| Total sentence count | 1.9 - 4.9 | LOW | STEADY |
| Total syllables in the post | 22 - 101 | LOW | STEADY |
| Total word count of the post | 9 - 64 | LOW | STEADY |
| Average word complexity (syllables per word) | 1.5 - 2.2 | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| How easy the text is to read (higher = easier) | 13 - 68 | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Percentage of complex words (3+ syllables) | 9 - 31 | TYPICAL | STEADY |
Punctuation Style 17
| Feature | Your DNA | vs Others | Consistency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ellipsis (...) usage per 1000 words | 0-52 per 1k words | HIGH | VARIES |
| Mixed punctuation clusters per 1000 words | 0-8 per 1k words | HIGH | VARIES |
| Percentage of sentences trailing off with ellipsis | 0 - 38 | HIGH | VARIES |
| Question marks per 1000 words | 0-45 per 1k words | HIGH | VARIES |
| Quotation mark usage per 1000 words | 0-24 per 1k words | HIGH | VARIES |
| Colon usage per 1000 words | 0-9 per 1k words | LOW | VARIES |
| Comma usage per 1000 words | 0-19 per 1k words | LOW | VARIES |
| Em dash (â) usage per 1000 words | ~0 per 1k words | LOW | STEADY |
| En dash (â) usage per 1000 words | ~0 per 1k words | LOW | STEADY |
| Hyphen usage per 1000 words | 0-30 per 1k words | LOW | VARIES |
| 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 | 0-3 per 1k words | LOW | VARIES |
| Semicolon usage per 1000 words | ~0 per 1k words | LOW | STEADY |
| Exclamation marks per 1000 words | 1-50 per 1k words | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Percentage of sentences ending with a question | 6% | TYPICAL | VARIES |
| Percentage of sentences ending with exclamation | 3 - 38 | TYPICAL | STEADY |
Quotes & Narrative 10
| Feature | Your DNA | vs Others | Consistency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Presence of dialogue attribution patterns | 6% | HIGH | VARIES |
| Use of story transitions | 17% | HIGH | VARIES |
| Whether the post contains quotations | 56% of posts | HIGH | STEADY |
| Average length of quoted passages | 0 - 35 | LOW | VARIES |
| Lines starting with quotation marks | 0% | LOW | STEADY |
| Total characters in quoted content | 0 - 35 | LOW | VARIES |
| Lines using past tense | 54% | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Number of narrative/story signals | 0.2 - 2.4 | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Number of quotation blocks | 0.0 - 1.1 | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Whether the post tells a story | 44% of posts | TYPICAL | VARIES |
Sentence Rhythm 16
| Feature | Your DNA | vs Others | Consistency |
|---|---|---|---|
| How often paragraphs contain just one sentence | 21% | LOW | VARIES |
| Parenthetical breaks per 1000 words | 0-3 per 1k words | LOW | VARIES |
| Average number of clauses per sentence | 0.7 - 2.5 | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Average number of words per sentence | 2 - 22 | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Average words per sentence | 2 - 22 | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| How much sentence length varies (normalized) | 52% | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Length of your longer sentences (80th percentile) | 3 - 32 | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Length of your shorter sentences (20th percentile) | 1 - 13 | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Overall sentence complexity | 0 - 75 | TYPICAL | VARIES |
| Percentage of sentences over 20 words | 16% | TYPICAL | VARIES |
| Percentage of sentences under 8 words | 44% | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Typical sentence length (median) | 1 - 21 | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Variation in clause count across sentences | 0.0 - 4.0 | TYPICAL | VARIES |
| Variation in sentence lengths | 0 - 14 | TYPICAL | VARIES |
| Word count of shortest sentence | 0 - 13 | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Word count of the longest sentence | 4 - 33 | TYPICAL | STEADY |
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