Document posts — carousels — earn more dwell time and saves than any other LinkedIn format, because each swipe is a signal and a saved carousel is reopened. They fail when the cover promises nothing specific, when slides carry three ideas each, or when the type is too small to read on a phone. The LinkedIn Carousel Generator writes the cover, eight to twelve slides with one idea each, a closing CTA slide, design notes and the post copy that publishes it.
This guide explains the cover, the one-idea rule and what the post copy is for.
The cover earns the swipe
The cover headline is under eight words and promises one clear outcome: "7 onboarding emails that cut churn", not "Thoughts on onboarding". The subline adds the proof or the audience. The report writes the cover plus two alternatives to test, because the cover decides whether anyone reaches slide two.
One idea per slide
Each content slide has a headline and one supporting line, under fifteen words in total. If a point needs more, it becomes two slides. The report structures eight to twelve slides in an order that builds — problem, steps, proof, summary — and ends on a closing slide with a single ask: follow, comment or save.
Design notes and the post
Font size, contrast, colour and slide size are specified so the carousel reads on a phone in a bright room. The accompanying post copy has a two-line hook, 80–150 words, a question CTA and hashtags — because the post text is what earns the first swipe, and the carousel earns the rest.
Tips
- Give the report the five to ten points you want to cover; it structures and trims them.
- Build the slides in a simple template and keep it; recognisable carousels get opened faster.
- Repost the carousel as a text post in a month — the same ideas reach different people in different formats.
Common mistakes
- A vague cover — "Leadership lessons" earns no swipe. A number and an outcome do.
- Paragraphs on slides — If it needs reading glasses, it needs splitting.
- No closing ask — A carousel that ends on the last point leaves the follow on the table.
Worked example
Input: Carousel: the 6 questions I ask in every customer interview. Product manager at a fintech.
What the report returned: Cover: "6 questions that make customer interviews useful" / "From 200+ interviews at a fintech". Slides 2–7 one question each with why it works; slide 8 the order to ask them; slide 9 the mistake most PMs make; closing: "Save this for your next interview. Which question do you skip?"
Frequently asked questions
How many slides?
Eight to twelve. Fewer rarely justifies the format; more loses people before the close.
Does it design the slides?
It gives the text and design specs. Build them in Canva, Figma or Keynote and export as PDF.
Can it convert a blog post into a carousel?
Paste the post; it extracts one idea per slide.