| name | content-machine |
| description | Create social media posts, newsletters, and marketing content calibrated to your voice and platform. |
Content Machine
Create social posts, newsletters, and marketing copy that respects platform mechanics — truncation points, algorithm signals, and hook physics — not just "good writing."
When to Use
- Social posts (X/Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, TikTok captions, Threads)
- Newsletters, blog posts, content calendars, cross-platform repurposing
When NOT to Use
- Cold outreach (cold-email-writer) · Paid ad copy (ad-creative) · Research reports (deep-research) · SEO audits (seo-auditor)
Step 1: Voice Analysis
Ask for 3-5 existing posts. Extract: avg sentence length, contraction usage, emoji density, POV (I/we/you), signature phrases. If none exist, ask for 2 creators they want to sound like and use webFetch to pull recent posts as voice reference.
Step 2: Platform Mechanics (2025-2026 Specs)
LinkedIn — 3,000 char max, but truncation is what matters
- "...see more" cutoff: ~140 chars desktop, ~110 chars mobile. 57%+ of LinkedIn traffic is mobile — write the hook for 110 chars.
- Algorithm weights: comments count ~2x likes; dwell time is a primary signal; first 60-120 min engagement velocity determines reach ceiling.
- Optimal length: 800-1,000 chars (not 3,000). Short paragraphs (1-2 lines) + white space increase dwell time.
- Structure: Hook (110 chars, no throat-clearing like "I wanted to share...") → story/insight → single question CTA. Reply to every comment in the first hour to extend the test window.
- Hashtags: 3-5 max, at the very end. LinkedIn deprioritized hashtag discovery.
X/Twitter — 280 chars (free), 25,000 chars (Premium)
- Long posts on Premium truncate at ~280 chars in the feed — the hook rule still applies.
- Thread structure: Tweet 1 = the full promise ("How I went from X to Y in Z — thread 🧵"). Each tweet must stand alone for retweets. Last tweet = CTA + loop back to tweet 1.
- Line breaks double engagement vs. wall-of-text.
Instagram — 2,200 char caption, ~125 chars visible before "...more"
- Hashtags: 3-5, not 30. Instagram's @creators account officially reversed the old advice; 20+ hashtags now reads as spam and can suppress reach. Put them inline or at the end, not in a comment.
- First line = hook. Emoji as bullet points scan faster than dashes on mobile.
TikTok captions — 4,000 chars (up from 2,200)
- TikTok is now a search engine — ~40% of Gen Z searches here before Google. Front-load keywords in the caption for TikTok SEO. The caption is indexed; use it for terms your video doesn't say out loud.
Newsletters — Optimize for clicks, not opens
- Apple Mail Privacy Protection (MPP) inflates open rates by ~18 percentage points. Apple Mail is ~46% market share and pre-fetches tracking pixels. A "42% open rate" in 2025 ≈ a 24% open rate in 2020. Track click rate (benchmark: ~2%) and CTOR (10-20%) instead.
- Subject line: 30-50 chars. Avoid "Free," ALL CAPS, multiple "!!!" — spam filter triggers. B2B: longer, specific subject lines outperform short clever ones.
- Preview/preheader text: adds ~6pp to open rate when used — but Gmail's Gemini now auto-generates previews, so don't rely on controlling it. Write the first sentence of the body as a second hook.
- One primary CTA. Every additional CTA cuts click rate.
Step 3: Hook Formulas (Named Patterns)
Don't say "write a hook" — pick a pattern:
| Pattern | Template | Why it works |
|---|
| Contrarian | "Everyone says X. Here's why that's wrong." | Cognitive dissonance forces resolution |
| Curiosity gap | "I tried X for 30 days. Day 17 broke me." | Open loop — brain needs closure |
| Specificity signal | "$47,212 in 90 days. Here's the exact stack." | Odd numbers read as true, round numbers read as marketing |
| Negative hook | "3 mistakes that cost me [outcome]" | Loss aversion > gain seeking |
| Callout | "If you're a [role] still doing X, read this." | Self-selection = higher-intent readers |
| Slippery slope | "It started with one Slack message." | Narrative momentum |
| Permission | "Unpopular opinion: [take]" | Pre-frames disagreement as expected |
Banned openers: "I'm excited to share," "Hey everyone," "As a [title]," "In today's fast-paced world."
Step 4: Repurposing Waterfall
One long-form piece → 6+ assets:
- Blog post (1,500 words) →
- X thread (extract each H2 as a tweet, intro = hook) →
- LinkedIn post (pick the single most contrarian point, 800 chars) →
- LinkedIn carousel (each H2 = 1 slide; carousels get highest dwell time) →
- Newsletter section (add personal context + behind-the-scenes) →
- Instagram carousel (same slides, 1080×1350, 4:5) →
- TikTok/Reel script (the hook + the #1 takeaway in 30 sec)
Build repurposing scripts in Python when batch-processing: parse markdown H2s → split into platform templates → enforce char limits programmatically.
Content Frameworks
- PAS (Problem → Agitate → Solve) — best for conversion-focused posts
- BAB (Before → After → Bridge) — best for transformation stories
- AIDA (Attention → Interest → Desire → Action) — best for launches
- SLAP (Stop → Look → Act → Purchase) — best for short-form (Reels/TikTok captions)
Validation
Before delivering, verify: char counts against platform limits (count programmatically, don't eyeball), hook fits in the truncation window, no banned openers, one CTA per piece.
Limitations
- Cannot post to platforms or access analytics
- Cannot generate images/video (use media-generation skill)
- Voice matching quality scales with example count
