Sam Hall'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
Variety of different emoji used as bullets
35x more signature ↑ increasing
Percentage of emoji that are neutral/functional
6x more signature ↑ increasing
See example from 24 Oct 2025
Percentage of lines containing at least one emoji
5x more signature ↑ increasing
Average character length of hashtags
3x more consistent ↑ increasing
Count of neutral/functional emoji
6x more ↑ increasing
Number of emoji in the opening hook
7x more ↑ increasing
Emoji count relative to sentence count
6x more ↑ increasing
Does Less Of...
Patterns you use less often - that's part of your style too!
Whether CTAs include hashtags
rarely consistent
Whether any list structure is used
rarely consistent
Usage of 'by' per 1000 words
rarely consistent
CTAs phrased as questions vs statements
rarely consistent
Signature = unique to you
| Distinctive = stands out from average
| Consistent = reliable pattern
Your AuthorDNA Profile
You probably didn't realize, but you use a staggering 35 times more types of emoji as bullets than the average LinkedIn author. And not just any emoji - 6 times more of yours are neutral or purely functional, not emotional. Nearly every fifth line you write sneaks in an emoji, and your hashtags? They're three times longer than anyone else's. It's not just a quirk - it's a visual signature hiding in plain sight.
This works because you’ve made your posts instantly scannable and subtly structured, without ever resorting to obvious list formats or formulaic calls to action. Try giving a ghostwriter these specs: “Use a wild variety of neutral emoji as bullets, but don’t make it look like a list. Make hashtags unusually long, but don’t rely on them to drive CTAs.” They’d think you were joking. You couldn’t even brief yourself to do this on purpose - it’s muscle memory, not method.
And yet, despite this distinctive fingerprint, you only post less than once a week. That’s the paradox Drumbeat uncovers - the patterns you can’t see but your audience feels, translating your uncopyable voice into consistent company presence, at scale.
Style Evolution
How your writing has changed (Sep 2015 - Oct 2025)
Recent 8 posts since Dec 2023
vs
Earlier 10 posts before Dec 2023
Hashtag usage Increasing (30% → 100%)
More
Emoji usage Increasing (10% → 100%)
More
Style patterns based on 18 posts. Recent trends may differ from overall averages shown above.
Signature Phrases
Your most frequently used words and phrases
Posting Consistency
29 Sep 2015 - 24 Oct 2025
0 posts/week avg
17/526 active weeks
509 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 emoji | 35% of posts | HIGH | VARIES |
| CTAs phrased as questions vs statements | 0% | LOW | STEADY |
| CTAs using command verbs (Click, Share, Comment, etc.) | 1% | LOW | VARIES |
| Whether CTAs are concentrated at the end of the post | 0% | LOW | STEADY |
| Whether CTAs include hashtags | 0% of posts | LOW | STEADY |
| Average position of CTAs in the post | Near top | TYPICAL | VARIES |
| Whether any call-to-action exists | 59% of posts | TYPICAL | STEADY |
Emoji Usage 38
| Feature | Your DNA | vs Others | Consistency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average emoji per line of text | 53% | HIGH | STEADY |
| Average number of emoji appearing together in clusters | 28% | HIGH | VARIES |
| Balance between positive and negative emoji | 16% | HIGH | VARIES |
| Count of neutral/functional emoji | 0.9 - 4.9 | HIGH | STEADY |
| Count of positive/celebratory emoji | 0.0 - 1.2 | HIGH | VARIES |
| Emoji count per 1000 words | 0 - 41 | HIGH | VARIES |
| Emoji count relative to sentence count | 55% | HIGH | STEADY |
| Emoji density in CTA sections | 0 - 274 | HIGH | VARIES |
| Emoji density in the hook section | 0 - 60 | HIGH | STEADY |
| Emoji usage in the middle section of the post | 0 - 39 | HIGH | VARIES |
| Emoji used to replace words entirely | 27% | HIGH | VARIES |
| How consistently the same emoji is used for bullets | 33% | HIGH | VARIES |
| Largest group of adjacent emoji | 33% | HIGH | VARIES |
| Number of bullet point lines using emoji as markers | 0.0 - 0.8 | HIGH | VARIES |
| Number of different emoji types used | 0.0 - 4.0 | HIGH | VARIES |
| Number of emoji clusters (groups of adjacent emoji) | 0.0 - 0.9 | HIGH | VARIES |
| Number of emoji in call-to-action lines | 0.0 - 1.9 | HIGH | VARIES |
| Number of emoji in the opening hook | 0.1 - 3.0 | HIGH | STEADY |
| Percentage of emoji that are 'corpspeak' type | 8% | HIGH | VARIES |
| Percentage of emoji that are neutral/functional | 84% | HIGH | STEADY |
| Percentage of emoji that are positive/celebratory | 16% | HIGH | VARIES |
| Percentage of lines containing at least one emoji | 44% | HIGH | STEADY |
| Percentage of lines that contain only emoji | 3% | HIGH | VARIES |
| Proportion of emoji appearing in clusters | 11% | HIGH | VARIES |
| Total number of emoji in the post | 0.0 - 4.0 | HIGH | VARIES |
| Variety of different emoji used (unique/total ratio) | 53% | HIGH | STEADY |
| Variety of different emoji used as bullets | 33% | HIGH | VARIES |
| Whether any emoji are used in the post | 53% of posts | HIGH | STEADY |
| Whether emoji are used as bullet point markers | 33% | HIGH | VARIES |
| Average distance between repeated emoji | 0% | LOW | STEADY |
| Count of negative/warning emoji | ~0.0 | LOW | STEADY |
| How consistently emoji pair with specific words | 0% | LOW | STEADY |
| How often the same emoji repeats across the post | 0% | LOW | STEADY |
| Percentage of emoji that are negative/warning | 0% | LOW | STEADY |
| Proportion of emoji that appear multiple times | 0% | LOW | STEADY |
| Total count of repeated emoji across the post | ~0.0 | LOW | STEADY |
| Whether the post starts with an emoji | 0% | LOW | STEADY |
| Consistency of emoji bullet indentation | 0% | TYPICAL | STEADY |
Formality & Tone 9
| Feature | Your DNA | vs Others | Consistency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Count of negative contractions used | 35% | HIGH | VARIES |
| Percentage of words that are contractions | 2% | HIGH | VARIES |
| Ratio of negative to positive contractions | 235:1 | HIGH | VARIES |
| Usage of negative contractions (don't, won't, can't) | 58% | HIGH | VARIES |
| Usage of positive contractions (it's, I'm, we're) | 1% | HIGH | VARIES |
| Variety of different contractions used | 59% | HIGH | STEADY |
| Count of positive contractions used | 41% | TYPICAL | VARIES |
| Number of different contraction types | 76% | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Total number of contractions | 76% | TYPICAL | STEADY |
Function Words 21
| Feature | Your DNA | vs Others | Consistency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Usage of 'as' per 1000 words | 0-23 per 1k words | HIGH | VARIES |
| Usage of 'at' per 1000 words | 0 - 31 | HIGH | VARIES |
| Usage of 'for' per 1000 words | 4 - 38 | HIGH | STEADY |
| Usage of 'if' per 1000 words | 0-20 per 1k words | HIGH | VARIES |
| Usage of 'which' per 1000 words | 0-7 per 1k words | HIGH | VARIES |
| Usage of 'with' per 1000 words | 2 - 31 | HIGH | STEADY |
| Usage of 'because' per 1000 words | ~0 per 1k words | LOW | STEADY |
| Usage of 'by' per 1000 words | ~0 per 1k words | LOW | STEADY |
| Overall grammatical word usage | 165 - 252 | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Usage of 'a' per 1000 words | 5 - 41 | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Usage of 'and' per 1000 words | 0 - 43 | TYPICAL | VARIES |
| Usage of 'but' per 1000 words | 0-7 per 1k words | TYPICAL | VARIES |
| Usage of 'is' per 1000 words | 0-18 per 1k words | TYPICAL | VARIES |
| Usage of 'of' per 1000 words | 0 - 31 | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Usage of 'on' per 1000 words | 0-17 per 1k words | TYPICAL | VARIES |
| Usage of 'so' per 1000 words | 0-9 per 1k words | TYPICAL | VARIES |
| Usage of 'that' per 1000 words | 0-19 per 1k words | TYPICAL | VARIES |
| Usage of 'the' per 1000 words | 6 - 49 | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Usage of 'to' per 1000 words | 9 - 42 | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Usage of 'who' per 1000 words | 0-9 per 1k words | TYPICAL | VARIES |
| Variety of function words used | 44% | TYPICAL | STEADY |
Hashtag Usage 12
| Feature | Your DNA | vs Others | Consistency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average character length of hashtags | 9 - 15 | HIGH | STEADY |
| Proportion of all-lowercase hashtags | 52% | HIGH | STEADY |
| Proportion of hashtags placed at the end | 65% | HIGH | STEADY |
| Proportion of hashtags using CamelCase | 44% | HIGH | VARIES |
| Proportion of hashtags woven into the text | 15% | HIGH | VARIES |
| Ratio of inline hashtags to end hashtags | 0 - 301 | HIGH | VARIES |
| Total number of hashtags | 0.0 - 5.3 | HIGH | STEADY |
| Hashtag density per 100 words | 0.0 - 8.7 | TYPICAL | VARIES |
| Proportion of hashtags in ALL CAPS | 4% | TYPICAL | VARIES |
| Proportion of hashtags in the opening | 20% | TYPICAL | VARIES |
| Whether any hashtags are used | 65% of posts | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Whether the opening line contains a hashtag | 27% | TYPICAL | VARIES |
Opening Hooks 14
| Feature | Your DNA | vs Others | Consistency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Number of emoji in the hook | 0.0 - 1.2 | HIGH | VARIES |
| Whether the hook contains emoji | 41% of posts | HIGH | VARIES |
| Whether the hook starts with a conjunction | 6% | HIGH | VARIES |
| Whether there's a blank line after the hook | 35% | HIGH | VARIES |
| ALL CAPS words in the hook | 2% | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Character count of the hook | 177 - 376 | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Character position where the hook ends | 177 - 376 | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Hook length relative to total post | 71% | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Hook lines relative to total lines | 64% | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Negation words in the hook | 0.0 - 0.8 | TYPICAL | VARIES |
| Use of 'you/your' in the hook | 2% | TYPICAL | VARIES |
| Where LinkedIn's 'see more' cuts off | 71% | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Whether the hook contains a question | 12% of posts | TYPICAL | VARIES |
| Whether there's a clear opening hook section | 35% of posts | TYPICAL | VARIES |
Line Structure 18
| Feature | Your DNA | vs Others | Consistency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Percentage of single-word lines | 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 quotes | 0% | LOW | STEADY |
| Variation in block sizes | 8% | LOW | VARIES |
| Average characters per line | 52 - 301 | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Average lines per text block | 0.6 - 2.0 | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Average spacing between blank lines | 0.0 - 2.6 | TYPICAL | VARIES |
| Average words per line | 7 - 52 | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Blank lines per 100 total lines | 0 - 44 | TYPICAL | VARIES |
| Lines containing exactly one sentence | 44% | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Number of visual text blocks | 0.2 - 6.7 | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Percentage of very short lines (<5 words) | 11% | TYPICAL | VARIES |
| Predictability of line length pattern | Very consistent | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Proportion of blank space | 22% | TYPICAL | VARIES |
| Ratio of lines starting with punctuation | 2% | TYPICAL | VARIES |
| Spacing between content-rich lines | 0.2 - 2.0 | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Variation in line lengths | 0 - 401 | TYPICAL | VARIES |
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 |
| 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 |
| Use of inline enumeration | 1% | TYPICAL | VARIES |
Vocabulary & Phrases 10
| Feature | Your DNA | vs Others | Consistency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Common idioms and expressions per 1000 words | 0% | LOW | STEADY |
| Count of idiomatic expressions | ~0.0 | LOW | STEADY |
| How often three-word phrases repeat | 46% | LOW | VARIES |
| How often two-word phrases repeat | 0.0 - 7.2 | LOW | VARIES |
| Length of longest repeated phrase | 65% | LOW | VARIES |
| Count of words used only once | 21 - 92 | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Number of unique words used | 21 - 113 | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Percentage of words used only once | 86% | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Ratio of meaningful words to grammatical words | 4% | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Unique words divided by total words | 84% | TYPICAL | STEADY |
Sentence Openings 16
| Feature | Your DNA | vs Others | Consistency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Count of sentences starting with -ing verbs | 0.0-0.7 per post | HIGH | VARIES |
| Count of sentences starting with adverbs | 0.0-0.7 per post | HIGH | VARIES |
| Count of sentences starting with conjunctions | 0.0-0.5 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 | 0.0-1.2 per post | HIGH | VARIES |
| Count of sentences starting with time words | 0.0-0.8 per post | HIGH | VARIES |
| Sentences starting with -ing verbs (%) | 4% | HIGH | VARIES |
| Sentences starting with Actually, Basically, etc. (%) | 6% | HIGH | VARIES |
| Sentences starting with And, But, Or, So (%) | 3% | HIGH | VARIES |
| Sentences starting with adverbs (%) | 6% | HIGH | VARIES |
| Sentences starting with subordinate clauses (%) | 0 - 42 | HIGH | VARIES |
| Sentences starting with time words (%) | 4% | HIGH | VARIES |
| Count of sentences starting with There is/It is | ~0.0 per post | LOW | STEADY |
| Sentences starting with 'There is/are' or 'It is' (%) | 0% | LOW | STEADY |
| Count of sentences starting with pronouns | 0.0-1.7 per post | TYPICAL | VARIES |
| Sentences starting with pronouns (I, You, We, They) (%) | 0 - 34 | TYPICAL | STEADY |
Closing Patterns 11
| Feature | Your DNA | vs Others | Consistency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Number of emoji in the closing | 0.0 - 1.6 | HIGH | VARIES |
| Whether the closing has emoji clusters | 6% | HIGH | VARIES |
| Whether the ending includes emoji | 41% of posts | HIGH | VARIES |
| Whether the ending is a question | 6% | LOW | VARIES |
| ALL CAPS words in the closing | 2% | TYPICAL | VARIES |
| Character length of the closing | 185 - 437 | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Closing length relative to total post | 77% | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Whether the closing has a signature phrase | 12% of posts | TYPICAL | VARIES |
| Whether the ending has a call-to-action | 41% of posts | TYPICAL | VARIES |
| Whether the ending includes hashtags | 59% of posts | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Whether there's a clear closing section | 76% of posts | TYPICAL | STEADY |
Paragraph Structure 13
| Feature | Your DNA | vs Others | Consistency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Closing paragraph length vs body average | 1% | HIGH | STEADY |
| Opening paragraph length vs body average | 2% | HIGH | STEADY |
| Variation in length changes between paragraphs | 0.0 - 4.0 | HIGH | VARIES |
| How frequently new paragraphs start | 21 - 63 | LOW | STEADY |
| Average change in length between paragraphs | 96% | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Average sentences per paragraph | 1.1 - 3.3 | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Average sentences per paragraph | 1.1 - 3.3 | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Consecutive long paragraphs | 18% | TYPICAL | VARIES |
| Consecutive short paragraphs | 0.2 - 4.5 | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| How much paragraph length varies | 0.0 - 3.2 | TYPICAL | VARIES |
| Length of your longer paragraphs (80th percentile) | 1.7 - 3.6 | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Total number of paragraphs | 0.8 - 5.9 | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Typical paragraph length (median) | 0.8 - 3.2 | TYPICAL | STEADY |
Parts of Speech 9
| Feature | Your DNA | vs Others | Consistency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Balance/distribution of different word types | Moderately varied | 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 | 3% | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Percentage of words that are determiners | 7% | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Percentage of words that are nouns | 16 - 27 | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Percentage of words that are prepositions | 9 - 15 | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Percentage of words that are pronouns | 9% | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Percentage of words that are verbs | 9 - 15 | TYPICAL | STEADY |
Post Basics 7
| Feature | Your DNA | vs Others | Consistency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average word complexity (syllables per word) | 1.4 - 1.8 | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Count of complex words (3+ syllables) | 1 - 28 | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| How easy the text is to read (higher = easier) | 37 - 70 | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Percentage of complex words (3+ syllables) | 11 - 21 | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Total sentence count | 0 - 11 | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Total syllables in the post | 22 - 264 | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Total word count of the post | 16 - 159 | TYPICAL | STEADY |
Punctuation Style 17
| Feature | Your DNA | vs Others | Consistency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parentheses usage per 1000 words | 0-13 per 1k words | HIGH | VARIES |
| Colon usage per 1000 words | 0-36 per 1k words | LOW | VARIES |
| Ellipsis (...) usage per 1000 words | 0-3 per 1k words | LOW | VARIES |
| Em dash (—) usage per 1000 words | ~0 per 1k words | LOW | STEADY |
| En dash (–) usage per 1000 words | ~0 per 1k words | LOW | STEADY |
| Hyphen usage per 1000 words | 0-15 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 a question | 3% | LOW | VARIES |
| Percentage of sentences trailing off with ellipsis | 28% | LOW | VARIES |
| Question marks per 1000 words | 0-13 per 1k words | LOW | VARIES |
| Quotation mark usage per 1000 words | 0-2 per 1k words | LOW | VARIES |
| Comma usage per 1000 words | 2-51 per 1k words | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Exclamation marks per 1000 words | 0-30 per 1k words | TYPICAL | VARIES |
| Percentage of sentences ending with exclamation | 1 - 47 | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Semicolon usage per 1000 words | 0-3 per 1k words | TYPICAL | VARIES |
Quotes & Narrative 10
| Feature | Your DNA | vs Others | Consistency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether the post contains quotations | 65% of posts | HIGH | STEADY |
| Lines starting with quotation marks | 0% | LOW | STEADY |
| Presence of dialogue attribution patterns | 0% | LOW | STEADY |
| Total characters in quoted content | 0 - 52 | LOW | VARIES |
| Average length of quoted passages | 0 - 52 | TYPICAL | VARIES |
| Lines using past tense | 48% | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Number of narrative/story signals | 0.7 - 2.4 | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Number of quotation blocks | 0.1 - 1.3 | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Use of story transitions | 9% | TYPICAL | VARIES |
| Whether the post tells a story | 41% of posts | TYPICAL | VARIES |
Sentence Rhythm 16
| Feature | Your DNA | vs Others | Consistency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Variation in clause count across sentences | 0.0 - 9.0 | HIGH | VARIES |
| Average number of clauses per sentence | 1.5 - 3.1 | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Average number of words per sentence | 11 - 22 | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Average words per sentence | 11 - 22 | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| How much sentence length varies (normalized) | 63% | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| How often paragraphs contain just one sentence | 39% | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Length of your longer sentences (80th percentile) | 17 - 34 | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Length of your shorter sentences (20th percentile) | 2 - 13 | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Overall sentence complexity | 16 - 66 | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Parenthetical breaks per 1000 words | 0-15 per 1k words | TYPICAL | VARIES |
| Percentage of sentences over 20 words | 32% | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Percentage of sentences under 8 words | 23% | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Typical sentence length (median) | 11 - 23 | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Variation in sentence lengths | 5 - 15 | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Word count of shortest sentence | 1 - 12 | TYPICAL | STEADY |
| Word count of the longest sentence | 19 - 37 | TYPICAL | STEADY |
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