Exporting All My LinkedIn Posts and Asking ChatGPT to Show Me What Actually Worked

Ever feel like you’re throwing content into the void? You post, some of it does well, some of it flops, and you move on. That’s been me on LinkedIn—sharing my thoughts, lessons, and ideas—but I’ve always wondered: What’s actually working here? What’s resonating?

So, I decided to take matters into my own hands. I exported all of my LinkedIn posts (yes, every single one), fed them to ChatGPT, and asked it to break down the patterns. Spoiler: the results were fascinating.

Here’s how I did it and what I learned.

Step 1: Getting My LinkedIn Data Out of LinkedIn

First hurdle: LinkedIn doesn’t exactly make it easy to grab your content. But with some digging, I found a way:

1. Requested a Data Archive
   Through LinkedIn settings, I requested an archive of my data. It gave me everything—posts, comments, reactions, you name it.

2. Cleaned Up the Mess
   What I got was…not pretty. Think unorganized text blocks and random metadata. I spent some time cleaning it up, formatting it into a simple spreadsheet with columns for Post Date, Content, and Engagement Metrics (likes, comments, shares).

Was it tedious? Absolutely. Was it worth it? Keep reading.

Step 2: Asking ChatGPT to Do the Heavy Lifting

Once my posts were formatted, I handed them over to ChatGPT with some targeted prompts. Here’s what I asked:

Tone and Style

"Analyze the tone of my posts. What tone gets the most engagement?"
Insight: Bold, conversational, and a little polarizing (without being negative) worked best. The posts where I played it safe? Crickets.

Topics

"What themes show up the most, and which ones perform the best?"
Insight: Personal stories and entrepreneurship lessons crushed it. Meanwhile, posts about industry updates…meh. Turns out people want authenticity, not regurgitated news.

Audience Triggers

"Are there specific phrases or formats that seem to drive engagement?"
Insight: Hooks are EVERYTHING. Posts starting with a bold question or surprising statement had 3x more engagement than ones that just jumped into the content. Example: “Here’s a crazy business idea I can’t stop thinking about…” vs. “Here’s an update on X.”

Timing

"Do you see any patterns in when I post?"
Insight: Tuesdays and Wednesdays? Prime time. Weekends? Dead zone. Also, consistency matters—a lot.

Step 3: Putting the Insights to Work

Armed with these findings, I reworked my LinkedIn strategy:

1. Focused on the Bold
   Every post needed a strong hook. No more, “Here’s a thought…” Instead, I started with statements that made people stop scrolling.

2. Leaning Into What Resonates
   Personal lessons, bold opinions, and sharing real stories became my go-to. Industry updates? I left those for someone else.

3. Tweaking My Schedule
   Mid-week, mid-morning became my sweet spot. It’s like knowing when your audience is actually listening changes everything.

The Results

After just one month of applying these tweaks:

• Engagement shot up by 35%.

• I had way more meaningful conversations in the DMs.

• Best of all, I felt more intentional and in control of my content. No more guessing games.

Why This Matters

Here’s the thing: Most of us are sitting on goldmines of data but never take the time to dig through it. This process? It wasn’t just about improving my LinkedIn game—it was about getting clear on how I can better serve my audience.

If you’ve been creating content for a while, I highly recommend taking a step back and analyzing it. You don’t need to be a data nerd or hire a consultant. Just export, clean up, and ask the right questions.

Who knows? You might uncover the secret sauce you’ve been sitting on.