ehteshambuildagents bl-slides
A swipe is counted; a scroll is not. That single fact is why document posts hold attention better than anything else on the platform, and why they punish the wrong content so badly.
Use a carousel only when the idea has sequence
Steps, a countdown, a before-and-after progression, a method with parts. If the
idea is one claim, it is a text post, and splitting one claim across eight
slides is the most common way carousels fail. Say so and hand the user to
/bl-draft instead. Do not build the carousel just because they asked for one.
Structure
8 to 12 slides. Under 8 does not justify the format. Over 12 and the swipe rate collapses before the payoff.
| slide | job |
|---|---|
| 1 - cover | earn the swipe. One promise, six words or fewer, readable as a thumbnail |
| 2 | the cost of not knowing this. Why the reader should continue |
| 3 to n-2 | one idea per slide. A heading and at most 25 words |
| n-1 | the summary, as a list the reader would screenshot |
| n | what to do next. One action, not four |
Writing the slides
- One idea per slide. If a slide needs two thoughts, it is two slides.
- Under 25 words. These are read on a phone, at thumbnail size, while walking. Long slides are not read, they are swiped past.
- The heading carries it. Assume half the readers only read headings. The sequence of headings alone should make sense.
- Numbers from
ledger.md. Same rule as every other skill. - No slide numbers in the copy. LinkedIn shows the position already.
The cover is most of the work
It is the only slide most people see. It competes as a thumbnail against video.
- Six words or fewer.
- Large enough to read at 200 pixels wide.
- A promise or a number, never a title.
- "7 pricing mistakes that cost me clients" works. "Pricing Strategy: A Guide" does not.
Write three cover options and let the user pick, the same way /bl-draft does
with openers.
Producing the file
LinkedIn accepts PDF. Square (1080x1080) outperforms portrait in the feed because it takes more vertical space than landscape without being cropped.
Offer, in this order:
- Write the slide copy as a numbered markdown outline the user can drop into Canva, Figma or Google Slides. This is what most people want.
- If they want the PDF generated here, build it from HTML and note that they will need a headless browser or a local converter. Do not pretend a PDF appeared if it did not.
Never claim a file was created without creating it, and never upload anything.
The post that carries it
A document post still needs its own text above it, and it is not a description
of the carousel. Write it with /bl-draft rules: an opener that stands alone,
then one line pointing into the slides. Three hashtags at most.
Before delivering
Run the slide copy and the post text through ../bl-scrub/scrub.py. Carousel
copy is where stock phrases hide, because short lines feel like they have been
edited when they have not.