The Day I Stopped Writing for Algorithms
There’s a strange kind of safety in following the rules. Especially when you’re new to a world like content creation. You look around, see the big voices, the viral posts, the endless advice about “what works” – and you start believing there’s a formula.
For a long time, I did too.
When I left retail, I had no idea how to find my footing on LinkedIn. I needed clients, I needed credibility, and I thought the way to get there was to play by the algorithm’s rules. So I studied. I devoured every post and course that promised “LinkedIn success.” And before I knew it, I’d become known as the algorithm guy.
My content performed. It got the views, the comments, the applause. But it didn’t sound like me.
The Hollow Success of Playing It Safe
At first, the results felt like validation. More impressions, more reach – the dopamine hit every creator knows. But then I noticed something. The people engaging weren’t the ones I wanted to work with.
It was other creators. Other marketers. Other “algorithm people.”
My ideal clients – senior leaders, decision-makers, the people I actually wanted to connect with – weren’t showing up. They probably weren’t even in my network yet.
That’s when it hit me: writing for the algorithm wasn’t helping me grow my business. It was helping me entertain my peers.
When “Best Practice” Becomes a Cage
Algorithms aren’t evil – they’re just not your audience.
When we start tailoring every word for what might get seen instead of what needs to be said, we lose the point. We trade personality for performance. The problem isn’t that the advice is wrong. It’s that it’s incomplete.
Posting once a day? Fine. Avoiding links in the first comment? Maybe helpful. Writing in short, scannable sentences? Sure, keep it light.
But none of it matters if your content doesn’t sound like you.
The algorithm doesn’t buy from you. Humans do.
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The Moment It Changed
One day I looked at a post I’d written – and couldn’t tell if it was mine or someone else’s. It was well-written, polished, even a bit clever. But it had no heartbeat.
So I stopped.
I stopped writing for algorithms and started writing for people.
Now I post more often – sometimes three times a day – not because the algorithm likes it, but because I do. I share things that make me laugh, stories that actually happened, ideas that feel a little risky or “not for LinkedIn.”
That’s when my content started to connect again.
It wasn’t about numbers anymore. It was about resonance. When you sound like yourself, the right people notice. And they stay.
The Hidden Cost of Playing by the Rules
Here’s something few talk about: when you write for algorithms, you accidentally trap yourself in a bubble.
Your engagement comes from the same familiar faces. You start to believe that’s your audience – but it’s not. It’s your network.
Your real audience, the people you want to reach next, can’t see you because your content doesn’t speak their language. It’s been coded for visibility, not for value.
If your goal is to grow, you have to reach beyond the algorithm’s comfort zone.
Authenticity Isn’t a Strategy – It’s Survival
Algorithms evolve every day. Human nature doesn’t.
People crave connection. They want to know who you are, not just what you do. They want to feel something. To trust that the voice behind the screen is real.
That’s what builds community. That’s what turns strangers into followers, and followers into clients.
Authenticity isn’t another tactic to optimise – it’s the antidote to burnout, the reason you’ll keep going long after the “rules” change again.
A Small Challenge for You
Look back at your last five posts. Read them out loud, as if you were saying them in a room full of people.
Would they still sound natural? Would you speak that way if you weren’t trying to please the algorithm?
If not, start rewriting them for your real audience – the one that laughs at your jokes, understands your frustrations, and actually wants to hear what you think.
Forget the engagement hacks. Forget the hashtags. Just write like you talk.
Final Thought
Authenticity isn’t risky – it’s reliable.
Algorithms might change their minds daily, but humans rarely do.
When your content sounds like you, your audience will find you. Not because you gamed the system, but because you stopped pretending there was one.
