Post format · Hooks
Tool to try: real viral examples and how it's built
A tool the reader can use today is the easiest post to share. 12 viral posts on X from 11 creators used this format between May and October 2026. Their median views were 139K, and their median reach 8.7 times the creator's follower count.
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Real examples
The 5 most viewed posts, one per creator.
Nicolas Camara
@nickscamara_
2.7Mviews
we built pdf-inspector so agents can process PDFs without waiting on OCR. it classifies any PDF in ~20ms and extracts clean markdown locally → 200 PDFs processed in 2.8s → top quality in extracting tables + graphs → built in rust → open source
19.1K followers · Jul 31, 2026 · Photo
Thariq
@trq212
2.3Mviews
a skill people at Anthropic have been using a lot recently: ELI5 /eli5 <what you want explained> "explain like I'm someone who knows nothing about this topic, using a HTML artifact with big pictures and few words"
371.8K followers · Aug 21, 2026 · Video
Tim Bennetto
@Timb03
686.5Kviews
Easy SEO win: - go to google search console -> performance - set date to 12mo -> export - upload Pages.csv and Queries.csv to any AI tool Tell it to find queries you rank for but don't have content for. Go write the content and you will rank quick
21.3K followers · Aug 10, 2026
Romain Torres
@rom1trs
409.9Kviews
I built a Claude skill that makes motion-style animation. > Paste a reference image > It generates frames with Nano Banana 2 > and animates the video with Seedance 2.0 Everything runs in Claude through the Arcads MCP Comment "Motion", and I'll send you the skill
42.2K followers · Jul 6, 2026 · Video
Jakub Krehel
@jakubkrehel
140.1Kviews
If elements ever shift unexpectedly by a few pixels during an animation and you can’t figure out why, try using the `will-change` CSS property. It promotes the element to its own GPU compositing layer. Use it sparingly though, since overusing it can hurt performance.
24.3K followers · May 11, 2026 · Video
How it's built
Answer this first: What tool would you tell a friend to try, and what does it do for them? For example: “Granola: it takes meeting notes without a bot joining the call”. Then write one line or paragraph per bracket, in this order:
[The tool and a strong one-line reaction] [What it does for the reader] [How to start in a few steps]
The median viral post in this format was 272 characters long, and 9 of 12 had a photo or video. Use it to grow your audience.
Formats like it
- The sharp takeA short, bold first line splits the room, and both sides comment.
- X vs YPutting two things side by side answers a question the reader already has.
- The list promiseA number in the hook promises a payoff the reader can count.
- Drop into the momentStarting in the middle of a real moment pulls the reader into the story.
- Lead with the numberA result in the first line, with nothing before it, is the hook.
All formats, as fill-in outlines: tweet templates and LinkedIn post templates. What's going viral right now: this week on X.
Questions
What is the tool to try post format?
A tool the reader can use today is the easiest post to share. It goes in this order: the tool and a strong one-line reaction; then what it does for the reader; then how to start in a few steps.
Does it work on LinkedIn as well as X?
Yes. The examples on this page are X posts, and the same shape works on LinkedIn: Postel's own list of LinkedIn openings that beat their creator's usual engagement includes one in this format. On LinkedIn, put the first beat in the first two lines, before "see more".
Where do these examples come from?
From Postel's library of individual creators on X. Each day, posts from the last two weeks by creators with at least 1,000 followers that have reached 5 times their follower count in views are checked once: a model sorts each by format, and a stronger model approves it as a clear example. 12 posts from May to October 2026 were tagged with this format; the page shows the most viewed one from each of up to five creators.
How do I write a post in this format in my own voice?
Answer one question first: What tool would you tell a friend to try, and what does it do for them? Then fill the template on this page with your answer, one beat at a time. In Postel, pick this format under Viral posts › Formats and it writes the post for X, LinkedIn or both from your answer, in the way you write (one AI credit per network).
I'm one of the examples. Can I have my post removed?
Yes. Send the post's link through the contact form at postel.app/contact and it comes off this page within a few days.