David ten Have and the Habit of Shipping in Public

David ten Have's Shipping Mindset (and Why It Works)

I stumbled onto David ten Have's profile because his headline made me laugh out loud: "What do I have to do to ship?" And then I saw the numbers: 2,364 followers, 7.9 posts per week, and a Hero Score of 36.00. That combo is weirdly exciting, because it hints at a creator who's not playing the usual "post less, polish more" game.

So I went looking for the mechanics. Not the motivational stuff. The actual patterns. And after lining him up next to Eli Schwartz (62,968 followers, Hero Score 36.00) and Ross Stevenson (28,900 followers, Hero Score 35.00), a few things got very clear.

Here's what stood out:

• David wins on consistency and sharpness - he's basically building a daily habit that compounds.
• The Hero Score parity is the story - David is matching the engagement efficiency of much larger creators.
• All three are "signal first" creators - but they package signal in different ways (operator notes vs SEO frameworks vs L&D field lessons).

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David ten Have's Performance Metrics

Here's what's interesting: David's audience size is modest, but his Hero Score (36.00) says his content is performing like a heavyweight relative to his reach. Pair that with 7.9 posts per week, and you get a creator who is constantly giving the algorithm fresh chances to test his ideas. It's not glamorous. It's effective.

Key Performance Indicators

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The Side-by-Side: Audience Size vs Efficiency

Before we talk tactics, I want to show you the contrast that made me sit up.

At-a-Glance Comparison

What this suggests (the human version)

You know how some people feel "big" online because they have a massive following? David is doing the reverse. He feels big because the content hits like it belongs on a much larger stage. And the pace tells me he's treating LinkedIn less like a portfolio and more like a daily workbench.

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What Makes David ten Have's Content Work

We don't have full topic labels or engagement rates here, but we do have enough to read the shape of the strategy. Especially because the provided writing-style reference is so distinctive: terse, high-signal, skeptical, quote-heavy, and allergic to corporate fluff. If you've ever read a post that starts with a quote, says "Cool.", then lands a blunt interpretation, you already know the vibe.

1. He Ships Opinions, Not "Content"

So here's what he does: he posts like someone who's thinking out loud in public, not like someone building a personal brand deck. The shipping headline isn't just cute. It's a positioning statement.

David's style (based on the reference voice) is built on a move I keep seeing in high-performing creators:

• take a public claim
• translate it into what it really means
• deliver the translation as a clean verdict

That translation move is catnip on LinkedIn because everyone has a gut reaction to corporate language, but not everyone can name it.

Key Insight: Turn "what they said" into "what that means" in one paragraph.

This works because LinkedIn rewards clarity. And it rewards creators who sound like they have a spine. People don't always agree, but they stop scrolling.

Strategy Breakdown:

2. Frequency as a Feature (Not a Risk)

Most people hear 7.9 posts per week and think, "Won't that annoy people?" Maybe. But cadence isn't only about volume. It's about feedback loops.

David's pace likely gives him:

• faster iteration on what lands
• more surface area for "lucky" distribution
• a stronger sense of narrative continuity (people start to recognize the voice)

And here's the part people miss: high frequency can feel low effort if the writing is fluffy. But if the writing is dense and pointed, frequent posts feel like value.

Comparison with Industry Standards:

3. The "Quote-as-Target" Trick

Want to know what surprised me? How effective simple quotation marks can be when they're used like a scalpel.

In the reference style, quotes aren't there to cite sources. They're there to create distance from the language itself. Stuff like "exploring" or "alignment" becomes a target, not a truth.

That does two things:

1. It makes the post feel culturally aware (like "we all know what this means").
2. It gives readers an easy handle to comment on (people literally quote the quote).

If you've ever seen comment threads where the whole debate revolves around one loaded phrase, that's this strategy working.

4. He Writes Like a Person With Taste (Not a Calendar)

This is subtle, but it matters. The writing voice described in the reference is not "educational" in the traditional LinkedIn way. It's not bullet-point inspiration. It's closer to critique, diagnosis, and sometimes moral clarity.

That creates loyalty. Not just reach.

And it also differentiates him from Eli and Ross in an important way:

• Eli tends to win through frameworks and expertise positioning (you follow him because you want to learn Product-Led SEO).
• Ross tends to win through teaching and community flywheel energy (newsletter readers, lessons for L&D pros).
• David wins through voice. You follow because you want to see what he'll call out next.

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Their Content Formula

Even without post-by-post data, we can describe a workable template for how this kind of creator typically performs.

Content Structure Breakdown

The Hook Pattern

If you want a reusable pattern that matches this voice, it's basically:

Template:

"[A line people recognize or a claim that smells off]."

[One-word reaction].

When [context], that's not [nice label] - that's [true label].

Why this hook works: it gives the reader a familiar object, then flips it. The flip is the reward.

Two example hook variants you can borrow:

"Everyone says they're AI-first."

Cool. What does that mean when the budget gets tight?

"We're exploring monetization."

That's not a strategy - that's a warning light.

The Body Structure

What I noticed about this style is the body isn't "three tips". It's a short chain of logic that feels inevitable.

Body Structure Analysis:

The CTA Approach

David-style CTAs don't look like CTAs. They're usually one of these:

• a hard concluding sentence that invites agreement or argument
• a link dropped as "receipts" (no instruction needed)
• a moral line (especially when harm is involved)

The psychology is simple: people comment more when they feel like they're reacting to a stance, not responding to a prompt.

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Where Eli and Ross Help Explain David's Success

This part was fun for me, because comparing creators is like tasting three coffees brewed three different ways.

Table: Positioning and Audience Fit

Table: Scale vs Signal

And here's my honest read: David is running the same kind of "signal economy" play as Eli and Ross, but he's doing it with less institutional packaging. Eli's headline screams category leadership. Ross's headline screams service to a clear niche. David's headline screams attitude and output.

That can be a superpower if the writing is sharp. And it can fall flat if it's not. David's Hero Score suggests it's working.

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Timing and Consistency: The Hidden Multiplier

We also got recommended posting windows: 16:00-17:30 and 19:00-20:00. That matters more than people admit, especially for a high-frequency creator.

If you're posting almost daily, timing isn't about finding the one perfect slot. It's about stacking small edges.

Here's a practical way to think about it:

And yes, quality matters. But frequency is what gives quality a chance to compound.

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3 Actionable Strategies You Can Use Today

1. Write one "translation" post - take a corporate phrase ("we're exploring") and translate it into a plain-English incentive.

2. Increase reps for two weeks - pick a sustainable cadence (even 4-5 posts/week) and treat it like practice, not performance.

3. End with a verdict, not a question - instead of "What do you think?", try a closing line that states your stance clearly.

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Key Takeaways

1. Hero Score parity is a clue - David matching Eli's 36.00 with a much smaller audience suggests his posts land with unusual efficiency.
2. Cadence can be the strategy - 7.9 posts/week isn't noise if the writing is dense and specific.
3. Voice is positioning - David's "ship" identity creates a clear expectation: direct takes, minimal fluff.

If you're trying to grow on LinkedIn, steal the mindset first: ship your point of view like it's a product, then iterate in public.

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Meet the Creators

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This analysis was generated by ViralBrain's AI content intelligence platform.