How to Study Your Top X Posts

How to Study Your Top X Posts

Growth on X isn’t just about posting more — it’s about learning faster.
Your top posts hold all the clues you need: what tone resonates, which hooks stop scrolls, and what topics actually attract followers.

Studying your top X posts is like running a growth lab on yourself. Here’s how to turn past wins into a repeatable formula — and how Growth Terminal can automate most of the analysis for you.

1. Start With Your Data

You can’t improve what you don’t measure.

Step 1: Export your analytics from X (or use a tool like Growth Terminal that tracks automatically).
Look at:

• Impressions

• Likes

• Replies

• Reposts

• Profile clicks

• Follows from post

Step 2: Rank your top 10–20 posts by engagement rate (total engagement ÷ impressions).

That’s your real “top posts” list — not just what went viral, but what created interaction and growth.

2. Identify Content Patterns

Now, look for what your best posts have in common.
You’re searching for patterns — not perfection.

Questions to ask:

• What type of post is it (story, thread, framework, list, opinion)?

• What’s the tone (reflective, contrarian, emotional, tactical)?

• Is there data or a personal insight?

• How does it start (question, hook, bold statement)?

Example:
You notice that 8 of your top 10 posts start with a first-person line:

“I used to think X…”
That’s a pattern you can test again.

Growth Terminal Shortcut:
The platform automatically clusters your top posts by format and tone, tagging patterns like:

“Personal story posts drive 3.2x higher engagement than frameworks.”
“Hooks with tension outperform question hooks by 27%.”

No spreadsheets — just instant insights.

3. Study Your Hooks

Your hook is your billboard.

Open your top 10 posts and read only the first 1–2 lines.
Ask:

• What made this line stand out?

• Did it create curiosity, tension, or emotion?

• How long before the value was revealed?

Examples of effective hook types:

• Contrarian: “Everyone says post daily — I stopped and grew faster.”

• Personal story: “I almost shut down my company last year.”

• Data-driven: “We hit 10K users with $0 in ads. Here’s what worked.”

Growth Terminal Insight:
The AI analyzes all your hooks and gives you a report like:

“Hooks starting with a personal story get 1.8x more engagement.”
“Hooks using numbers (‘3 lessons,’ ‘10 ways’) attract 2.4x more impressions.”

4. Break Down the Structure

Once you know what worked, look at how it’s built.

Dissect 3–5 of your best posts and map the flow:

1. Hook – The tension or promise.

2. Setup – Context or challenge.

3. Insight – The core takeaway.

4. Proof – Example, number, or quote.

5. CTA – Question or reflection that invites engagement.

Example:
A high-performing thread likely uses micro-hooks between tweets — short sentences that re-hook attention every few lines.

Growth Terminal automatically labels these sections and tells you which structures your audience responds to most (story-first, framework, list, etc.).

5. Analyze Language and Tone

AI can help uncover the hidden psychology of your posts.

Upload or paste your top posts into an AI writing analyzer.
Look for patterns like:

• Sentence length and rhythm

• Use of “you” vs. “I”

• Emotional vs. logical tone

• Simplicity of vocabulary

Example:
If your top posts all use “you” frequently and short sentences, it means your content connects conversationally — lean into that.

Growth Terminal Insight Example:

“Top 10 posts average 12 words per sentence.”
“Tone: 62% direct, 28% reflective, 10% playful.”

You can’t get this level of precision from intuition alone.

6. Spot Repeatable Topics

Go beyond structure — identify themes that consistently perform.

Tag each post by topic:

• Product or startup lessons

• Mindset reflections

• Growth frameworks

• AI commentary

• Personal stories

Then check which categories dominate your top performers.

Example:

“4 of my top 5 posts are about building in public.”
That’s your content goldmine. Double down on it.

Growth Terminal Feature:
The system automatically clusters your top posts by theme and recommends new idea prompts based on those winning categories — turning analysis directly into next week’s content plan.

7. Evaluate Engagement Type

Not all engagement is equal.
Some posts get likes; others get conversation.

Break it down:

• Which posts sparked comments and discussions?

• Which ones drove profile clicks or follows?

• Which got reposts (viral potential)?

Each tells you something different:

• Comments: Connection and resonance.

• Reposts: Idea virality.

• Follows: Brand authority.

Growth Terminal Dashboard:
It highlights which posts contributed most to follower growth and which simply got engagement without retention — crucial for building authority, not just vanity metrics.

8. Compare Post Timing

Timing matters more than most people realize.

Pull data on what time your top posts went live.
Look for clusters — mornings vs. afternoons, weekdays vs. weekends.

Example:

“7 of my top 10 posts went out between 8:00–9:30 AM PST.”

Growth Terminal Optimization:
The AI automatically tracks your best-performing time slots and auto-schedules future posts during those engagement windows.

You never have to guess when to post again.

9. Turn Insights Into Templates

Once you’ve analyzed enough top posts, it’s time to codify what works.

Create 3–5 repeatable templates based on your findings:

• Story Formula: Hook → Struggle → Lesson → CTA

• Framework Post: Pain → Process → Outcome → Tip

• Contrarian Take: Common belief → Why it’s wrong → Example → CTA

Save these templates inside Growth Terminal or Notion. Next time you post, you’re not starting from scratch — you’re using proven DNA.

10. Feed It Back Into Your System

The real growth hack isn’t just analyzing — it’s looping back.

Every 30 days:

1. Review your top 10 posts.

2. Log patterns (topics, tone, timing).

3. Feed those insights back into your AI content generator.

With Growth Terminal:
That feedback automatically trains your AI writer — meaning your next batch of drafts will already sound closer to what performs best.
You’re not guessing anymore; your system is literally learning from success.

11. Bonus: Compare With Peers

Once you’ve mastered your own data, benchmark it.

Use AI to analyze posts from creators or founders in your niche.
Ask:

• How do their hooks differ?

• What posting times overlap with yours?

• What tone dominates their top posts?

This helps you position your content uniquely, not just effectively.

Growth Terminal Pro Feature:
You can import competitor accounts and view side-by-side topic analysis — seeing where you overlap and where you can stand out.

12. Create an “X Growth Report”

Summarize your findings monthly.
Treat it like an internal growth report for your personal brand.

Include:

• Top 10 posts (with screenshots or links)

• Top 3 performing themes

• Top hook structures

• Optimal time slot

• Action items for next month

This transforms your X activity from random output into a measurable, improving system.

Final Thoughts

Your top posts are the blueprint for your next breakout ones.

The creators who grow fastest on X aren’t luckier — they’re data-driven.
They build feedback loops around what already works, and let AI handle the analysis while they focus on ideas.

Traditional schedulers tell you when you posted.
Growth Terminal tells you why it worked — and what to post next.

The result?
You don’t just post more.
You post smarter, sharper, and more predictably — turning every viral hit into the foundation of your next one.