LinkedIn & Instagram carousel generator

Why the carousel works

A carousel makes readers swipe through slides. Each swipe is an interaction, and the time spent on your content goes up mechanically. Networks measure both signals and tend to show more widely the posts that produce them. It is also a forgiving format: a text post is judged on its first line, a carousel on its first slide, and a well composed image holds the eye longer than a sentence.

How to make a carousel on LinkedIn, step by step

1. Write the text before the visuals. One slide per idea, the promise on the first, the action on the last. In the tool, a blank line creates a new slide and the first line of each block becomes its title.
2. Pick the format. The 4:5 portrait (1080 x 1350) takes more height in the mobile feed, the square (1080 x 1080) is more discreet. Keep the same format for the whole carousel.
3. Download the PDF. The main button puts every slide into one file, in order, one page per slide.
4. Create a LinkedIn post and add a document. In the post editor, the option to add a document sits among the icons at the bottom, sometimes behind a “More” button. Upload the PDF.
5. Give the document a title. LinkedIn asks for one and shows it above the slides. Write a sentence that makes people want to open it, not “carousel_final_v3”.
6. Write the post text. The first lines should give a reason to swipe past the first slide. Publish, then stay around to answer comments.

LinkedIn carousel format: what the PDF must respect

A LinkedIn carousel is nothing more than a PDF. Every page must have the same size, otherwise slides change height while people swipe. The PDF generated here contains images, not selectable text, so it looks the same everywhere, whatever fonts the reader has installed.

• Page size: 1080 x 1350 portrait or 1080 x 1080 square, the same on every page.
• Number of slides: between 5 and 10 in most cases. Beyond that, the last pages get few views.
• Text: readable on a phone without zooming. If you squint on your own screen, cut.
• Margins: nothing pressed against the edges, which some screens crop.

The structure that holds

1. Slide 1, the promise. What the reader will know by the end. One sentence, very large.
2. Slide 2, the problem. Why they should care.
3. Slides 3 to 7, the content. One idea per slide, never two.
4. Second to last slide, the summary. What to remember.
5. Last slide, the action. Just one, and a precise one.

Carousel or post with several images

Posting several images in a regular post does not give you a carousel: LinkedIn shows them as a grid, and readers have to click to see them one by one. The PDF document is what gives the horizontal swipe, slide after slide, with page numbers. If your content reads in a set order, use the PDF.

What goes wrong most often

• Too much text per slide. A slide is not a page of a report. If it needs two readings, split it.
• A first slide that says nothing. A title such as “My tips” gives no reason to swipe. Promise a result.
• A different layout on every slide. Same font, same margins, same colors: consistency is what makes it look professional.
• No action at the end. Ask for one thing: a comment, a follow, a message.

Finding carousel content

The easiest way is to recycle what you already wrote. A text post that did well, a method you often explain to clients, a before and after of a project: anything that splits into steps makes a good carousel. If you also post on X, a thread turns into a carousel almost as is. Before publishing, paste the accompanying text into the LinkedIn post preview to see where the see-more cutoff lands, and check its length with the LinkedIn character counter.

The same PNG files work on Instagram: select them in order in a single post. The 4:5 portrait format is a natural fit there too.