# Post Scheduling Strategy

Reference for calculating a posting schedule from weekly goal and content mix.

## Epistemic status (D-5)

**Confidence: low / directional** for every day/time in this file — practitioner
heuristic, no primary source. Same standard as
`references/algorithm-signals-reference.md`: treat these as a hypothesis to test per
account, not as a finding about your audience. LinkedIn publishes no optimal-time data,
and the numbers below come from general B2B practitioner lore, not from measurement of
*your* followers.

The authoritative grid is therefore the **operator's own**, in
`${LINKEDIN_STUDIO_DATA:-$HOME/.claude/linkedin-studio}/profile/publishing-slots.json`
(schema + opt-in: `config/publishing-slots.template.json`). That file is what
`/linkedin:calendar`, the session-start vacancy warning and `/linkedin:newsletter`
Step 10 actually read. The tables here are the **starting point** it is seeded from,
to be replaced with what `/linkedin:report` and `/linkedin:analyze` show for the
account — the plugin hardcodes no publishing times.

## Directional Posting Slots

Based on `weekly_goal` from state file (times: low / directional — test per account):

### 2x/week
| Slot | Day | Time (CET) | Rationale |
|------|-----|------------|-----------|
| 1 | Tuesday | 08:30 | Peak B2B engagement window |
| 2 | Thursday | 12:00 | Lunch-break engagement peak |

### 3x/week (default)
| Slot | Day | Time (CET) | Rationale |
|------|-----|------------|-----------|
| 1 | Tuesday | 08:30 | Peak B2B engagement window |
| 2 | Thursday | 12:00 | Lunch-break engagement peak |
| 3 | Saturday | 10:00 | Weekend catch-up readers, less competition |

### 4x/week
| Slot | Day | Time (CET) | Rationale |
|------|-----|------------|-----------|
| 1 | Monday | 09:00 | Week-start motivation content |
| 2 | Tuesday | 08:30 | Peak B2B engagement window |
| 3 | Thursday | 12:00 | Lunch-break engagement peak |
| 4 | Saturday | 10:00 | Weekend catch-up readers |

### 5x/week
| Slot | Day | Time (CET) | Rationale |
|------|-----|------------|-----------|
| 1 | Monday | 09:00 | Week-start motivation content |
| 2 | Tuesday | 08:30 | Peak B2B engagement window |
| 3 | Wednesday | 08:30 | Mid-week authority content |
| 4 | Thursday | 12:00 | Lunch-break engagement peak |
| 5 | Saturday | 10:00 | Weekend catch-up readers |

## Scheduling Algorithm

When the operator has a configured grid, `hooks/scripts/slots.mjs` answers "what is the
next free slot" deterministically (`nextFreeSlot`) — coverage counts both queue entries
and editions-register rows, so long-form and short-form cannot be scheduled on top of
each other. The steps below are the fallback for an unconfigured grid.

When assigning dates to batch-created posts:

1. **Start from next available slot** after today
2. **Skip slots that already have queued posts** (check queue.json)
3. **If all slots this week are taken**, spill into next week
4. **Assign in slot order** (earliest available first)

### Slot Assignment Logic

```
Given: weekly_goal, today's date, existing queue entries
1. Get the slot template for this weekly_goal (tables above)
2. Find current ISO week
3. For each post to schedule:
   a. Find next available slot (date >= tomorrow, no existing queued post)
   b. Assign that date + time
   c. Mark slot as taken
4. Return list of (date, time) assignments
```

## Format Rotation Rules

Avoid monotony by rotating formats:

- **No consecutive same format** — If post N is "standard", post N+1 should be "carousel", "quick", "video", etc.
- **Suggested rotation**: standard → carousel → quick → standard → video
- **Format weights**: 50% standard, 20% carousel, 15% quick, 15% video

## Pillar Balance Rules

Ensure coverage across expertise areas:

- **No consecutive same pillar** — Enforced by topic-rotation-gate hook
- **No pillar >50% in a 14-day window** — Also enforced by hook
- **Ideal distribution**: Each pillar appears at least once per 2 weeks
- **When batching**: Spread pillars evenly across the week

## Time Zone Notes

Also low / directional, and written from one European vantage point — read the peaks
below as an illustration of the *shape* of the question, not as your audience's hours.
The operator's grid records its own IANA zone; the plugin schedules in local wall-clock
time and converts nothing.

- All times are CET (Central European Time)
- Norwegian audience peaks: 7:30-9:00 and 11:30-13:00
- For international audiences, 08:30 CET catches both EU morning and US east coast pre-work
- Saturday posts perform well 09:00-11:00 CET

## Queue Integration

When posts are scheduled via `/linkedin:batch`:
1. Each post gets a `scheduled_date` and `scheduled_time` from this algorithm
2. Entry is added to `${LINKEDIN_STUDIO_DATA:-$HOME/.claude/linkedin-studio}/drafts/queue.json`
3. Session-start hook shows today's scheduled posts
4. `/linkedin:calendar` (publish action) marks posts as published and updates state
5. `/linkedin:calendar` shows the full schedule view
