# How to Make a LinkedIn Carousel in 2026 (Step by Step)

Source: https://www.flypost.io/learn/how-to-make-a-linkedin-carousel
Author: Sam Cassman, Founder, Flypost
Last verified: 2026-10-09

How do you make a LinkedIn carousel? Write your slides, design them as a set of square or portrait pages, save them as one PDF and post it as a document, which LinkedIn shows as a swipeable carousel. Below we build one from a blank page to a live post, screenshot by screenshot, using Flypost to do the writing, design and PDF in one place.

Are you trying to work out how to make a LinkedIn carousel? Most guides you'll find are Canva
walkthroughs from a few years ago, and they skip the part that takes the time: deciding what
goes on each slide. We wanted a guide that shows the whole thing, from an idea to a post that's
live on LinkedIn.

Most people think a carousel is a design job. In practice, the slides are easy once you know
what each one says, and that comes from good source material. When we looked at how
carousels perform across thousands of LinkedIn posts, the ones that did best were long,
detailed and step by step, not the prettiest.

In this guide we'll cover what a LinkedIn carousel actually is, how to build one step by step
(with a screenshot for every step), how to write the post that goes with it, and how many
slides to aim for. Read on to find out more.

[Video: How to Make a LinkedIn Carousel in 2026 (Step by Step) (our video walkthrough)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mhIc83byvlU)

## What is a LinkedIn carousel?

A LinkedIn carousel is a PDF that people swipe through in their feed. Each page of the PDF
shows as one slide, with arrows to move between them. LinkedIn calls it a document post, but
almost everyone calls it a carousel.

That matters for how you make one. Whatever tool you use, the finished carousel is a PDF of
square or portrait pages, posted alongside a normal LinkedIn post that introduces it.

Carousels work best for anything with steps: a process, a framework, a checklist, a
breakdown. In [our study of LinkedIn posts](https://www.flypost.io/learn/linkedin-algorithm-study-data), carousels
got **about 13% more reactions** than the same person's text posts, for about half of the 178
people we could compare. That's a real gain, though a modest one, so save carousels for content
that genuinely has steps. (Our guide to [the types of LinkedIn posts](https://www.flypost.io/learn/types-of-linkedin-posts)
compares every format side by side.)

## What do you need to make a LinkedIn carousel?

Three things, and the third one does most of the work:

1. **A tool that builds the slides and the PDF.** We use Flypost here, which writes, designs and
   publishes in one place. There's a [free 7-day trial](https://app.flypost.io/signup).
2. **An idea for the carousel.** A specific question your audience asks works best.
3. **Research on the topic.** A few articles, videos or your own posts, so the slides have real
   points to make rather than generic advice.

The example in this guide is a carousel on how to get your brand cited by AI search engines by
publishing on LinkedIn.

## Step 1: How do you gather research for a LinkedIn carousel?

Collect the sources first, before you write a single slide. A carousel is only as good as the
points on it, and points come from material: a research report, a video transcript, your own
past articles.

In Flypost, sources live in the Brain. Create a notebook for the topic and add each source to
it by pasting its link. Flypost reads the whole thing, including the transcript of a YouTube
video, and marks it **Ready** when it's done.

![A source in a Flypost notebook: a LinkedIn article, read in full, with a Ready label highlighted at the top](https://www.flypost.io/learn/how-to-make-a-linkedin-carousel/01-notebook-sources.webp)

_Each source is read in full. The highlighted Ready label means it can be used for writing._

We added three sources: LinkedIn's own research on AI citations, a YouTube tutorial on
publishing LinkedIn articles, and one of our own past articles. Three or four good sources is
plenty for a 12-slide carousel.

## Step 2: How do you start a carousel post?

Go to **Posts**, click **Create post** and choose **I have something in mind**. Then set three
things before you write anything:

- **Format:** choose **Carousels**.
- **Carousel type:** How-to, Listicle, Framework, Mistakes, Story or Curation. Pick the one that
  matches your idea. Ours is a how-to.
- **Depth:** Quick, Standard or In-depth. Standard gives 4 to 7 points on 8 to 11 slides;
  In-depth gives 8 to 12 points on 12 to 16 slides, with more detail on each.

![The Flypost post builder with the title field, the How-to carousel type and the In-depth option highlighted](https://www.flypost.io/learn/how-to-make-a-linkedin-carousel/03-title-description.webp)

_Give it a title, then pick the carousel type and depth (all highlighted). In-depth is built for step-by-step guides._

Type the title you want, and use the line underneath to say what the carousel should cover.
Ours asked for the strategy, keyword research, where to find LinkedIn's article tools and how
an article should be structured. If you already know exactly what the title should be, tick
**Use my title as written**.

Pick **In-depth** if your topic has a lot of steps. Our data says long carousels do better
(more on that [further down](#how-many-slides-should-a-linkedin-carousel-have)).

## Step 3: How do you build the first draft?

Point the carousel at your research. On the last step, choose the notebook under **What to riff
on**, check the brand voice, and click **Build My Post**.

![Step 3 of 3 in Flypost: the notebook selector and the Build My Post button, both highlighted](https://www.flypost.io/learn/how-to-make-a-linkedin-carousel/04-choose-notebook.webp)

_Choose the notebook with your sources (highlighted), then Build My Post._

Flypost reads every source in the notebook, works out the structure and writes the slides. It
takes a minute or two. You can leave it running and come back.

## Step 4: How do you edit the slides of a LinkedIn carousel?

The first draft opens in the carousel editor. Ours came back as "8 steps to get your brand
cited by AI search engines", with a hook slide at the start, one slide per step, and a recap
slide at the end.

![The Flypost carousel editor showing the cover slide, with the strip of all 12 slides highlighted along the bottom](https://www.flypost.io/learn/how-to-make-a-linkedin-carousel/05-first-draft.webp)

_The first draft in the carousel editor. The highlighted strip shows every slide in order._

Read every slide before you change the design. This is where your knowledge adds the most:

- **Click any text to edit it** directly on the slide.
- **Rewrite slide** at the top asks AI for a new version of just that slide.
- **Add** in the slide strip writes a new slide. We added a step on getting articles indexed
  faster, which the sources didn't cover.
- **Rewrite all slides** on the left redoes the whole set if the angle is off.

![A new slide added in the Flypost carousel editor, with the Rewrite slide button and the Add button highlighted](https://www.flypost.io/learn/how-to-make-a-linkedin-carousel/06-edit-slide.webp)

_Rewrite slide and Add (both highlighted) are the two controls you'll use most while editing._

A good carousel slide says one thing. If a slide needs two paragraphs, it's two slides.

## Step 5: How do you design a LinkedIn carousel?

Click **Change** next to the template on the left to open the style picker. There are 12
templates: five square, five portrait and two wide. Each card previews **your own carousel** in
that style, so you're judging your real slides, not a stock example.

![The Flypost template picker showing the carousel in the Marker Highlight style, with the All 12 filter and Use this template button highlighted](https://www.flypost.io/learn/how-to-make-a-linkedin-carousel/07-style-picker.webp)

_Browse all 12 templates (highlighted filter) with your own slides in each, then click Use this template._

Nothing changes until you click **Use this template**. Some styles are made for short slides;
those offer **Shorten to fit**, which trims each slide to suit, and keep your current version so
you can switch back.

We chose Magazine Split, a portrait style with a large image area and a big step number on each
slide. The whole carousel restyled at once, with our brand colours and logo on every slide.

![The carousel restyled in Magazine Split, with the template panel on the left highlighted](https://www.flypost.io/learn/how-to-make-a-linkedin-carousel/08-restyled.webp)

_The same slides in Magazine Split. The highlighted panel shows the current template and the Change button._

Your brand colours and fonts come from your website when you set up your Flypost account, so
every template is already on-brand. You can change the colours and the logo size on the left.

## Step 6: How do you add images to carousel slides?

Images make the difference between a carousel that looks like a slide deck and one people stop
for. Select a slide, then use the bar under it:

- **Upload** adds your own image, like a screenshot. Real screenshots make strong proof: ours
  shows a LinkedIn article being cited in Google's AI Overview.
- **Add with AI** generates one. Describe what you want, pick an illustration style and tick
  **Use my brand colours**.
- **Adjust** zooms and repositions an image so the important part shows.
- **Regenerate** gives you a new version of an AI image if you don't like the first.

![The Generate slide illustration window in Flypost, with the Minimal geo collage style highlighted](https://www.flypost.io/learn/how-to-make-a-linkedin-carousel/09-add-image-ai.webp)

_Pick an illustration style for an AI image. There are nine; the highlighted one is Minimal geo collage._

![A carousel cover slide with an uploaded screenshot, and the Regenerate, Upload, Library and Adjust buttons highlighted](https://www.flypost.io/learn/how-to-make-a-linkedin-carousel/10-adjust-image.webp)

_The slide image controls (highlighted): Regenerate, Upload, Library and Adjust._

We put a real screenshot on the cover and the steps, and an AI chart in a napkin-sketch style on
slide two. Once the images were in, we flicked back through a couple of other templates to check
they still worked. Magazine Split still won.

## Step 7: How do you write the post that goes with a carousel?

A carousel always goes out with a normal post above it. That text is what people read before
they decide to swipe, so it deserves as much care as the slides.

Open the post editor and click **Draft with AI** (the AI writing tools sit under **Edit with AI**).
Choose the same notebook as your source, so the post and the carousel make the same points from
the same research.

![The Flypost post editor with a LinkedIn preview on the left and the written post on the right, with Edit with AI highlighted](https://www.flypost.io/learn/how-to-make-a-linkedin-carousel/11-draft-post.webp)

_The post drafted from the notebook, next to a preview of how it will look on LinkedIn. The AI writing tools are under Edit with AI (highlighted)._

Two tools help you shape it. **Highlight any text**, on a slide or in the post, and click
**Improve with AI** to rewrite just that part. We used it on the cover so the title mentions
LinkedIn articles.

![The carousel cover slide with its rewritten title highlighted: 8 steps to get your brand cited by AI using LinkedIn articles](https://www.flypost.io/learn/how-to-make-a-linkedin-carousel/12-improve-ai.webp)

_The cover title after Improve with AI (highlighted). It now names LinkedIn articles._

Then use **Refine** to change the whole post. Type what you want changed, or pick a quick
option such as **Too long** or **Hook needs to be stronger**. Only what you mention changes; the
rest stays exactly as written.

![The Give feedback on this draft window in Flypost, with the feedback box and the Apply feedback button highlighted](https://www.flypost.io/learn/how-to-make-a-linkedin-carousel/13-refine.webp)

_Refine with feedback (highlighted box), then Apply feedback. You can ground it in your Brain or in chosen sources._

We asked for a shorter post that leads with the fact that LinkedIn articles rank well. Then we
read it through and trimmed a few lines by hand. Always do that last read yourself.

## Step 8: How do you check a carousel post before publishing?

Run the **post score** before you publish. It scores the post out of 100 and flags what tends to
hold LinkedIn posts back:

- **AI-sounding phrases**, like "let's dive in".
- **Hype words**, like "game-changer".
- **A weak opening line**, like starting with a question.
- **Engagement bait**, like a lonely "Thoughts?" at the end.

It also checks that the post shares real experience and specific details. The checks are
calibrated on the same [study of 86,725 LinkedIn posts](https://www.flypost.io/learn/linkedin-algorithm-study-data):
for example, posts that opened with a question did worse, so the score flags them. (Our guide to
[LinkedIn hooks](https://www.flypost.io/learn/linkedin-hooks) has the full story on first lines.)

![The Flypost post editor with the post score badge showing 100 highlighted above the post text](https://www.flypost.io/learn/how-to-make-a-linkedin-carousel/14-post-score.webp)

_The post score (highlighted) came back at 100, with nothing to fix._

Ours came back at 100. If yours flags something, fix that line and run it again.

## Step 9: How do you publish a carousel to LinkedIn?

Click **Schedule / Publish**, choose who it posts as, then pick **Publish now** or **Schedule**.
Flypost turns your slides into a PDF, which is how LinkedIn shows carousels, and posts it
straight to your profile. The images finish rendering in the background, so you don't have to
wait on the screen.

![The publish window with Publish now selected, a post score of 100, and the Publish now button highlighted](https://www.flypost.io/learn/how-to-make-a-linkedin-carousel/15-publish-now.webp)

_Publish now (highlighted) sends it immediately. The score is shown again here as a last check._

If you post at a regular time each week, use **Schedule** instead, and the carousel goes out
at the time you choose.

And there it is, live on LinkedIn: the post on top and the carousel underneath, ready to swipe.

![The finished carousel live on LinkedIn, highlighted, showing two slides with the page count of 13](https://www.flypost.io/learn/how-to-make-a-linkedin-carousel/16-live.webp)

_The finished carousel on LinkedIn (highlighted). The label at the top shows it's 13 pages long._

## How many slides should a LinkedIn carousel have?

More than you'd think. The usual advice is to keep a carousel under 10 slides, but our data
points the other way: longer carousels got more reactions, all the way up.

| Slides     | Carousels | Typical reactions |
| ---------- | --------- | ----------------- |
| 2 to 5     | 1,004     | 27                |
| 6 to 8     | 1,061     | 29                |
| 9 to 11    | 742       | 39                |
| 12 to 15   | 422       | 47.5              |
| 16 or more | 303       | 57                |

That's across 3,532 carousels. One caveat: we couldn't compare each person against their own
carousels here, because few people post enough of them, so this compares different posts. Treat
it as a strong hint rather than a rule.

So write as many slides as your steps genuinely need. If your topic has 12 real steps, use them
all, and don't cut it to 8 to hit a number. Padding is the one thing to avoid: every slide should
earn its place.

## What makes a good LinkedIn carousel?

A few things matter more than the template you pick:

1. **One idea per slide.** If a slide needs two paragraphs, split it.
2. **A cover that says what's inside.** "8 steps to get your brand cited by AI" tells people
   exactly what they'll get for swiping.
3. **Real proof.** A screenshot, a number with a source or an example beats a stock image.
4. **Steps people can act on.** Each slide should tell the reader what to do, not just what to
   think.
5. **A post that earns the swipe.** The text above the carousel is your hook. Lead with the most
   useful or surprising point.

> **Make a LinkedIn carousel for free**
>
> Build a carousel in your browser and download the PDF, ready to post on LinkedIn. Free, no
> signup.
>
> [Try it free](https://www.flypost.io/tools/linkedin-carousel-generator)

## How we tested LinkedIn carousels

The engagement figures come from Flypost's study of LinkedIn posts: 130,000 posts collected from
2,500 B2B creators between July 2025 and July 2026, of which 86,725 were analysed.

For the carousel versus text comparison, we compared each person's carousels against their own
text posts, which takes out the difference between people. 178 people had enough of both to
test. For slide count, we grouped 3,532 carousels by number of pages and compared their typical
reactions. Too few people post enough carousels to compare each person against themselves, so
that one is a comparison of different posts.

The step-by-step screenshots come from building and publishing a real carousel in Flypost in
October 2026, the one in the video above. Read the full study:
[how the LinkedIn algorithm works, from 86,725 posts](https://www.flypost.io/learn/linkedin-algorithm-study-data).

## Frequently asked questions

### How do you post a carousel on LinkedIn?

Save your slides as one PDF and add it to a LinkedIn post as a document. LinkedIn shows each page of the PDF as a slide people swipe through. Tools like Flypost build the PDF from your slides and post it for you.

### How many slides should a LinkedIn carousel have?

More than most advice suggests. In our data on 3,532 carousels, the typical carousel with 16 or more slides got 57 reactions, against 27 for one with 2 to 5. That compares different posts rather than the same person, so treat it as a strong hint: write as many slides as your steps need, and don't stop at 10 because someone said so.

### Do LinkedIn carousels get more engagement?

A little. Compared with the same person's text posts, carousels got about 13% more reactions, and that held for about half of the 178 people we could test. They suit step-by-step content best. If you want the most reliable lift, a single image did better in the same study.

### Can I make a LinkedIn carousel for free?

Yes. Flypost's free LinkedIn carousel generator builds one in your browser and downloads the PDF, with no signup. The full Flypost app adds writing from your own sources, AI images, the post copy, a post score and publishing, with a 7-day free trial.

### Can I make a LinkedIn carousel in Canva?

Yes, but you write every slide, design each page and export the PDF yourself, then upload it to LinkedIn. A carousel tool does the writing and layout from your idea and sources, so you spend your time editing rather than designing.

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Published by Flypost (https://www.flypost.io), the LinkedIn content studio. More guides: https://www.flypost.io/learn