With its vast network of business professionals, LinkedIn opens up a world of opportunities for freelancers. How can you ensure your profile gets you noticed?
Many companies, agencies and start-ups use LinkedIn to find freelancers for projects both big and small.
It can be a powerful tool in connecting you with potential clients, which is why it’s important to make the most of your presence on the platform. Here are some tips to help you get more out of LinkedIn if you freelance.
Create a winning headline
The first thing that shows up in search results is the headline at the top of your profile, so you need to grab people’s attention straight away. Avoid cheesy phrases such as ‘social media superstar’ – even though you undoubtedly are one. You have 120 characters to sum up your profession so think carefully about what you do and who you help. One example is: ‘Freelance website developer/graphic designer for small business owners’.
Write an engaging summary
After the headline comes the summary. This is your sales pitch, which should highlight what sets you apart from other freelancers. You can add both visuals and text to make it stand out. Make sure you include keywords so you’ll show up in search results. End the summary with a call to action – tell people exactly how you can be contacted.
Add a photo (of your own face!)
A picture humanises your profile and makes you appear more approachable. According to LinkedIn, a photo will get you 21x more profile views and up to 36x more messages. The picture should be of you, not your pet rabbit or favourite cartoon character. Choose a clear headshot where you’re looking straight at the camera – no arty shots of your eyebrows. For LinkedIn, you need to look professional and friendly.
Get recommendations from clients
Freelancers live or die by their reputation. Testimonials from people you’ve worked with in the past show potential new clients that you’re trustworthy and can be relied upon to do a good job. You can ask for written testimonials or get recommendations from your connections.
Add skills to your profile
Do you specialise in travel writing? Or content marketing? You can list your specific skills to enable prospective clients looking for those skills to find you more easily. Limit yourself to no more than 10 skills to avoid information overload. Your skills can also be endorsed by your connections to give them more credibility.
Showcase your work
Potential clients will often want to see samples of your work before hiring you. If your online portfolio is up to date, they can explore the kind of things you do and quality of your work. LinkedIn allows you to add a variety of media, such as videos, images, documents and presentations. If you’re a blogger, you can publish some of your blog content directly on the site.
Search for jobs
LinkedIn also lists jobs that you can apply for. They tend to be of higher quality than some other freelance job sites as companies have to pay to advertise. Your feed will have jobs you may be interested in, and you can search for posts by keywords, industry, location and experience level etc. You can also create a search alert that will notify you of new jobs matching your requirements.
Posted by The Secret Businessman