Get the most out of LinkedIn as a freelancer

Let yourself get found

Rule number one on the internet? You (and your services) must be visible. In most cases of freelancing, you are your brand. Try filling out your LinkedIn profile with all the relevant information about yourself. This means not only your basic education and the companies where you worked but making use of all the options in your profile. The advantages of LinkedIn are that it’s easily accessible by everyone and is considered trustworthy, so use the website as a perfect tool to build your professional brand.

Make sure that:

1. You have a nice picture, an eye-catching header (great potential space for the artist freelancers), and a catchy headline. They will be the first information your prospect notices, whether in search or directly on your profile.
2. You are using the right keywords. These will help you boost your visibility and be recommended more precisely. Try to think of words that you want to have associated with you and do thorough industry research. Every word you use on your page matters, so try to use as many keywords as possible in your headline, summary, and professional experience descriptions.
3. You have filled out all the information you can. Even if your BA might have nothing to do with the career path you’re taking now, perhaps someone from the same university is currently looking for a freelancer in your niche. Having something “in common” might boost your profile towards them.

Make your services known

Did you know LinkedIn has a unique tool dedicated to freelancers and small business owners? Recently rolled out LinkedIn Service Pages are free landing pages that can showcase your services. Your service page lets you write a short description of what you can do, add up to 8 media formats, and post reviews from past clients. Since the service pages are discoverable through internal search and other search engines such as Google, it’s a simple way to create an online portfolio. After publishing, any website member will be able to message you for free. Don’t miss out on this function!

Express yourself

It’s a social network, after all! Post on the forums, interact with posts of people from your niche, share links to your outside portfolio, and write an engaging story about something from your niche. There’s a high chance one of your future clients will find you through one of the shares, and you will get to build your visibility as an expert. The rules? Please keep it simple, keep it professional, and make it valuable.

Grow your network

LinkedIn is probably the only social network where random cold-pitching is not frowned upon. Found a profile of someone you would love to work for? Heard of a business that could use your help? Are you browsing someone’s website and knowing you could make it better? Reach out. Even if they don’t need your service right now, they might remember a nice message in the future.

While practicing your pitching, work on growing your connections. Look strategically for people that could be your target clients, people working in the same industry, experts, or freelance recruiters.

Pro tip:

LinkedIn’s search function allows you to look through public posts too. This means that you can also directly find terms like “looking for a freelancer” or, even better, “searching for a photographer/content writer/virtual assistant…”. You’ll find posts from your clients yourself. And now is the time you (professionally) slide into their DM’s.

Are these reasons enough for you to log in quickly and update your profile? We hope we managed to give you some inspiration for that. Good luck in your LinkedIn endeavors!