A guide for freelance copywriters
This post was written by TCCS member, Beck Cofrancesco
Everyone’s talking about LinkedIn right now. And for good reason.
It’s a golden window of opportunity.
Of the near 700 million people on LinkedIn, only 1% post weekly content.
Which means it’s less crowded than other social channels, and your content is more likely to be seen.
And best of all it’s what’s known as long-tail content. It will keep performing for weeks.
Wouldn’t it feel great to be an in-demand copywriter with clients chasing you to work with them?
It’s time to up your LinkedIn game and get visible.
LinkedIn is a client goldmine waiting to be tapped, especially if you work in the B2B space.
I’m sharing what’s worked for me, and why I love it so much. (Yep, I’m a total LinkedIn geek.)
“People on LinkedIn have money.
A budget ready to spend.
If that’s not a qualified lead, I don’t know what is.”
First, work out your goals for LinkedIn
To get more clients on LinkedIn you need to be clear on three things:
- What you want to be known for
- Who you want to connect with
- The results you want
Second, nail the LinkedIn profile
Think of your LinkedIn profile as a sales page for your business.
Include everything you need to dazzle potential customers, including a great banner with your unique selling proposition.
You want as many people to check out your profile as possible. So, you need to set it up so they can find it. Keywords help you do that.
Tip: Write a list of keywords people would search for to find you and include them in your headline and profile description.
Build a search-friendly LinkedIn header
When you’re active on the LinkedIn feed, the words under your name may be the only thing people see. Use keywords to call out the value you bring.
There are two trains of thoughts on best practice:
- Lead with a statement on how you can help (e.g. “I help financial services businesses communicate”)
- Signal what you do (e.g. “Freelance Financial Services Marketer I Sydney”)
I’ve tried both and didn’t see a difference in visibility. So, it comes down to preference and the keywords you use.
Refresh your summary description
LinkedIn doesn’t have to be a snooze fest. You can let your personality shine.
Make it all about your potential customer, how you’re the answer to what they need, and why they should choose you.
Tip: Remember to turn off notifications while you’re fiddling about. Turn it back on when you’ve made your final change and your network will be notified.
Note: Kate has a great LinkedIn course inside the membership and profile template. If you’re serious about growing your copywriting business on LinkedIn you should definitely get it.
Third, jump in and get social
To be good at social, you need to be social. So never lead with the sell. Always lead with value.
A great way to get your feel for LinkedIn is to join conversations on your feed.
Pick posts that align with your area of expertise and what you want to be known for. It’s a simple way to build your confidence, and you’ll also start showing up on your connection’s newsfeeds.
Start conversations (outreach program)
If you really want to build traction and get those leads happening, you need to be intentional about it.
The real gold in LinkedIn isn’t the newsfeed. It’s in the conversations you have in private (or ‘in-mail’ to be technically correct).
Make yourself a target list of:
- People you admire
- Companies who have values similar to yours
- People you’ve worked with in the past (and want to work with again)
- Decision-makers (i.e. people with the authority to hire you for freelance work)
Then systematically start conversations with those people. And when the time is right, you can introduce the idea of working together.
Tip: NEVER lead with a sales request. It’s annoying. And spammy.
Lead with connection, show value, and then let the conversation happen naturally.
Post your own content
Even though we’re copywriters, we’re not immune to getting stuck with what to write about.
But what better way to get more clients on LinkedIn than to showcase what you’re good at – writing.
It’s a good idea to create content themes (known as pillars) and stick to them.
The themes should support what you want to be known for.
Tip: Always include an engaging call to action. The LinkedIn algorithm is just like other platforms, where engagement on your post triggers it to show it to more people.
Conclusion
If your ideal clients hang out on LinkedIn it’s time you did too. It’s not the snoozefest you think it is. And there is a real opportunity right now.
It would be a shame to waste it, no?
Feel free to hang out on LinkedIn with me.
Over to you
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About Beck
Rebecca Cofrancesco is the founder of Marketing Goodness.
Beck is a copywriter and marketing strategist who loves working with service-based businesses.
Helping them get found, create great content, start conversations, and make more sales.
