How To Optimize Your LinkedIn Profile & Land Your DREAM Clients

If you aren’t already utilizing LinkedIn to gain leads and land clients…

This is your sign to start now.

I’ve got 6 tips on how to leverage LinkedIn to scale your biz and attract your dream clients…

Plus a SUPER juicy bonus tip at the end. 

Hey, Posse! What’s up? It’s Alex. 

Coming at ya this week with a tutorial to help everyone out there wondering…

“How do I find clients?!”

I get it. Finding clients can be TOUGH – especially at the beginning of your freelancing career. 

But don’t worry. I’m here to help….

First, before we get into the juicy tips I have for you…

If you’re new to the crew – welcome! My blog is dedicated to helping you master the online world of freelancing, copywriting, and digital marketing. 

We cover topics like how to land clients, how to write engaging social media posts, how to improve your copywriting and so much more. 

So if that sounds like the type of stuff you need to learn more about, then make sure you subscribe to my newsletter. 

Now, if you saw my blog on Marketing Trends that are dominating 2022, then you already know that LinkedIn is definitely a place to be if you want to grow your biz and attract the client of your dreams.

With over 850 million job seekers, businesses, and recruiters, 6 people are hired every single minute on LinkedIn, making it a great alternative for freelancers who don’t want to only rely on platforms like Fiverr or Upwork. 

And while LinkedIn can definitely help you make high-quality connections and land high-quality clients…

The VERY first step is to optimize your profile and that leads me to tip #1…

#1. Feature Your TOP Skills

Yep – I said SKILLS. Not education!

Employers are beginning to notice something we’ve all known all along…

That education doesn’t equal knowledge, skill, or ability and their hiring requirements have changed because of it. 

According to research from Harvard Business Review and The Burning Glass Institute, employers have reduced the degree requirements for 46% of middle-skill positions and 31% of high-skill positions.

And thanks to the global pandemic that rocked our world and digitized our lives, more and more companies are embracing this “skills over education” approach to hiring. 

So to help optimize your LinkedIn profile, you should be identifying your TOP FIVE skills, that are most relevant to the job you’re seeking. 

Now, this should go without saying, but please make sure you’re being HONEST about these skills. 

And now on to tip #2…

#2. Post Only Relevant Experience

Something I see a lot of people doing on LinkedIn is listing off ALL of their professional experiences…

No matter how relevant or related it is to what they’re currently seeking. 

And this is a huge mistake. Here’s why…

Imagine you’re a job recruiter browsing through some profiles to hire a copywriter…

You read one profile that has a list of experiences that reads something like:

• 60-hour copywriting mentorship
• 8-week copywriting program with The Copy Posse
• Intern at a local newspaper
• Yearbook editor 
• 5-time local nominee for best short story of the year

Versus…

• Waitress & hostess at Applebees
• Customer support specialist at Blockbuster
• Coffee shop barista
• Summer camp chaperon 
• Waitress at local Pizza joint

These two people are the same people…

In the first example, this person is being strategic. 

Only listing off experiences that directly added value to the thing they pursuing – EVEN IF they weren’t “technically” a job. 

Remember, experience does not have to be a job. 

And in the second example, this person treats their experience section like a summary of all their previous jobs – which don’t necessarily add direct value to the thing they are pursuing. 

You can see the first example is much more likely to stand out to a potential client. 

Alright, the next thing you should do to optimize your is…

#3. Use Relevant Keywords In Your Profile

Just like SEO and keywords are important for getting traffic to websites…

And just like hashtags help people discover your content on Instagram…

Utilizing keywords in your LinkedIn profile will help potential clients discover you.

So for example, if you’re a copywriter, adding some keywords related to that skill can increase the chances of your profile appearing on top of the searches increase. 

Things like:

• copywriting
• copywriter
• digital marketing
• sales
• conversions
• and so on. 

Now, remember…

Having a profile that makes sense and is easy to read is WAY MORE important than cramming in every single keyword you can think of. So consciously make an effort to include keywords, but don’t go overboard with it. 

Alright now that you’ve spruced up your profile, you’re ready to… 

#4. Look For a Recruiter

Recruiters have one job, and one job only…

To find and hire talent for their clients. 

So a hot tip for finding brands and companies that are actively HIRING is to search for the word “recruiter” in your job search INSTEAD of simply typing in job titles. 

This is also a great way to drastically reduce your competition. 

I mean think about it…

There are probably thousands of copywriters on LinkedIn that are searching for “copywriting” jobs – and applying for those jobs every single day. 

And while OF COURSE you can—and should—include this in your strategy…

It’s much more tactical to first search for recruiters, then visit those companies’ websites, see what positions they are hiring for, and then apply directly from their website if you find a position that interests you. 

Now admittedly, this approach takes a bit more work…

With some cross-referencing and a bit of detective work involved…

But if you want to drastically reduce the number of applicants you’re competing against, and increase your chances of getting hired…

Then this is a great backdoor strategy to follow! 

And that brings me to tip #5…

#5. Engage With The Right Content

The algorithms are ALWAYS watching! haha

But seriously – they are. 

Social media platforms pay attention to what your searching, liking, and commenting on…

So that they can continue to show you MORE of that type of content. 

And vice versa…

They show YOUR stuff to other people who are searching, liking, and commenting on the same things you are. 

So it makes sense that if you’re on LinkedIn looking for a copywriting gig…

Then you should probably engage with people in that industry. 

You could either do a keyword search, or look up industry experts and engage with their content…

As long as you’re consistent with this, it can help you create strong relationships with whatever audience you’re targeting most. 

And now, tip #6…

#6. Set Up Job Alerts

When it comes to applying for jobs on LinkedIn…

SPEED is the name of the game. 

Applying within the first 10 minutes of receiving a relevant job notification increases your odds of hearing back by FOUR TIMES.

That’s crazy.

To create a job alert:

1. Search for a job on LinkedIn. 
2. Then, look at the top left of the job search results page.
3. There you can switch the Job alert toggle to “On” to create a job alert for your current search criteria. 

So, get those job alerts set up ASAP, and make sure you’re applying within 10 minutes of getting a notification! 

Now before we go, I have to mention this epic BONUS TIP that I just learned about…

BONUS TIP

Enable the #opentowork feature on your profile!

This will help your profile show up in search results when recruiters are looking for job candidates.

When you use this feature – you’re 40% more likely to get a recruiter message and 20% more likely to get a member message – how cool is that?!

To enable the #OpenToWork feature:

1. Click the  Me icon at the top of your LinkedIn homepage.
2. Click View profile.
3. Activate to view a larger image.
4. Click the Open to button.
5. Click Finding a new job.
6. Provide the requested information in the pop-up window that appears.
   • You can choose whether all LinkedIn members or only recruiters can see that you’re open to job opportunities. If you choose to share with all LinkedIn members, we’ll add an #OpenToWork photo frame to your profile photo.
7. Click Add to profile.

And boom there you have it! I hope you learned something new and found this tutorial super useful.

Let me know if the comments below what your favorite tip was and GOOD LUCK on your job search 🙂 

Until next time. I’m Alex. Ciao for now! 

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