Hi WriteWorldwide readers, and welcome to the final part of my trilogy of posts on how to bulletproof your Linkedin marketing presence as a freelance writer.
If you missed part 1 – which looks at the power and potential of Linkedin as a promotional platform – you can catch up here. Part 2 examines how to use Linkedin to amplify your prospecting skills, so check it out before we dive into part 3.
Last time we looked at ways to automate your Linkedin experience so that it works for you. To wrap up this series, I want to talk about being proactive within the network. Let’s get to it!
A neat trick for finding work – technology + Linkedin marketing = success
I came across this strategy recently in a video from John Espirian, and have been using it myself to look for new clients. Here’s how it goes. First, download the Linkedin app to your phone or iPod.
Once you’ve signed in, type in ‘looking for a copywriter’ (or freelance writer, depending on how you’re marketing yourself) in the search bar. Then, go to the ‘posts’ tab. To the right of the search bar, tap ‘filters’. Set your filters to ‘Past 24 hrs’ in the date posted section, and ‘Latest’ in the sort by section. Then, tap done.
Hey presto. What you’re left with is a customised feed of potential prospects who’ve posted that they’re actively looking for someone like you. And thanks to the filters, you could get some very recent responses (sometimes, you’ll see posts that were made literally minutes ago, so you can strike while the iron is hot!).
After you’ve identified potential work, leave a comment to say you’re interested. You can do this directly through the app, or find the post by searching for the person via Linkedin on your desktop – I prefer this method. You can also perform the same search on a desktop, but you won’t be able to filter the results as accurately without the app.
Perform this search a couple of times a week, or even daily, and you’re sure to find new potential clients in no time.
How to interact appropriately with potential clients on Linkedin.
If you’re going to respond to potential clients by commenting on a post you’re interested in, make sure you do the following:
1) Keep it short, and write well.
I’ve seen too many updates and comments on Linkedin recently that are, to put it bluntly, badly written. Don’t add to them! Keep your reply short, professional, and make sure the structure and flow make sense.
2) Put your contact details in your reply.
This is especially important, as depending on what connection degree they are in your network, they might not be able to view your full profile. So play it safe and always add your email address when commenting. Here’s an example of a comment I left recently: 
It’s short, approachable in tone, responds to the need to find a copywriter urgently, and has my email address in a friendly call to action at the end. This is the type of message you want to be aiming for when reaching out to a potential prospect via a comment.
3) If you have experience relevant to what the client is looking for, mention it in your comment.
This may seem like an extremely obvious point, but I lost out on potential work recently by not doing exactly that. I had experience in the area a prospect was looking for, and simply commented that I’d be interested in working with them. I assumed they would see my comment (it was one of the first), go to my website, see the testimonial that was relevant, and contact me. That didn’t happen, but if I’d taken the time to mention my relevant experience in my comment, that could’ve made all the difference to securing the client.
4) If you see an opportunity that’s not quite right for you, recommend others in your network instead.
This will help you grow your network, as well as build your trust and credibility factor.
What (and when) to post on Linkedin
The success of your Linkedin marketing strategy depends on the quality and consistency of the posts you make there. Unlike Facebook, it’s not a place to share pictures of your dinner, or videos of cats on skateboards.
And unlike Twitter, you don’t need to post constantly in an effort to get noticed among all the noise. In fact, writing constant updates on Linkedin is not the way to go.
So, how much should you be posting? Some say once a day, to share an interesting article that will add value to your network and get a discussion going. Some would say even that’s overdoing it – and that one quality article or update per week is all you need to best maintain your Linkedin marketing presence.
As always, experiment and see what works for you, but keep your content relevant and think about what your network will gain from it before sharing.
Try a mixture – one piece of original content each week, and then share one article per day the rest of time. This is a strategy I plan to adopt in the coming weeks, and I’ll share my results and progress with the WriteWorldwide community.
For some ideas on the most effective time to post on across various platforms, this infographic is handy and helpful.
Don’t forget, you can still be blatant when promoting yourself on Linkedin – just keep it to a monthly or bi-weekly event. Here’s a screenshot of my post letting potential prospects know I’m open for business:
Try something similar for yourself, and see what works.
The power of joining groups to boost your Linkedin marketing presence
As well as promoting yourself and others, one of the most effective ways to use Linkedin to find clients is joining and interacting in relevant groups. Search for groups populated by mutual connections, or that are specific to your niche and industry, and then get busy introducing yourself, networking, and exchanging ideas. You could even create your own group, geared towards attracting the type of prospects you’d like to work with.
I hope you’ve enjoyed my series on how to bulletproof your Linkedin marketing presence as a freelance writer. For more, check out this Linkedin cheat sheet from Hubspot or check out Yassir’s post on conducting potential client research on LinkedIn.
Are you leveraging the power of Linkedin to propel you forward on your freelance writing journey? Share your experience in the comments.
