It’s commonly suggested that writers should spend 20% of their time writing, and 80% of their time marketing their business. Consistent marketing ensures that your business earns consistent income from a constant and reliable stream of client work. This enables you to avoid the dreaded feast or famine cycle.
The downside is that this mandatory part of running a service-based, and presumably solo-run business can take up heaps of precious time and energy needed for actual paid work. The solution is to find ways to get in your marketing activities that are uncomplicated, and only require a few minutes of your work day.
I’m going to share a few easy steps I take on LinkedIn that require very minimal time and effort, and that have awarded me consistent writing work.
1. Make Your Purpose Clear in Your Tagline
Just beneath your name, include a brief description of your job position. It is imperative to be clear and direct about what your specialty is, and about the clients you serve. Avoid making plain statements like “Freelance Writer” or “Copywriter for Hire.” You need to describe what kind of writer you are, and and identify your target clientele. In your tagline section, something like “Fitness Case Study Writer” or “White Paper Writer for Law Firms” makes a perfect tagline. This way, you will stand out to the right people, and rank far better in LinkedIn’s search results. Prospects will be able to find you without any guesswork and this will potentially lead to good connections and, ultimately, great clients.
2. Consistently Invite New Connections
LinkedIn’s algorithm pushes your account in front of more people with the more connections you have. You will need to find the specific kind of people you want to get your profile/work in front of ,and send a quick invite to connect. Personalizing with a quick note maximizes the chances of the person accepting your invite. Personally, I aim to make 50 new connections a week, sending about 10 or so each weekday. This takes less than 10 minutes of my time. The more targeted connections you make, the better.
3. Send a Brief Introduction Shortly After Forming new Connections
Now that you have successfully made a new connection, it’s important to make yourself known while you’re still fresh on the other person’s mind. Come up with just a three- or four-sentence introduction, explaining in concise detail what you do, who you serve, and an offer to help them a specific way. This can be something like answering their questions, exchanging referrals, or offering advice when needed. No selling whatsoever is necessary or ideal in the introduction message. The only purpose is to plant the seed.
4. Leave Short but Thoughtful Comments Under Their Posts
Now that you have made these new connections, the next step is to engage with them through their posts. That way, they know you’re paying attention to them, too. A short comment under a connection’s post that reflects your thoughts in a concise and respectable way will catch their eye, and is likely to get you a positive response from them. Do not leave bland, unoriginal copy-and-paste form responses, or drawn out paragraphs that go off on a tangent. That’s an obvious turn-off, and a waste of your time, and theirs. Make it a routine to leave short and sweet but engaging comments on posts that catch your eye, or in LinkedIn groups where your ideal clients hang out. Two to three sentences is a great size to aim for.
5. Repost Fascinating Content that is Relevant to Your Prospects
Writers can avoid the extra time and hassle of coming up with new post ideas by re-sharing previously published content. The content shared should be relevant to your connections/ideal clients. This saves time by allowing you to remain active on the platform without spending too much time creating original work exclusively for LinkedIn. You can re-share content you’ve contributed to authority websites in your niche (a great way to showcase portfolio pieces), or social media posts that highlight interesting trends or discussions in your clientele’s industry.
Sharing your own previously published work makes for a few extra perks. For example, by republishing articles you’ve posted on your own website, this creates a great opportunity for building quality backlinks. More eyes see your work and your site will get better rank in the search engines, thus attracting more prospects through organic web traffic!
Taking these simple steps on LinkedIn can really propel your profile and writing business forward – in front of the right people. You’ll now have more time to focus on other parts of your writing business, and you’ll set up the gateway for opportunities to practically fall into your lap without breaking a sweat!
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Haneef Davenport is a freelance content strategist who specializes in creating content for beauty and wellness brands and businesses. She’s previously worked with companies like Amazon and The Lip Bar, and is the founder of her own beauty and style blog with a reach of over 40,000 monthly views. You can find out more about her writing services at yourwritingheroine.com and check out her blog, rosegoldpearls.com. You can also connect with her on Facebook, and LinkedIn.
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