{"id":5919,"date":"2018-12-07T05:50:53","date_gmt":"2018-12-07T13:50:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.freedomwithwriting.com\/freedom\/?p=5919"},"modified":"2018-12-07T07:38:57","modified_gmt":"2018-12-07T15:38:57","slug":"5919","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.freedomwithwriting.com\/freedom\/uncategorized\/5919\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Get Writing Jobs from LinkedIn"},"content":{"rendered":"

Why you should consider using LinkedIn to gain writing contracts<\/strong><\/p>\n

Launched in March 2003, LinkedIn was essentially a means for connecting executive recruitment agencies with Fortune 500 executives.<\/p>\n

It has become an indispensable platform for connecting with business professionals, having an almost completely business focus in all its aspects. Its growth over the years has been significant and LinkedIn now boasts over 550\u00a0million members worldwide.<\/p>\n

The gender split of LinkedIn membership is an interesting c56%t male \/ c44% percent female.<\/p>\n

While originating in the U.S.A., the platform has members in 200 countries around the world, and 70 percent of the membership is now outside of the U.S.A. For example, there are over 24 million members in the United Kingdom. LinkedIn boasts something like 116 million unique users per month.<\/p>\n

No surprise then that Microsoft bought LinkedIn for $26.2 billion in 2016!<\/p>\n

Whenever I speak about LinkedIn, I ask for the business people in the room to put their hand up if they are \u201con LinkedIn.\u201d I\u00a0then ask them to keep their hands up if they have more than a basic profile listing. There are generally few hands left up by this stage! Most people I talk to will say they set up a profile on LinkedIn, but don\u2019t know how to use it, or have forgotten their login details. It is no wonder then that 99% of LinkedIn users fail to optimize their profile!<\/p>\n

The great news for you is that if you do optimize your profile, you\u2019ll be among the top 1%!<\/p>\n

What writing opportunities are there?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I hear you asking, what writing work have I secured through my LinkedIn connections? And I stress the word \u2018connections\u2019 as it is the people you network with online that will connect you with writing opportunities. In many cases you will end up doing stuff for people you may never have met physically other than online! I forget this sometimes as people I interact with online seem just as real as if we were sitting across a coffee table. Yes, I spend most of my time writing in Starbucks, Costa, or Caffe Nero!<\/p>\n

In 2017, when I started to promote myself for the first time on Linkedin as a writer, I was taken on by an agent in the UK, one of my existing LinkedIn connections.\u00a0 He immediately introduced me to Business Expert Press in New York who were looking for a series of executive insight pieces. I wrote 18 e-books for them during the year, including one on how to use LinkedIn which I have drawn upon for this piece – http:\/\/bit.ly\/2rahVYZ-BEPLinkedIn<\/a><\/p>\n

Then at the beginning of this year, through the same connections, I secured a contract to write an exam text book for a professional institute. This was a new direction for me and I must admit I adopted Richard Branson\u2019s advice of \u201csay yes \u2013 then learn how to do it later!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

During the rest of this year I have secured several further pieces of work through my LinkedIn connections, including blogs and articles for websites and newsletters.<\/p>\n

Most recently, I ghost-wrote a series of four longer e-books (around 6,000 words each) for a public speaker. We had been connected on LinkedIn for a year or two, and he contacted me having seen me \u2018talk\u2019 online about my work and writing experiences.<\/p>\n

This was an interesting project as I needed to write in his voice rather than my own. But this was made easier by the fact he produced a regular series of YouTube videos of him talking about a specific matter. I\u2019d write a chapter then go and watch a couple of his videos to pick up on his voice and vocabulary. I\u2019d then go back through just making a few changes listening to his voice in my mind to see If I felt he\u2019d say it that way.<\/p>\n

It obviously worked as he made virtually no changes to the final pieces submitted to him! I even created cover graphics for him (something I don\u2019t normally do) so he could list them straight onto Amazon.<\/p>\n

How do I make it happen?<\/strong><\/p>\n

LinkedIn, as with any other networking or social interaction, is all about engagement. You need to have a two-way conversation. There is no point just pushing out sales pitch after sales pitch. People still buy from people! People want to \u2018talk\u2019 to you, get to know and understand you, then get to trust you.<\/p>\n

One of the first things to consider about LinkedIn is that it is essentially a search engine. Just as with optimizing your website for Google, you need to be sure about what it is you want people to be able to find you for. You need to use the right words to describe what it is you do, or what it is you want to do. Please do not simply upload your CV! Other LinkedIn users want to know about the real YOU.<\/p>\n

Connect, Engage, Promote <\/strong><\/p>\n

The key areas you are going to utilize LinkedIn are to:<\/p>\n

Connect with people, businesses, and prospects;<\/p>\n

Engage with them;<\/p>\n

Promote yourself and your business<\/p>\n

Your LinkedIn Profile \u2013 some key points <\/strong><\/p>\n

Photo<\/strong><\/p>\n

This should be a professional (or at least good quality) headshot. On mine I must admit, it is a selfie(!). But those that know me well recognise the Costa coffee store wallpaper in the background. My closest connections know I spend my days in coffee shops! Both writing and having meetings.<\/p>\n

Headline<\/strong><\/p>\n

The bit that comes immediately under your photo, your professional headshot(!). LinkedIn automatically picks up your current job title and pops it here, but you should edit this yourself. After all, this is YOUR headline. This is what you want to be found for. It\u2019s the first thing that will show after your name and photo in searches.<\/p>\n

I am always changing mine to reflect what I am doing at the time, any specific projects, or just stuff I want people to find me for.<\/p>\n

Summary<\/strong><\/p>\n

The photo, headline, and summary are the three most important aspects of your presence on LinkedIn. We all have such a short attention span these days (apparently less than that of a goldfish!), it is important to grab people\u2019s attention immediately.<\/p>\n

Having published a professional photo and a snappy attention-grabbing headline, you now need to follow it up with a great summary.<\/p>\n

Please, please, please, do NOT just upload your CV! <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

People want to know about you, the person.<\/p>\n

They want to know what it is you are passionate about. Though try not to use the word as it is one of the most overused on LinkedIn!<\/p>\n

They want to know what you can offer them, why they should connect with you.<\/p>\n

Some Other Tips<\/strong><\/p>\n