MAKING MONEY ONLINE

5 Tips to Turn Your LinkedIn into Cash Flow

Practical advice for using LinkedIn to find writing work

LinkedIn is a fabulous tool for making professional collaborative connections. And I can tell you honestly…you can make money on LinkedIn. You make money through LinkedIn connections by finding the people who hire you and pay you, whether it’s one job or years of repeat work. LinkedIn is where the money is at!

Today, I’ll go over some of the basics for how to use your LinkedIn to find work, to catch the eyes of potential clients, and how not to make yourself look like a total newb in your pitches.

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You Can Make Money from a Great LinkedIn Presence

I see tons of content writers on LinkedIn. And one look at my LinkedIn inbox suggests — many of them have no idea what they are doing. (I wrote about that fiasco here.) It’s palm-to-the-forehead dizzying.

To date, I’d estimate that more than 90% of my freelance writing income comes from direct connections I made on LinkedIn. And to be clear, freelance writing is my only source of income. Almost all of my income has come from a conversation or an interaction that originated on LinkedIn.

LinkedIn is where the money is at!

If you’ve been struggling to find writing work on LinkedIn, and you’re there, trying…but not quite sure what you’re doing wrong, read on. Perhaps one or more of these tips (I’ve proven that they work!) may help you to up your LinkedIn presence in all the right ways.

The ways that produce cold hard cash…💵💰💵💹🤑.

Using LinkedIn to Find Work

There are several ways that LinkedIn can turn your time into cash. Keep this in mind as you read through these tips — because each tip may apply a little differently to you depending on your overall strategy and the type of work you seek.

Tip #1 for Turning Your LinkedIn Into 💵💰💵💹🤑 CASH 💵💰

Your profile is your image. Make it a money-making one.

Create a Winning Profile

Your LinkedIn profile needs to do a few things, and do them well:

• Have a short and punchy bio that shows the hiring world exactly what you do. Keep it tight and informational. Here’s mine: Freelance writer. SEO content. Voice-driven copy.
• Have an “Open to Work” frame on a professional-looking picture that shows you smiling and confident.

• Have an About section that shows who you are, what type of work you do, what your skills are, and certainly what type of work you are seeking. Below, is mine.

About

Experienced Blogger with a demonstrated history of working in the writing and editing industry. Strong media and communication professional with a Bachelor of Science — BS focused in Environmental Science / Writing from Catawba College.

Currently reading: Limitless — Upgrade Your Brain, Learn Anything Faster, and Unlock Your Exceptional Life — by Jim Kwik

Taking on new clients. Ghostwriting is also available. Current clients represent the following industries:

* CBD * Wellness living * Entrepreneurship & women-owned businesses * Hair loss & beauty * Divorce & parenting * Skincare

Services: * Copy audit * SEO blog content * Guest blogging * Ghostwriting * Copy * Newsletters

Skilled in: * Capturing ‘company voice’ in my writing * Structured, informative writing * Difficult and highly-regulated industry writing, like CBD * Microsoft Word, Google, Surfer SEO, etc. * SEO content writing * B2C & Sales writing * Journalism, Interviews & Research * Social Media marketing strategy * Mentorship & coaching * Poetry manuscript editing

Work with Me! Send me a message and tell me about your business, your challenges and objectives, and let’s talk about how you can use written copy and blogging to:

* Reach your audience * Create sales funnels that work * Increase web traffic * Build credibility in your product/company/services/website/image

Let’s talk about how my work can help you to better provide value & reach your business objectives. Current clients include cbdMD, VEGAMOUR and others.

#goaloriented #driven #womanownedbusiness #professional

• Demonstrate your work history and your skills.
• Create trust and rapport with potential hiring personnel
• Give you a place to publish materials that attract potential clients, hiring managers and agents.
• Also, make sure your profile is free from clutter and un-work-related posts that don’t serve your endgame — getting work and making money!

If you scroll through your LinkedIn profile and can’t tell where the pertinent information is, or if your LinkedIn profile looks like a hodgepodge of unrelated information…then it’s time to revamp your LinkedIn image.

Tip #2 for Turning Your LinkedIn Into 💵💰💵💹🤑 CASH 💵💰

If it’s a job you want — apply for work. Bravely and frequently.

Prepare for Job Applications & Apply Often

Finding jobs on LinkedIn is the easy part. LinkedIn is one giant job board and there are tons of jobs out there for writers, editors, freelancers, SEO specialists, and the like.

Hot Tip: Define your endgame. What kind of job do you want? What compensation, hours, and type of company do you want to work with? Do you want a remote, on-site, or hybrid position?

You can get emails for searches you follow and all the information is there for you to apply. You can search for contract work, specifically, or remote work only (etc.) making LinkedIn one of the most useful job-hunting tools you can find for writers.

But you need to be prepared to apply.

Portfolio

Polish up a portfolio of professional pieces you’ve done for other clients. Here’s mine.

• Use samples of pieces that represent your strongest skills and talents.
• Try to include samplings from multiple jobs and projects to show your versatility and a good range of your experience.
• Be prepared to share your portfolio or a few selected (relevant) sample pieces when asked.

Resume

Polish up your resume so that it reflects your related work history, skills, and any experience and credentials you have that show you can do the job well. Yes, it needs to be tailored to the exact type of work you are seeking. If resumes aren’t your strong suit, this may be one thing worth spending a little money on to get perfect.

Tip #3 for Turning Your LinkedIn Into 💵💰💵💹🤑 CASH 💵💰

Post the right content targeting the right audiences.

Regularly Post Content Relevant to Your Endgame

LinkedIn has a homepage feed just like Facebook does, but be careful what you post there. Ask yourself: Would the person who may hire me think that this post is a good reflection of my work ethic and talents?

Use hashtags with your post or re-shares that may draw in the right eyes.

Here’s an example, using the hashtags that I wanted to focus this post on —

#HIREAFREELANCER #freelancer #contentwriter #content #SEO #seowriting #HUMANS are #BETTER than #AI

Link below:

This form of open pitching allows you to target the types of places you want to work and the audience you want to reach. In this case, hiring agents who are looking for SEO content writers can search those hashtags and may see my post.

This week my LinkedIn profile has had over 400 views. Because I am using hashtags to reel in the right folks, and because I am adding the right contacts — hiring professionals in my field — I am much more likely to build rapport with the right people and open money-making doors for myself.

Lastly, your profile will get far more attention if you have built enough connections. The magic number seems to be 500. “Your posts are seen by 10–15% of your following,” says LinkedIn. Add enough contacts in your field, including the higher-ups and not just other freelancers and authors, because you need a diverse bunch of connections to grab up those money-making opportunities when they arise.

Tip #4 for Turning Your LinkedIn Into 💵💰💵💹🤑 CASH 💵💰

Direct pitch often and pitch well.

Send Perfect Pitches to Get Freelance Work

When I wrote this past week about social media pitches gone wrong, it was a bit snarky, but the message is very serious. I see direct pitching daily in my LinkedIn inbox and at least half of those pitches are done poorly.

• Pitches are sent to me, addressing me by the wrong name.
• Pitches are not personalized in any way. Meaning…I am one in a long chain of copy-paste hopeful messages being tossed out. This is not how you gain professional collaborations.
• Pitches aren’t meant for me or they shouldn’t be sent to me. For example, a content writer pitches me. Why? I am a content writer. They pitch to me that I can help them out by giving them my clients (What?) or by sending some of my client orders to them (again, what?). This is not a pitch but a social media message version of panhandling.
• Pitches are riddled with grammar issues, misspellings, and piss-poor sentence structures. Pitches should be professionally written, to say the very least.

Now, let’s take a look at how to do this right.

Example: You are a content writer and you want to write blogs or articles for business websites. You scour LinkedIn and make a shortlist of 25 companies you want to pitch.

Before you begin typing an inline message to the very first contact person you see for the company, you need to do the appropriate research:

1. Who is the person who would hire you for this work? Find them and their contact information. Learn what you can by their LinkedIn profile about their business background, and possibly one personal tidbit that you can work nicely into your pitch.
2. Learn about the company. Blind pitching is a waste of your time and the contact person’s time. If you aren’t sure the company is the right fit, shorten your pitch to a brief inquiry. By doing a little investigation, you can identify an area of their business where your services may be of help.
3. Write a professional pitch, tailored to the company’s needs and pain points and how your services are perfect to address those.

Sample Pitch:

Hi Mr. Name,

Hello to a fellow NC native! It’s a pleasure to connect with you. I checked out your company and website and I have to say I am impressed with your company’s __________________. However, I do think the blogging content could use a little of my expertise in [X skill]. I’d love to have a quick chat with you.

I’m happy to share samples of my work via [link to portfolio.] Thank you for your time and I look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely, Your Name | Title

This type of pitching is personally tailored and it is effective.

• It uses their name and addresses something you may have in common with them.
• It shows you have done the research and are interested in what they need.
• It invites them to have a talk with you about your services.
• It gives them a professional portfolio link so they can see the kind of work you do.
• It’s quick, no fuss, and to the point.
• If they are interested — they will let you know!
• Follow up with a gentle nudge about a week later if you have not heard back. You may also mention in your follow-up that if there is a different person you need to be speaking with, perhaps they can point you in the right direction.

Pitching — regularly — can put your services into the minds of the hiring staff and managers who would be looking for freelancers. Pitching works, you just have to be professional, deliberate, and smart in your approach, and follow up appropriately.

And then, when you get a bite — seal the deal on that opportunity and turn it into cash!

Tip #5 for Turning Your LinkedIn Into 💵💰💵💹🤑 CASH 💵💰

Follow-Up on Your Pitches and Job Applications [Wisely]

Speaking of following up…how should you do that exactly? Do it wrong and you’re a spammer. Forget to do it and you may have missed an opportunity. But keeping up with pitches can get complicated if you don’t have a system.

I use Trello. I have a board entitled PITCHING WORKFLOW. I create a card for each pitch which moves through these columns:

1. Potential Pitches
2. First Message Sent
3. Follow-up Message Sent
4. Maybe
5. No answer or no (try again in 6 months or more)
6. YES! In Negotiations
7. Contracted | Agreed

Once a card has reached the Contracted | Agreed column, I wrap up any notes on the card and then move the card to another board: CLIENT WORKFLOW, where I have a similar system for handling client work.

The point here is that throwing it at the wall to see what sticks does not work.

The folks who are making tons of money off LinkedIn opportunities are out there doing things right, and so should you be:

➡️ Sending professional pitches ➡️ Creating meaningful connections ➡️ Following up ➡️ Asking for feedback after job interviews ➡️ Keeping the resume updated ➡️ Using a very concise and targeted bio ➡️ Using a professional and tidy headshot ➡️ Asking co-workers, former bosses (etc.) for recommendations ➡️ Keeping a professional portfolio polished and ready to share ➡️ Posting regular content (with great hashtags) on LinkedIn that the target clients would want to see

Those are the folks turning their LinkedIn experience into MONEY. And you can do this too.

Get smart about your time on LinkedIn. Your wallet will thank you.

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Meet your author: Christina M. Ward is a lifelong beauty and wellness enthusiast with a professional writing career in the wellness, health, and clean beauty industries. Her work has been featured in Today’s Health Science, LA Weekly, Village Voice, and OK! Magazine.

Christina’s published poetry books: Amazon. Christina’s newsletter: Fiddleheads & Floss Newsletter.