There are many ways to find freelance work. One of the most underrated, and underutilized methods is LinkedIn. If you don’t have a profile on there yet, now’s the time to start! In this blog post, we will discuss how to list your freelance work on LinkedIn so that you can increase your reach and generate more leads for yourself!

As a freelancer, having a profile on LinkedIn is not enough. You need to optimize your profile to help employers find you. If your profile is optimized, you’ll be surprised at what offers come your way.

Over the years, I’ve received numerous offers for work on LinkedIn. Though I’ve never taken up the work for one reason or the other, it’s always good to know, this is a place I can turn to to find work. Just this week, someone reached out and offered a full-time (40 hour week) gig. I have several commitments at the moment and I had to decline it.

Why Should I Use LinkedIn To Find Freelance Work?

LinkedIn is often grouped among social media platforms. While it’s a great place to connect with colleagues, this is a gem for anyone looking to grow their career.

LinkedIn has millions of active users. From individuals to fortune 500 corporations. As of 2021, LinkedIn boasts 756 million members and over 57 million registered companies. If these numbers don’t blow you off, well I’m not sure what will.

When you list your skills, you are potentially telling millions of companies, hey this is what I can do! Hire me and you won’t regret it!

But how do you hack this since you are competing against millions of other users?

How do I list freelance work on LinkedIn?

When someone runs into your LinkedIn profile, there are four main components that are easily viewable. Your profile picture, name, headline, and location. While there’s nothing much you can do about your location and name, the other two if well optimized can help you land that job.

LinkedIn can help you land a work at home opportunity or in-house employment. Whether you are looking for a side hustle to supplement your income or a full-time gig, this is worth a try.

Headline

In this post, I’ll show you how to craft a compelling headline for both freelance jobs and freelance projects to increase your reach when looking for new clients on LinkedIn.

Your LinkedIn headline is your freelance work’s first impression.

It should be short and concise, but also grab the recruiter’s attention so they want to read more about you.

Include your industry, and write a compelling headline that will set you apart from the competition.

For freelance work, make sure to include keywords in your job title so recruiters are more likely to find you through keyword searches such as “freelance writer.”

On freelance projects, use keywords like “graphic designer” or “content creator”.

Your headline should represent the freelance work you do, and then be creative.

A few good examples of freelance headings are:

“Experienced freelance writer.”

“Freelance graphic designer with proven results.”

“Innovative freelance design consultant looking for new opportunities”.

When the recruiter sees your headline, they will know what kind of work you are looking for.

Profile Picture

Your profile photo speaks volumes about you. It takes milliseconds for one to make conclusions by seeing your profile picture. If you are using LinkedIn as a professional who wants to land some gigs, then you need to put your best face forward. Here are few tips to give the best impression with your LinkedIn profile picture:

• Use a professional quality photo with good lighting and clear focus. If you don’t have one handy that’s appropriate for LinkedIn, there are plenty of websites where freelance photographers can take high-quality photos at affordable rates.
• Make sure you are not wearing sunglasses or hats, which can obscure your face.
• Dress for the camera – no low necklines or sleeveless shirts that show off too much skin, even if they’re appropriate to wear outside of LinkedIn; instead, opt for something professional. A suit is not mandatory, however, your yoga pants or old sweater from high school won’t cut it either.
• Smile. A smile makes you look more approachable. And this is one trait that recruiters are always looking for.
• A head-shot. When taking your LinkedIn photo, aim for a headshot. The way LinkedIn is designed a full-body photo will not fit into your profile picture. If you are unable to take a headshot, crop your full image up to the shoulders and waist.

Listing Your Freelance Work

There are different ways you can list your freelance work on LinkedIn. Summary, experience section, and content are the three options we are going to look at.

Listing your freelance work in the summary section

The summary section is found just below your name, headline, and profile photo. This is a 2000 character text box that allows you to list your various accomplishments.

If you’ve been working for a while, use this section to list your previous clients, some of your most proud accomplishments, and a description of the services you are offering.

Add Testimonials

While listing your previous accomplishments is a great way to get in front of recruiters, testimonials are equally important.

Getting clients to write you testimonials may not be as easy. And while you may have given your best and they loved the project outcome, some clients forget to write testimonials at the end of a project. If this is the case, shoot them an email and request them to write one. If they do, you can include it in your summary section.

Use The Featured Section To List Your Best Work

You want potential clients to know your capabilities without too much work on their end? Showcasing some of your best works can help you achieve this. The type of work you list will vary depending on your skillset.

If you are a writer, you can include links to some of your published works or a snippet of your blog post. As a graphic designer, you may want to include images of some of the designs you’ve created. Remember, if this was paid work, you may need to ask for permission from your client before listing it on your profile.

Listing Your Freelance Work In The Experience Section

The experience section of your LinkedIn profile is one of the most important sections in it. It’s where you list all freelance work, volunteer positions, and internships; basically anything that has given you experience or skills to offer potential employers.

Attach Work Samples.

This is one of the features that people rarely use. That means, if you incorporate it, your profile gets to stand out from the crowd.

When you list your experiences you can attach media, links, or PDFs to each experience. This could be a work sample that is related to the specific experience listed or a lead magnet.

Got some case studies that you’ve worked on in the past? This is the best place to showcase them.

Create A Company Profile

We all know that freelance work sometimes results in short-term engagements. While this is great as it offers one different experience, some clients may frown on the idea of having to go through hundreds of your listed experiences.

A great way to tackle this issue is by creating a company profile. Yes, your freelance business deserves to be treated with some seriousness. Give it a name and create a profile. You can use your company profile to interact with other businesses. If you are in the writing niche, for example, you can write under your company profile. This will not only help you get the word out there but also put you in front of potential clients who are seeking your services.

Ask For Recommendations

The recommendation feature on LinkedIn allows you to get recommendations from clients you’ve worked with in the past. Your colleagues either present or past can also recommend your skills.

Ask for recommendations by using the “Request Recommendation” button on a profile or in an email, or just ask someone directly when they have given feedback on one of your projects.

How To List Freelance Work Using Content

LinkedIn has gone through numerous transformations over the years. What started off as a place to list your resume, is now competing with other social media platforms. You can write, share, comment on other people’s content.

How do you use content to market your freelance work?

LinkedIn has an option to share long-form content. Use this to share about your freelance work.

Being consistent in what you post helps you to build a following and show that you are an expert in your field.

Some people recommend writing a blog post about freelance work if you want to share it on LinkedIn, but we feel like this should be written specifically for the platform’s audience which is mainly professionals looking for other professionals.

The following structure can help:

Start with a brief introduction. Something that will help you grab people’s attention

List freelance work that you do and what clients have hired you in the past. This helps them discover your skill set faster than they would if they just clicked on each freelance job from an external site.

Finish by telling your potential clients why you are the right choice.

Another great piece of content you can focus on is your industry news. If you are knowledgeable about a certain topic, consider sharing your tips with your audience. Doing this consistently will help you build a brand around the topic and win you some clients.

Scoring Clients on LinkedIn

Winning clients on LinkedIn is not easy but it’s doable. Being the main professional social media platform, the competition is tough. Make sure you have a well-rounded profile and good freelance work to list.

No one wants an incomplete profile. Make sure it has all the essentials like your unique skills, education, background information, etc. You want people to know who you are before they hire you for freelance work!