So you have a LinkedIn profile. You have even added a picture and maybe a few links. And then… nothing.
You don’t update it. You don’t add to it. You don’t do anything to make it appealing.
And then you complain that having a LinkedIn profile does nothing for you.
Uh, huh. Well, news flash—what you get out of something tends to be related to what you put into it, and social media is no exception. And while sometimes figuring out how to put the information in and where it needs to go can be a little tricky, it’s well worth the effort.
Robin Warshaw
I know. After I asked (okay, begged) author/writer/editor Robin Warshaw, who wrote today’s guest post, for advice on how to improve my profile, I spent a lot of hours (and returned to the “well of info” that is Robin numerous times!) editing, fixing and adding.
The outcome? A better LI profile—at least in my opinion! (Check it out and tell me what you think!) So I asked Robin to share some tips and she graciously agreed. (Want to know more about Robin? Check out her site, her LinkedIn profile, her Contently page and follow her on Twitter @robinwarshaw.)
Now on to her great tips!
Writers: Get Tough With Your LinkedIn Profile
by Robin Warshaw
Professional writers often have trouble shaping their background into the straitjacket format of the LinkedIn profile. Here’s a tip: be subversive. Don’t do exactly what LinkedIn asks for. The profile editing structure is designed to describe standard corporate employment.If you work for yourself most of the time, the format won’t fit well. But you can manipulate it and no one from the LinkedIn police will arrive at your door.
Photo – Use one. No exceptions.
Title (under Your Name) – Think about what audience(s) you want to reach. LinkedIn is a business tool, so focus on using a title that portrays you best to editors and clients. If your business is writing fiction only, that’s fine, but if it’s a sideline or hobby, consider leaving “Fiction Author” out of your title. (You can list it in the Experience section further down.)
Likewise, listing “Independent Writer” as your title, while nicely understated, is too subtle for this purpose.
Please don’t groan, but think about keywords. Your title provides the strongest keyword matches for people looking for writers. It is your billboard, with only 120 characters to sell yourself. There are pluses to shorter and longer titles. I do several types of writing and have subject specialties so I use about 110 characters to describe myself in my title. That doesn’t include editing, which I also do, but mention lower. Longer is not necessarily better: “Science Writer” could be fine, but it limits you to only those keywords.
Some people go cute or edgy with their titles and probably charm their friends but such approaches probably won’t be seen by anyone searching for a writer.
Current / Previous – Any work listed in the Experience section will appear in these sub-heads at the top. If your end date is “Present,” the item’s Company Name will appear under Current. Otherwise, it’s listed as Previous.
NOTE: this is where being subversive helps you control your own profile. I listed “Writing – Nonfiction book” as the Company Name in an Experience entry about a book I wrote that appeared under Current. I didn’t use what I had previously listed as my Company Name because it would have duplicated info. You can use book titles or other options. You decide – it’s your profile.
Summary – Shorten and focus! Writers tend to go long in this section or get very “voicey.” People will only take a few seconds to read your profile, so you want it to convey key elements about your work. Nancy kept some of the writerly feel to her summary as she shortened it.
Keep info out of the Summary that you will use in Experience items, such as publication titles or client names. Instead, describe the type of publications or clients. If you feel strongly about including one or two killer credits in the Summary, have at it, but stop yourself from cramming in more.
Experience – Manipulate this section to serve your purposes, not LinkedIn’s. Realize that although in the editing format it asks Company Name first and then Title, the info appears in your profile as Title first and then Company Name.
Put publication/client names high in the description. If you do vastly different types of writing (Technical Writing and Screenplays, say), consider creating two separate Experience entries even though you may write both types under your Company Name (yourself). Vary that Company Name (Anna Bell, Technical Writer; Anna Bell, Screenwriter) for each.
Put your primary work as the first Experience entry and follow with all other current work. Ask editors or clients for recommendations – these appear under Experience entries. Add previous (former) Experience at end.
Other tips: Check links to clips and make sure they work. Read your profile every few months; re-edit and shorten. Follow who is looking at your profile (details in right-hand column). Use that information to refine what you’ve written.
What steps have you taken to improve your LinkedIn profile? How do you know they’ve worked?