Figuring out how best to market your services is one of the biggest challenges of being a freelance digital copywriter.
Obviously, you need clients to have a business.
And to get clients, you have to find prospects, tell them about your services in a way that makes it clear they could benefit, and then land a project with them.
There are lots of ways to go about doing this. One of the keys to success is finding effective marketing methods you actually enjoy doing, so you’ll do them consistently.
A lot of writers find their marketing home on LinkedIn.
LinkedIn makes it easy to show up every day, build a network of people who might be good candidates for your services, and then cultivate relationships that could turn into projects.
For LinkedIn to be at its best for you, you need a network that is both deep and wide.
So, what do I mean by that?
Growing Your Network in 2 Directions
The term “deep and wide” is often used to describe learning.
Deep learning refers to learning a single subject really well, often using different approaches to learn the same subject. So, you might read a book about a subject, watch a documentary about it, and then interview an expert. In the process, you get to know the topic a little better with each dive into it.
Wide learning refers to learning a variety of subjects, often at a very surface level.
Both types of learning have advantages. Obviously, deep learning conveys more expertise in an area. But wide learning can convey greater perspective, putting you in the position to be more innovative, because you can apply things you’ve learned in other fields.
So, how does this apply to your network?
A deep network is made up of people who you are getting to know better and better through repeated interactions. Often a deep network is made up of people in a similar job role or in a similar industry.
A wide network is made up of people from a variety of industries and areas of expertise. It’s likely to be much larger than a deep network, but your name recognition among your wide network will be lower than it is with your deep network.
On LinkedIn, building a network that is both deep and wide will give you many advantages.
Your deep network will help you:
- Learn new things that are directly relevant to your industry
- Land more projects
- Strengthen your authority
Your wide network will help you:
- Generate new ideas
- Get more referrals
- Extend your reach and build your audience
You can see how both types of networks can lead to more (and more interesting) opportunities for you as a writer.
Now, let’s look at some ways to deepen and widen your LinkedIn network.
4 Ways to Build a Deep Network on LinkedIn
Deepening your network is all about making connections with people who might be able to hire you, and then putting in the work to get to know those people and their needs better.
As you deepen your network, keep in mind this is about building relationships and being generous. Yes, it is okay to talk about your services and pitch projects to people in your network. But, if that’s all you’re doing, you won’t benefit as much… and neither will the people in your network.
1. Connect and Follow People in Key Roles
To build your deep network, you want to make more connections with people that would be likely to hire you. Look for marketing managers, marketing directors, and content managers. That kind of thing.
Start by thinking about who you want to work with. What types of companies are you hoping to get hired by? What industry do you want to work in?
Once you have an idea of the companies that fit your “ideal” client description, you can start connecting with people at that company. LinkedIn allows you to search for a company, and then from that company’s page, to view the people who work there. You can also narrow your search by role. Look for people who have a second-level connection with you already, and then either follow them or send them a connection request.
2. Strategic Commenting
Once you are connected to and following a fair number of people in key roles, start watching for them to post. And then add a comment. But don’t just say, “Great post!” Say something meaningful.
Share your own take on what they’re talking about. Expand on one of their key points. Ask a question. If they’ve created a list, think about what you would add to it.
Take some time to write your comment. And then watch to see if they respond. If they do, and you’re not yet connected to them, send them a connection request.
3. Regular Messages
Whether you use a spreadsheet, a Word document, a Trello board, or some other means of organization, make a list of the people in your network who are in key roles, especially at businesses you’d like to work with.
Get in the habit of sending these folks direct messages (or even emails). Aim to build up a little rapport first, so that when you do send a pitch about your services, it’s sure to get read. Some things you can say in a direct message that can help with that include:
- Mentioning a recent post they made to LinkedIn and sharing why you found it helpful.
- Talking about something you saw on their website that you enjoyed.
- Asking them a question about their industry.
- Sharing a link to a resource you think they might find interesting.
- Asking if they’re attending an upcoming industry event.
- Asking what they think about a recent news story or trend that affects their industry.
- Sharing a link to a resource you’ve created.
- Asking about who they’re following that you should follow, too.
If you reach out to each person in your deep network once a month, you’ll become familiar to them. They’ll start to feel like they know you. When you send pitches, they’ll read them. And when they have writing opportunities and projects, there’s a good chance they’ll think of you.
4. Coffee Dates
One final way to deepen your network, is to take things off LinkedIn into a Zoom chat (or any sort of live video chat). You can make these meetings informal. They don’t have to be structured like a discovery call. It’s more a chance to get to know each other even better and to see what ways you might help each other.
You probably won’t do this with everyone in your network, but whenever you feel like you’re having a good conversation online, consider inviting that person to get together for a chat.
3 Ways to Widen Your Network
When using LinkedIn as a marketing tool, you’ll spend most of your time and effort building relationships with people who have the potential to hire you. But it’s also beneficial to link up with people outside of your typical connections.
These kinds of connections can put you in touch with unexpected opportunities and can also give you unexpected insights into your craft.
1. Connect With Other Freelancers
Connecting with other freelancers — writers, graphic designers, strategists, marketers, web developers, photographers, and videographers, to name a few — is advantageous for many reasons.
These folks go through the same challenges you do in building their freelance business and are more likely to have helpful advice when you find yourself stuck.
Having a network like this also means, when a client asks you if you can recommend a web designer or someone to handle their video production, you’ll have a name to give them.
And there may be plenty of occasions when these people need to bring a writer onto a project, which can lead to more projects for you.
2. Become a Creator
LinkedIn has a mode called Creator Mode. When you switch on the Creator Mode, you get access to tools that can help you grow your followers.
If you get into the habit of posting regularly on LinkedIn, Creator Mode can help extend your reach. This means more people will see what you post, and you’ll gain more followers. Your followers are more likely to see your posts. And many of them will send you a connection request at some point.
Through this mechanism, you can develop unexpected connections and you also grow your authority and overall recognition in your industry.
3. Follow Rabbit Trails
Take some time now and again to follow LinkedIn rabbit trails. If you follow someone who makes a post that really resonates with you and that you suspect also resonates with your target audience, see who’s commenting. Click on a commenter’s name to visit their profile, and then follow them. See what they’ve posted recently and add comments to their posts.
Also click to see who’s reacting to the post and to your comments. Do the same thing. Visit their profile. See what they’re about. See what they’ve posted recently and make comments.
You can make connections with a lot of interesting people this way who you might not otherwise have encountered and that, again, can lead to unexpected opportunities.
2 Powerful Ways to Attract More Opportunities
By taking the time to get to know your LinkedIn connections better — especially those people in key roles — you’ll have more opportunities to talk about your services with people who need them and who know a little about you. That’s an excellent way to land more projects.
And by taking the time to add people to your network from a diverse cross section of industries, backgrounds, and experiences, you’ll sometimes find opportunities and ideas you didn’t even know you were looking for but that deliver big benefits to your business.
