5 Ways to Get New Copywriting Clients on LinkedIn
Author and copywriter Robert W. Bly shares five ways for freelancers to get new copywriting clients on LinkedIn.
LinkedIn has emerged as the most useful social media platform for marketing all sorts of freelance writing and related services, including copywriting.
Here are five ways you can use LinkedIn for prospecting—to build your freelance copywriting business and get new clients.
LinkedIn Client Outreach.
“Client outreach” means that you find and reach out to potential new clients online, rather than them coming to you. The people you should reach out to can include current clients—past clients—inactive clients—prospects—people in your network—former employers—former coworkers—vendors—and people with marketing roles in companies within industries you serve.
When I find these potential clients, I click the Connect button and request a connection. LinkedIn lets me personalize my request. So I send a message telling them I have experience writing in their industry, and offer them a free information kit on my copywriting services.
LinkedIn Newsletter.
I post a monthly newsletter about copywriting on LinkedIn. That is in addition to my regular subscribers-only online newsletter The Direct Response Letter, which you can sign up for at no cost at www.bly.com/reports
The benefit of doing a LinkedIn newsletter is twofold. First, it expands my presence on LinkedIn and reaches prospects who may be on LinkedIn but are not on my own list. Second, the content helps establish me as an expert in my subject, which is copywriting, within the LinkedIn community.
LinkedIn Posts.
Between monthly issues, you can make as many additional posts as you want. The more, the better.
The newsletter focuses on useful how-to content, which is based on whatever experience and expertise I have acquired in my 4+ decades as a copywriter. I use the posts to share and curate other content that I stumble upon—and deem as timely, useful, and valuable—even if the ideas are not my own.
LinkedIn Posts Responses.
Start conversations with the people who comment on your LinkedIn newsletters and posts. Many of these result in short exchanges build engagement. But some move the person through your funnel from stranger to friend to prospect to client.
LinkedIn Groups.
Join and participate in LinkedIn Groups where your potential clients hang out. There are groups specifically on copywriting and marketing; here are a few to get you started: https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/linkedin-group-marketers-list
One more thing…
These five LinkedIn prospecting methods work best when used in tandem. Don’t just pick one or two. Do them all. And do them often.
Of course, don’t overdo it to the point where you are spending all your time on LinkedIn prospecting. Keep track of your ROTI—return on time invested. Follow the 25-50-25 rule of freelancing:
- Spend at least 50% of your time on paid client copywriting assignments.
- Spend no more than 25% on marketing and promoting your freelance copywriting business on LinkedIn and elsewhere.
- Spend about 25% on “administrivia” which includes both self-education (e.g., taking courses) and running your business (e.g., bookkeeping, paperwork).
