LinkedIn is A Writer's Secret Weapon
How Writer’s can use LinkedIn
Are you an author struggling to market your work in the digital age? Look no further than LinkedIn, the often-overlooked social media platform that can be a game-changer for writers.
In this post, we'll explore how to leverage LinkedIn to build your author brand, connect with potential readers, and attract industry professionals. We'll delve into practical tips, real-world examples, and expert advice to help you maximize your presence on this powerful platform.
Whether you're a seasoned author or just starting out, LinkedIn offers a unique opportunity to:
Network with industry professionals: Connect with editors, agents, and fellow writers.
Showcase your expertise: Share your writing samples, articles, and book reviews.
Build a loyal following: Engage with your audience through thoughtful comments and shares.
Promote your books: Share book launches, reviews, and exclusive content.
Let's dive in and unlock the potential of LinkedIn for writers!
Why Authors Should Create a LinkedIn Profile
The primary reason you should create a LinkedIn profile is to increase your visibility and establish your authority as an expert, which can help them to achieve their overall career objectives. This will help generate leads, landing a book deal, or finding a new job. Some authors who are not traditionally published often use their books to make money in other ways. Creating a LinkedIn profile helps authors make the most of their author status and provides a platform for achieving these larger career goals.
LinkedIn is particularly useful for authors because it is designed for professionals. Building an author profile on LinkedIn is a great way for you to highlight your skills and interests. As well reach your target audience, and increase your credibility. Some suggest that LinkedIn does a better job of raising an author's profile than an author's website because it doesn't cost money, require marketing, and doesn't take as much time to create.
Do you want to be published?
Author branding is an important first step in promoting your books.
Understand LinkedIn's Potential for Writers
Beyond Professional Networking:
While LinkedIn is often associated with corporate professionals, it's a valuable platform for creative individuals as well. Writers can leverage this platform to connect with potential readers, industry experts, and fellow authors.
Building a Strong Author Brand:
Creating a Compelling Profile: A strong LinkedIn profile is the foundation of your online presence. Use a high-quality professional headshot and write a concise, engaging bio that highlights your unique selling points as a writer.
Leveraging the "About" Section: Utilize this space to showcase your expertise, share writing samples, and highlight your accomplishments.
Optimizing Your Headline and Job Title: Use keywords that potential readers and clients might search for, such as "author," "writer," "freelance writer," or specific genres you specialize in.
Engaging with the Community:
Joining Relevant Groups: Participate in groups related to writing, publishing, and specific genres to connect with like-minded individuals.
Sharing Valuable Content: Share your writing samples, blog posts, and articles on LinkedIn to demonstrate your expertise.
Participating in Discussions: Actively engage in discussions, comment on other people's posts, and offer helpful insights.
From LinkedIn
3. Create a Great LinkedIn Banner
Once you’ve created your LinkedIn profile, you need to create a great banner for your profile.
This is the best way to get people interested in finding out more about you.
Make sure that the image that you use is good quality and looks professional. You can also change it every few months if it doesn’t look professional enough or if it gets too old-looking.
Pick a design that’s simple and easy on the eyes. It should be memorable without being distracting or overwhelming. You don’t want your readers to click off because they feel like they can’t take in everything at once.
You can make this even more effective by adding some keywords that people might be searching for when they find you on LinkedIn.
For example, if you’re the author of “The 5-Minute Morning Ritual: How to Get More Done in Less Time Every Day,” add the word “Morning” or “Ritual” as one of your keywords.
4. Add a Professional Profile Photo
This is what your followers will see and remember first about you. Publishing a profile without a picture means you will have a lot less traffic and a lot less opportunity to
It should be a picture of you that’s professional and portrays your personality. No iPhone selfies, please
You can choose an image from your library or hire someone to take one for you. Just make sure it meets these guidelines:
Your face should be visible, but not too close to the edge of the frame Your eyes shouldn’t be closed You shouldn’t have sunglasses on. You need to look directly at the camera.
LinkedIn has strict rules about what kind of photos can be used, but it’s usually okay to use one of these:
Portrait shot with neutral background and white or light-colored shirt/blouse
5. Create a Short, Clear Tagline
A tagline is a short, catchy line of text that appears in your LinkedIn profile. It’s often used to describe your career or the books you write. LinkedIn is for authors.
You can also use it to signal what type of content you post on LinkedIn. Don’t use “Looking for Opportunities” as part of your photo or headline. Recruiters and business people want to be able to tell who you are and what you do right away.
The general rule is to make it very specific and relevant to your professional interests, but not so specific that people don’t understand it.
For example, if you're a novelist who writes science fiction and fantasy, you might use "Science Fiction and Fantasy Writer" as your tagline.
6. Write Your “About” Section
LinkedIn has a few different areas to include in your profile, but the most important one is your “About” section.
Your LinkedIn “About” section is like a mini-profile of you, and it can be used to introduce yourself and showcase some of your best work. The About section should always begin with an introduction that clearly describes who you are, what you do, and why people should care about you. You can use this space to highlight any special skills or experience relevant to LinkedIn (like how many connections you have on LinkedIn).
This is also the place where you want to communicate your career goals or achievements.
It's also a good place for links back to your website or social profiles.
7. Add Your “Featured” Items
If you have blog posts, an author website, or any type of social media content you should add it to your featured section. Thus enhances your professional presence. Talk about speaking engagements and show off yourself on other social media platforms.
8. Describe Your Role Clearly and Concisely
The “About” section is what people see first when they land on your profile. It should be a short and sweet summary of who you are, what you do, and why they should care.
You can include this in your About Me section or add it as a sub-heading to the right of your name (or both).
It should also be self-explanatory so that people don’t have to read any other part of your profile before finding out about you. Make sure it says a writer in your LinkedIn job title.
This is especially important for authors because readers often skip past their bios to get to their book info. If you want readers to know more about what you do, then make sure this information is included early on in the process.
Publishing a blog is another way to get your name out there into the ether of LinkedIn. Other members will go to the social media platform to read posts by members they follow. These posts as articles will show up in Google search results as well. So it is content that can be read by people who do not follow or connect with you on LinkedIn.
Keep your articles or blogs short and to the point for this social network. You can get into more detail than a post but again reasonable length is good. Remember blog posts that are algorithm-friendly are usually about 1500 words at most.
For more check out