Why is the beginning of your headline - that text under your title - important?
Logically: this is the first and only thing, apart from your name and your post, that people see about you when they scroll through the homepage of LinkedIn. To be a little more specific: LinkedIn visitors usually only see the first three to seven words of your headline. This depends on the length of the words and the size of the screen (mobile phone, tablet, laptop, etc.). It is important because it determines whether someone is triggered or not, clicks through or not, pauses while scrolling or not… The beginning of most entrepreneurs' headline is either a dry title like 'freelance graphic designer' or something that (almost ) no one understands. Think of a headline that starts with 'appointment setter' or 'connector'. In the first case, you don't have anyone with you because the beginning of your headline sounds uninspired and boring. In the second case you create confusion, because people have no idea what it is about.
What is best to write here?
A few tips:
• Be original. For example, use a non-standard smiley through or before the first words, use powerful words such as 'boost', 'claim', 'banging', 'wow'... This is how you make sure you stand out. But be careful, use words that suit you, otherwise you will attract the wrong audience. • Be clear and explain what you do in the first words. That could be a title or a slogan. A good example is something like 'I will help you, an ambitious coach, with a queue of clients'.
• Include key words. These are words that have a large search volume on LinkedIn. Suppose you help coaches find more clients, as in the example above, then you can use words such as 'clients', 'company', 'business' or 'coach'.
Who do you prefer to work for? And no, these are not necessarily the people you usually help. These are the customers you want to attract.
A target group description does not always overlap with your existing customers. Contrary to what many novice freelancers think, this means more clients, not fewer. Because if someone recognizes themselves in this description, then there is a greater chance that this person will contact you, and not your competitor with no or a completely different ideal customer. This is a well-known marketing principle. Who are they and how do you describe your target group, you may be wondering? You can discover this in different ways. You can conduct market research, find out what characteristics all the customers you have enjoyed working with in the past have in common and take your turnover goals into account. To do this exercise properly and market yourself as a freelancer, it is best to hire a business coach. They can guide you step by step in this process. If you have a clear picture of your target group, make sure it is mentioned on your profile on LinkedIn. For example, include this description in your headline, banner and about section. It is good to name your target group at least twice. Because know that not everyone will read all the content on your profile. That is why it is good to mention your target group in different places.
If someone cannot immediately click through to your website, or does not see a telephone number or email address, it is logical that this person will not contact you. This may sound very obvious, but many freelancers still make mistakes here.
Be sure to add your contact details, such as your website, email address and telephone number, under 'contact info' at the very top. This way, someone who only views the top part of your profile can immediately click through and contact you.
You can also include this information in your about section and in a post, article or link that you pin in your featured section. If you have a booking tool for introductory meetings, be sure to add this as well, for example in your about section and/or in your featured section.
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