How writers use LinkedIn

This article originally appeared in Writing Magazine in the June 2014 edition, the title was Real Writers use LinkedIn. And whilst LinkedIn, and my own views about it have changed significantly over the years, I believe the ideas still have some relevance for writers today.

At the end members of the Creative Hub will find a free copy of the 3rd edition of LinkedIn Made Easy to download.

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Do you use LinkedIn as a writer? If so, how do you use it? These were the questions I posed to 550 authors and writers when I started putting this article together. I was surprised when, of the 166 who replied, almost 40% admitted to using LinkedIn as a part of their writing life. This was far more than I’d expected because LinkedIn is not usually included in the ‘must have’ author marketing platform of blog/website, Facebook and Twitter. Of the remainder 40% used LinkedIn for other purposes or had a profile. It was not, as I’d assumed, the poor relation of the networking world after all.

For those of you who aren’t familiar with it, LinkedIn is often referred to as ‘Facebook for Business’. This has some truth to it inasmuch as you can build a list of connections, send updates, talk to other people in groups, and share, like or comment on other updates you read around the site. It’s at this point though that the similarity ends; they are similar only in these technical abilities. A common response from those who responded to my questions in the negative was that it was just a place to store an online CV. Once again, there is some truth in this as a LinkedIn personal profile is laid out in exactly the same way as the typical CV with a headline, contact information, summary and details of our past experience.

However, both these assumptions ignore the fact that LinkedIn is a powerful business social network, with over 227 million members in 200 different countries across numerous industries and professions. And for writers and authors who are looking to make this their career, it’s a network they must be on.

As a writer our primary marketing goal is always going to be connected to selling more books, stories or articles. This was clearly demonstrated by the respondents who used LinkedIn as, without exception, it served as an additional avenue for publicising themselves and their writing. For example, they were using the status update feature to increase traffic to their blog posts or share information about events they were involved with. Others included details of publications in their profile. A few added links back to specific blog posts in groups they were members of as a way of starting a discussion and increasing their personal influence. For instance, Vanda North (MindChi) said that she shares small excerpts from her book or blog in response to a particular need or question highlighted by other members in her groups. And it is this ability to add value to the community that is its most powerful feature.

It’s also worth remembering that the career of a writer doesn’t begin or end with selling a piece of work to an interested audience. There are many steps that need to be taken before this happy event takes place. Our online activity can meet both of these needs if we approach it in the right way, and the assumption that all we do on the social networks is marketing is, in my opinion, fundamentally flawed.

As we all know, there are many websites that cater exclusively to the needs of authors and writers. However, it is this exclusivity which can make them less effective for career progression in the long term. Perhaps the biggest advantage of LinkedIn is that as well as having many groups specifically for writers and authors, the broader network isn’t limited by geography, profession or market sector. In the replies I received to my questions some people talked about how easy LinkedIn made it to locate writing professionals such as editors, cover designers, publishers and agents; others mentioned being contacted by magazine editors themselves to submit work or by companies looking for specialists who could produce well written and researched website content. Dee Doanes (The Man With The Green Suitcase) said she had found it really useful for connecting with reviewers and bloggers, thereby bringing us right back to where we started at the marketing end of things.

Because LinkedIn creates connections at a personal level, it’s much easier to build stronger relationships than anywhere else on the social web. After all you can’t send a message to an individual that likes your Facebook page unless they send a personal message first, and a tweet is restricted to 140 characters which leaves little room for context. To connect at a deeper level with others requires the ability to have a proper conversation, even if it is conducted by email. Instead of just following or liking, which are remote actions requiring no real engagement on the part of the user, LinkedIn forces people to send a connection request. This simple process gives both parties the chance to send longer messages explaining who they are and why they think a connection would be of benefit to both. Many respondents talked about how they had been able to use this process to build relationships with, and get advice from, more experienced authors, agents and publishers.

Many people commented that strong personal relationships also exist within groups. Carol Child (Begins the Night Music: A Dementia Caregiver's Journal, Volume I) demonstrated how helpful this could be when she told me that a member of a group she belongs to had presented her book to Baroness Jill Pitkeathley, founder of Carers UK and Global Carers, who is influential in the market she writes for but would never have a chance to meet herself.

This groups feature of LinkedIn is one of its most important platforms. Imagine being able to put together a presentation that could be seen by thousands of people, every one of whom is interested in the very topic you are writing about. The sad thing is most people, authors included, use it only as a way to drop a link to their latest blog post and whilst that’s not a bad thing, it ignores the fact that hosting or taking part in an active discussion can raise profiles and visibility to others in the LinkedIn network significantly.

Of course, it’s easy to assume that the only groups a writer should join are those related to the profession of writing, but taking this approach ignores many other opportunities; after all, LinkedIn is the perfect place to do research. How often have you been stumped by a plot that refuses to budge because of a minor detail that requires specialist knowledge of a subject; and what about the non-fiction writer who needs a subject specialist to interview or statistics to illustrate a point? Finding such information can sometimes take hours online, laboriously searching Google for the right website. Wouldn’t it be easier if there were a group of specialists you could ask? A quick search by keyword on LinkedIn will turn up dozens of relevant people, companies and groups and they may even be connected to you through others you know already.

Robyn Chausse (WOW, Women on Writing) wrote to say that if she were working on an article on phobias her first point of call would be to check her own network for a mental health specialist. If that didn’t yield results she could then ask related professionals if they would recommend someone else instead.

As with all social networks, LinkedIn is focused on the individual user and their group of connections or immediate network and every user has a profile to tell the rest of the community more about who they are. As has already been mentioned a LinkedIn profile is laid out like a CV, but just because it has these sections doesn’t mean it should be confused with the job hunting world. The profile is designed in such a way that it validates everything else you do on the network. In other words, it proves you have the right to speak with authority on the topics you know about. This point is beautifully illustrated by those who said they were aware their LinkedIn profile had been used by other people to check their credentials. In fact one respondent, Penny Laurence (travel journalist), who doesn’t use LinkedIn herself admitted she found it really helpful to check profiles before attending meetings as that way she can go armed with knowledge of their experience.

The individual profile can also be expanded way beyond the summary and past experience by using additional sections to include the details of books or articles you’ve written or professional bodies you’re a member of. You can even add links to documents, presentations and video’s that prove you know your subject.

Without doubt the most important part of a LinkedIn profile is the bit at the top that includes your photograph, name and headline. The reason it’s so important is because it’s what shows up in search results, group discussions and next to status updates. Its only purpose is to encourage people to find out more about you. Too often though this important piece of marketing collateral is ignored and the default settings applied. Research consistently shows that people respond to profiles that have a good professional photograph more positively than they respond to profiles with poor or no photographs. Therefore a good head and shoulders shot of you, the author, is a must. Other users also respond more readily to headlines crafted to reflect the person rather than just a job title. The headline, which sits directly under your name, is 120 characters long and it’s worth using specific keywords where possible. As Lyn Farrell (Absence And Other Stories) says “I have a tagline rather than a job title which talks about the different kinds of writing I do”. For those of you who want to create a great profile I’ve added a useful guide you can download on my blog here: http://wp.me/p1jLP-2OP

On a final note, if you are using LinkedIn as a way of promoting yourself don’t give others a reason not to get in touch because your contact details are incomplete. Add your email address, Twitter account, website and blog addresses, phone number and business address; only your immediate connections can see them anyway so they can’t be harvested by unscrupulous users. I would also suggest that you add your email address at least to your summary, to give those you aren’t connected to the opportunity to get in touch as well. And, if you are shy about sharing your real phone number, why not use a free, non-geographic, service that simply redirects.

This overview is brief, but hopefully will give you a reason or two to consider adding LinkedIn to your marketing platform. My belief is it will help your sales, reputation and work; and perhaps, if I ask ‘Do you use LinkedIn as an author?’ in twelve months’ time, even more people will reply saying ‘Yes’.

LinkedIn Made Easy 3rd Edition

Members of The Creative Hub can download their free copy below: