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If you’re a recent subscriber, welcome! I’m so happy you’re sharing your precious reading time with my content. I’ve been active on LinkedIn since at least 2006. I ramped up my posting in 2022 and finally saw follower growth that has taken me to around 15,000 followers. Even better? I get work from potential clients, former coworkers, and past clients who see what I’m posting and commenting on.

As the kids would say these days, “don’t sleep on LinkedIn.” If you want help getting started, need a profile glow-up or edit, or don’t know what to start posting, get in touch.

 Here are the less obvious ways I make LinkedIn a part of my freelance marketing plan and strategy. Use it for inspiration (you don’t have to do all of these – start small), but these are ways to find freelance work on LinkedIn beyond commenting on a post that says they’re looking for freelancers.

Join Groups

I’m in way too many Groups on LinkedIn to participate regularly, but it’s a place where you can find people posting that they’re hiring. Use it to build connections, look at the publications mention in them, see if anyone is hiring, and find people to connect with.

>Go to “My Network” and Groups. Find some to lurk in, introduce yourself, or comment on an industry trend.

Psst! If you’re a journalist, you can apply to be in the LinkedIn for Journalists program and occasionally get a free year of LinkedIn Premium.

Spend time in My network

Use the “Catch up” section to see what’s happening with your contacts. This section reminds me of contacts I’ve forgotten about in my network and shares their work anniversaries, if they changed jobs, and birthdays. Don’t just ‘like’ the notification. Use it as an excuse to DM them and say hello.

Do Company Research

This one isn’t “super secretive,” but make sure you’re researching potential companies to work with. Look at companies in your niche and their competitors by going to a company page (Citibank for example), then navigating to their Competitors section (if you have LinkedIn Premium) for other similar brands to approach.

Search Contacts for Specific Phrases

I like to look in the search field for “manages” “freelance” (or “freelancer”), then search PEOPLE to see if my first connections or second connections might be content managers who manage freelancers or manage content teams. (This isn’t always perfect; sometimes freelancers come up, but I find you can dig and get some gold here.)

Slide into DMs

You can send InMail messages to people who have their profiles to Open Profile status. (More on this in this article on Skylead.) Connecting with content managers and marketing executives in DMs has led to over $18,000 worth of freelance work in the past three years from two clients specifically.

I pay for the LinkedIn Premium plan on Apple’s iTunes store for $217.24/year. For less than $20/month, I’m able to show up on the platform, conduct the searches I need to fill my freelance marketing pipeline, and DM the people I want. Since I tend to average about half of my freelance income from contacts I met on or reconnected with on  LinkedIn, that’s $20 that is worth it to me.

Learn what to say in LinkedIn InMail messages in this guide.

Thank you for being here and reading!

Diana

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Enroll in my limited-time Black Friday Cyber Monday online course deal for Get Paid to Write. Sign up on Teachable by December 6th and you’ll get a FREE edit from me!

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Creator spotlight: Thoughtful interviews with professionals you probably already know and follow, written by Francis Zierer and team

Big Desk Energy: A newsletter from Beehiiv’s founder, Tyler Denk, which includes startup stories and relevant industry news

What I’m Reading📚 / Listening To🎧 / Writing💻 / Watching 📺

What I posted on LinkedIn: Join the conversation about holiday copywriting, seasonal puns, the good, the bad, the ugly — like this ad I saw while traveling for Thanksgiving.

What I’m listening to: Tips every freelancer needs on the Her Money podcast (applicable to a male audience, too). Good tips on business and taxes.

What I published on the blog: Top podcasts for freelancers to listen to for business advice (if you have suggestions to add to this please reply to this email with some ideas)

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Freelance / Content / Media / Editor/ Writing Jobs I Found

This roundup includes freelance writing jobs, media jobs, FT jobs, creative jobs, and content writing jobs for creatives. Good luck!

This is a sampling from a variety of websites. Check out the jobs that would be a good fit for you with this list of 50 Job Websites for Freelancers.

• Associate video editor contractor for MangoMint, FT remote up to $7,500/month

• Proofreader for Paragroup, remote, up to $34/hour

• Head of Content for OntheGo Systems, remote, FT, rate N/a

• Freelance for HOTH, 1,000 words $45 (low, I know but if you need some samples to show high-paying clients it might be worth it)

• Freelance editor for OutKick, Fox’s Multimedia Corp, part-time remote up to $37/hour

Let’s Work Together!

• Ready to get personalized feedback on your freelance business? I’m now booking December 1:1 coaching sessions; it’s a 40-minute call + an edit of a 600-word piece of your choice. If you don’t see a time that works, just hit reply or email me to find a slot that works. [Recent coaching client Mary said:  Diana's own first-person experience as both a former magazine staffer and hiring editor, as well as her experience as a freelance content creator, has so much to offer freelancers at any stage of their career.]

• Book a sponsored slot advertising in my newsletter in DECEMBER or JANUARY (Join brands like Morning Brew, Shortform, Fiverr, HUBSPOT, Get Response, Freshbooks, Found, Authory, and more)

• Hire my freelance writing company, DKL Content Services Inc., to help with SEO content writing, ghost writing, thought leadership, newsletter writing, and copywriting services. I’m a NY State and NYC MWBE-certified business.

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