Can You Land Good Freelance Gigs on LinkedIn?

Does a job search on LinkedIn for freelancers work? There isn’t a single answer to the question and it all depends on a chosen field and career preferences.

As a freelance professional, you’re probably employing multiple channels to look for gigs. Some of them are well-known – freelance platforms, your own website. Social media can also be helpful, especially the ones created for the purpose of professional interactions.

If you do some research, you’ll come across numerous community posts that share the experience freelancers have had with the LinkedIn gig search. Some found the approach very effective while others failed at it miserably.

LinkedIn does provide great professional opportunities if you know where to look and how to approach each pitch. Here’s everything you need to know about LinkedIn freelance opportunities and the best ways to increase your chances of getting hired.

LinkedIn for Freelancers: Does It Really Work?

The short answer to the question is yes.

Many companies post ads that prioritize the selection of freelance or remote professionals for one position or another.

The problem with these postings is the intense competition you’ll face if you choose to apply. Popular gigs in creative fields often have 500+ applicants, all competing for a single spot. Chances are that you’ll never hear back from the vast majority of recruiters looking for freelance professionals on LinkedIn.

If you are a niche specialist who has a well-established profile and a proven track record of success, you increase the odds of getting some communication after applying. That’s why choosing the right gigs to pitch to is essential. Otherwise, you’ll end up wasting too much time without getting meaningful results.

Apart from looking for actual jobs on LinkedIn, you can employ the social network in additional ways to land new projects. We’ll check out some of these strategic approaches in the following sections of the guide.

Build Your Profile First

Finding opportunities on LinkedIn for freelancers is heavily dependent on the quality of the profile that you put together.

You need a very specific niche and precise presentation to get others interested in the work you’re capable of doing.

Take a look at your current LinkedIn profile or start building one from scratch if you don’t have a page yet.

A few of the elements that a good profile has to feature include:

• A professional, high-quality headshot
• The right headline – let people know who you are and what you can do
• A tailored About section that shares your career goals and your biggest strengths
• Properly filled out work history, skills, and references sections
• A few project examples or a portfolio: LinkedIn can be great for showcasing some of your best work
• Additional interests that paint a more comprehensive picture of you as a professional

Take some time to be original, witty, and very strategic with the information you share. Generic, bland pieces of text aren’t going to cut it if you want to stand out and make a great impression.

Use Job Filters and Look for Gigs

In the past, LinkedIn was mainly tailored to the needs of people seeking full-time or part-time employment. The Covid-19 pandemic has changed all that. Ever since 2021, freelance work has been gaining popularity. More people have decided to embrace that career path, which contributed to LinkedIn’s evolution.

You can set filters for job ads that are available for freelancers.

Some of these jobs are available globally. Some seek freelancers from certain countries (there may be a requirement for the professional to visit the company’s office every once in a while).

Having the right filters will give you daily updates on the new professional opportunities that become available through the social network. The sooner you get information on such gigs, the easier you’ll find it to apply before the competition has gotten intense.

Warning: Be on the lookout for scams! While LinkedIn is a reputable social network, some of the job offerings are actual scams. You should never trust ads that have you paying a fee to access premium opportunities. Jobs that ask for too many personal details, especially ones that have very little to do with the job, should also raise a red flag.

Start Producing Content on LinkedIn

Produce valuable content that relates to niche topics in your industry and you’ll get noticed on LinkedIn.

LinkedIn allows you to share interesting links and you also have the opportunity to write publications that get shared with members of the entire network.

Clients can easily get in touch with freelancers this way.

Content creation on LinkedIn establishes your authority. Additionally, such texts can reach people who have a specific interest in the industry. These people are qualified leads that will be easier to convert than a general audience.

Creating one publication per week is enough to keep the momentum going. Multimedia publications and interactive content pieces will also be very efficient. They will stand out and generate a lot of interest, especially if you choose an original approach to the presentation of the topic.

LinkedIn for Freelancers Pro Tips: Start Networking and Reaching Out Strategically

If cold pitching isn’t your thing, you should definitely consider an outreach campaign on LinkedIn.

Using cold emails isn’t always the best approach. Depending on the message and the audience you choose, the open rate could remain very low.

LinkedIn messages will reach people who already have a particular interest in your field. You can look for community managers and decision-makers within the industry of preference. These are the people who choose B2B partners and outsource some of the work.

Approach these professionals in the correct way.

Don’t start out with an overly-promotional sales pitch the first time you send a message.

Use that opportunity to introduce yourself briefly. Let them know you’re interested in new industry opportunities and a mutually-beneficial partnership. That’s all you need to do. Anyone who’s interested will get back to you and eventually offer a freelance gig.

Continue growing your network. Reaching out, while publishing quality content, will help you make an impression and establish a professional brand. Even if people aren’t looking for services right now, they’ll remember you when they start looking for a professional partnership.

Does LinkedIn Premium Make Sense for Freelancers?

One more option you may want to consider as a part of your LinkedIn freelancer presence is a premium account.

Premium accounts are the LinkedIn paid service.

The views on premium accounts are opposing. Some freelancers believe they are beneficial. Others don’t really get a good return on investment.

Luckily, a free trial is available. You can test LinkedIn premium for a couple of days to find out whether you’re getting a good return on investment.

Some of the features that are only available in a premium account include advanced messaging, direct messaging, analytical reports about your performance, and learning tools. You will also get access to your Social Selling Index. That’s a proprietary measure of your “popularity” on LinkedIn. A higher score means your content will be seen by more people and your outreach efforts will be more effective.

The Bottom Line

LinkedIn for freelancers can be very beneficial if you don’t get too caught up in activities that have little effect on your outreach efforts.

In the past, for example, LinkedIn groups used to provide amazing networking opportunities that were 100 percent interest-based. Today, groups are mostly filled with spam and people’s desperate attempts to do self-promotion for free.

You will need to move beyond the obvious to make LinkedIn work. Build the perfect profile and create a portfolio. Publish useful content. Interact with professionals in your field of interest. Apply for some of the niche jobs that are perfectly matched to your skill set.

Making LinkedIn a regular part of your marketing can deliver some results in the long run. It, however, shouldn’t be the only channel you’re counting on. A multi-channel approach is the only one that can guarantee business consistency, especially in the turbulent times that we live in.

The number of freelancers competing to land gigs is growing all the time. In order to beat the competition, you will need to work smarter and not harder as far as outreach and online presence establishment are both concerned.