Bring Me Your LinkedIn Questions!
What: I'm kicking off virtual LinkedIn Ask-Me-Anything Sessions
When: Next Tuesday, Sept. 15th, noon ET
Have a question about your LinkedIn profile? Struggling with what to post? Wondering why your content isnât getting tractionâŠor what you should be doing next to grow your personal brand?
Bring your questions, and letâs talk through them together.
Want to join me? Simply reply to this email, and Iâll add you to the meeting invite!
15 Steps to a Highly Effective LinkedIn Profile
Yes, itâs September. And no, itâs never too late to optimize your LinkedIn profile page for more effective results.
This newsletter issue is packed with the exact steps you can take to optimize your LinkedIn profile and turn it into the 24/7 online invitation you need to attract the right people and grow the right opportunities.
(And finally feel proud to share it đ)
Letâs dive inâŠ
#1. Use a profile picture that actually looks like youâŠnot some slightly off AI version of you.
Iâm seeing a lot more questionable profile photos now that AI is loud and in the wild đ€
They might look polished. But that's the point...they're too polished.
If your photo doesn't look like you, how can you expect to build trust?
Instead, invest in a session with a professional photographer who can capture what you really look like while helping you come across as warm, confident, and approachable.
And I guarantee youâll reuse those high-quality photos for years. Not just for your profile pic, but in your content, too. Itâs crazy how my âred sweaterâ profile photo has been noted by others I meet.
Your profile photo doesnât need to make you look perfect, but it needs to make you recognizable and trustworthy.
#2. Create a banner that clearly shows who you help and what you do.
Your banner is the biggest piece of visual real estate at the top of your LinkedIn profile.
Itâs not the place for a pretty landscape photoâŠor one of LinkedInâs default images.
Itâs where you can immediately communicate:
- What you do
- Who you help
- Why someone should care
- What you want them to do next
The goal is to draw the right people in while also helping those who donât need someone like you recognize that.
Clarity does some of the qualifying for you.
And remember to check how your banner looks on desktop and mobile. Your profile photo covers part of the banner, and LinkedIn can crop the design differently by device.
Keep the most important words easy to see.
#3. Verify your identity or workplace when the option is available.
See that little verification shield and checkmark that sometimes appears by someoneâs name?
Thatâs another small but important way to build trust.
LinkedIn may allow you to verify your identity or workplace, depending on what verification options are available to you or your organization.
With fake profiles, AI-generated identities, and online scams becoming more common, that verification gives visitors one more signal that you are who you say you are.
It takes only a few minutes to check whether youâre eligible, and it can help your profile feel more credible before someone even begins reading. I did this with my driverâs license a few years ago. Don't overlook it.
#4. Make sure your Contact Info is actually current.
This is one of the most overlooked parts of a LinkedIn profile.
Iâve seen so many clients with outdated information in this sectionâŠ
An old email address.
A website connected to a previous employer.
A broken link.
Or contact details they havenât looked at in years.
But when someone wants to reach you, your Contact Info is one of the first places they may click.
Review everything and make sure it includes the most current information you want people to use, including:
- Your preferred email address
- Your current company website
- Your newsletter, portfolio, booking page, or other relevant links
- Your location
- Any additional contact information you want people to have
You can add up to three website links, but honestly, I would think of the main one you want them to visit and prioritize that.
Donât make a potential client, partner, podcast host, or event organizer hunt for a way to contact youâŠor accidentally email you at an address you stopped checking three years ago.
#5. Write a headline thatâs clear, not clever, and optimized around the right keywords.
Headlines are often treated like an afterthought.
And thatâs a big mistake.
Your LinkedIn headline is important for search and AI-driven discovery. Itâs also the walking billboard that follows you almost everywhere on LinkedIn when you post, comment, send a connection request, or appear in someoneâs search results.
The first part of your headline is especially important because the full version wonât always appear.
So think carefully about:
- The work you do every day
- Who benefits from that work
- The outcome you help create
- The keywords someone might use when searching for a person like you
Then communicate the most important part as clearly and directly as possible near the beginning.
Donât lead with a vague statement that could apply to almost anyone.
If youâre a fractional CFO, leadership coach, content strategist, nonprofit executive, cybersecurity consultant, or commercial real estate advisorâŠsay it.
You donât want people trying to solve a riddle to understand what you do.
#6. If you have the Premium plan, use your custom button to drive traffic.
Yes, this requires an eligible LinkedIn Premium subscription.
But it can be an excellent way to place a clear call to action right below your headline and in other places where you appear on LinkedIn.
Depending on the options available to you, your button can invite people to:
- Visit your store
- Visit your website
- View your portfolio
- View your blog
- Book an appointment
- View your newsletter
- View your services
Choose the right button and provide the URL.
Choose the action that best aligns with your current business goal.
Do you want to grow your newsletter?
Book more introductory calls?
Show potential clients your portfolio?
Help people understand your services?
This is another opportunity to move someone from simply viewing your profile to taking a meaningful next step.
#7. Craft a relatable About section that makes it easy to understand and contact you.
The opening lines of your About section matter.
Theyâre among the first things someone will read on your profile, and portions of your profile may also appear when people search your name online.
So donât begin with three paragraphs of buildup before telling someone what you actually do.
Help readers quickly understand:
- Who you help
- What you help them accomplish
- Why youâre qualified to help
- What makes your approach different
- How they can reach you
For me, that means identifying the audiences I serve (B2B companies, nonprofits, and experienced founders) and explaining that I help turn their expertise into clear positioning, trusted content, and inbound opportunities.
Recently, I also added this near the top of my About section:
âContent Marketing Services + Brand Partnerships + Speaking: allison@allisonditmer.comâ
Why?
Because I want to make it incredibly easy for someone to contact me about those opportunities.
Your About section should feel like a conversation with the person you want to reachâŠnot a third-person biography written for an awards program.
Show your expertise, but also give people a sense of who you are, what you care about, and why you do this work.
And please end with a clear next step of how to further stay in touch with you.
Mine: "If your expertise isnât translating online the way it should, feel free to reach out and DM me today."
#8. Choose the top skills you want to be known for.
LinkedIn allows you to select and prioritize the skills associated with your work.
Choose terms that reflect both what people may be searching for and what you genuinely want to be known for.
My top skills include:
- Content Marketing
- LinkedIn Marketing
- Personal Branding
- Marketing Strategy
- Digital Strategy
Donât select skills simply because you used them in a job 10 years ago.
Prioritize the skills most relevant to the work and opportunities you want today.
Also make sure those terms appear naturally throughout the rest of your profile, including your headline, About section, Services, and Experience.
The goal isnât to stuff your profile with keywords.
Itâs to create consistency around what you do and how you want to be found.
#9. Use your Services section to expand on those skills.
The services section gives you another opportunity to clarify what you offer and support your visibility in search.
You can select up to 10 services and use up to 500 characters to explain your work in more detail.
And transparently, I just updated mine while walking through this exact exercise.
Hereâs my example:
âIâm a content strategist who pairs big-picture thinking with hands-on execution. I take content from concept and planning through writing, editing, visual creation, publishing coordination, and performance analysis. After 15 years with a Fortune 100 company, I understand ROI, data, and how content supports business growth. I stay close to both the technical and creative details to tell the right stories, reach the right audiences, and continually sharpen the strategy.â
The goal is to show what makes you different from others offering similar services.
My differentiator is that Iâm not only a strategist.
I also handle the execution.
I stay close to the creative writing, technical details, publishing process, and performance data so I can tell the right stories, reach the right audiences, and continually fine-tune the strategy for the organizations and leaders I work with.
Whatâs the distinction you want potential clients to understand about you?
Put it here.
#10. Set up your Featured section to support actual conversion.
Your Featured section shouldnât simply be a collection of your most âlikedâ posts.
Likes donât necessarily move someone closer to working with you.
Instead, use this space to create an easy pathway for someone to take the next step.
For many of the individuals I work with whose goal is to attract more clients, we often lead with one of two things:
1. âBook a Callâ
This can send people directly to a booking page where they can arrange an off-platform conversation.
2. âTake This Quizâ or download another lead magnet
This brings individuals into a CRM or email funnel so you can capture their information and continue communicating with them.
You could also feature:
- A case study
- A services page
- A newsletter signup
- A speaking reel
- A portfolio
- A client success story
The goal is to make sure your Featured section aligns with what youâre trying to achieve in your business right now.
If someone is interested in you, where do you want them to go next?
Donât leave that decision entirely up to them. And my suggestionâŠdonât do more than 2 here. One is whatâs viewable on mobile, and readers need to intuitively know to swipe left to see another callout.
#11. Show evidence of consistent posting that readers can trust.
No posting, or very little posting, can send the signal that you may not be the right person for the job.
Not necessarily because you arenât qualified.
But because you arenât giving the reader enough recent evidence to understand what you know, how you think, or what it would be like to work with you.
The good news is that you can fix this.
For many founders, CEOs, and executives, one or two thoughtful posts per week is enough to establish a consistent presence and begin building thought leadership in their industry.
Use your content to:
- Educate people about the problems you solve
- Share your perspective on whatâs happening in your industry
- Show social proof of the work youâre doing
- Highlight the people and organizations you work with
- Tell personal stories that help readers understand the person behind the expertise
You donât need to post every day.
You need to show up consistently enough that someone visiting your profile can see an active, credible body of work.
#12. Remember that a strong profile isnât only about posting. Your commenting activity matters, too.
The right content is one part of building visibility on LinkedIn.
The other part is showing that youâre participating in the community around you.
Taking the time to leave thoughtful comments on other peopleâs posts helps you:
- Get in front of new audiences
- Demonstrate your expertise
- Support people in your network
- Identify potential collaborators
- Begin conversations without forcing a sales pitch
Honestly, many of my clients (including myself) find future clients through commenting and direct engagement.
Your posts build authority.
Your comments invite conversations.
And when someone sees an insightful comment from you and clicks on your name, your optimized profile needs to be ready to continue telling the story.
Thatâs how all of these pieces work together.
#13. Use your Experience section to tell a story about the positive change youâve created.
So much of what I read in Experience sections is written in a third-person, résumé-style format.
It lists responsibilities but doesnât show what actually changed because YOU were there.
Whenever possible, speak to the results of your work:
- Cost savings
- Increased revenue
- Improved efficiency
- Audience or business growth
- New opportunities created
- Systems developed
- Problems solved
- People or communities positively affected
You can also make your Experience section more dynamic by adding relevant media and creating additional roles connected to the work youâre building.
Got a newsletter or podcast?
Consider creating a subsection for it and encourage readers to subscribe.
Have you appeared on podcasts?
Include the strongest episodes so people can click through and watch or listen to you in action.
Do you own a business?
Make sure your current role is connected to the correct LinkedIn Company Page so the logo appears and readers can easily move between your profile and your business page.
There are so many creative ways to make your Experience section pop.
It doesnât have to read like an old rĂ©sumĂ©.
It can bring to life the meaningful things youâre already doing every day. Just scroll down and check out mine for inspiration.
#14. Collect recommendationsâŠa.k.a. testimonials and social proof.
Do you have recommendations on your profile?
And are they recent?
You can actively request these from clients, former colleagues, collaborators, and others who have experienced your work firsthand.
I received one just this week! (Thank you, Kristin!)
LinkedIn makes it easy to send a request through DMs so someone can explainâin their own wordsâwhat it was like to work with you and what you helped them accomplish.
Thatâs some of the strongest content you can have in front of future clients, employers, partners, and collaborators.
When requesting a recommendation, consider giving the person a few things to think about.
You might ask them to talk about:
- The problem they had before working with you
- Why they chose you
- What the experience was like
- What changed as a result
- What they would tell someone considering working with you
And donât forget this important stepâŠ
Save every recommendation in your own document outside LinkedIn.
If something ever happens to our precious LinkedIn, youâll still have those testimonials available to reuse on your website, in proposals, within sales materials, and across other owned properties.
Donât let LinkedIn be the only place where your social proof lives.
#15. Customize your LinkedIn profile URL.
Take a look at your profile URL.
If it has something like âacwogm183040â at the end, that probably means you havenât customized it yet.
But itâs so easy to fix. It's this little area here when you're logged in...
Most people keep it simple by using their first and last name, like mine.
If your name is already taken, you could add something relevant to your work, such as:
linkedin.com/in/allisonditmer-contentmarketer
Choose something professional, simple to remember, and easy to share.
A customized URL is especially useful when youâre adding LinkedIn to your:
- Email signature
- Website
- Résumé
- Speaker bio
- Presentation
- Business card
- Proposal
- Other marketing materials
Leaving all those random characters in your URL can make your profile feel less polished than it needs to be.
Your LinkedIn profile should do more than list your experience.
It should clearly communicate who you are, what you do, who you help, and why someone should trust you.
It should help the right people find you.
It should provide evidence of your expertise.
And it should make taking the next step incredibly easy.
This doesnât mean you have to update all 15 areas at once.
Choose the three sections that need the most attention and start there.
Then keep going.
Because your LinkedIn profile isnât simply an online rĂ©sumĂ©.
Itâs a 24/7 invitation to learn more about you, trust what you know, and explore what the two of you could potentially do together.
The question isâŠ
What is your profile currently inviting people to do?
P.S. And if you need further help with this, let me know. This is exactly what we cover in my LinkedIn Transformation Packages. Book some time with me now.â
â
Talk soon,
Allison Ditmer
Find me mostly on LinkedInâ
Watch my YouTube and motivate me to make more videos:)
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Columbus, OH