5 Not-Icky Ways To Self-Promote on LinkedIn
Yes, you gotta be on LinkedIn. Yes, you gotta let yourself shine.
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Does the idea of promoting yourself and your services feel like… just, ick? Are you stuck not knowing what to say on LinkedIn? You are not alone. It is awkward and it’s hard too. It’s like you’re a lone voice yelling into a void, so why does it even matter?
I was having conversations along these lines this week when I was working with a client on a Lean Into LinkedIn coaching session. (My own self promotion moment: You can see what this entails here.) She hated self-promotion - which makes us a good fit because I don’t exactly like it either. However, we came up with five different ways she could showcase her work and her skills that don’t exactly feel like your average pushy LinkedIn promotional posts.
One of the amazing things about writers and other self-employed creative folks is that we are adaptable. We are eager to find new ways to do things. So if you’re struggling to come up with LinkedIn content and you’re trying to find ways to showcase what you can do and what you’re like, don’t think "blerg self promotion”. Think about doing one of these five things instead.
Promote the organization, project, or cause you believe in so deeply.
I often see people list the organizations they volunteer with, but they don’t describe what the organizations do or what they do as volunteers. Add in those details! Even a low-key volunteer job, like helping to stuff envelopes or answering the phone, shows people what you’re like to work with. Consider this: “For five years, I’ve volunteered my services once a month to help the team prepare campaign materials and stuff envelopes. It’s the embodiment of the old saying that many hands make light work, and I’m always amazed at just how much work we’ve done at the end of the afternoon.”
Who wouldn’t want to work with a positive, team-oriented, committed person like that?
Provide details about what role your entails.
Let’s say you worked in the past as a junior public relations staff member at a large communications firm. Everyone knows what PR work is, right? Maybe not. You might a PR firm that people hire when their life is in crisis — were you a spin doctor who helped a celebrity dig out from a disaster of their own making? Someone might also hire a PR when their shoe store is celebrating its tenth anniversary — did you help write press releases and wrangle balloons? Both PRs in these examples were doing important work, but you might only want to hire one of them if you’re celebrating a business opening.
Your soft, transferable skills are key here. Your LinkedIn connections might not need a PR person at all in their virtual Rolodex. Still, they’re always eager to know who can stay calm in a crisis when things look their worst and who can keep a million tiny details organized in their head.
It’s hard to assess whether you’re using too much insider knowledge or too many assumptions about your audience when you write your job descriptions. Ask a smart pal who is not at all in your industry to read things over and see if they get it.
Showcase who you work with and where you work.
Sometimes it is challenging to make our work look visually interesting. How many photos have I shared of my colourful pens at a coffee shop (or of Ebenezer the cat, getting into shenanigans in my office)? And I’m a travel writer! Shouldn’t I have the most colourful profile of all?
Instead of worrying about promoting yourself, promote the beautiful places where your work might take you (even accountants and actuaries leave the spreadsheets behind and have conferences in buildings with gorgeous atriums). Grab photos with colleagues and friends. Consider taking all those “boring” photos of your work and making them into a collage (Canva is a great tool). Sharing the context around the photo is a great way to promote who you are and what you do without feeling self-promote-y. Heck, you can even do it when the photos aren’t especially pretty! Consider the following:
“It’s a grey day today in downtown Ottawa but I’m psyched even if it’s cold as heck outside. I’m here for the annual ABC editors and writers conference. I’m looking forward to hearing the presentation on AI developments in our field and I’m honoured to be a panelist on Saturday afternoon’s discussion about how freelance writers can manage their cash flow.”
Look at all the wonderful things this says about you: You are a fantastic expert who is on a panel. You are keen to learn. You are cheerful and optimistic. And you said all that with zero self promotion ick.
Add positivity to social media.
Sick of doom scrolling and AI-generated slop? You definitely aren’t alone. This is why I love the now-old-fashioned trend of #ThrowbackThursday. Remember when we always used to post old photos on a Thursday? I think it’s still fun AND it’s a great way to showcase wonderful things you’ve done in the past, all while adding a dash of honest human commentary. How about “Can you believe it’s been three years since I went on this writing retreat in the Bahamas? I loved having such a gorgeous backdrop to complete my first novel (and I might have loved the mango daiquiris even more!).”
Bonus points if you tag old colleagues and take a minute to send them a short note.
Give a holiday a holler.
Here’s another old-school trend that I think still has a place in our social media content, especially when you don’t know what to say or how to promote yourself. Our world, especially our online world, is filled with pretend holidays. For instance, February 9th is National Pizza Day! Truly, every subject imaginable has its own day. March 22 is World Water Day. June 5 is World Environment Day. October 4 is World Animal Day. If you write about sustainability, I bet you can find some cool tie-ins with your own work. How about “Today is World Water Day. One of the stories I’m most proud of is the feature I did a year ago for ABC magazine on efforts to clean up my community’s river. I interviewed nine water activists and even spent a weekend with them to observe their efforts firsthand.”
You can’t tell me there’s an editor in the world who wouldn’t be impressed by that level of dedication.
You can see a calendar of these “holidays” here. Why not take a look and decide which one you’re going to celebrate (and use to celebrate your own work!) right now?
‘Til next week,
Vanessa