Using LinkedIn as a new business channel
New business is hard. Most designers hate cold calling — picking up the phone to call a client fills them with dread.
Funny thing is clients don’t like it either. Research shows clients like to source creatives they can build a relationship with and trust. Problem is building trust can be hard in an online world.
LinkedIn is the perfect platform to build a relationship, and it's perfect for designers because it's based on story telling: visuals and words. It's what we know and do well.
Target the work and the clients you want
This ebook is specifically tailored to designers wanting to get new business.
Research shows that LinkedIn is the social media platform of choice for professionals. It’s where you can identify prospective clients perfect to your studio and your new business strategy.
LinkedIn is one way to build a relationship online by starting conversations with targeted clients.
The problem with referrals
Building a business on referrals is a great start but it lacks control. You don’t get to choose the type of clients you want to work with, they choose you. And often the clients who have been referred know what they want you to do and how much they want to pay, because that’s been part of the referral process.
Much better to take control and target the type of client and the type of projects that interest you and suit your skills. That’s where LinkedIn helps.
“People laugh at me when I say that LinkedIn is my favourite social media tool, but Design Business Council’s LinkedIn for Designers identifies why. Not just about networking, this savvy and valuable guide for designers (or anyone!) shows how to optimise LinkedIn to match your new business strategy.”
“Full of thoughtful tips, easy steps to follow and clear examples to boot, this guide is perfect for anyone looking to strategically secure new work.”
Libby Tiding (de Souza) Senior Producer, Portable.”
A step by step guide
This is a step by step guide to building a LinkedIn profile and using it to target the type of work and the type of clients best suited to your skills and your studio.
We explain how you can start using LinkedIn doing just the minimum (good), a little more (better) or you using it proactively as an integral part of your new business strategy (best).
Showing not telling
We know our LinkedIn strategy works. We share a LinkedIn strategy used by many creatives to get new business. It’s an approach that, without fail, always works to help identify prospective clients and find the right information to tailor a bespoke approach.
Think LinkedIn won’t work for you because you can’t write? Think again … this ebook includes published case studies showing how designers have used the platform to get new clients without writing long articles. We explain what’s worked and why.
“Designers aren’t great at new business.
We spend years working on our craft hoping that’ll be good enough to draw the attention of prospective clients one day.
But guess what? Clients don’t care.
What they care about are designers that are like-minded, and the most effective place to find those clients is on LinkedIn.
“I knew this book would give me the guidance on how to engage with clients for potential new business. But what I didn’t know was the knock on effect until I tried it. Share a thought piece on LinkedIn and connect with Founders and CEOs. If they like and comment, it tears through their network like wild fire and you get to connect with their connections. It doubles your chances of working with like-minded people.”
Tyson Sheean, Founder, Creative Director Tyson Sheean Creative
Build a new business strategy
Successful, sustainable businesses need a robust but flexible new business strategy. LinkedIn fits that bill perfectly.
LinkedIn for designers is a 52 page ebook jammed with information like:
- why designers should ‘do’ new business development
- why use LI to get new business
- what constitutes a good profile
- practical tips on how to use LI as a new business tool
- how to use LI if you don’t like writing
- a sample LI new business strategy
- case studies of Australian designers using LI.
You can purchase the ebook here.