Freelancing LinkedIn Strategy for Writers

Context and full disclosure: I’m currently obsessed with watching YouTube videos by recruiters. I can’t get enough of their snark about the current job market and the company cringe posted on LinkedIn. Between fake job offers, tearjerker humblebrags, and “inspirational” posts that are low-key toxic, these videos validate the choice to freelance (with a dash of WTF are people thinking). I hear a lot of people saying LinkedIn is becoming Facebook circa 2015, but that doesn’t mean you should abandon it.

Some of my largest contracts, and favorite clients, have come to me through LinkedIn. And I don’t post. I don’t engage. I don’t have it on my phone. And I never open it except to update projects or make SEO tweaks. How? Here’s a freelancer LinkedIn strategy that avoids the cringe and helps you surface in client searches.

Why Does LinkedIn Matter?

Because it’s the most powerful search engine for recruiters and hiring managers. Period.

Back when I was a 9-to-5 editorial person, I was also a hiring manager. Whether we were using a recruiter or screening candidates ourselves, LinkedIn was the go-to place to find and vet candidates. It still is. It’s the first place people look when they need to fill a position. Even if you apply directly, you can bet the hiring team is going straight to LinkedIn to see if you have a profile.

My Freelancer LinkedIn Strategy

My first clients came through professional connections, but my most lucrative clients found me on LinkedIn. Not because I posted inspirational quotes or wrote thought-leader articles. It was because I’d taken the time to optimize my profile.

Full disclaimer here! I know plenty of freelancers who get a ton of new work by posting regularly, adding thoughtful (and useful) posts to their timelines, and sharing portfolio pieces on the regular. That absolutely works, too. There are a ton of freelancing courses and professionals who swear by the power of social media posting. One hundred percent, I have seen that drive engagement.

But I’m not a social media person. I can’t stand it, actually. I don’t post anywhere. If I need to post for work, I use schedulers like Later or Canva’s social scheduler. I avoid logging into socials like the plague. So my freelancer strategy is for people who don’t want to post. There’s room for us, too!

How an Optimized Profile Helps You

Here’s what a lot of people don’t realize:

• Recruiters use a backend tool called LinkedIn Recruiter to find candidates. It’s not about who posted recently or got a lot of likes. It’s about which profiles surface first.
• They search by keywords, titles, location, and years of experience.
• Your headline, about section, and experience bullets are searchable. They just need to line up with what a potential client is looking for.
• A clean, keyword-rich profile matters way more than a viral post.

If your profile shows up when someone searches “freelance B2B copywriter” or “technical content strategist”—you win. With no engagement required.

But, wait. Why would recruiters be looking for freelance writers? Don’t they just place people in full-time jobs?

You would think so, right? But no.

In my experience, a lot of companies are moving toward contractors for their communications roles. It might be a three-month contract. It might be a six-month contract-to-hire. When the economy is facing ups and downs (which is always, by the way), companies want the flexibility of temporary contract workers. So, they partner with a “talent agency” and that agency hires contractors (i.e. freelancers).

In a lot of cases, the agency takes you on as one of their W-2 employees for the length of the contract (don’t count on any benefits, though). Sometimes you can go from contract to contract with the same agency. In any case, your point of entry is likely going to come through your LinkedIn profile.

How to Optimize Your LinkedIn Profile

If you’re familiar with SEO writing, you’re already halfway there. You just need to treat LinkedIn like Google for getting gigs.

Here’s where to focus your efforts:

✅ Headline
Make it clear and client-facing. “Helping [audience] with [specific service].”

✅ About Section
Use relevant keywords. Show who you help, what you do, and what outcomes you deliver.

✅ Experience
Bullet points are easy to scan and showcase results, industries, and services—think SEO, not storytelling.

✅ “Open to work” setting
You can keep it private to recruiters, but turning this setting on helps your profile show up. (You’ll find this in your profile settings.)

✅ Optional but encouraged: Featured links
Add work samples, portfolio pieces, or testimonials for proof. If you can get some recommendations, that’s also great social proof.

If you take a look at my profile, you’ll see I didn’t follow all the steps perfectly. And you don’t need to hit 100%, either. You’re a human, not a machine!

You don’t need to sound robotic. And you don’t need to post 24-7-365 (or even once a week) if you don’t want to. But you do need to think like a search engine. Use these tips to develop your own freelancer LinkedIn strategy, and open a door to potential new clients and work.

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