Don't Leave Out LinkedIn

Though I've been 'on' LinkedIn for over 2 years, I've mostly used it as a professional profile rather than a networking tool. But last Fall I took a free class on LinkedIn and found out that the average income level there is $110,000/year, which means there are a lot of affluent business people on LinkedIn! That's when I started thinking about using LinkedIn more.

The thing is, I didn't jump into checking into LinkedIn daily until last week! Why? Because I had attitude about LinkedIn being only for managers, conservatives, and folks who frankly are not spiritually driven. Though this attitude has a grain of truth to it, with over 75 million active users, there are all kinds of professionals on LinkedIn, including the more magically oriented who are my perfect customers! It was when I shifted my attitude toward LinkedIn with the intention of paying more attention to my connections there that I received a "Sign of Land," ie a potential client called requesting a conversation about working together. I know that when I actually spend more time there, I'll be attracting even more potential clients and perfect customers!

Here are some tips on how to make the most of the time you spend on Linked In to attract your perfect customers.

1) Make Your Profile Shine! Your profile is the most important component of your LinkedIn activities. Make sure to include all your education and professional experience, all the jobs you held, the skills you have, the services you offer, links to your website, blog and other networks, as well as your interests. Upload a professional, attractive and recent photo of you that puts your best face forward.

2) Ask for Recommendations. "Recommendation" are a feature of LinkedIn that allows people to give you professional testimonials about your offerings, thus building your trust factor with the public. Make sure to connect with any clients who are on the network and request a recommendation from them. If you know anything about their work you can return the favor, even if you've never hired them. It's a great way to repay the favor.

3) Answer Questions. "Answers" is another powerful feature of LinkedIn. People ask questions on a variety of topics and you have the opportunity to answer, thus expressing your interests and expertise while directly connecting with others on the network in a helpful way. This is the key strategy I'm implementing now, going on LinkedIn to answer at least one question per day, and I'm already making some great business connections.

If we're not already connected on LinkedIn, visit my profile request a connection. It will ask you for my email, which is julia@lifeismagic. Looking forward to connecting with you there. And if you have any questions about LinkedIn, feel free to ask. I'll do my best to answer!