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Most profiles on LinkedIn are still written like online CVs. Some are better and are more client focussed, but still not good enough for LinkedIn today. LinkedIn has changed so much in the past 12 months, it’s become almost unrecognisable. Today, if you want to generate leads from LinkedIn, your profile must be a landing page. Its job is simple: Turn anonymous profile views into people who take one, high-value action with you. If you get this right, everything else you do on LinkedIn: content, DMs, comments, etc, starts performing better, because all roads lead to a page that’s actually built to convert. In this edition, I’ll walk you through:
I’ll also drop my current quiz link as an example at the end of this newsletter – but be gentle with it please, it’s an older version and I’m working on a new one with a lot more video baked in. So, here’s how to do it in 7 simple steps: Step 1: Decide the one job of your profileYour profile can’t do ten things well. If it tries to:
…most visitors will do the easiest thing of all: Nothing. When you give people too many options it makes it a more cognitively challenging process to make a decision. So decisions are avoided. This may sound far-fetched, but I promise you, this is scientifically proven. We operate on autopilot most of the time. Autopilot is not good at decision-making. But it’s great at moving quickly on to the next thing - maybe your competitor’s profile. So start with a simple rule: One profile. One primary action. Everything on your profile should nudge people towards one high-value next step that:
Right now, the two options that work brilliantly for coaches, consultants and service providers are:
Both work. When done well, of course. The quickest to implement for most people is usually a quiz, especially using something like ScoreApp, which I recommend and use myself (I’ll drop my affiliate link at the end if you want to check it out). In a future edition I’ll go deep on how to create an effective 20-minute training video: structure, tech and how to turn it into an “evergreen salesperson” on your profile. For today, we’ll focus on the profile and the quiz. Step 2: Why video is now non-negotiableWhichever lead magnet you choose – quiz or training – video needs to be part of it. Here’s why. You might have heard the 7-11-4 rule. People typically need to consume roughly:
…before they trust you enough to buy from you. Is it an exact science? No. Now, here’s the key part: Video is by far the most efficient way to rack up those 7 hours and 11 touchpoints. Our brains respond to video almost as if we’re in the same room as the person. They see your face, hear your voice, watch your expressions. To their brain, they’re not just ‘consuming content’. It feels like they’re actually spending time with you. And people only buy from people they know, like and trust. Unlike the LinkedIn algorithm, this concept never changes. So:
Copy alone can work. An image speaks a thousand words. A video speaks a thousand images. Step 3: Why quizzes are the fastest path to “landing page” statusLet’s talk about quizzes or if you prefer, assessments, because this is the fastest way to turn your profile into a proper landing page. A good quiz or assessment does three things:
Tools like ScoreApp make the tech side easy:
…all handled for you. You just bring the concept and content. (It has an AI creator that will help you develop the concept and create all the questions and categories for you) And that brings us to the most important part… Step 4: The most important bit – your theme and nameWith quizzes, the theme and name do 80% of the work. If you get these right:
If you get them wrong:
So how do you find a theme and name that people can’t resist? You don’t sit in a coffee shop trying to be clever. You go to your audience and steal their words. Step 5: Research your audience (and steal their language)Here’s a simple process you can follow this week to develop a strong quiz concept. 1. Talk to real peopleMake a list of:
Reach out and ask a few of them if they’d be up for a quick chat, you can do it three ways:
2. Ask 3 core questionsYou don’t need a long form. You need depth, not volume. Ask them:
Then stop talking. Let them answer fully. 3. Record exactly what they sayThis bit is crucial. Don’t translate it in your head into “better” marketing language. You need their exact words.
You’re looking for phrases like:
4. Look for patternsUse Word Clouds (like TagCrowd) to help you analyse the data. (And if you want a more scientific method of doing this, reach out and ask me to send you my research process and spreadsheet. 🤓) These responses become the building blocks of your quiz concept. Once you’ve got 10–50 responses, read through them with a highlighter.
You’ll usually see 2–3 themes emerge. For example (purely illustrative):
5. Turn patterns into a concept + nameNow you combine their words into something like:
Notice what these have in common:
Your ideal client should be able to read the quiz name and instantly think: Step 6: Create your profile like a landing pageOnce your primary action is chosen (quiz or training) and your concept is clear, you rebuild your profile around it. Here’s a simple checklist. HeadlineStop trying to cram your life story into 220 characters. Instead, aim for something like: “I help [who] solve [problem] to get [result] | Take the [Quiz Name] to see where you’re leaking opportunities” Clear beats clever every time. Banner imageThink of this as your hero section.
SUPER IMPORTANT: Optimise your banner for mobile view. Make the text very large. Less focus on images. And make sure your profile picture doesn’t obscure the banner on a mobile device. If someone only saw your banner, would they understand: Here’s a an example (probably my next one - watch this space 😉) About sectionThis is not your bio. It’s a sales page for your one action. Here's an example of how you can structure it:
Featured sectionIn my opinion, the only item in “Featured” should be your quiz or training page. I see a lot of people put an additional link there “just in case they decide they want to book a call”. But this just introduces options, and reduces the chances of taking action. If you really feel you have to put something else there, only put one other thing. Do not use:
Just the one thing you really want people to click. I know you ultimately want people to book a call and you may feel that some people will want to, but the argument “but what if they just want to book the call now?” doesn’t wash for me. If they want to book a call now they’ll be engaged enough to opt in to something of high value to get to the call booking page. If they’re not, they’re probably not qualified yet anyway and it would be a weak call. Links & custom buttonsIf you still have access to the custom profile link, point it directly to your quiz or training video and name it accordingly. Don’t just put the URL there. Write something compelling like: “Find out your leadership style” or “Get your LinkedIn score”. If you use Premium, make use of the custom button feature. Not only do you get to add a custom button to your intro section, but a link shows on all your posts, search results you show up in and messages you send. Unfortunately you're limited to just 7 choices for the wording. The one I use is "Visit my website". Again: one action. Step 7: How this looks in real lifeHere’s the journey you're creating.
That entire journey can happen without you ever sending a cold DM (although I always recommend reaching out to your opt-ins to start a conversation). And once it’s set up, every bit of activity you do on LinkedIn – content, comments, networking, drives more people into that same simple pathway. What to do this weekIf you want to turn your profile into a proper landing page, here’s a simple action list:
You don’t need it to be perfect. You just need the system in place so you’re not wasting the profile views you’re already getting. Follow these steps and you could easily have it up and running in a few days. You’ve now got everything you need to turn your LinkedIn profile into a simple landing page that sends visitors to one high-value quiz or training, and starts building real trust with them through video. If you’d rather shortcut the trial-and-error and build a simple, repeatable LinkedIn client acquisition system, that’s exactly what we help our clients do. If you’re a coach, consultant or service provider who’s already good at what you do, but you want LinkedIn to bring you consistent, qualified conversations, we’ll help you:
If that sounds useful, book a short call with me below and we’ll map out what this could look like for your business:
Cheers, PS Here are the links I talked about: PPS If you check out my old quiz, don’t be surprised if I reach out to you on LinkedIn (I have a process set up around that 😉) |
Join 4,000+ readers of LinkedIn Mastery for tips, strategies, and resources to use LinkedIn to grow your service, coaching or consulting business.