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As the author of a book on LinkedIn (LinkedIn Made Simple), I'm often asked questions about LinkedIn. Surprise. I get questions like:
- What should I put in my headline?
- How do you write an appealing About section?
- Should I use the Services and Featured sections?
Plus, many, many, many others. I get asked about LinkedIn so much I recently changed the Brand Messaging System™️ to include updating your LinkedIn profile and company page. After all, your LinkedIn profile is a critical part of your online presence for your personal or business brand.
You see, your LinkedIn profile is like a storefront. People judge it within seconds before deciding whether to walk in or keep scrolling. Unfortunately, most professionals treat their LinkedIn profile like a résumé.
That's a mistake.
Prospects don't care about your career history unless you are searching for a new job. Instead, they want to know one thing: Can you solve my problem?
Your profile needs to answer that question immediately, or you will lose opportunities before knowing they exist.
Recognizing the importance of your profile from a branding and messaging standpoint, today's newsletter is the first of a 3-part series on how to get LinkedIn working for you by turning your LinkedIn profile into a magnet that works for you 24/7.
So, grab your fav beverage, pull up a bar stool, and let's get into it.
Your LinkedIn Profile: Why It Matters
As I mentioned, your LinkedIn profile is less an online résumé and more like an online storefront; it's your digital first impression, trust builder, and lead generator all in one.
As prospects "walk" by your storefront, they're asking themselves, as you do, is this the right place for me? Does it have the vibe I'm looking for?
Here's Why Your LinkedIn Profile Matters More Than You Think:
It's always working.
Unlike your favorite brewery or distillery, LinkedIn is open 24/7. Prospects can and will find you at all hours of the day and night, so you must be ready. Are you?
It's your credibility check.
Before someone reaches out, they check your LinkedIn profile to see if you're too legit to quit (old-timey reference, who's my Gen Xers out there?)
It tells people if they should trust you.
Vague, outdated, or mixed messaging profiles create doubt, and doubt makes prospects walk away faster than the last call at the bar.
In short, if your LinkedIn profile doesn't make it immediately clear who you help and how, you're missing out. Now that you know the why, let's get into the how. Here are four things to focus on to gussy up your profile.
1. Your Banner Image: The Billboard for Your Brand
Your banner image is a billboard on the internet express that, unfortunately, most people ignore. Instead of leaving it blank or using a generic greyscape, use it to reinforce your brand strategically.
What a good banner:
Creates brand consistency.
Keep colors and fonts aligned with your website and other online assets.
Showcases key offerings.
If you have a course, book, newsletter, or signature service, feature it in your banner.
Highlights your core message.
Example: "Helping Coaches & Consultants Cleary Articulate Who They Are and What They Do Through Better Messaging," for example.
Action Step: Are you using the generic banner? If so, head to Canva and their templates, whip out those mediocre design skills and create and upload a branded banner image to reinforce your expertise.
2. The LinkedIn Business Card: Your Secret Weapon
Your LinkedIn business is like a real business card in a way, and it consists of three key elements:
✅ Your name
✅ Your headline
✅ Your profile picture
Your business card follows you everywhere on LinkedIn. It's like a stalker, leaving a trace of you every time you:
- React to content
- Show up in search results
- Send a connection request
- Leave a comment on someone's post
Your LinkedIn Business Card is the only thing people see before they decide whether to check out your complete profile. Here's how you can Optimize your LinkedIn business card to increase the chances someone views your profile.
Part 1: Your Name - 90% get this right
Your name is your name. Nothing more. You can include your professional designations behind your name, but that's it. There's no keyword stuffing allowed. You name. Your designations. That's it. If you have any questions about this, pout yourself another one and reread this until it sticks.
Part 2: Your Headline - The 5-Second Hook
Your headline is prime real estate. The headline needs to convey who you help and how you help them.
🚫 What most people do: Owner at XYZ Consulting (boring!)
✅ What works: Helping B2B Consultants Attract More Clients Through Clearer Messaging (Better)
There are numerous examples and templates in the LinkedIn Made Simple book, but at its core, your headline should include your CORE message, so it needs to be:
- Free of jargon
- Crystal clear about your value.
- Focused on who you help and what outcome you provide.
Action: Review and update your LinkedIn Business Card so it positions you as an expert. Answer what you want to be known for and adjust from there.
Part 3: Profile Picture - The Trust Signal
Your profile photo is the first trust signal people see. A lousy photo creates doubt, while a good one builds credibility instantly.
Don'ts:
🚫 Blurry, pixelated, or outdated images
🚫 Distracting backgrounds or sunglasses
🚫 Pictures you with animals, family, or props (and yes, I've seen people use a family as a prop)
🚫 Cropped group photos (where it's obvious you cut someone out; a past lover, a person you accidentally married in Vegas, etc.)
Dos:
✅ Use a clear, high-quality image
✅ Keep it professional—no wedding or vacation photos
✅ Face the camera with a confident, approachable expression
This should be the easiest part of your profile to get right.
3. Your About Section - Make It About Your Clients, Not You
Most LinkedIn About sections read like a career obituary; they are long, self-indulgent, and filled with corporate fluff. That's why when you come across a good one, you stop and read it.
🚫 What most people do:
"I have 20+ years of experience in sales and marketing, working with Fortune 500 companies to optimize revenue streams. Using this experience, I generated 1M phone calls in 32 minutes." Ugh. Gag me with a spoon.
✅ What works:
"Growing a business is hard when your message isn't clear. You struggle with what to say and when to say it, which is why I help B2B service providers craft messaging that attracts and converts the right clients—without sounding salesy."
A great About section should be customer-facing, meaning it should:
- Start with the client's problem. What challenges do they face that you solve?
- Position you as the solution. Explain how you solve that problem in clear, simple language.
- Include a call to action. Tell them what to do next (connect, book a call, download something, visit your website).
Action: Review and rewrite your About section so it speaks directly to your client's needs, not your résumé.
4. Experience & Featured Sections: Show, Don't Just Tell
Here's where most mess up. Believe it or not your experience section isn't about your experiences, well, not in an actual sense. People don't just want to read about what you did; they want to know that what you did applies to their situation.
Your Experience section is your Proof of Expertise.
Instead of listing job duties/tasks, you need to position your past roles as evidence of how you solve client problems.
🚫 What most people do:
"Managed a team of 10 sales professionals and increased revenue by 20%." (Corporate speak).
✅ What works:
"I help businesses refine their sales messaging. At XYZ Corp, I led a team that increased revenue by 20% through strategic positioning and clear customer communication."
Subtle, but different meaning and context.
Your Featured Section is your social proof and value proposition.
Your Featured Section is a goldmine for building trust. Use it to showcase:
- Case studies
- Client testimonials
- Lead magnets or free resources
- Keynote speeches, podcasts, or interviews
Note here. I don't recommend adding more than three items to your Featured Section. Once you hit three items on the desktop, readers will need to scroll, and they won't. Scrollers are so 2000.
Action: Review and update your Experience section; make it client-focused by highlighting client challenges and how your process helps them overcome them. For your Featured Section, think of it as a funnel and add the high-value top-of-funnel, middle-of-funnel, and bottom-of-funnel content, but no more than three.
The Last Call: What to Do Right Now
Remember, your LinkedIn profile either attracts or repels clients, and it does so 24/7. Here's how to make sure it's working for you:
✅ Update your banner image: Use it to reinforce your brand and message.
✅ Fix your LinkedIn Business Card: Your profile photo, name, and headline should clearly communicate who you help and how.
✅ Rewrite your About section: Make it customer-facing by focusing on client problems and how you solve them.
✅ Revamp your Experience section: Show how your past roles make you the best choice to help your clients.
✅ Leverage the Featured section: Highlight testimonials, case studies, lead magnets, and other valuable content.
Most people ignore their LinkedIn profile until it's too late. Don't be like most people. Take the time to revamp and update it because that's the key to making clients, not attracting connections.
Ok. Now it's your move.
In the next edition of the 3-part series, we'll look at personal profiles vs. company pages, specifically, how to use each to complement the other while getting maximum reach.
The bar is always open if you need help sorting out your messaging, and if you want to participate in the alpha program for the Brand Messaging System™️ reply, or click the button above, let me know, and I'll send you the deets.