Making your LinkedIn profile an exceptional one is a job half done! 

That’s right. Your LinkedIn lead generation strategy or prospecting on LinkedIn might be impeccable. However, if your LinkedIn profile doesn’t give out the right first impression, all your efforts will go down the drain. 

Taking into consideration that 80% of social media leads for the majority of B2B marketers come from LinkedIn, you will agree that it is of utmost importance how you present yourself professionally. 

You’ve probably heard many times that it only takes around 7 seconds to form the first impression. 

The same applies to your LinkedIn profile. 

Therefore, an optimized profile not only boosts your visibility in the search results but also helps other LinkedIn users form a first impression of you as a professional. 

That’s why we prepared 15 tips to make your LinkedIn profile more appealing to future leads and potential clients. 


Your (profile) picture is worth a thousand words 

The first thing people notice when they find you on LinkedIn is your profile picture, your name, and headline. 

Your profile picture is your first chance to communicate that you are friendly, likable, and trustworthy, crucial attributes for people to engage with you. 

Therefore, make sure that you look professional, yet approachable and open to networking. 

However, keep in mind that LinkedIn is a professional network. Your profile is your brand. 

Therefore, selfies, party pictures, and photos where you visibly had to cut someone else from it, as well as low-resolution photos, should not find their way to becoming your LinkedIn profile picture. 

Examples: 


LinkedIn profile picture , example 1

Leah Knobler went for an approachable, yet professional profile picture. She seems comfortable and open to networking. There is nothing distracting about the picture, such as her being in an informal setting. Quite the contrary, the blurred background keeps the focus on the actual user of this LinkedIn profile. 


LinkedIn profile picture, example 2

You can never go wrong with an en-face profile photo. Furthermore, Ebony Banks took a picture in a professional outfit with a matte background.


Innapropriate background example

It is pretty self-explanatory why these pictures are inappropriate. LinkedIn is a professional network, and as much as you want to seem approachable, putting a party picture will for sure give out a wrong impression. Furthermore, posting a picture where someone has been visibly cut off, let’s be honest, doesn’t look neat on any social network. 


Innapropriate background example 1

The same rules apply to pictures that are visibly from private (non-business-related) events such as weddings. As much as you want to post a picture in a suit, make sure that you have a professional background, and that you are preferably not wearing a flower. 


Move with the times: Add a cover story 

The LinkedIn mobile app gives you the chance to create a 30-sec video and add it to your profile picture. 

Namely, your LinkedIn profile photo will still be visible to other users. However, if you put a cover story as well, an orange ring will appear around it. It will be a sign that if they click on it, they will have the chance to know a bit more about you. 

A cover story is a great way to introduce yourself better to other users, articulate your career goals, provide a sneak peek into your personality, and showcase your communication skills. 

Additionally, LinkedIn gives you the option of adding three hashtags that best describe your topic. This way, you will give a short insight into your professional story to those who visit your LinkedIn profile. 


Your cover has your back 

Don’t underestimate the role of the cover photo in your LinkedIn profile aesthetics. 

Data shows that humans only remember 20% of what they read, but 80% of what they see.

Having the logo of the company you work for or a creative yet connected to your professional background cover turned out to be making a major impact when connecting with other LinkedIn users. 

Here are a few examples of highly creative, yet professional and industry-related cover photos.


LinkedIn profile picture , example 3

Austin Belcak went for the cover that showcases his company name, all the industry-related prominent magazines where it appeared, as well as the picture of the city where they are located.


LinkedIn profile picture , example 4

Aeron Cordova went for an “industry-related”, creative way to draw attention to his profile while listing his profession, interests, values, experience, and aspirations. 

On the contrary, leaving your cover blank or putting a photo that is not relevant to your field, might seem unprofessional. It could leave your users with the impression that you don’t give much importance to your online resume. 

For example, putting a picture of you doing yoga is acceptable only in case you work as a yoga instructor, or in that particular field. However, if you are a doctor or an engineer who does yoga as a hobby, this move might seem a bit awkward for those who are trying to connect with you on LinkedIn. 

So, leave these choices for other, more casual, social media networks.


Win them over with your headline 

Usually neglected and underused, the LinkedIn headline is the part of your profile that catches most of the attention. 

“Content Marketing Consultant at Drift” is such a passé. 

Therefore, be bold enough to go for more than just the default headline.

When deciding what you should write, think about: 

For example: 


LinkedIn profile picture , example 5

Brent Morrell points out the benefits you can get out of working with him, such as growing your career. 


LinkedIn profile picture , example 6

Alexandra Sazonova highlights the value of her work in a particular area, such as healthcare. 

If you would like to know more on how to write a good headline, check out our blog 13 LinkedIn headline examples with templates for lead generation". Get inspired! 


Write an attention-grabbing summary

First of all, leaving the summary blank is a huge mistake! 

With just a little bit of effort, you can write a great summary that draws the attention of your future leads, customers, or recruiters (depending on what your professional goals are at the moment). 

When writing your summary section, have in mind that most users see only the first 300 characters (out of the total of 2000). Only if clicking on “Read more” will they get the full description. 

Therefore:

  1. Start Strong;
  2. Use Keywords;
  3. Mention your greatest accomplishments;
  4. Point out your goals and ambitions;
  5. Include your guiding principles. 

Here’s an example of an out-of-the-box, attention-grabbing summary. 


LinkedIn profile picture , example 7

About section on LinkedIn

Or of a strictly professional, yet effective one. 


About section, example 1

If you would like to know more about what makes the perfect summary, check out “top 5 summary examples to reach more sales”


Grow your network 

The first thing you can do to grow your network is to import your list of contacts. 

Once you set up your profile, LinkedIn will give you the opportunity to run an upload of your address book contacts. 

In case you skipped that step, and would like to do it at another time, follow these instructions: 


My network on LinkedIn button


Manage my network, My connections


Manage my connections, more options button


Sync contacts on LinkedIn

You’ll be redirected to a list of your contacts who are already on LinkedIn. You can:


Add connections on LinkedIn


Add connections, arrow


Add connections, skip option

Of course, you can also add your connections manually through the search option at any time. 


Show off your skills 

The “Skills & Endorsements” section is one of the most important ones on your profile.


Add a new skill on LinkedIn

Did you know that people who have five or more skills listed are contacted up to 33 times more by recruiters and other LinkedIn members?

While you want to list a lot of skills, you also want to list the right skills.  

Therefore, be honest with yourself and your profile visitors.

List the skills you truly possess and find relevant for your connections to know. 

If you have difficulties specifying them, search for profiles with the same or similar job titles in your industry. See what skills these users have listed and check which ones apply to you and to what degree. 

However, there is one catch. Once you delete a skill on LinkedIn, you cannot list it again. Be clever with what you choose and/or remove. 


Endorse and you will be endorsed 

Endorse others for their skills. 

Not only is it polite to show some support to your 1st-degree connections, but they will also be more eager to endorse you. 

The more endorsements you have, the more your LinkedIn profile will be appealing. 

Furthermore, rumor has it that endorsements affect the algorithm. Namely, your profile is more likely to show up in searches if you have any. This is not confirmed, but even if it wasn’t true, having plenty of endorsements positively influences your acceptance and response rates for sure. 

Besides the visibility, it simply gives out the impression of you being a well-skilled, responsible individual. And that is what all LinkedIn users want, right? 


Get recommended 

A recommendation is a commendation written by a LinkedIn member to recognize your work. 


Recommendation example

You can ask for a recommendation from the 1st-degree connections you work with or have worked with, whether a client or a colleague.


Request a recommendation on LinkedIn

Having one or more recommendations on your LinkedIn profile will significantly boost your chances of getting noticed and/or accepted. 

This means that you are the type of person who makes an impact at the workplace. Your colleagues value your contribution and are willing to put their name behind yours. It’s huge.

So if you think there are people who would gladly do that for you, go for it!


Include industry-related keywords 

Whatever you are filling out at your LinkedIn profile, make sure to use the top keywords for your industry.

Before creating your online brand, think about which keywords are most sought for by your potential clients, co-workers, recruiters. 

Once you have the list, use them wisely throughout your profile. 


List your professional experience in a concise manner 

Your LinkedIn profile is your online resume.

When you are sending your regular CV to employers or potential partners, it is not smart to list everything you’ve done so far. That is, only the most important jobs and projects find their place in your resume. 

This should be the case with your LinkedIn profile as well. 

List only those achievements that are relevant to your current professional field or to your future goals. Describe your duties and major accomplishments by using industry-related keywords while holding those positions.

This way you will give other LinkedIn users a significant insight into your professional experience without overwhelming them. Also, they will be more interested in reading your entire profile page. Seeing a bunch of unnecessary and incoherent information can just turn them down. 


Fully complete your LinkedIn profile 

Once you sign up for your profile the first time, LinkedIn will automatically guide you to fully complete it. 


Profile strenght indicator

As you may see, LinkedIn will not only measure your profile strength but will also suggest (bottom right corner) what your profile is missing to be excellent. 

LinkedIn wants you to prosper and expand your professional network. If you complete your profile, it will reward you with making you appear in search results up to 40 times more. 


Get a custom URL

The majority of people use the URL that LinkedIn assigns automatically. 

However, know that you can customize it and make it more appealing especially when posting it in your resume. 

If you want to customize your LinkedIn profile URL: 


My profile sign on LinkedIn


View profile option on LinkedIn


Edit public profile and URL


Edit profile content button

Have in mind that your custom URL can be 3-100 characters long. Don’t use spaces, symbols, or special characters. The customizable part of the URL is case insensitive. Whether you write christianwhite, Christianwhite, christianWhite, it will all point you out to the same profile. 

You can change your URL up to 5 times within six months. Once you have changed your URL for the fifth time, you won’t be able to change it for another six months. Despite having the chance to customize your URL so many times, keep in mind that it will be hard for people to find you if you change it too often. 


Brag a bit in your featured section 

If you click on the “Add section” you can choose “Featured”, and write out or upload any posts, articles, links, or media that you find significant for your professional achievements. 

This is a great place to highlight articles and blogs that you wrote, or in which you appeared. You can leave your company’s or your personal website, Youtube videos, or any other media you think might contribute to your professional prestige. 


Featured on LinkedIn

Share what moves you 

Birds of a feather flock together. 

The LinkedIn “Interests Area” gives you the chance to show your audience that you have a life outside of work. Have in mind that people do business with people, not machines. Therefore, by listing your interests that can and not necessarily need to be career-related, you will seem more approachable, and other users might be more likely to do business with you. 


Experience section on LinkedIn

Additionally, listing your interests will not only say a lot about you, but it will also be useful for the LinkedIn search engine. People might run into your profile by researching certain interests you share (or not). 


Summary

Whether you are doing a LinkedIn outreach or you just appear in somebody’s search results, your LinkedIn profile is a synonym for the powerful first impression. Or quite the opposite. 

Therefore, make sure it’s on point. 

Also, in case you are going for an automated outreach, Skylead might just be the right choice for you. 

Schedule a demo call with our specialist and see how you can benefit from everything that Skylead has to offer. 

If you are already a user and have questions about improving your outreach, feel free to reach out to our customer care and success team via chat on our website

We are waiting for you.


Launch your first outreach campaign today!
Start free now Start free now

There is so much content on the kind of outreach that will enhance your sales, the type of messages that “open all doors”, the right way to nurture your leads, and similar. However, whether new or not to the entire Lead Generation world, check out these 7 things to do before starting your LinkedIn Outreach. We guarantee you they will make a major difference in your conversion rate. 


Make your LinkedIn profile a neat-looking professional overview 

As the most popular professional social network out there, your LinkedIn profile is the main source of information for your leads and potential clients regarding your business achievements and goals. 

That’s why, before reaching out to your prospects, make sure your LinkedIn profile is impeccable. 

Start by arranging and checking your headline, profile picture, and summary. 


Headline 

Usually neglected and underused, the LinkedIn headline is the most important and the most visible part of your profile along with your name and profile picture. 

Instead of going for a boring default headline such as “Content Marketing Consultant at Drift”, try being a bit bolder. 

Make sure that your headline not only gives in a few words your job description but that it also captivates the attention of those who might be your future customers. 

Briefly, to stand out from users who have the same job title, your headline should communicate the benefits that people get out of working with you.

For example: 

“Branding|Growth & Content Marketing|If you’re still reading this, then I marketed right. 

OR

“Leadership Expert⼁Trainer of 6 Million Leaders⼁Certification Program For Coaches, Teachers, Speakers & Professionals

If you would like to know more on how to write a good headline, check out our blog “13 best LinkedIn headlines to boost your sales”. Get inspired! 


Profile picture 

Make sure your profile picture is neat and professional.

That means no selfies, party pictures, photos where you visibly had to cut someone else from it, etc.

However, have in mind that your LinkedIn profile picture is not a mugshot either. 

Look professional, yet approachable and open to networking.


Summary 

First of all, leaving the summary blank is a huge mistake! 

With just a little bit of effort, you can write a great summary that draws the attention of your future leads, customers, and maybe even recruiters (depending on what your professional goals are at the moment). 

When writing your summary section, have in mind that most users see only the first 300 characters (out of a total of 2000). Only if clicking on “Read more” will they get the full description. However, LinkedIn Recruiter shows the entire summary by default. 

That being said, here are a few tips on how to write a good summary:

  1. Start Strong;
  2. Use Keywords;
  3. Mention your greatest accomplishments;
  4. Point out your goals and ambitions;
  5. Include your guiding principles. 

If you would like to know more about what makes the perfect summary, check out “how to write a LinkedIn summary”.


Define your ideal customer profile (ICP) 

Briefly, ICP is a description of your ideal customer. 

Defining it means making a perfect base for further tailoring your outreach.

Your sales will grow. You will be able to simplify your business and automate your LinkedIn lead generation. You will perform better with your clients. 

Start with defining your target companies, and then outline the people within them. 

Begin with: 

  1. Highlighting your top 5 current customers that you’d like to replicate if you could; 
  2. Defining as many attributes as you can for each customer and look at which ones overlap;
  3. Combining these data and writing down the common characteristics of your ideal customer. 

If you would like to know more about how to define your ICP check out our complete guides on defining the ideal customer profile and buyer persona.


Target your leads 

Decide how you will target your leads.


LinkedIn VS Sales Navigator 

You can use both LinkedIn Basic and Premium, as well as Sales Navigator for your outreach. 

However, LinkedIn Premium Account, in comparison to LinkedIn Basic Account, can perform more in terms of features. It has the options of an Unlimited Profile Search and sending 5 paid InMails per month. Each time your leads respond you get your LinkedIn InMail credit back. Use it wisely!

Furthermore, with a LinkedIn Premium Account you can view and engage with a much greater number of profiles. When it comes to filters, they are the same for both Premium and Basic Accounts.

On the other hand, as far as filters as concerned, Sales Navigator is more advanced. You can narrow down your search better and therefore have a higher acceptance/conversion rate. Each month you get to send 20 paid InMails. The “downside” of it is its price. It sometimes turns away the users from buying it.

In case you are going for an automated outreach, know that Skylead supports all of the types of accounts.

To find out how Skylead works and what benefits you could gain from using this groundbreaking Sales Engagement Tool, schedule a demo call and speak to a Skylead specialist. 

Moving forward, let us suggest several options for an effective outreach that maybe haven’t crossed your mind.

Their main goal is to increase the quality of your leads. 


Target leads through Sales Navigator search by using the spotlights filter 


Sales Navigator Spotlights Filter, How To Target Leads Through Sales Navigator Search

The “Spotlight” filter is particularly useful if you want to narrow down a lead search that gave extended results. By choosing, let’s say - “Posted on LinkedIn in past 30 days”, the chances of improving the quality of your leads are higher, not to mention the cut in the number of prospects. However, keep in mind that even when people do not post on Linkedin, it doesn’t mean that they are inactive.  

“Shared experiences with you” includes prospects that worked in the same companies or industries like you, or are members of the same groups. 

“Leads that follow your company on LinkedIn” includes prospects that follow your current company’s profile on LinkedIn.


Target leads attending a specific LinkedIn event (here’s a step-by-step guide)

When it comes to Lead Generation, there is no better way of having a high acceptance rate than reaching out to your prospects with a very concrete reference. In this case, targeting leads attending a specific LinkedIn Event, that you will be attending as well, means higher conversion rates. 


Go for an advanced and automated prospecting by importing a CSV file 

Skylead, for example, offers detailed and automated prospecting by supporting CSV-imported campaigns. Furthermore, it allows you to hyper-personalize your outreach by using variables that match your CSV file’s columns.

Why a CSV-imported Campaign?

Firstly, a CSV file allows you a major quality of leads, as you will be importing them manually. That is, picking and choosing who you want to reach out to whether you do it yourself, import a list of people from your CRM, or buy a leads list. 

Secondly, you can use your CSV file to hyper-personalize your outreach at Skylead to the point that each lead can get a different message/part of the message. 

Namely, once imported a CSV, the name of each column becomes a tag that you can use for personalization.

Let’s say you want to prepare a different message for each of your leads. Add a column named, for example, “Message” next to the lead you will be sending it to. Once you import the CSV file into Skylead’s Campaign Creator, each column will become a tag.


CSV File Example

CSV File Personalization Example

The more personalized your outreach is, the higher the acceptance rate will be. 

To find out how you can hyper-personalize your outreach by making a CSV-imported campaign, schedule a demo call with a Skylead specialist. 


Prepare a template for your outreach 

Draft your outreach in advance. 

Firstly, decide if you want to target your leads via LinkedIn, Sales Navigator, or a CSV file. 

Secondly, choose the flow of your outreach. Draft it in a separate document. If you are thinking of automizing it, have in mind that with Skylead’s Smart Sequences you can combine LinkedIn messages, InMails, and Emails in the most effective way. So, since you already have all of these channels at your disposal, why not use them to their maximum potential? If you are not sure what kind of Smart Sequence will serve your needs the best, you can always check out these templates with real data made by our experts. 

Thirdly, think about the copy of your LinkedIn messages/InMails/Emails and how you want to personalize them. Write them out in a separate document and then just copy-paste them into your LinkedIn messages, InMails, or Emails. 

Fourthly, decide if you would like to take your outreach to the next level by using hyper-personalized Images and GIFs. Prepare Image or/and GIF template material together with the message copy. Have them ready on your computer. 

Know that Skylead users have at their disposal the Image & GIF hyper-personalization feature. Not only are there suggested image templates, for those who need a bit of a creative push, but also an option of importing your own image. Skylead offers a developed tool that allows hyper-personalization on the spot. You can also check out our InMail examples to improve your response rate

If you are using Skylead, here are 3 more additional steps to take before launching your first campaign. 


Connect your CRM with your Skylead account

A webhook is a way for an app to provide other applications with real-time information.

Here is how to set up webhooks with Skylead using Zapier (just one of the many webhook providers) to send all of the data that we’ve collected about the lead to a spreadsheet, CRM, or any other tool that Zapier, in this case, is supporting. You can, of course, use other webhook providers if you have any preferences.

Open up your dashboard and go to the Integrations tab of your Skylead account. Here is where you can see all of the webhook you’ve set up and create new ones.


Skylead Integrations Page

Click on the “Create new webhook” button at the top right of the page.

For now, we will leave the dashboard and go to Zapier to set everything up there since we’ll need the callback URL that is generated through their service.

On Zapier, on the left side, press the “Make a zap” button.


How To Connect Zapier Step 1

For the trigger, you want to choose the option “Webhook” (bottom right corner).


How To Connect Zapier Step 2

Under the “Trigger Event” select “Catch Hook” and “Continue”.


How To Connect Zapier Step 3

Now you will be provided with a Custom Webhook URL. Copy it and paste it back to Skylead in the Callback URL field.


How To Connect Zapier Step 4

Now that we’re back on the dashboard, let’s talk about the different event options that you can choose from to act as a trigger for the webhook.

Basically, every time a selected event happens, the webhook fires, and Skylead will send all of the information from that lead directly to the tool you’ve chosen (CRM or Spreadsheet).

Skylead supports when:

Those are all of the events that will trigger the webhook automatically without you having to do anything extra and they relate to all leads.

If you want to choose to send the information of only specific leads to your tool, you can select the new “When a chat label is added” option. This refers to the labels that you can put on your chat in Skylead’s Smart Inbox. Choose the label that you want to associate with the webhook. Each time you put a label on a lead in chat, the webhook will fire.

After selecting the trigger event that you would like to use for your webhook, be sure to test it on the right side of the screen and see if the trigger is firing.

One thing to note: You would need to have a version on Zapier Premium to use the Webhook option since it’s not available for free accounts. 


Set up your campaign limits 

If you want your campaigns to run efficiently and smoothly, make sure that you’ve set the right campaign limits within your Skylead Account. 

Additionally, setting the limits will not only spare your campaigns a bumpy ride but also your LinkedIn profile, a LinkedIn jail and restrictions

In Skylead, the limits apply to all of your campaigns. That is, to your entire account. Make sure to set them properly.

Limits go by availability. For example, if one campaign is “Viewing” profile and the other one has already moved to “Sending Requests”, then the limits will be distributed accordingly. 

Let’s go through each of the options, step by step.



Skylead Campaign Limits, How To Set Global Campaign Limits, Step 1

Each of these limits equals steps that you use when making Simple or Smart Sequences. That is why our advice is not to put too many of the same steps in your campaigns. Your daily limits will be exceeded faster and this will significantly slow down your campaign. 


Skylead Campaign Limits, How To Set Global Campaign Limits, Step 2

The “Discover” option is not an actual step in your campaign. It refers to how many searches you can make on your LinkedIn account. This is when restrictions mostly happen. If you have a basic (Free) LinkedIn account, the rules are stricter. After a certain number of searches, your profile is likely to be restricted. LinkedIn Premium and Sales Navigator, on the other hand, have the advantage of an Unlimited Search Option. Simply, the higher the subscription plan is on LinkedIn the higher the limits are. 

Usually, LinkedIn flags you for Connection Invites, View Profiles, and Discovery. We advise you to keep these as low as possible, especially due to the newest LinkedIn restrictions. The most common bans happen for Connection Requests. If you see that you got flagged by LinkedIn, try to keep this feature at the lowest possible limits. 


Skylead Campaign Limits Connection Invites

Set Campaign Limits Skylead Discover Feature

Also, as much as Emails don’t undergo the LinkedIn restrictions, it is best to keep this number reasonable and similar to other channels of outreach. You still want your campaign to seem as humanly done as possible, correct? Therefore, anything between 25 - 50 emails a day is acceptable. If you send more than that, some of your emails might end up in the Spam folder. 


Skylead Campaign Limits Email

As the main focus of the Skylead team is to keep the users safe while still doing the maximum number of interactions, there is something called a “Warm Up Mode”.

The Warmup Mode is tied directly to the Global Limits for Campaigns. It can be found under the Settings tab.


Skylead Warm Up Mode

When first starting out with Skylead, the interactions that your account will be doing will be a lot lower than the recommended limits. This is done to make sure that your LinkedIn profile doesn’t send too many interactions and to help avoid raising any potential red flags.

The Warmup Mode lasts for 3 weeks and it increases the number of interactions weekly until it reaches the recommended number of interactions for the profile.

You can always exit Warmup Mode by manually adjusting the interaction numbers.


Skylead Warm Up Pop Up

As you can see in the prompt that appears when wanting to exit Warmup Mode, we don’t advise you to do that. Your numbers will eventually reach the recommended limits and you will be able to maximize your engagement as safely as possible.


Update your blacklist 

The purpose of Blacklist is to avoid certain people and/or companies being included in your campaigns. You need to set it beforehand because once you notice a lead that you don’t want in your campaign, you will need to delete it manually.

Namely, this option is very practical in case you want to avoid your competition, a certain company, their employees, etc.

First, open Skylead’s Settings Page and select the “Blacklist” option. 


Skylead Blacklist Step 1, How To Set Up Blacklist On Skylead

Here you have two options: 


Skylead Blacklist Step 2, How To Set Up Blacklist On Skylead

There is no limit to how many full names and company names you can include in your blacklist.


Summary 

Whoa, you made it!

It might have been rough, but have in mind that preparing for the outreach in the right way is as equally important as the outreach itself.

With a little bit of extra effort, your outreach could run more smoothly, and the acceptance rate could be far higher. And that’s what we all want, correct? 

Therefore, if you are ready to automate your LinkedIn prospecting, consider Skylead. It is an advanced Sales Engagement Tool with groundbreaking solutions for multichannel outreach. Not only will you get more personalized touchpoints with your prospects, but once you set up your campaigns the right way, you can basically put your sales process on autopilot. 

In case we managed to intrigue you schedule a demo call with a specialist from our team and see how Skylead can make your life easier. 

If already our user, and you would like to get more information on how to prepare your Campaign properly, feel free to reach out to our Customer Support & Success Superteam via chat on our website


Launch your first outreach campaign today!
Start free now Start free now