I remember a point early in my career when the internet had convinced me I needed to set up a Facebook Group and do weekly LIVE sessions to nurture potential clients.
So I set one up and bogged myself down by expectations of showing up on video every week to deliver value inside the group. My introverted self wanted to run away from it, but my mind had been conditioned into thinking that I had to start doing this to earn more.
More often than not, we place unrealistic expectations on ourselves that come not from assessing our business or marketing but from listening to the social media gurus and $100K earners who convince us this one thing is the way to success.
If you’re an introverted copywriter or freelance writer bogging yourself down by such expectations, chances are you’re self-sabotaging your efforts.
You see, when I was convinced I needed to show up on video inside my FB group, I presented half-baked value and self-sabotaged by never posting plain old text-only posts, which is eventually how I built most of my following of over 19K on LinkedIn.
So, no, you don’t have to create video content on LinkedIn or send cold DMs or engage with strangers if that feels too out there right now.
Take the weight of those expectations off your shoulders and let’s put together a different game plan. Let’s focus on marketing for introverts.
Assess Your Comfort Range
Let’s start with assessing your comfort with LinkedIn.
If you aren’t active on the platform yet, start by optimizing your LinkedIn profile. Set it up so your ideal clients know who you are, what you do, and how you can make a difference to their business.
What kind of activity are you currently pursuing on LinkedIn? That forms your comfort zone on the platform. For instance… Are you publishing content? Engaging with prospects on their posts? Sending cold messages to prospects?
After clearly identifying your comfort zone, assess how the current activity is working out for you. If you’re getting enough leads to keep your pipeline healthy, you don’t have to change anything.
Often entrepreneurs are notorious for trying out new things and fixing stuff that isn’t broken.
Play Within Your Comfort Zone 80% of the Time
If you’ve realized that something needs changing in your marketing strategy, know that it’s okay to play within your comfort zone 80% of the time.
Are you sending out five connection requests per week?
Publishing content three times a week?
Are you commenting on five posts a week?
The activities you’re comfortable with are also keeping you visible on the platform. Keep doing them most of the time.
Step Outside Your Comfort Zone 20% of the Time
However, only 20% of the time, inch outside of your comfort zone. What activities could potentially make a difference to your results from LinkedIn marketing?
Want to build a loyal audience? Post content.
Attract inbound leads? Post content.
Find clients now? Send cold messages.
Want to warm up prospects? Engage on their content.
Start by taking small steps consistently. Post once a week. Send one connection request a week. Comment on one post a week. That’s it.
Trying to do too much too fast can petrify you and sabotage your progress.
Following are more detailed tips on reframing each of these activities in your mind so you can eliminate fear and practice them consistently.
Reframing Cold DMs in Your Mindset
Introverts often find it easier to have one-on-one conversations than post content out in the open. Cold messaging doesn’t need to be a sales letter for your prospects.
See it as extending your help and services and not pitching your services. Businesses out there can use your expertise. You’re just helping them find you.
Here’s a message to try out…
Hi <name>, I just came across your profile. I’ve worked with similar companies, including <names of previous/current clients>. I was wondering if you work with freelancers?
You’re not convincing someone to hire you. You’re just curious if they use freelance writers.
How to Get Comfortable Creating Content
Introverts are often afraid of publishing content. It just seems too out there. Yet for many reasons, this one activity can yield a good ROI (Return on Investment) if compounded with consistency.
As you create content — again, just focus on posting once a week — keep one of your clients top of mind. Imagine speaking to that one person. Ask yourself, “What would they want to hear from me to let me help them with content?”
Imagine one ideal client and create for them.
See It as a Must-Do Instruction from Your (Imaginary) Boss
Often introverted solopreneurs place themselves at the center of every business equation and keep their business too close to themselves. So much that not hearing back from a prospect feels like a personal rejection.
Now’s the time to remove yourself from your business. Imagine that you’re not the owner of this business but an employee. Your boss wants you to post something on LinkedIn today.
Your job depends on following your boss’s instructions. What can you put out on LinkedIn to best showcase your boss’s business and services?
I bet some of you will feel a burden come off as you shift into this mindset. It’s worked for me in the past, too.
Eliminate Fear of Judgment
We all feel the judgment of the world around us. No matter what tiny things we change about ourselves, the fear of judgment can hold us back.
Imagine that the land of LinkedIn is devoid of the people you know. They are all learning about you afresh.
What do you want them to know about you and the services you offer? Imagine everyone is new on the platform and have just started sharing their stories. What do you want to share?
This mindset will help you ignore the people you know and their judgment. Also, people often don’t even care what someone else is doing. And that’s good news.
Why Engage with Strangers’ Posts?
An effective technique to warm up prospects on LinkedIn is to start engaging with their content. Of course, this method is only useful if your prospect is active on LinkedIn.
Don’t see your comments as a way to get them to hire you. See them as genuine discussions. They fired up a conversation and you’re sharing your experience and opinions.
See it as networking and sharing instead of pitching. Isn’t that what social media is for?
Create a LinkedIn Marketing Strategy that Works for You
Each of these strategies works as long as you don’t get bogged down by heavy expectations. Create a LinkedIn marketing strategy that’s 80% rooted in your comfort zone and just 20% inching out of it.
Before you know it, your introverted camera-shy self will be giving video interviews on LinkedIn, out in the open. Or maybe that’s just me. 🙂
Take Breathers and Breaks
As introverts, we recharge ourselves in stretches of nothingness. So take a break from all the marketing activities.
These breaks will keep you from being overwhelmed and quitting marketing altogether (been there, done that).
Knowing ourselves and working around our personality and normalness can mean everything to our marketing. Play on your strengths most times and challenge yourself a little, that’s all.
