One of the first things that people will notice about your LinkedIn profile after your profile picture is your headline. A well-written LinkedIn headline is simply a must, as this is your chance to attract people’s attention and engage them enough to find out more about you. Together with a great profile image, this is an incredibly powerful combination.

Customize Your LinkedIn Headline

This really goes without saying! LinkedIn’s default headline is pretty much your current job title. In just about all cases, this is not a particularly enticing headline as it doesn’t really give people anything interesting – a hook – to latch onto.

Your LinkedIn headline can be up to 120 characters long; while this is a little restrictive, with a little creative thinking and copy you can really make this shine so it sells you, your products, and your services.

Use Keywords Throughout Your LinkedIn Headlines

Keywords are a really important part of the LinkedIn headline ecosystem, as it makes you easy to find – great if you’re looking for a new job or clients. If you’re not really sure what keywords to use, go check out what thought leaders in your industry are using and emulate them. For example, you might be a “digital marketing professional.” While that’s not terrible, you can really bring this to life with some more keywords:

  • Digital marketing professional focused on content marketing strategy optimization for sales growth

As you can see, there are now three keywords here: digital marketing professional, content marketing strategy, and sales growth.

Avoid Being Generic – Be a Specialist

This tip really follows on from the last tip, as I want to stress how important it is to show not just what you do, but also how you specialize in it. While I’ve already covered how you can optimize that with keywords included, this tip is really just underlining that you need to show people what you do best.

Don’t forget, while most people might be aware of what your job title does generically, they may not realize that you can really help them with this one thing – unless they see it in your LinkedIn headline.

Don’t Leave Your Personality at Home

One thing a lot of people do when faced with a professional situation is to tone down or even wipe out their personality. While a professional demeanor does require a certain mien, don’t completely scrub out what makes you a unique person.

Write your LinkedIn headline with a smile – one thing that can work wonders in attracting people is simply showing them that you have a personality and a sense of humor. Let’s be honest: nobody likes working with gray people who never crack a smile!

Never Show Desperation – Even If You Feel It

This headline tip is more geared up for people who are just starting off in their career or who may be finding it tough to find a new job. I see this all the time in LinkedIn profiles: people with headlines that mention that they are “seeking new opportunities” don’t tend to get you anywhere – and it’s a terrible waste of prime LinkedIn headline space.

Everyone on LinkedIn is seeking an opportunity to a greater or lesser degree. Don’t mention it – just showcase why you’re the right person for whatever opportunity it is that may be looking at you.

On that same note, don’t go overboard the other way by telling everyone what a superstar or guru you are. It’s tacky, overdone, and few people are likely to believe it. Stick to showing people your value rather than telling everyone about it in your LinkedIn headline.

Conclusion

To recap this article, writing a great LinkedIn headline is all about telling people who you are and what you specialize in. By letting a little personality filter through along with a judicious use of keywords, you will have a solid headline that stands out and gets you noticed.