Writers often post in my Freelance Content Marketing Writer group on Facebook about a potential client who reached out on LinkedIn with potential work. But they aren’t sure if they should respond. They are
worried that they are a low payer. Or perhaps a scammer. And the writer might think that the whole thing will be a waste of time. To clarify, I’m not talking about when you contact potential clients, but the other way around: when companies or agencies that you’ve never heard of or worked with before reach out to you on LinkedIn.

Do freelance writers actually get work this way?

Yes. I have gotten clients that have been worth over $100K over several years through LinkedIn. And I’ve also had many potential clients who reached out on LinkedIn that didn’t work out. However, you won’t
know which category they fall into until you check it out.

Legitimate businesses absolutely reach out on LinkedIn to freelancers for high-paying gigs. If a business needs a freelancer, LinkedIn is often the first place they go. They search for keywords based on their needs and look at profiles. Then they will often reach out to a few – and this is when you might find their message in your inbox.

Deciding whether to respond

You should never ignore a LinkedIn message offering potential work without looking into it. You could be leaving huge sums of money on the table! But also you shouldn’t jump into the swimming pool and agree to work with them without any thought or research.

Here are four steps to check out cold outreach messages on LinkedIn:

1. Is the person legitimate? I start by looking at the sender’s LinkedIn profile to see if they actually work at the company they are hiring for. If not, I usually stop there. And if they ask me to contact them using a Gmail or Yahoo address, that’s another sign for me to stop there.
2. Next, I look to see if their work history matches up with their current position. I also check to see if we have any shared connections, which is a huge plus when we do. If they are connected with other freelancers I know then there is a high chance this may be a good opportunity. And if
   the mutual connections are other clients I work with, then that means they are active in the content marketing community. I will often reach out to shared connections to check them out as well.
3. Is the company legitimate? Next, I go check out the company’s website and LinkedIn page. If they don’t have a page, then I’m out at that point. If it’s an agency, then I check out their client list and the client work they are showcasing on their page. For organizations, I look at the content on their site (blog, case studies, whitepapers) to get an idea of where they fall in their content journey. Once I feel good that they are actually a company that appears reputable then I will move to the next step.
4. Is the gig a fit for my skills? You aren’t going to fully answer this question at this point and that’s what the intro call is for. But I always qualify the gig at a high level to see if it’s a straight no before scheduling a call. I also look at the niche to see if it’s one that I’m comfortable with. For example, if someone reaches out to me about a finance gig these days, I will often refer out right from the start since I’ve realized I’m better off focusing on tech only. I also look at the type of deliverables that they are looking at. I can do most types of content, but I hate press releases, so that’s an automatic no. I used to say no to copywriting but over the past few years, I have realized that I can do B2B tech copywriting but no other types.
5. Do they pay competitive rates? I always weed out low payers right from the very beginning. It’s very uncomfortable to get way down in the process and realize that they are paying $100 for a 1000-word article and you want $1000. Some writers think that you should wait until they are
   sold on your amazing talents to bring up rates. But I disagree. Sure, you may be able to negotiate a client who wants to pay $750 up to $850. But you are almost never going to get someone to pay you $900 more, no matter how amazing you are. It’s just not likely. So I think that now is the time to make sure you are in the same ballpark rate range. This post details exactly how to qualify a potential client for rates.

How to respond to a cold outreach message

If a client passes all these tests, then my next message is to set up a time for a Zoom or a phone call to understand their needs further. If you work best by sticking to email, then that’s fine. But for most writers, a meeting is a great way to see if you are a match to work together. I also think that it’s super important to frame it from the start that you are going to be deciding if they are a match for you as well.

Stay tuned: one of my upcoming blog posts will be on How to Get More Cold LinkedIn Messages from Potential Clients. I know that many of you are probably now wondering how to get more cold outreaches that turn into great jobs. I’m going to be covering some tips and tricks on how to make that happen in the next few weeks as well.

Have you gotten great clients from cold LinkedIn messages? How do you qualify potential clients who find you on LinkedIn?