How to Add a Clickable Link to Your LinkedIn Profile Intro Section

In this edition of my newsletter, I'm going to show you how to add a clickable link to your LinkedIn Profile Intro Section.

But first of all, let me explain why this is so important...

Historically, it hasn't been easy to add clickable links to your LinkedIn profile. I'm not sure if this is because LinkedIn just wants to keep you on its platform (as the common belief goes) or it just wasn't seen as something important.

Either way, that has all changed now and this is great news for any small business owner that uses LinkedIn as part of their business growth strategy (something EVERY small business owner should be doing in my humble opinion!)

A clickable link makes it very easy for people to just click and follow links to wherever you'd like to send them.

It's important to understand that people are on 'autopilot' when they're surfing the Internet, including when they're scrolling through LinkedIn.

This means that they're not using their initiative at that moment so anything you can do to make it really easy for them, take them by the hand and lead them to that next step you want them to take is going to help them and you!

Putting your website URL somewhere in your background banner image, for example, is not going to have much of an effect. People will be VERY unlikely to try and read it and then type it out into the URL bar of their browser. They just won't. Trust me...

If you were to put a message in your banner telling them why they should go to your website with simple, clear instructions on what to do to get there, in as few steps and expending as little energy as possible though, the chances of them actually doing it will increase exponentially.

This is how I do it.

👇🏻

So why is it important to send people somewhere away from LinkedIn?

Great question.

It's important to send people somewhere else for a few reasons. Here are 3 good ones:

• If you lose your LinkedIn account for any reason (God forbid!) what would you do? You'd lose all your followers and you'd be at the mercy of LinkedIn to give you your account back.
  If you also build your audience off LinkedIn by having them opt-in to receive something in exchange for an email or some other subscription, at least you have some sort of backup and would still have an audience to market to.
  
• Not everyone will be as active or responsive on LinkedIn, (or any social media platform), as you may perhaps wish.
  So getting them to follow you through as many different media as possible increases the chances that your message will make it through to them. It also helps to subconsciously build trust if they see your content across different media.
  
• When you take someone away from LinkedIn. you're completely in control of what you show them and what you ask or tell them to do next.
  You can take people on a journey with you without being restricted to what features are available on LinkedIn which means you're in control of your own destiny.

I could go on but I don't want to bore you...

OK, so let's get to the meat!

How to add the clickable link:

1 - Set your profile to Creator Mode

Open your LinkedIn profile, scroll down to the ‘Resources’ section and enable ‘Creator Mode’.

For details on how and why to set your profile to Creator Mode, click here.

2 - Go to Your Intro Section and Click ‘Edit’

Scroll back to the top of your profile and click on the little pencil (edit) icon just below your background picture and to the right.

3 - Scroll to the Bottom of the ‘Edit Intro’ Window

In the pop-up window scroll all the way to the bottom and type or paste the exact URL of the page you want people to visit.

4 - Enter the Text You Want People to See

Enter the text or CTA you want people to see. Note you only have 30 characters for this!

Click save, and... voila! Your profile intro section now has a clickable link so you can take your visitors wherever you want them to go!

But where should I send people with this link?

Again, great question. I'm happy you're paying attention. 🤓

Think about what the most valuable step your audience can take right now is, that moves them a little closer to becoming a client but isn't too scary for their lizard brain...

Here are some examples:

• Get this free ebook to help XYZ...
• Watch this video to increase your XYZ...
• Take this scorecard or quiz to find out XYZ...

You can include an opt-in to collect people's emails in exchange for whatever free thing you're offering so that you can then continue to build a relationship with them through email.

Here are some examples of where not to send people:

• Buy my online program for $XXXXX (they probably don't know or trust you enough yet to spend any money with you).
• Visit my website (Why? what's the purpose? What will they find when they get there? Be specific!)
• Book a coffee session with me (Booking a call can sometimes work but it's often too big of a step at this stage for someone that doesn't know you. I would only advise doing this if you literally have nowhere else to send people).

There are no fixed rules for where to send people, but at this stage, offering them something of value will most certainly get the best results over time. You need to build relationships with your audience and take them on a journey with you so they begin to see you as their trusted advisor and perhaps one day, spend some money on your products or services.

That's it. Good luck setting up your clickable link. ✌🏻