PHOTO
Questions to consider:
 Is your profile picture over three years old?
 Was your profile picture snapped at a family gathering or special event, such as a
wedding or graduation?
 Does your profile picture contain another person in addition to yourself?
 Are there remnants of another person cropped out of your profile picture?
 Are there animals in your profile picture?
 Are your wearing a hat or sunglasses in your profile picture?
 Is your profile picture of a cartoon character, business logo, symbol, or artistic
representation?
 Can you easily discern the background of your profile picture?
 Are you looking up or down or anywhere other than straight into the camera’s lens?
 Is the quality of the image grainy or dark?
 Are your elbows or knees visible in your profile picture?
If you answered yes to any of the questions above, it’s time to change your picture.
*Aim for the top of your head down to just above your collarbone, with only a sliver of shoulder
showing
HEADLINER
 Promote your brand statement
 Your core marketing message
 Embed industry keywords
 Be Specific
Questions to consider:
 What would make someone pause and read your profile?
 Is it compelling enough to make your target audience want to learn about you?
 What are the most likely terms or phrases someone looking for a “you” might search to
find you on LinkedIn?
STEPS FOR BUILDING A HEADLINER
1. Say WHAT you are
o Who you are professionally?
o What are you passionate about?
o What you do?
2. Say WHO you help
o Speak directly to the target audience.
o What does the target audience care the most about?
3. Say HOW you make their life/work better
o How you can stand out from the competition?
o What is your specialty/value proposition?
o What are your deliverable?
SUMMARY (Should paint a 3D picture of you; It is YOU when you are not there)
STEPS FOR BUILDING A SUMMARY
1. Determine what you want your audience to know , learn, and/or do
2. Collect and prepare your content
Include:
o Victories - significant accomplishments in terms of the value you create/created
o Values & Passions - list your operating principles and the things that energize or
inspire you
o Valiant superpowers - describe the things you do better than anyone else
o Vital Statistics - interesting figures and things you can count
o Verve - capture the quirky things that make you “YOU” and differentiate you
from your peers
o Validation - could include quotes from others and/or encompasses all the awards
and accolades bestowed upon you
3. Write the summary
(Pay attention to the first 40 characters because on some devices those characters are
the only ones that are displayed unless the profile has been completely opened)
Questions to consider:
 Does the opening sentence, phrase or heading make you want to read more?
 Is it authentic - consistent with who you really are?
 Does it differentiate you from your peers or competitors?
 Is it relevant, addressing the needs of the people you are trying to attract (decisionmakers and influencers)?
 Is it compelling? Does it provide interesting facts and statements that make the
reader want to get to know you?
 Does it contain at least 20 - 30% personal information (your interests, passions,
values, philanthropic interests, point of view and life experiences)?
 Does it explain how you add value, telling the reader what happens when you do
what you do?
 Does it contain clichés or fluff?
 Does it contain action-driven information and language?
 Does the writing style and content you included convey your personality?
 Is it formatted beautifully? Did you create enough white space to break up the
paragraphs? Did you write powerful headlines for different content blocks?
 Does it include external validation (things like “People say I’m…” or a favorite quote
or “The Association of ___ awarded me…”)?
 Is it grammatically correct and perfectly proofed?
 Does it include all the keywords for which you want to be known multiple times?
 Did you get the reader to want to learn more or take action?
Note: Writing in the first person creates a conversation between you and the reader, and that
is the best way to build a relationship