LinkedIn Services Marketplace, now available to everyone after a limited launch earlier this year, lets professionals promote their freelance services for free.
Services Marketplace first launched in February to a small test group, and has since been expanded to two million freelancers.
Now, LinkedIn’s Services Marketplace is available to anyone who wants to join.
Here’s more about what Services Marketplace is, how to join it, and how it can lead to more opportunities as a freelancer.
What Is LinkedIn Services Marketplace?
LinkedIn Services Marketplace is a search engine that helps people find qualified professionals to hire for short-term projects.
Freelancers can list their services in LinkedIn’s Marketplace for free across 250 job categories.
Clients can then find the service providers they need by searching for them on the Services Marketplace landing page.
Alternately, clients can publish RFPs (requests for proposal) to encourage to encourage freelancers to bid on the job they’re hiring for.
LinkedIn’s Service Marketplace is a tool for connecting clients with freelancers. Anything beyond that, such as negotiating fees and paying invoices, must be done off-platform.
Clients can review the freelancers they hire, but freelancers cannot review clients.
Further, there’s no way to actively search for work on the platform. All you can do is list your services and wait to get discovered.
It’s client-focused by design, but there’s still plenty you can do with it as a freelancer.
Now that you know the basics of how LinkedIn’s Service Marketplace works, here’s how to use it to get found by clients.
How To List Your Services In LinkedIn’s Marketplace
Anyone with a LinkedIn profile can list their services by following a few simple steps.
First, login to LinkedIn and click the “Open to” button at the top of your profile.
From the drop down menu select “Providing services.”
Then you’ll be asked to set up your services page by filling out the required fields that appear on the next screen.
Screenshot from LinkedIn.com, November 2021.Screenshot from LinkedIn.com, November 2021.Screenshot from LinkedIn.com, November 2021.
You can add up to 10 services in total.
Below you’ll see a list of the 17 main categories of services, which each have dozens of sub-categories to choose from:
- Accounting
- Coaching & Mentoring
- Consulting
- Design
- Events
- Finance
- Home Improvement
- Information Technology
- Insurance
- Law
- Marketing
- Operations
- Photography
- Real Estate
- Software Development
- Writing
After the selecting the services you offer, you can write a 500 character description to tell clients more about who you are and what you do.
Lastly, you can indicate whether you’re available for remote work, in-person work, or both.
With those selections made, you can now publish your services page.
In addition, you can let anyone visiting your main profile know you’re open for work by listing your services in a dedicated section.
How To Find Freelancers On LinkedIn’s Services Marketplace
Clients looking to hire freelancers can do so by conducting a search on the LinkedIn Service Marketplace landing page.
Start typing the service you need and LinkedIn will suggest the most relevant job category.
Screenshot from LinkedIn.com, November 2021.
Click on the job category to find freelancers who offer the service. Results are ranked according to how closely you’re connected with each individual on LinkedIn.
When you find someone you’re interested in working with, send them a message to get the hiring process started.
Featured Image: photo_gonzo/Shutterstock
