Your LinkedIn headline should say ‘Call me.’ Does yours?

Does your LinkedIn headine set you apart from everyone else in your field? It should say to journalists and others who find you: “You need to contact his person, pronto!“

Until recently, my headline was so lame that I’m not even going to bore you with it here. It made me sound like every other publicity expert. So I came up with one that I think really sets me apart, and includes a call to action.

This isn’t an original idea. If I remember correctly, I saw someone else who is not a direct competitor use the “Call me at…” phrase, and decided to adopt it for my own headline. (It may have been Nathan Kievman, who created the excellent Linked Strategies group on LinkedIn.)

A week after I changed it, the phone rang. It was Matt Schumacher, a financial services consultant from Milwaukee. The first words out of his mouth were, “How can you help me?”

I explained how, and now he subscribes to my free ezine, The Publicity Hound’s Tips of the Week.” He knows all about my free content that’s available, like the free publicity ebooks I give away at the end of each year, my free publicity articles at my website, and the archives where he can read all the back issues of my newsletter. I also told him about my telephone consulting, and where he can find the products I’ve created that can help him market his practice, like special reports and videos, CDs and electronic transcripts.

Your headline, by the way, is the two lines of type that appear to the right of your photo when someone searches for you on LinkedIn. When you edit your profile, the headline appears to the left of your photo. It should always include keywords that the search engines can find.

You’re allowed 120 characters. So use them! No wimply one-liners.

I’m not suggesting that you must use the words “Call me…” and then include your phone number. But why wouldn’t you people to call you???

I’m simply saying that the headline must set you apart from everyone else in your industry.

Do you have a LinkedIn headline you’re proud? Show us by linking to your LinkedIn profile. And explain what it’s done for you.