The LinkedIn Services Marketplace, now available to everyone after a limited launch earlier this year, allows professionals to promote their freelance services for free.
The Services Marketplace first launched in February for a small test set, and has since expanded to include 2 million freelancers.
Now, the LinkedIn Services Marketplace is open to anyone who wants to join.
Here’s more about what the service market is, how to join it, and how it can lead to more opportunities as a freelancer.
What is the LinkedIn Services Marketplace?
The LinkedIn Services Marketplace is a search engine that helps people find qualified professionals to hire for short-term projects.
Freelancers can list their services on the LinkedIn marketplace for free across 250 job categories.
Customers can then find the service providers they need by searching for them on the Services Marketplace landing page.
Alternately, clients can post requests for proposals (Requests for Proposals) to encourage freelancers to bid on the job they are hiring for.
The LinkedIn Service Marketplace is a tool for connecting customers with freelancers. Anything beyond that, like negotiating fees and paying bills, has to be done off the platform.
Clients can review the freelancers they hire, but freelancers can’t review clients.
- See: LinkedIn adds ratings and reviews to user profiles
Furthermore, there is no way to actively search for work on the platform. All you can do is list your services and wait for them to be discovered.
It’s client-focused by design, but there’s still a lot you can do as a freelancer.
Now that you know the basics of how the LinkedIn Service Marketplace works, here’s how you can use it to find customers.
How to list your services on the LinkedIn Marketplace
Anyone with a LinkedIn profile can list their services by following a few simple steps.
First, log into LinkedIn and click “open to” button at the top of your profile.
From the dropdown select “services provided.”
You will then be asked to set up your Services page by filling in the required fields that appear on the next screen.
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 seventeen main categories of services, each with dozens of subcategories to choose from:
- Accounting
- Training and guidance
- Adviser
- Design
- events
- finance
- home improvement
- Information Technology
- insurance
- Law
- marketing
- operations
- Photography
- Real estate
- Software development
- in writing
After choosing the services you offer, you can write a 500 character description telling customers more about who you are and what you do.
Finally, you can select if you are available for remote work, in-person work, or both.
With these selections, you can now publish your Services page.
In addition, you can let anyone who visits your main profile know that you are open for business by listing your services in a dedicated section.
- See: LinkedIn users can now list the services they provide on their profile
How to find freelance translators on the LinkedIn marketplace
Customers looking to hire freelancers can do so by conducting a search in 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 a job category to find freelancers who offer the service. The results are ranked according to how closely you are associated with each individual on LinkedIn.
When you find someone you’re interested in working with, send them a message to start the hiring process.
Featured image: photo_gonzo / Shutterstock
