Get Clients on LinkedIn: A Solopreneur Playbook

Most solopreneurs treat LinkedIn like a slot machine: post something, send a few DMs, refresh notifications, repeat. Then they conclude “LinkedIn doesn’t work.”

LinkedIn does work—especially for B2B in the U.S.—but the winners aren’t the loudest posters or the busiest commenters. The winners are the people who turn their profile into a conversion asset, build relationships on purpose, and use content to create qualified conversations.

This post is part of the Small Business Social Media USA series, where the goal isn’t vanity metrics. It’s simple: create a repeatable system that generates leads for a one-person business without needing a sales team.

Stop “Posting” and Start Building a Lead Path

Getting clients on LinkedIn isn’t one tactic. It’s a path:

1. A clear offer for a specific buyer
2. A profile that pre-sells your value
3. Consistent visibility with the right people
4. Content that earns trust fast
5. A way to capture leads off the platform

If one link in that chain is weak, you’ll feel like you’re working hard for nothing.

Here’s the stance I’ll take: DM outreach without a strong profile and a simple funnel is wasted motion. You might book the occasional call, but you won’t build momentum.

Step 1: Pick an ICP and Offer That Can Actually Win

The fastest way to fail on LinkedIn is to sound like everyone else.

If your headline is basically “I help businesses grow” or “marketing consultant,” you’re forcing prospects to do extra thinking. Busy decision-makers don’t do extra thinking.

A practical ICP definition for solopreneurs

Your ideal customer profile (ICP) isn’t “small businesses.” It’s a buyer with:

• A job title that can approve spend (Founder, CEO, CMO, VP Marketing, Director)
• A business type (SaaS, ecommerce, healthcare group, accounting firm, agency)
• A size band (solo founder, 10–50 employees, 100+ employees)
• A trigger (hiring, funding, rebrand, new product, traffic decline)

Snippet-worthy rule: If the person can’t say “yes” without asking permission, they’re not your ICP.

Niche without boxing yourself in

“Generic service” examples:

• SEO
• copywriting
• design
• coaching

“Narrowed offer” examples:

• SEO for venture-backed B2B SaaS with declining demo conversion
• LinkedIn ghostwriting for founders who want inbound sales calls
• Email onboarding sequences for ecommerce brands doing $1M–$5M/year

Narrowing does two things:

1. It makes your content easier to write (you know who you’re talking to).
2. It increases perceived expertise (you’re not “a generalist,” you’re the person).

Step 2: Turn Your LinkedIn Profile Into a Conversion Asset

Your profile isn’t a resume. For solopreneurs, it’s a landing page.

Here’s what matters most for getting LinkedIn leads:

Your headline must say “who” and “outcome”

Good headlines reduce guesswork.

A simple formula:

• I help [ICP] get [result] without [pain]

Example:

• “I help B2B SaaS marketing leaders turn SEO traffic into demos (without content bloat)”

Your banner should do two jobs

1. Promise (what you help with)
2. Proof (a number, recognizable logos, a quantified outcome)

Proof doesn’t need to be flashy. One strong metric beats five vague claims.

Your About section should pre-handle objections

Most decision-makers silently ask:

• “Have you done this before?”
• “Do you understand my world?”
• “What’s the process?”
• “What do I do next?”

Write your About like a tight sales page:

• Who you help
• What problem you solve
• How you solve it (a simple framework)
• Proof (metrics, mini case studies)
• CTA (what to click / what to do)

Important: Don’t bury the CTA. If your goal is leads, make the next step obvious.

Step 3: Build Relationships the “Small Business” Way

Big brands can buy attention. Solopreneurs win with targeted consistency.

The most underrated LinkedIn strategy is boring and works: create a list of 25–50 people in your ICP and show up in their comments repeatedly.

How to build your weekly engagement list

Pick people who:

• Match your buyer profile (or influence it)
• Post at least weekly
• Get meaningful comments (not just “great post!” replies)

Keep a simple spreadsheet with:

• Name
• Profile URL
• Why they matter
• Notes on what they care about

Then block 15 minutes a day (or 30 minutes 3x/week) to leave real comments.

A real comment does one of these:

• Adds a practical example
• Disagrees respectfully with reasoning
• Expands with a second-order insight (“Here’s what breaks when you try this at 50+ employees”)

One-liner you can use: If you’re not memorable in comments, your posts won’t matter either.

Step 4: Create Content That Produces Sales Conversations

LinkedIn content that gets clients does two things:

1. Signals competence (you know what you’re doing)
2. Creates a reason to talk (a clear pain you can fix)

Start with pain points, not topics

Topics are broad: “SEO,” “lead gen,” “branding.”

Pain points are specific:

• “Our SEO traffic grew, but demo requests didn’t.”
• “I’m posting, but nothing turns into calls.”
• “Our outbound is dying and we need inbound channels.”

If you want more qualified inbound leads on LinkedIn, write posts that speak to problems your buyer already admits in private.

Use frameworks that match LinkedIn behavior

LinkedIn rewards clarity, contrast, and momentum. These formats consistently work:

• Case study (problem → approach → outcome → lesson)
• Myth-busting (“Stop doing X, do Y instead”)
• “I used to think… now I think…” (shows evolution and judgment)
• Behind-the-scenes (“How I run discovery calls,” “How I audit funnels”)
• Tool/resource list (but only if it’s opinionated)

A simple content ratio I’ve found effective for solopreneurs:

• 60% practical how-to (checklists, examples, teardown posts)
• 30% proof and narrative (case studies, lessons learned)
• 10% direct invite (lead magnet, consult call, waitlist)

Posting frequency that a one-person business can sustain

Consistency beats intensity.

A realistic schedule:

• 2 posts/week (Tue/Thu is a solid default)
• 10 meaningful comments/week on ICP posts
• 1 “proof” post/month (case study, testimonial, before/after)

Do that for 12 weeks and you’ll have enough data to refine what’s resonating.

Step 5: Distribution That Doesn’t Require a Team (or Ads)

Early on, your posts may flop. That’s normal. Your job is to get your content in front of the right people, not “everyone.”

Three distribution moves that work for solopreneurs

1. Comment-to-post loop: comment on ICP posts first, then publish your post. Some of those people will click through to see who you are.
2. Relationship pings: if your post directly references something a peer discussed (and you genuinely add to it), send a quick note: “This is a continuation of what you said yesterday—thought you’d appreciate it.”
3. Repurpose lightly: turn one LinkedIn post into:
   • one short email to your list
   • one “carousel-style” PDF post (if you use them)
   • one script for a 60-second video (optional)

Distribution is where most small business social media strategies fail: they treat posting as the finish line. It’s the starting line.

Step 6: Capture Leads Off LinkedIn (Because You Don’t Own Reach)

LinkedIn is rented land. Your email list is owned.

If you rely on LinkedIn alone, you’re one account restriction away from starting over.

The simplest funnel that works

You don’t need a complicated website to generate leads on LinkedIn. You need:

1. A lead magnet tied to your paid offer
2. A landing page that collects email
3. A short nurture sequence that makes the next step obvious

Good lead magnet examples for solopreneurs:

• “The 15-minute LinkedIn profile teardown checklist for B2B consultants”
• “5 email templates to book discovery calls with VP/Director buyers”
• “SEO landing page brief that turns traffic into demos”

Then set your profile CTA to point to that lead magnet.

Snippet-worthy rule: If your profile doesn’t capture emails, you’re building someone else’s asset.

What to email after someone opts in

A simple 5-email sequence works:

1. Deliver the resource + set expectations
2. The biggest mistake you see (and how to avoid it)
3. A quick win they can implement in 20 minutes
4. Proof: a mini case study with numbers
5. Clear CTA: reply with “HELP” or book a call

Step 7: Stay Consistent Long Enough to Compound

Most people quit right before LinkedIn starts paying them back.

The compounding effect usually kicks in after you have:

• A profile that converts
• A backlog of 20–40 solid posts
• Regular comment visibility in your niche
• A lead magnet that turns views into subscribers

If you want a practical target, commit to 90 days.

Put it on your calendar:

• Batch writing once a week (60–90 minutes)
• Daily engagement blocks (15 minutes)
• Monthly profile refresh (30 minutes)

Discipline beats inspiration. Especially when you’re running the whole business yourself.

A Simple Next Step for This Week

If your goal is to get clients on LinkedIn, don’t start by posting more. Start by tightening the system.

This week:

1. Rewrite your headline to name an ICP and outcome.
2. Add one proof point to your banner or About.
3. Build a list of 25 ICP accounts and comment for 15 minutes a day.
4. Publish two posts that address one specific pain point.

If you do those four things, you’ll feel the difference in your inbound conversations—fast.

Where are you getting stuck right now: defining your offer, writing content that converts, or turning profile views into actual leads?