June 4, 2025

How To Build a LinkedIn Profile That Attracts More Clients with Maja Kovacic-Kalra | 084

How To Build a LinkedIn Profile That Attracts More Clients with Maja Kovacic-Kalra | 084

Jon is joined by marketing coach Maya Kovacic-Kalra, a former architect who provides a comprehensive guide on optimising LinkedIn profiles to attract more clients and better projects. The discussion covers essential elements like the importance of a compelling headline, an effective LinkedIn banner, a professional profile photo, and a strong about section. Maya stresses the importance of clear call-to-actions and using the featured section to enhance profile engagement. The episode includes examples and practical tips to help architects stand out on LinkedIn and make the most of their online presence.

Today's Guest...

Maja Kovacic-Kalra is a former architect turned marketing coach who spent over a decade in practice. Maja knows the pain of doing great work… and still feeling invisible. Relying on word of mouth. Taking on underpaid, uninspiring projects just to stay afloat. Working with difficult clients. But she’s also seen the difference when you're working on projects you actually enjoy, getting paid properly, and not burning yourself out in the process. Her mission is to help architects get more of the right work with clients who respect and value you. So you can work on projects you love and earn the money you deserve without working crazy hours.

Episode Highlights...

00:00 Introduction

01:24 Meet Maya Kovacic-Kalra: From Architect to Marketing Coach

03:54 What Makes Up A LinkedIn Profile?

09:56 The Importance of a Strong LinkedIn Headline

14:52 Crafting an Effective LinkedIn Banner

18:28 Perfecting Your LinkedIn Profile Photo

20:04 Maximising the Blue Link and About Section

28:07 The Featured Section: A Key Element

29:38 Maya's Favourite Travel Destination

31:17 Conclusion and Final Thoughts

Key Takeaways...

Make Your LinkedIn Headline Work for You

Your headline should do more than just say your job title. Use it to tell people who you help, what you do, and how it helps them. Try a simple format like: “I help [type of person] do [what you do] so they can [benefit].”

👉 Focus on the first 45–60 characters—this is what people see first when you show up in searches or invites.

Design a Banner That Tells Your Story

Your LinkedIn banner is the big image at the top of your profile. Use it to grab attention and show:

📢 What you do and why it matters

✅ Proof of your work (like logos or quotes from happy clients)

👉 A simple message that tells people what to do next (like “Book a call”)

Make sure the text is easy to read on both phone and computer, and check that nothing is hidden behind your profile photo.

Use the ‘About’ and ‘Featured’ Sections to Show How You Help

The ‘About’ section is a place to share your story—not just your CV. Talk about the problems your ideal client has, and how you help fix them. Keep it clear and friendly.

In the ‘Featured’ section, add links to your best work or offers. Put the most important link first—the one you want people to click. This should match the call to action in your banner.

Links Mentioned In The Episode...

Grab Maja’s Free PDF Guide ‘Your Next Step to a Stronger LinkedIn Profile’

Connect with Maja on LinkedIn

Visit Maja’s Website

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👉 Book a chat with Jon to explore working with him 📞

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Resources…

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00:00 - Introduction

01:24 - Meet Maya Kovacic-Kalra: From Architect to Marketing Coach

03:54 - What Makes Up A LinkedIn Profile?

09:56 - The Importance of a Strong LinkedIn Headline

14:52 - Crafting an Effective LinkedIn Banner

18:28 - Perfecting Your LinkedIn Profile Photo

20:04 - Maximising the Blue Link and About Section

28:07 - The Featured Section: A Key Element

29:38 - Maya's Favourite Travel Destination

31:17 - Conclusion and Final Thoughts

Jon Clayton:

What makes a killer LinkedIn profile?

Jon Clayton:

I'm joined by Maya Kovacic kra, a former architect turned marketing

Jon Clayton:

coach to teach you how to.

Jon Clayton:

Optimize your LinkedIn profile so that you can attract more of the clients you

Jon Clayton:

deserve and land the projects you love.

Jon Clayton:

In this episode of Architecture Business Club, the weekly podcast for

Jon Clayton:

small firm founders who want to build their dream business in architecture

Jon Clayton:

and enjoy more freedom, flexibility, and fulfillment in what they do.

Jon Clayton:

I'm John Clayton, your host.

Jon Clayton:

Having spent over 20 years working in architecture, I know how hard it can

Jon Clayton:

be to explain your services so people truly understand and value what you do.

Jon Clayton:

Many firms struggle with this, but by sharing your stories on podcasts,

Jon Clayton:

you can become the trusted voice in your market, grow your brand,

Jon Clayton:

and attract much better clients.

Jon Clayton:

We can help you with everything from podcast strategy and launch

Jon Clayton:

production and management, podcast hosting and guesting through to

Jon Clayton:

promoting and growing your show.

Jon Clayton:

If you'd like to discover how podcasting could benefit your business, click the

Jon Clayton:

link in the show notes to book a no obligation chat about working with me.

Jon Clayton:

If you're interested in being a guest on this show, emo John, that's

Jon Clayton:

JO n@architecturebusinessclub.com.

Jon Clayton:

Now let's learn more about LinkedIn profile optimization.

Jon Clayton:

Maya Kovacic-Kalra is a former architect turned marketing coach

Jon Clayton:

who spent over a decade in practice.

Jon Clayton:

Maya knows the pain of doing great work and still feeling invisible,

Jon Clayton:

relying on word of mouth taking on.

Jon Clayton:

Underpaid uninspiring projects working with difficult clients, but she's

Jon Clayton:

also seen the difference when you're working on projects, you actually

Jon Clayton:

enjoy getting paid properly and not burning yourself out in the process.

Jon Clayton:

Her mission is to help you get more of the right work with clients who

Jon Clayton:

respect and value you so you can work on projects you love and earn the money

Jon Clayton:

you deserve without working crazy hours.

Jon Clayton:

To grab Maya's free PDF guide, your next step to a stronger LinkedIn profile,

Jon Clayton:

just click the link in the show notes.

Jon Clayton:

Maya, welcome to Architecture Business Club.

Jon Clayton:

Maja Kovacic-Kalra: Thank you very much.

Jon Clayton:

Pleasure to be here.

Jon Clayton:

Oh, it is great to have you here.

Jon Clayton:

It's great to have you here.

Jon Clayton:

Before we get stuck into our topic, Maya, I was wondering about what do

Jon Clayton:

you, what do you enjoy doing in your free time when you're not at work?

Jon Clayton:

Maja Kovacic-Kalra: So, um, my free time now goes.

Jon Clayton:

Mainly to our puppy who we got seven months ago.

Jon Clayton:

She's now nine months, and since we got her as with a new puppy, you

Jon Clayton:

need to go to lots of walks and what I discovered is like new spaces in

Jon Clayton:

London, which I have never been before.

Jon Clayton:

I walk around like parks in London, which I enjoy, and

Jon Clayton:

trying to get to know new parts.

Jon Clayton:

That's what I do most in my free time.

Jon Clayton:

The other parties, I'm a taxi driver for my kids because, you know, they, they

Jon Clayton:

have to go everywhere and I drive them.

Jon Clayton:

Mostly me, sometimes my husband.

Jon Clayton:

And of course, socializing, meeting my friends.

Jon Clayton:

And I love reading books.

Jon Clayton:

Yeah, it sounds like you're quite busy for, for a second there.

Jon Clayton:

When you mentioned about taxing, I thought you were actually gonna say

Jon Clayton:

that you're moonlighting as a taxi

Jon Clayton:

Maja Kovacic-Kalra: I, I don,

Jon Clayton:

thinking this, this is a whole other side to

Jon Clayton:

Maya that I don't know about.

Jon Clayton:

Maja Kovacic-Kalra: I work for free.

Jon Clayton:

I'm a free taxi driver.

Jon Clayton:

Yeah, me too.

Jon Clayton:

Me too.

Jon Clayton:

And yeah, the, the whole thing about, um.

Jon Clayton:

Having a dog.

Jon Clayton:

Uh, we have a dog too.

Jon Clayton:

We have a rescue dog.

Jon Clayton:

And, uh, yeah, such a fantastic way to get out and to discover some new places that

Jon Clayton:

you perhaps didn't know existed before.

Jon Clayton:

So yeah, that sounds like a lot of fun.

Jon Clayton:

Yeah.

Jon Clayton:

So, my, it, we are going to talk about.

Jon Clayton:

LinkedIn, specifically LinkedIn profile optimization so that and other

Jon Clayton:

professionals that might be listening to the show today can get more clients

Jon Clayton:

and opportunities from LinkedIn.

Jon Clayton:

So to begin, could you please give us a quick rundown of what

Jon Clayton:

makes up a LinkedIn profile?

Jon Clayton:

Maja Kovacic-Kalra: Yes.

Jon Clayton:

So before I say that, I would just say that LinkedIn profile is one of the

Jon Clayton:

parts that you should have done well.

Jon Clayton:

Plus other parts, just like posting and commenting.

Jon Clayton:

It's not just LinkedIn profile, it's gonna get you new clients.

Jon Clayton:

Um, it's like LinkedIn works like an ecosystem and you have to, you know,

Jon Clayton:

do all the parts to get good results.

Jon Clayton:

But LinkedIn profile, I would call it, it's like a foundation where

Jon Clayton:

pe, which works for you 24 7.

Jon Clayton:

And if it's a strong one, it's there.

Jon Clayton:

You know, it's there.

Jon Clayton:

And then you can do the posting, you can do commenting and you

Jon Clayton:

can do DMing, but you know your profile's gonna work for your heart.

Jon Clayton:

The main part that you should really look at, uh, your headline.

Jon Clayton:

Your banner, which is the biggest image, um, on de linking profile.

Jon Clayton:

Your profile picture.

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Then under your name and headline is your blue link.

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Then if you move down about section.

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Featured section, which many people probably don't use or don't know about it.

Jon Clayton:

Experience section, services section, and recommendations.

Jon Clayton:

So these are the main parts I would say you need to really focus on when you are

Jon Clayton:

looking through your LinkedIn profile.

Jon Clayton:

Okay, so the LinkedIn profile is very important.

Jon Clayton:

It's something that can work 24 hours a day for us.

Jon Clayton:

But there are other things that we, we need to consider as well.

Jon Clayton:

You said that LinkedIn's like a whole ecosystem there of different

Jon Clayton:

elements that we should be using.

Jon Clayton:

Um, the interest of respecting our listeners time though, we, we decided

Jon Clayton:

today that we would focus on the profile

Jon Clayton:

Maja Kovacic-Kalra: Yeah.

Jon Clayton:

if you wanted to do a deep dive in everything,

Jon Clayton:

LinkedIn, like we, we could do a whole series on that, couldn't we?

Jon Clayton:

Mya all about LinkedIn.

Jon Clayton:

So, um, maybe that's an opportunity for, um, a follow up episode in the future.

Jon Clayton:

But today we're gonna be focusing on that profile and those, those

Jon Clayton:

elements that you've, you've given us a run through about.

Jon Clayton:

Um, we get stuck into those different parts of the LinkedIn profile,

Jon Clayton:

common mistakes have you seen architects and other professionals

Jon Clayton:

make on their own LinkedIn profiles?

Jon Clayton:

Maja Kovacic-Kalra: Okay, so if I, let's say I'm a client

Jon Clayton:

that's looking for an architect.

Jon Clayton:

I go on LinkedIn, I put, um, the word architect in, in the search bar.

Jon Clayton:

Then LinkedIn's gonna give, give me lots of different profile.

Jon Clayton:

I'm a homeowner.

Jon Clayton:

I need an architect to, let's say, make me a new extension or redo my house.

Jon Clayton:

What I see when I see all these profiles, it's in the headlines.

Jon Clayton:

Most of architects or other professions just give their

Jon Clayton:

positions, so it's architect or internal architect, or sustainability

Jon Clayton:

architect, or maybe architect at this company, but none of those.

Jon Clayton:

Tell me more about it.

Jon Clayton:

Is it for me?

Jon Clayton:

Who is it?

Jon Clayton:

Who are you helping?

Jon Clayton:

How are you gonna help me achieve what I'm looking for?

Jon Clayton:

And you know, how are you gonna make my life better?

Jon Clayton:

So that's the first part.

Jon Clayton:

It's the headline that architects use.

Jon Clayton:

The second one, if I go to their profiles, lots of they don't have a banner, which

Jon Clayton:

might be a reason they have a switched off visibility in their settings,

Jon Clayton:

or they just didn't put it there.

Jon Clayton:

Or they have a nice picture of a project or a detail, and that's about it.

Jon Clayton:

Lots of that don't use, uh, blue Link, which is a clickable link.

Jon Clayton:

About session is usually all about them.

Jon Clayton:

It treats like a cv then featured session, the section, they

Jon Clayton:

either don't have it or because.

Jon Clayton:

They don't know about it mostly, or they use it in a way that,

Jon Clayton:

um, it's not very optimized or they could use it much better.

Jon Clayton:

And also experience section, it treats also like a CV where it

Jon Clayton:

should tell a bit of a story.

Jon Clayton:

So these are the main parts, um, that I can see with architects and what that.

Jon Clayton:

Means is if you go through different profiles, loads of them

Jon Clayton:

are very similar, so they don't distinguish among each other.

Jon Clayton:

They don't tell me, you are the right architect for me.

Jon Clayton:

I want to work with you.

Jon Clayton:

They just tell me you are an architect.

Jon Clayton:

Okay, but nothing more.

Jon Clayton:

And I know that you did this in these projects, but I want to know more.

Jon Clayton:

You know, I want to.

Jon Clayton:

Build that trust with the person.

Jon Clayton:

And hopefully that, you know, it's gonna make them do, uh, something

Jon Clayton:

more and make them want to do, to work with me or work with an architect.

Jon Clayton:

So these are the main mistakes I can see on their profiles.

Jon Clayton:

Okay.

Jon Clayton:

So it sounds like from what you've seen, that a lot of those profiles

Jon Clayton:

sounds similar actually, in terms of the content that they have on there.

Jon Clayton:

It's very much about the projects and the individual, less about the clients,

Jon Clayton:

and, probably making it quite hard for them to stand out on LinkedIn,

Jon Clayton:

maybe to the point where they might be questioning, it really worth it?

Jon Clayton:

You know, this LinkedIn thing, just, it's not working for me.

Jon Clayton:

Maja Kovacic-Kalra: Yep.

Jon Clayton:

is that the case?

Jon Clayton:

You know?

Jon Clayton:

Maja Kovacic-Kalra: Yeah,

Jon Clayton:

but the good news is that there's lots that they can do

Jon Clayton:

Maja Kovacic-Kalra: they can.

Jon Clayton:

to improve the presence on LinkedIn,

Jon Clayton:

Maja Kovacic-Kalra: Yes.

Jon Clayton:

we are gonna dig into a little bit more now.

Jon Clayton:

Maja Kovacic-Kalra: Perfect.

Jon Clayton:

So let's start with the, the headline.

Jon Clayton:

Could you explain.

Jon Clayton:

Why the headline is so critical and, and how we can make it stand out.

Jon Clayton:

Maja Kovacic-Kalra: Okay, so headline is.

Jon Clayton:

A little bit more important outside your profile than on your profile.

Jon Clayton:

It's also important your profile, but if you go on LinkedIn and if you go through

Jon Clayton:

LinkedIn feed and look through the comments or through posts or LinkedIn,

Jon Clayton:

you know, recommends a profile or you get a connection request, what you're gonna

Jon Clayton:

see there is of course a small profile.

Jon Clayton:

Picture a name, and then below there's gonna be a preview of the headline.

Jon Clayton:

The preview means if you are looking on your mobile phones, about 45

Jon Clayton:

characters on desktops, a little bit more about 60 characters, and

Jon Clayton:

in those 45 characters, you should tell people you are the architect.

Jon Clayton:

For example, if you are an architect or a person that they need to

Jon Clayton:

check out, you need to tell them more than just your job position.

Jon Clayton:

So.

Jon Clayton:

That's gonna make them then say, okay, I'm interested in this person.

Jon Clayton:

I'm gonna click on their profile, and then I'm gonna come to their profile.

Jon Clayton:

So that's how you should use your headline.

Jon Clayton:

Focus on those four first characters, and then when they come to your

Jon Clayton:

profile, your headline, you can add to your headline more keywords.

Jon Clayton:

So let's say your headline starts with a. First strong 45 characters, which

Jon Clayton:

can, where you can use the simplest template, which is like, for example,

Jon Clayton:

I help or I design who, where you put your target audience, do what and how.

Jon Clayton:

For example, I help home owners add space to their homes

Jon Clayton:

with well design extensions.

Jon Clayton:

So you tell them who you're for, what you do, and what.

Jon Clayton:

What their benefit's gonna be.

Jon Clayton:

That's one version or a second.

Jon Clayton:

One you start with your role because lots of architects

Jon Clayton:

want to start with their roles.

Jon Clayton:

So you can say you are an architect, so architect for home, owner owners

Jon Clayton:

specializing in residential architecture.

Jon Clayton:

We designed the cuts.

Jon Clayton:

If you want to put figures, 40% of your energy bills.

Jon Clayton:

So you tell people more.

Jon Clayton:

That's why headlines are really important.

Jon Clayton:

Don't make them vague.

Jon Clayton:

Don't make them clever, make them simple and make them really understandable.

Jon Clayton:

And then if you want to add more key words, you can add those after

Jon Clayton:

your main part of your headline.

Jon Clayton:

Headline.

Jon Clayton:

If you want to say you are a founder, add founder.

Jon Clayton:

If you want to say, you know, you are Reba Chartered, add that all important bits

Jon Clayton:

that you want to add come after that, but.

Jon Clayton:

And make your four first 45 character characters really strong.

Jon Clayton:

That's, that's great.

Jon Clayton:

that's.

Jon Clayton:

You've made that really clear for us, Maya.

Jon Clayton:

So thank you for

Jon Clayton:

Maja Kovacic-Kalra: Okay.

Jon Clayton:

Oops.

Jon Clayton:

So

Jon Clayton:

uh, examples that we can use.

Jon Clayton:

Maja Kovacic-Kalra: yeah.

Jon Clayton:

the wording there to suit.

Jon Clayton:

And something you mentioned there is about the importance of, uh, the

Jon Clayton:

headline outside of your profile.

Jon Clayton:

That's one of the things, isn't it, that when you are.

Jon Clayton:

Commenting on like other people's posts

Jon Clayton:

Maja Kovacic-Kalra: Yeah.

Jon Clayton:

that headline, the first few characters of it

Jon Clayton:

that's going to appear, isn't it?

Jon Clayton:

Maja Kovacic-Kalra: Yeah.

Jon Clayton:

that if you've got a really rubbish headline, um, that's

Jon Clayton:

not gonna capture people's attention,

Jon Clayton:

Maja Kovacic-Kalra: Yeah,

Jon Clayton:

a real missed opportunity, isn't it?

Jon Clayton:

Maja Kovacic-Kalra: it is, it is a missed opportunity.

Jon Clayton:

And also, for example, when I see like, connection requests, you know, I want to.

Jon Clayton:

If I, if I see a person who doesn't have a head, some people don't even have

Jon Clayton:

headlines, but if a person just tells me one word, most likely, unless it's an

Jon Clayton:

architect, which is smart target audience I probably wouldn't really click on it.

Jon Clayton:

And yeah, it's a, it is a missed opportunity, especially when you

Jon Clayton:

have like so many, same ones.

Jon Clayton:

Um, architect, architect, interior architect.

Jon Clayton:

There's no distinguish.

Jon Clayton:

Tell people who you are for and what you can do for them.

Jon Clayton:

Yeah, interesting that.

Jon Clayton:

That point you make there that if that headline isn't compelling enough, then

Jon Clayton:

people are not gonna click through to your profile if if it doesn't

Jon Clayton:

entice them, that you're not gonna get as many people that are gonna go

Jon Clayton:

through to check out your profile.

Jon Clayton:

Maja Kovacic-Kalra: Yeah.

Jon Clayton:

the headline doesn't pique their interest.

Jon Clayton:

Maja Kovacic-Kalra: True.

Jon Clayton:

I mean, you might have a really good comment and that's why people would

Jon Clayton:

like to check you out, but you can lose lots of people if you don't have

Jon Clayton:

a clear headline that it's strong and you know, tells people more.

Jon Clayton:

Okay.

Jon Clayton:

Okay.

Jon Clayton:

So the headline's definitely important, but that's not everything

Jon Clayton:

Maja Kovacic-Kalra: It's not everything.

Jon Clayton:

Let's talk about banner.

Jon Clayton:

So what are the key elements of an effective LinkedIn banner on our profiles?

Jon Clayton:

I.

Jon Clayton:

Maja Kovacic-Kalra: So, as I said before, banner is the biggest image

Jon Clayton:

that preview previous on LinkedIn.

Jon Clayton:

And I was listening to this, um, LinkedIn coach and he told me that out of like.

Jon Clayton:

Average of 15 seconds that people spent on some that this profile,

Jon Clayton:

they spent about seven seconds on the banner, which is almost half of it.

Jon Clayton:

So it's really important to make your banner work hard.

Jon Clayton:

Um, there are three things, um, banner should have, so a value proposition

Jon Clayton:

statement social proof and call to action.

Jon Clayton:

So a value proposition statement should be a statement where you.

Jon Clayton:

Again, tell people who you are, what you can do for them, how you can serve them.

Jon Clayton:

But doesn't copy paste your headline.

Jon Clayton:

It needs to add to your headline so you're not, again, just copy pasting, but you add

Jon Clayton:

to what you already said in the headline.

Jon Clayton:

Then the second part I said is social proof.

Jon Clayton:

Social proof builds trust as a social proof.

Jon Clayton:

You can use either logos of the companies you work with, you

Jon Clayton:

can use like short testimonials.

Jon Clayton:

You can use awards if you want any, anything that builds trust.

Jon Clayton:

And the third part is call to action.

Jon Clayton:

So many people don't use that.

Jon Clayton:

Now, call to action in banner is not clickable, but is the first

Jon Clayton:

part when you can tell people.

Jon Clayton:

What you want them to do next?

Jon Clayton:

Where do you want to take them?

Jon Clayton:

So use that in a banner, for example.

Jon Clayton:

If you want to tell them, I want you to book a consultation, tell them

Jon Clayton:

that, say, book a consultation, click link in a blue link, for example.

Jon Clayton:

Tell them also with all these three parts, bear in mind that lots of LinkedIn

Jon Clayton:

users, they browse on their mobile phones.

Jon Clayton:

So you have to make your banner readable.

Jon Clayton:

Don't use really small phones that people can't see, and also make

Jon Clayton:

colors that, you know, go with each other that people can read.

Jon Clayton:

So if you use like white on yellow.

Jon Clayton:

That's not gonna be very good.

Jon Clayton:

Make it readable.

Jon Clayton:

The other thing I would say on a banner, when you design it, like when you

Jon Clayton:

preview it on a desktop, your profile photo, it's gonna be more on the left.

Jon Clayton:

But when you preview it on the mobile phone, it's gonna take more

Jon Clayton:

of the banner space on the right.

Jon Clayton:

So if you're not careful, it can cut off your text.

Jon Clayton:

And I've seen that many times.

Jon Clayton:

So just.

Jon Clayton:

You can Google this to see how you should design it, but be careful with that.

Jon Clayton:

Um, but yeah, three things.

Jon Clayton:

Value proposition statement, call to action, and social proof.

Jon Clayton:

These are the most three important things you should have on a banner.

Jon Clayton:

I, I'm, I'm just.

Jon Clayton:

Chuckling to myself here.

Jon Clayton:

Um, thinking of the times that I've tried to update my LinkedIn

Jon Clayton:

Maja Kovacic-Kalra: Mm-hmm.

Jon Clayton:

and then put it on LinkedIn and then seen it on my mobile phone, and

Jon Clayton:

it's like, oh, the text is covered up.

Jon Clayton:

It

Jon Clayton:

Maja Kovacic-Kalra: Yeah.

Jon Clayton:

is, it is a little bit, can be a little bit tricky.

Jon Clayton:

Maja Kovacic-Kalra: Yeah.

Jon Clayton:

without help to get that right, you do have something that can help

Jon Clayton:

with that, but we'll mention that later.

Jon Clayton:

Maja Kovacic-Kalra: Yes.

Jon Clayton:

So.

Jon Clayton:

What about the photo you mentioned there?

Jon Clayton:

The, the photo can appear different sizes over the

Jon Clayton:

Maja Kovacic-Kalra: Mm-hmm.

Jon Clayton:

what, depending on how it's viewed on what device, but, but what

Jon Clayton:

makes a great LinkedIn profile photo?

Jon Clayton:

Maja Kovacic-Kalra: So your profile photo should have a good

Jon Clayton:

resolution, so you know it's clear.

Jon Clayton:

Uh, LinkedIn recommends 400 by 400 pixels.

Jon Clayton:

Of course it needs to have your face in it, and your face should cover

Jon Clayton:

about 60% of the profile picture.

Jon Clayton:

So don't be too zoomed out so people can't see who you are.

Jon Clayton:

It, you should look professional, but approachable.

Jon Clayton:

And also with the background, you can have a background, but if

Jon Clayton:

it's busy background, it's gonna take away from your profile photo.

Jon Clayton:

So make it either blurry or make it one color.

Jon Clayton:

For example, I have my face and my background color is

Jon Clayton:

orange, which is my brand color.

Jon Clayton:

So yes.

Jon Clayton:

Good resolution, 60% of the um, circle should be covered by your

Jon Clayton:

face and make it good, make it approachable and make it professional.

Jon Clayton:

That's what I would say.

Jon Clayton:

Yeah.

Jon Clayton:

Okay.

Jon Clayton:

That, that's great.

Jon Clayton:

Also, you also mentioned, um, when we were talking about the banner, about

Jon Clayton:

mentioning that call to action, uh, and one of the things that, that could

Jon Clayton:

be was clicking the blue link or like booking a call or whatever that action is.

Jon Clayton:

Maja Kovacic-Kalra: Yeah.

Jon Clayton:

we talk a little bit about blue link?

Jon Clayton:

So kind of what is the blue link?

Jon Clayton:

Where, where can we find it, and how should we be using that link?

Jon Clayton:

Maja Kovacic-Kalra: Mm-hmm.

Jon Clayton:

So Blue Link, I call it Blue Link because it's, it's a blue link.

Jon Clayton:

It's the link which comes, you have the name that you have

Jon Clayton:

headline and it comes below.

Jon Clayton:

And Blue Link is a clickable link, which.

Jon Clayton:

Can be really important if you want people to take action.

Jon Clayton:

So Blueing should repeat the call to action that you

Jon Clayton:

already set in your banner.

Jon Clayton:

This is the second time you should mention the same offer, not with copy paste words,

Jon Clayton:

but it needs to tell the same offer.

Jon Clayton:

Don't put one offer in the banner and then another offer in the blue link

Jon Clayton:

because you're just gonna confuse people what you want them to do.

Jon Clayton:

So this should be.

Jon Clayton:

Your main offer.

Jon Clayton:

Where do you want people?

Jon Clayton:

Where do you want to take people from your LinkedIn profile, and

Jon Clayton:

what do you want them to do next?

Jon Clayton:

If you want them to book a consultation with you, tell them that, and then

Jon Clayton:

when they click on that link, take them to a landing page where they

Jon Clayton:

can book, book a consultation.

Jon Clayton:

Don't take them, for example, to your portfolio or to your website where.

Jon Clayton:

Suddenly they're gonna see your about section.

Jon Clayton:

They're gonna see your, you know, projects.

Jon Clayton:

They're gonna see so many different things and you're gonna lose them.

Jon Clayton:

Make it very simple.

Jon Clayton:

Make it at as least steps as they can take to take an action

Jon Clayton:

you are telling them to do.

Jon Clayton:

So add that blue link.

Jon Clayton:

So it's there.

Jon Clayton:

And people, if they decide to take your, you know, you offer what you want them

Jon Clayton:

to do, it's there and they can do it.

Jon Clayton:

Again, take them exactly to where you tell them you want to take them.

Jon Clayton:

Don't confuse them in the middle.

Jon Clayton:

Okay, so.

Jon Clayton:

Make sure it's the same as the call to action that's on the banner,

Jon Clayton:

Maja Kovacic-Kalra: Yeah,

Jon Clayton:

confusing people and send them somewhere where

Jon Clayton:

there's not too many distractions.

Jon Clayton:

They're not gonna go off and start browsing the portfolio

Jon Clayton:

Maja Kovacic-Kalra: yeah.

Jon Clayton:

want them to, for example, book a call, just send them to a landing

Jon Clayton:

Maja Kovacic-Kalra: Yeah.

Jon Clayton:

Yeah, I know lots of people have like Calendly where people can book a call, so

Jon Clayton:

you know, they take them straight there.

Jon Clayton:

You can write a copy there, which explains a bit more if you want to,

Jon Clayton:

and I would recommend you do that.

Jon Clayton:

But take them there where they can actually do what you ask them to do.

Jon Clayton:

Okay.

Jon Clayton:

Yeah,

Jon Clayton:

Maja Kovacic-Kalra: Yeah,

Jon Clayton:

it.

Jon Clayton:

Confuse people don't click.

Jon Clayton:

Maja Kovacic-Kalra: exactly.

Jon Clayton:

we don't want to confuse them,

Jon Clayton:

Maja Kovacic-Kalra: No, no.

Jon Clayton:

could we talk, uh, about the, about section?

Jon Clayton:

How do you recommend we approach writing our about section on our LinkedIn profile?

Jon Clayton:

Maja Kovacic-Kalra: Yeah, that's an, that's a, I love the about section.

Jon Clayton:

It's, um, because like almost a hundred percent of people use about section.

Jon Clayton:

To write about themselves and about section doesn't say about you, it

Jon Clayton:

just says about and about Section should be not UCV should be a breach

Jon Clayton:

from where your potential clients are right now and where you want to

Jon Clayton:

take them and how to take them there.

Jon Clayton:

So it should tell a story.

Jon Clayton:

It, um, it should tell them, you know, how you can help.

Jon Clayton:

So.

Jon Clayton:

One of the really good ways to approach this is you start with a problem or a

Jon Clayton:

pain, po pain point or struggles that your, you know, target audience have.

Jon Clayton:

Because remember in about section, it's first few lines that are previewed

Jon Clayton:

and then people can click more.

Jon Clayton:

It doesn't show the whole about section if you don't click on more.

Jon Clayton:

So make sure that first few lines are really, really strong and start with.

Jon Clayton:

Target audience.

Jon Clayton:

Start with your readers.

Jon Clayton:

Talk about their problems, and then you can agitate that problem and also

Jon Clayton:

talk about where they could be and show them how their life could look like.

Jon Clayton:

And then you offer, then you put yourself in, you offer a solution.

Jon Clayton:

So your, for example, your services are.

Jon Clayton:

Solution to that problem.

Jon Clayton:

And with your services, with your help, you can take them

Jon Clayton:

there where they want to be.

Jon Clayton:

And then after all that, again, add your call to action.

Jon Clayton:

Add your, it's not clickable, but add the same call to action.

Jon Clayton:

You already mentioned in the banner you already mentioned in Blue Link.

Jon Clayton:

Add it at the end.

Jon Clayton:

That's how you can approach the about section.

Jon Clayton:

It's not just about you, about your achievement achievements about your

Jon Clayton:

life story, it's about people who land on your profile and people who you

Jon Clayton:

want to work with, and you tell them, you know, you are the solution for

Jon Clayton:

them, but you need to start talking about them first, not about you.

Jon Clayton:

I love that.

Jon Clayton:

So yeah, the about section, it, it's not all about you, it's it's about

Jon Clayton:

your customers and how, how you can help them get from where they are

Jon Clayton:

now to where they want to get to that

Jon Clayton:

Maja Kovacic-Kalra: Yeah.

Jon Clayton:

Yeah.

Jon Clayton:

It's a, yeah, you show, show them.

Jon Clayton:

You tell them about transformation.

Jon Clayton:

You can help them achieve if they want to, you know, and then tell them, book

Jon Clayton:

a consultation so we can talk further.

Jon Clayton:

And there's a, a fairly generous character limit.

Jon Clayton:

But there is a character limit.

Jon Clayton:

I have done that before where I've, I've tried to, to write something

Jon Clayton:

and it's, it's got quite long,

Jon Clayton:

Maja Kovacic-Kalra: Yeah,

Jon Clayton:

come to copy and paste it into LinkedIn, I'm like, oh,

Jon Clayton:

Maja Kovacic-Kalra: it's too long.

Jon Clayton:

Yeah.

Jon Clayton:

to cut it down again.

Jon Clayton:

Maja Kovacic-Kalra: Yeah.

Jon Clayton:

I can't remember exact, uh, character's number, but yeah.

Jon Clayton:

If you don't add fluff that people, you know, get bored in middle,

Jon Clayton:

middle, you can have a lengthy post.

Jon Clayton:

Just keep it engaging, keep it, you know, what you want to say.

Jon Clayton:

If it doesn't fit, take it out.

Jon Clayton:

But just tell people the story of how, where they are now.

Jon Clayton:

And where they could get with your help.

Jon Clayton:

I love that

Jon Clayton:

Maja Kovacic-Kalra: Yeah,

Jon Clayton:

If you do need some help with the writing or, or with the editing.

Jon Clayton:

I mean, chat, GPT.

Jon Clayton:

It's not a great writer, but it's a pretty good editor I've found.

Jon Clayton:

Maja Kovacic-Kalra: yeah,

Jon Clayton:

write a piece, then you can, you could always get a little bit of help

Jon Clayton:

from an AI tool to help edit it down, which I, I think that's quite a useful

Jon Clayton:

Maja Kovacic-Kalra: yeah.

Jon Clayton:

Yeah.

Jon Clayton:

too much for your about section.

Jon Clayton:

Maja Kovacic-Kalra: Exactly, and always check after using chat.

Jon Clayton:

GPT.

Jon Clayton:

Always check because sometimes yeah, things don't come out

Jon Clayton:

very well if you don't check.

Jon Clayton:

Oh, absolutely.

Jon Clayton:

Yeah.

Jon Clayton:

You have to proofread absolutely everything.

Jon Clayton:

Maya, we've, we've covered a lot of ground

Jon Clayton:

Maja Kovacic-Kalra: Mm-hmm.

Jon Clayton:

what would be the main thing that you'd like everyone to

Jon Clayton:

take away from our conversation today?

Jon Clayton:

I.

Jon Clayton:

Maja Kovacic-Kalra: The main thing it would be.

Jon Clayton:

So if you are using LinkedIn to help you to grow your business, to help

Jon Clayton:

you, you know, attract clients, to help you get leads, focus on your

Jon Clayton:

LinkedIn profile and make it strong.

Jon Clayton:

Make it, strong.

Jon Clayton:

So it tells a story when a person who you want to attract lands on it

Jon Clayton:

knows exactly who you are, what you can do for them, how you can help

Jon Clayton:

them, and take them through that, through every section of the profile.

Jon Clayton:

Don't just say few words or leave the banner empty.

Jon Clayton:

Take it seriously.

Jon Clayton:

And when you have it optimized and when you have it strong, you know it's there.

Jon Clayton:

You can always change it if you, you know, if you change your offers, but

Jon Clayton:

make it work for you and tell people what is the next step they need to do.

Jon Clayton:

So your call to action.

Jon Clayton:

I love that.

Jon Clayton:

Maja Kovacic-Kalra: Yeah.

Jon Clayton:

Maya.

Jon Clayton:

Was there anything else about the topic?

Jon Clayton:

That you, you wanted to add that we, we haven't covered already?

Jon Clayton:

Maja Kovacic-Kalra: There's, uh, one more really important part,

Jon Clayton:

which is a featured section.

Jon Clayton:

Featured section is where you can also add clickable links with a little like images.

Jon Clayton:

Um, what I would quickly say with the featured section, the first

Jon Clayton:

link in your featured section, should again, be your main offer.

Jon Clayton:

That you already mentioned in the banner, in the blue link.

Jon Clayton:

So that's your first one, and then you can add more.

Jon Clayton:

I wouldn't add more than four because it get, can get too much for people.

Jon Clayton:

Maybe you can have only 1, 2, 3.

Jon Clayton:

I have two.

Jon Clayton:

And the others, you, if you have a lead, uh, lead magnet, you can add that.

Jon Clayton:

If you have, maybe if you want to take people to your portfolio, you

Jon Clayton:

can add that, but always the first one should be your main offer.

Jon Clayton:

And yeah, add it.

Jon Clayton:

If you don't have it, you can just, um, search on Google, see

Jon Clayton:

how you add the feature section.

Jon Clayton:

But it, it's important one, because again, it comes further down when

Jon Clayton:

people already read things about you and they learn more about you.

Jon Clayton:

And when you say you know what you want 'em to do again, it's more likely

Jon Clayton:

they're gonna click on that link.

Jon Clayton:

That is a timely reminder for me to add.

Jon Clayton:

A featured section because I've been meaning to do that for a

Jon Clayton:

while and I still haven't done it.

Jon Clayton:

Maja Kovacic-Kalra: Yeah.

Jon Clayton:

I'm going to, uh, bump that up my to-do list

Jon Clayton:

Maja Kovacic-Kalra: Yeah.

Jon Clayton:

sure that gets done.

Jon Clayton:

Maya, I wanted to ask another question.

Jon Clayton:

It's not about LinkedIn,

Jon Clayton:

Maja Kovacic-Kalra: Okay.

Jon Clayton:

but I, I love to travel and to discover new places,

Jon Clayton:

and I wondered if you could tell me about one of your favorite

Jon Clayton:

places and what you love about it.

Jon Clayton:

It could be anywhere near or far.

Jon Clayton:

Maja Kovacic-Kalra: I think now, especially when I live in London, my

Jon Clayton:

favorite place always to go back to my hometown, which is in Slovenia.

Jon Clayton:

I, when I was living there, of course, you know, you take everything for

Jon Clayton:

granted, but when you move away and you live somewhere else, my home

Jon Clayton:

country is always the best place to go.

Jon Clayton:

I mean, I like, I like traveling, but I need to go back.

Jon Clayton:

It's because it's, it's.

Jon Clayton:

It's very green, it's very, you know, calm in comparison to London.

Jon Clayton:

It's very clean.

Jon Clayton:

You can get everywhere very quickly with a car.

Jon Clayton:

And that's the place.

Jon Clayton:

Yeah, I, I always love going back and I need to, especially during

Jon Clayton:

the summer, the summer in Slovenia, that's is where I always want to be.

Jon Clayton:

Oh, if, if you haven't had the chance to visit Slovenia,

Jon Clayton:

you, you're missing out on a treat.

Jon Clayton:

I have been fortunate to visit there maybe two or three times over the years.

Jon Clayton:

Not for a little while, but, um, I've visited a few different places in Slovenia

Jon Clayton:

and it is just such a beautiful country.

Jon Clayton:

It's, it's a really lovely place.

Jon Clayton:

Um, yeah, especially if you, if you're into.

Jon Clayton:

kind of outdoor stuff,

Jon Clayton:

Maja Kovacic-Kalra: Oh yeah.

Jon Clayton:

outdoor activities like hiking, swimming in lakes,

Jon Clayton:

and you know, climbing mountains and kayaking, all of those things.

Jon Clayton:

There's, there's so much to do, um, in Slovenia.

Jon Clayton:

So yeah, definitely go and check it out for

Jon Clayton:

Maja Kovacic-Kalra: Yes

Jon Clayton:

my thank you again for being a guest on the show

Jon Clayton:

and sharing your expertise.

Jon Clayton:

It's much appreciated.

Jon Clayton:

Maja Kovacic-Kalra: my pleasure.

Jon Clayton:

the, yeah, where's the best place for people

Jon Clayton:

to connect with you online?

Jon Clayton:

Maja Kovacic-Kalra: LinkedIn, I'm on LinkedIn, so just search me up and you

Jon Clayton:

can DM me and just connect with me.

Jon Clayton:

If, if you connect with me because you watched um, John's show, just let me know.

Jon Clayton:

That would be great.

Jon Clayton:

It would be great to hear the feedback as well.

Jon Clayton:

But yeah, LinkedIn, this is my main platform.

Jon Clayton:

Fantastic.

Jon Clayton:

And Mike, could you remind everyone about the, um, the three PDF guides

Jon Clayton:

that I mentioned in the introduction?

Jon Clayton:

Could you

Jon Clayton:

Maja Kovacic-Kalra: Yeah.

Jon Clayton:

bit more about that?

Jon Clayton:

Maja Kovacic-Kalra: So all the things that we talked about today, they're

Jon Clayton:

covered in my my free guide more in details and also with examples which I

Jon Clayton:

think, you know, it's, it's quite useful.

Jon Clayton:

There's a little bit more, uh, things in there, um, that we talked about today.

Jon Clayton:

But yeah, if you want to, make your profile.

Jon Clayton:

Optimize and stronger that it is now, please go and download my free PDF.

Jon Clayton:

It has every section explained there and if you have any questions you can

Jon Clayton:

always, send me a D DM on on my LinkedIn.

Jon Clayton:

That's brilliant.

Jon Clayton:

Maja Kovacic-Kalra: Yeah.

Jon Clayton:

and I'll make sure there's a link to that in the show notes.

Jon Clayton:

And Maya, I think you're, you're underselling it, it's

Jon Clayton:

a bit more than quite useful.

Jon Clayton:

I've got a copy of this document and, uh, it is really detailed, so this is not just

Jon Clayton:

some that you're gonna be downloading.

Jon Clayton:

It's not like a one two page thing.

Jon Clayton:

It's, it is a really useful, detailed document that if you are

Jon Clayton:

interested in putting into practice.

Jon Clayton:

Any of what May has talked about in the episode today, you need to hit that

Jon Clayton:

link and go and download that guide.

Jon Clayton:

Maja Kovacic-Kalra: Thank you, John.

Jon Clayton:

You're welcome.

Jon Clayton:

Thanks again.

Jon Clayton:

Maja Kovacic-Kalra: Yeah, I, I wanted to make it, like if I. I wanted to

Jon Clayton:

make it that if I would read through that document, I would know what

Jon Clayton:

to do and how to make it stronger.

Jon Clayton:

So that, that was my focus.

Jon Clayton:

I want people, when they read through it, they can actually do it.

Jon Clayton:

So yeah.

Jon Clayton:

Yeah.

Jon Clayton:

I hope it helps.

Jon Clayton:

Thanks again, Maya.

Jon Clayton:

Maja Kovacic-Kalra: My pleasure.

Jon Clayton:

Thank you very much for having me and my, I must say this is my first

Jon Clayton:

podcast, so I'll al always remember it.

Jon Clayton:

Oh,

Jon Clayton:

Maja Kovacic-Kalra: Yeah.

Jon Clayton:

Well, I'm, I'm so glad to have, um, been able to, to help

Jon Clayton:

you do that, and hopefully it was gonna be the, the first of many.

Jon Clayton:

Maja Kovacic-Kalra: Thank you and I, I, I enjoyed it.

Jon Clayton:

It was a really, really nice experience.

Jon Clayton:

Thanks so much for listening to this episode

Jon Clayton:

of architecture business club.

Jon Clayton:

If you liked this episode, think other people might enjoy it.

Jon Clayton:

Or just want to show your support for the show.

Jon Clayton:

Then please leave a glowing five-star review or rating wherever you listen

Jon Clayton:

to podcasts, it would mean so much to me and makes it easier for new

Jon Clayton:

listeners to discover the show.

Jon Clayton:

And if you haven't already done, so don't forget to hit the subscribe button.

Jon Clayton:

So you never miss another episode.

Jon Clayton:

If you want to connect with me, you can do that on most social media platforms,

Jon Clayton:

just search for at Mr. John Clayton.

Jon Clayton:

The best place to connect with me online, though is on LinkedIn.

Jon Clayton:

You can find a link to my profile in the show notes.

Jon Clayton:

Remember.

Jon Clayton:

Running your architecture business.

Jon Clayton:

Doesn't have to be hard and you don't need to do it alone.

Jon Clayton:

This is architecture business club.