Picking up work through freelance marketplaces
matthew.barlocker
11 November 2021Despite the competitive nature of freelancing, platforms such as PeoplePerHour and Upwork can be strategically important to maximize your earnings.
You may not pick up every piece of work which you turn your mind to. But demonstrating high-quality work and providing excellent customer service will put you in a strong position to ensure a healthy flow of projects, at a good price.
By making minor changes in your approach, you can also significantly increase client engagement in freelance marketplaces. Here are some recommendations:
Setting up a profile to attract work
There are five broad sections in a freelancer's profile:
1. Profile image
Make sure your profile picture shows a smiley face. You can represent your occupation with an image but avoid including your company logo, group photographs, or selfies.
Ensure that your profile summary is concise, focused, and error-free (no more than 150 words). It is essential to initiate a conversation with potential leaders through your write-up.
2. Portfolio
A portfolio allows you to showcase your personal qualities, abilities, and best work from your professional career. Each portfolio item should have a helpful description. Highlight your selling points in the content.
3. Education and work details
Give a complete description of your education and work history. We recommend leaving out any certifications or details about your previous work which are unrelated to your current skills and endeavours - you don’t need to be everything to everyone.
4. Skill tests
The skill tests you take on a freelance website are critical to attracting new projects if you are a new freelancer with less than ten projects on that site.
When writing bid proposals, make sure you emphasise your relevant skills.
5. Bid early and often
To get a new project on Upwork or PeoplePerHour, you must place 10+ bids. Furthermore, you need to place your bid as soon as the project is live on the site.
Since most clients choose the winners within 24 to 48 hours after they create the job, placing a bid on an old project is a waste of time.
It’s important to separate your time into bidding for new projects and working on current ones - you will be infinitely more productive with a clear focus.
Custom Proposal
Every job proposal requires its own submission. This can become tedious, especially if the project award rates are low. An excellent proposal will, however, set you apart from 90% of your competitors.
Therefore, you should spend time writing a winning proposal. Be sure to read all of the project details and examine the attachments before you write your proposal.
The plan should include:
- Provide two or three lines to describe a solution to the issue described
- You may request more information or ask questions that will help complete the project - feel free to do this and engage with the client early
- Be as accurate as you can with your estimate of cost to complete the project - no one likes surprises
Allowing yourself some cover
It may not be possible to provide an accurate estimate of the cost and time for completing a project at the time of bidding because of a lack of adequate information. So it is always advisable to explicitly state that the timeline and price will vary depending on the information provided.
Pricing Strategy
Pricing impacts upon project award rates and customer satisfaction. Your quote should be transparent and include information about how the final cost might be higher if there are substantive changes to the scope of the project.
You must clarify how you charge for new requests, how many revisions you do for free, or if you charge on an hourly basis.
It’s always going to be more challenging to practice the above when you’re constantly working with new clients on new projects. Over time you will naturally gain a better understanding of a client’s way of working and true objectives. Patience and clear communication will set you in good stead.
Through the Digital Pigeon platform, you can send and share large files quickly and conveniently with your potential clients worldwide, which places you at a competitive advantage over other freelancers. What's more is that you can use your logo, imagery, and URL. Get started today by signing up for a free trial or contact us.
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