Assuming your work is high quality, but you still find yourself battling to win jobs on freelance writing job boards, the problem boils down to:
- An incomplete profile, or
- Poor reviews and ratings, or too few, or
- Bad pricing, or
- Poor communication with potential clients, or
- A shoddy proposal.
A prospective client is only interested in whether your work can meet his or her objectives, and it starts with the proposal.
On freelance writing job boards, your proposal is your resume or curriculum vitae, and the samples of your work will make or break the deal. But you only have about less than a page to show off in your content, so you’ve got to put some serious effort into it.
You must understand that clients on job boards receive so many proposals, that after a while, they simply flat out ignore those who don’t stand out.
Your competition for the job is fierce unless you are in some kind of niche that has more demand than skill.
Now, before we get to the real issue at hand, it must be noted that on job boards like Upwork and Peopleperhour, there are way too many potential clients looking to make a quick buck and all they want is a cheap writer.
You want to avoid those. Unless you are starting out and need work to build a profile. Then you may need all the help you can get.
But coming back to the crux of why freelancers get glossed over on job boards…even if your profile is great, and your work is quality, and you submit exceptional proposals, even with all that, when a client is only interested in price at the expense of quality, no matter how appealing your proposal, it will be rejected (their loss, not yours!).
The benefit of using a winning template like the one to follow below, is that you are more likely to attract the attention of higher quality clients, because when they themselves produce quality work, they will also recognize the quality of your proposal.
As you become more experienced at freelancing, you’ll quickly start to pick up good quality clients, and those you want to build with, as opposed to poor quality clients who ask the world but pay a pittance and treat you like rubbish.
Now that’s out of the way, to save yourself precious time, you should use a template with every job you apply for, but never ever just copy-paste-submit, which is what most freelancers do.
Rather, use a template and then personalize it for every single proposal, so that it will be meaningful to the client.
The Winning Template
How will you know this template works for you? If used correctly, you should get at least one response for every 10 – 15 proposals submitted.
Bonus tips!
- Keep the proposal short.
- Be smart. Only write what is absolutely necessary.
- Make it easy to read by including spaces between sections.
- Only add what’s important to the client. They are not interested in your history or schooling, etc. They don’t care if you desperately need the job or have wished to work for the company all your life. They only want to know why you are the best person for the job; what you can give them that someone else can’t.
- Use the same words (terminology) as the client, so go through the job description carefully, but again, don’t simply copy-paste.
- Proofread your proposal before hitting the submit button: does it answer the client’s questions? Does it clearly state why you are the best choice? Are the writing elements good (spelling, grammar, and so on)?
The template logic is as follows:
- Start with the client’s name – find it in their feedback area if necessary.
- Capture their attention – use a testimonial that’s relevant to the job, or something that gives proof that your work is better than the other writers who are applying for the job. Statistics and numbers are good here, but they have to apply to your work specifically.
- Your work should speak for itself, and the only way a client will know if your writing is what they are looking for, is by seeing samples, so add two of your best samples at the top of the proposal.
- Now add any detail that will impress them, without sounding braggy. Relevant results, qualifications, experience, and so on are good in this section.
- Be specific about how your pricing works.
- End off with a greeting that shows them you are enthusiastic.
Winning template to copy – paste – tweak:
Hello [client’s name],
My last client said this about my work: [add genuine testimonial here].
I have more 🙂
Here are two samples of my work:
[add link 1 here]
[add link 2 here]
Why choose me?
[Add benefits to the client if you are selected.]
[Be specific about how your pricing works.]
I am excited to hear back from you!
Here’s the exact proposal I submitted for a social media writing job, and the above template is based on it:
Hi Tracy,
I created a social media strategy for a client, and she said this about my work: “Claire is an absolute pleasure to work with! She is extremely thorough and repeatedly sent through content well ahead of the weekly schedule. I will definitely recommend Claire for her friendly professionalism, first-rate social media marketing knowledge and timely responses to all my questions and comments. Thanks for an excellent strategy and smooth process!”
I have more 🙂
Why use me?
1. I understand your target audience. More than anything, this is what makes any marketing campaign successful.
2. I am a good copywriter who uses persuasive techniques.
3. My focus is on developing content and marketing strategies.
4. I have experience and proof that my work gets results.
5. The work I do is quality and my aim is to build your brand with high quality and value-add content that is meaningful to your audience.
Here’s an example of my work (all the posts were designed around the copy I provided, as well as the strategy I created): https://www.facebook.com/clientname
I am giving you a rough quote for a weekly strategy that covers a month. It is for 5 Facebook posts a week. It will give you an idea of my pricing, but it will be revised once I have the specifics 🙂
Good luck!