When clients are sourcing talents for their projects in the online pools of freelancers, there are many factors that come into play. However, experience has shown that 3 criteria are never overlooked. They always play an important role in the formation of the decision of an employer before he decides to hire a freelancer. Let’s examine them one by one and thus we can enter a little bit into the client’s mindset. This is very helpful if you are starting your career as a freelancer, or you want to improve your acquisition of new clients.
Your freelancing profile and your profile picture
Your potential clients cannot meet you in person, so the first thing they see is your freelancing profile and especially your profile picture. You have to make your profile description and portfolio as professional as possible. Also, we cannot stress enough how important the image you choose to represent you on your chosen freelancer platform is. This is the face of the person employers will choose to do business with. All of us subconsciously choose to deal with people that look friendly and professional. So, creating a good, professional, high-quality profile picture for your profile is an asset you definitely want to invest some time and effort in! There are some essential characteristics and tricks of how to create a picture that represents you well as a professional freelancer. The most important are:
Tips for a good profile picture:
- Your face is the main focus
- Have a friendly, smiling expression
- Consider a background that is simple
- Have a dignified, upright posture
- Your outfit is professional and decent
- You do not wear sunglasses or other distracting accessories
What to avoid in creating your profile picture
- Too serious or grumpy expression
- An image that is obviously cropped
- Distracting or outdoor background
- Full-sized body picture
- Shadows or objects covering your face features
Your price ranges
Another aspect that is essential when clients are considering hiring a freelancer is the bid range. It should not be extremely high, but it should not be too low. Clients know that usually when the rate is low, the project quality will usually be poor. So they avoid freelancers with the cheapest prices. The pricing of the service you are providing should be fair in relation to you the value you are bringing to your client. You must study your industry and make good research on what other freelancers in your field are charging their clients in order to make a decent living.
If you are just starting, make a good calculation of all your expenses and the desired income per month and per year. Payoneer has a good online calculator for freelancing fees that consider the many factors you may overlook if you are at the beginning of your freelancing career. If you have limited experience, you may consider charging your clients lower rates, and you may choose to raise progressively your rates when you gain some confidence and testimonials of projects you successfully complete.
Related Posts:
Usually, clients that have thriving businesses will prefer to pay a higher fee if they are certain that you can provide a service that can save or make them more money. This is why it is very important to create a good offer to present your skills and your value to employers.
Things to consider while establishing your price range:
- What other freelancers in the same field charge for the same service
- Your expenses and needs
- The value you are providing to a client
- The type of client you work with
Things to avoid in estimating your price range:
- Setting a too low price for your service
- Charging all clients with the same rate
Your freelancing offer
Writing a professional job proposal is crucial to retaining the attention of your potential client and getting the desired project. In the life of a freelancer, things work differently from the world of employees that work long term just for one company. Freelancers need to find projects and clients on a regular basis in order to obtain a consistent workload. Therefore they need to master well the art of writing a good freelancing job proposal. There are many aspects of a good proposal you would like to take into account. The main components of a good offer are:
Focus on the client and on their needs
When you start writing the proposal, make sure you carefully read the job description and that you express in your offer the greatest need of the client that you learned from this job post. What is the client looking for? What is his project and what will be your role in his project? Write in your own words what you understood is the essence or purpose of the position you apply for. Then write another few sentences stating how fulfilling this purpose will contribute to the good outcome of the client’s project. This will make a big difference in winning the jobs you desire.
Express clearly the value you can provide
Make some clear propositions explaining what will be like for the client to work with you. Focus on their experience – what will they get, in what timeframe? What will be the results they will receive and how you plan to provide them. Explain your strategy, but do not go into too many details. All these will be discussed afterward during the interview process. In your proposal, your main aim is to make a good claim, that you are confident that you can sustain afterward, and provide proof that you are qualified to do the job that is requested.
Send a sample of your work that is relevant to the project
Your qualifications as a freelancer do not come in terms of university degrees, but in terms of completed projects. A University degree in itself is not bringing value to your client. But a job done according to his requirements is! So, make sure to include in your proposal or cover letter a sample of your work that is relevant to their project. In case you are just starting your career, invest some time to create such samples that you can send to your potential clients. This way you will be able to show the results you can provide, and this is the biggest proof for successful future collaboration!
Tips for a good job offer:
- Focus on the client and his needs
- Carefully read the job description
- Re-state his biggest needs in your own words
- Describe the value you can bring to the client
- Outline your plan of completing the project
- Attach a relevant sample of your working style
What to avoid when you are writing your proposal:
- Write only about yourself or about irrelevant details
- Sending template that is not adapted to the job description
- Creating expectations, you cannot fulfil
- Using inappropriate tone
- Spelling or grammar mistakes
The energy you invest in improving these three aspects will be well rewarded. When your freelancing profile and profile picture look professional and welcoming, your bid range is fair in relation to the value provided, and your proposals are written skilfully and persuasively, you will soon see lots of clients willing to start a collaboration with you. This way you can focus more on improving the quality of your service and upgrading your skills, and you won’t have to lose so much time chasing after new clients. So, make sure you do a good job at these three, and happy freelancing!
