After signing up on Upwork, Freelancer, Fiverr, or whatever other freelancing platform there is out there, most newbies or new contractors go straight and start bidding for jobs.
But in the freelancing world where everyone else seems like in a race track chasing the few available clients, it is not easy for someone who doesn’t have any prior experience or “Upwork hours” up their sleeve to reach the finish line.
On the other hand, if all clients chose to hire only experienced contractors, how would the newbies or contractors new to Upwork qualify for a job?
At age 30, I had a great job, and pretty much everything around me was going well. But with time I started wondering if there was anything else I could do to make it better.
Could working from home be a reality? Were there even such jobs? I kept thinking… and then I came to a realization!
“Hey, I’ve been writing such awesome successful business plans for my friends and family. May be its time I charged a fee for my services!”
And that was the turning point for me. Armed with a tertiary qualification in Accounting, an MBA and a Masters in International Development, I was ready to take on the world.
Just the thought of being able to work in my pajamas and not getting stuck in traffic every morning was extremely exciting. I’d miss dressing up but obviously the money would make up for that.
I started scouting my options. My skill as a professional business plan writer was definitely viable.
Every entrepreneur and small business owner needs a business plan, right? I’d write customized business plans and work from anywhere in the world – this week by a beach in Varadero, and the next in a hotel room overlooking the scenic Hong Kong skyline.
Besides, there were possibilities of learning on the job.
It all seemed laid out in perfection.
In no time, I stumbled on the freelance platform Upwork.
I quickly set up my profile, did a couple relevant skills tests and was ready for the jobs to start flowing, no?
DEAD WRONG.
Looking back, I’d have had a better shot at fulfilling my long term dream of running for President of my country… seriously.
I figured there was millions, okay, maybe thousands of other qualified business plan writers that were also signed up on Upwork.
Some had skills comparable to mine.
Others had far more superior skills, had clocked 500+ hours, and were charging far less than I was.
Then it occurred to me that since I couldn’t compete on experience or price, I had to look for something else. I chose to compete on value and quality.
But there was still one more hurdle to overcome.
What's Covered in This Article
How to Write a Cover Letter
Tip #1. Make some investment on your prospective clients, however little.
Example investments include attaching a free sample work, paying for a sponsored proposal (applies to platforms such as Elance, People Per Hour, etc), or getting a premium account (e.g. on LinkedIn).
Tip #2. Hook your prospective client from the first line or two of your cover letter proposal with something awesome.
Quit wasting the opening paragraph with irrelevant information.
On Upwork for instance, a client only sees a summary of the first few lines of your application.
To see the rest of the application, they have to click onto your profile.
Tip #3. Customize the cover letter detailing why you are the right candidate for that particular job.
Forget generic copy-paste cover letters.Carefully read the entire job post/description and look out for specific keywords used. Accentuate these into your cover letter.
Focus on your skills that match the requirements stated on the job post or job description.
If the client has a purchase history and has given feedback/reviews, research their profile for things that they either liked or disliked about the freelancers.
Use these to help you customize the cover letter as much as possible.
Since you probably have no Desk hours or other verifiable experience yet, don’t focus on your being a newbie.
Your goal should be to get the job poster to shortlist you.
Tip #4. Carefully decide your freelance fees.
Ridiculously low bottom feeder freelance rates will not fly with clients looking for awesome results.
On the other hand, an over-the-top freelance rate could get you noticed, but you had better be ready to justify what makes you so special.
In essence, when it comes to deciding how much to charge for your freelance services, there are several factors to consider such as your skills, what your peers are charging, the market rate, etc.
More tips on how to decide how much to charge a client can be found here.
Tip #5. Complete your profile with a professional looking picture, Search Engine Optimized (SEO) headline, relevant skills tests, and portfolio items.
Your profile shows the seriousness with which you take your career as a freelancer.
It is your identity and may be the only image of you the prospective client may use to make a hiring decision.
Besides, most freelancing platform algorithms puts the profile content into consideration when ranking freelancers.
Tip #6. Take into consideration that both the prospective client and yourself are human, even though you only relate remotely.
Take the client’s humanity into consideration.
Where possible, address them by name.
In your cover letter, focus more on how your service will solve a problem for them.
Your personality has also to reflect throughout the cover letter, right from the introduction to the closing. You must develop a story line that the client feels emotionally attached to.
One way to go about this is by imagining that you are having an actual face to face conversation with them.
Upwork for instance has an option for freelancers to include a YouTube video introduction in their portfolio.
You can take it a notch higher by including a video pitch to your application.
If you choose to go this direction, make sure that you don’t recycle the same video pitch for every other application. Like a written pitch, the video pitch must be customized for each job application.
Tip #7. Be selective about jobs that you apply for.
Look out for clients that have a purchase history (they are usually less suspicious unless of course they’ve been scammed in the past), a good feedback history, and have spent a significant amount of money since signing up.
Do not wast time and energy sending applications to all and every job posted on the freelancing platform.
Looks for jobs that match your skills, jobs that you can deliver on well, and clients that are ready to pay you your worth.
Most of this client information is usually available from the job post itself, purchase history, feedback history, and/or personal/company details.
Tip #8.
While on the final paragraph of your cover letter, remember to keep the same momentum that hooked the client and made them want to read the rest of your application in the first place.
And don’t forget to mention that good or bad, you are looking forward to continuing the conversation with them. Also thank them for spending time reading your cover letter.
That you don’t have any Upwork hours or freelancing experience doesn’t mean you can no longer land your desired client.
By knowing how to write a cover letter that stands out, you will direct the prospective client’s attention to your skills and other qualifications rather than on your lack of experience.
For those of you wondering whether Upwork is real or a scam – well, I’ve been working on the site since 2009 when it used to be called oDesk and made some decent amounts of cash).
What has your experience as a new freelancer been like? Share with us in the comments below.
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