Tips for New Freelancers

Freelance contracting is becoming increasingly popular in today’s society, and with good reason. With economic crises and unstable job markets worldwide, it makes sense to use your skills and talents to build a business of your own. Freelancing offers many advantages for motivated individuals, including such perks as setting your own hours and days off. On the other hand, there are a number of ways things can go very wrong. It’s important to know the risks and how to avoid them. There are also a number of things you can do to increase the odds of your success.

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First of all, using Freelancer.com to search for and obtain work in your field(s) is, of course, a step in the right direction. By providing the marketplace for service providers and prospective employers around the globe, we reduce the time and costs involved in soliciting work for your business.

There are several things new freelancers should consider carefully, from the beginning of the bidding process to delivering the final product. By using the tools GAF provides wisely, service providers can protect their interests and build a reputation for themselves quickly.

No matter what type of project, always look at the employer’s profile and feedback (if any exists). While the profile information may be sketchy and there’s no guarantee of accuracy, experienced service buyers often provide enough profile information to let a freelancer know who he or she is dealing with. Likewise, the lack of profile information may indicate either a new service buyer or one with something to hide. Feedback, if available, is indispensable in providing an overview of how an employer has dealt with past contractors. It pays to know as much as possible about an employer before you consider entering into a contract.



Once you’ve decided to bid on a project, follow the steps outlined in our article titled “10 Tips for Writing an Effective Proposal”. Using these guidelines will help increase your chances of being hired. During the bidding process, use the Project Clarification Board and Private Message Board as necessary to be sure you and the employer both understand exactly what will be provided, when and how much pay you expect.

Before accepting a project award, be sure to go over the project details again carefully. If there are possible issues, contact the employer to resolve these before you commit to the project. Better to pass up a job than to accept it with too many unknowns.

Depending on the size of the project, you may want to work out milestone payments as portions of the project are completed. Most employers will agree to this on larger projects. It’s also not unusual for freelancers to ask for an up-front payment on large-scale projects, but many employers will be hesitant to do this for contractors without feedback. Remember that there are risks on both sides of a freelance contract. Freelancers and employers alike should consider using Freelancer.com's Milestone Payment service, for the protection of both parties.

Finally, gaining positive feedback is one way to build your reputation quickly. Most employers will be happy to provide good feedback for a service provider after a successful project, but it’s important to remember that you must be paid through Freelancer.com in order to receive feedback.

10 Tips for Writing an Effective Bid

With thousands of freelancers competing for jobs and perhaps a hundred or more bidding on the same job, how do you make your bid stand out from the rest? The fact is each employer is as different as each freelancer, so there really isn’t a “magic formula” that works for every bid. There are, however some important steps you can take to increase the chances that a prospective employer will consider your bid seriously. Here are ten simple tips for writing an effective bid:

 

1. Read the project description carefully. After all, if the employer doesn’t feel you understand the project, you’re not likely to win the bidding. Besides, many employers will ask for specific details that you need to be aware of. In fact, employers often include a phrase that must be included in your bid in order to have it considered. The bottom line is, you should always take the time to go through the description thoroughly.

2. If you have questions, use the Project Clarification Board before you bid. Winning a project without knowing exactly what you’re getting into isn’t a good situation for you or the service buyer.

3. Keep your bid clear, concise and to the point. Remember that the employer may have dozens or even hundreds of bids to consider. It’s very likely that every word of every bid isn’t going to be read. Bids with unnecessarily long descriptions may be skipped over completely. Don’t invite the employer to ignore your bid by making it too wordy.

4. State your terms clearly. Using the project description as a guide, be as precise as possible in stating exactly what you’ll provide, how much it will cost, and how long it will take to deliver. Being vague about your terms implies a lack of confidence. If you’re not confident in yourself, the employer won’t be, either. As we’ve already mentioned, use the Project Clarification Board to ask the employer questions if you need more details.

5. Follow up with a private message. After you place your bid, use the private message board to provide more information. This is the appropriate place to add those less important details you avoided in your bid. After all, if your bid generated enough interest to get the employer this far, you’re halfway there. Now those details may make the difference.

6. It’s always a good idea to upload samples with your private message or provide links to online examples. Be sure, however, that your examples are appropriate for the job and represent your best work. Quality, not quantity is usually the rule of thumb when submitting samples.

7. A word of caution: Unless you’re prepared to give your work away, any samples you provide should bear a watermark or other means of identification or at the very least your name and a statement of copyright.

8. Be competitive with your pricing. Note that this doesn't necessarily mean you need to be the lowest bidder. Bidding in a world-wide marketplace makes for tough competition, but if your work is truly above average, you may find that employers are willing to pay above average prices. On the other hand, if you’re relatively new to freelancing, you may need to establish a reputation first. A little common sense will go a long way here.

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9. Don’t oversell yourself. A little self-confidence is a good thing, but over-the-top claims probably won’t impress anyone. Being frank and honest about your skills will get you much farther than a lot of hype.

10. Last, but certainly not least, proofread your bid before you submit it. Is it written clearly? Are there misspellings? No matter what kind of project you’re bidding on, a poorly written proposal suggests a lack of interest and poor work habits. Neither of those is going to work in your favor.