Getting Writing Jobs Without Underpricing Yourself: The Perfect Proposal
Write The Perfect Proposal
This article is going to give you a few short and simple tips on how to craft the most effective proposal for winning writing jobs freelance.
Steps To Take When Bidding On A Writing Job
When you see a business crying out for a writer and their requirements match you're skill set it's difficult to stop yourself from leaping at them and crying "Me! Pick me!"
But if you adhere to these tips you'll give yourself the best shot.
- Introduce yourself - briefly. Don't give your life story. Simply address them appropriately using whichever way they have used to refer to themselves, state your name and a brief summary of what you do, then move on.
- Address their requirements directly. If the requirement is for a sales letter, don't rabbit on about how many blog posts you've written - tell them your skill and experience of writing sales letters and refer directly to their requirements.
- Rephrase their job post. Don't do this meticulously, but give them a brief summary of what they want from the viewpoint of what you'll provide. For example, if they have said: "We need a sales letter which fills around a full page of A4 and will be sent to business owners in the USA", place something along the lines of "I can provide you with a high quality single page sales letter using language which connects with businesses across the USA".
- Don't drag your heels. If they have a deadline, make sure you can hit this and tell them this. Don't assume that because they have said they need it in a week they will assume you can provide it in a week. Tell them, and then follow through.
- Keep your prices consistent. If you under price yourself to give the appearance of being competitive in regards to other potential offers they will receive, you are setting yourself a trap. All future work which may be undertaken between you and this client will be set with a lower benchmark and you also risk promoting your services as being less professional than they are. If you get greedy and overprice yourself the client may opt for a cheaper freelancer, or even be disappointed when the work you provide does not warrant the price you have charged. Only ever price your services in a way that truly reflects what you provide. For tips on how to price your work, click this link.
- Tell them exactly what is included. If you are happy to complete 1, 2, or even 3 revisions of the final document then tell them. If you don't set limits as to what you can offer you might end up being expected to complete a lot more than you were bidding for. Tell them if your price includes revisions, if so how many, and if it includes a consultation or otherwise. This way, everybody is singing from the same hymn book and anything extra that is requested can be billed accordingly.
