Freelancing 101 – V

One thing that every freelance professional learns very quickly is that they need to bid on projects in order to continue working. Bidding is not a great deal of fun, and it’s also really time consuming. The biggest challenge is that you first need to understand that bidding on a gig means that you have to create the equivalent of a cover letter for each project you are bidding for.  In some cases, this isn’t all that different than what you would be doing if you were applying for regular, non contract work with a traditional brick and mortar company.

Some time back, I wrote a post called “Generic Cover Letters for Bidding“ which can be very helpful.  You will notice that while some of the elements can carry to a number of openings, that you will be required to put in information that will be unique to each gig you are posting for.  This is critically important as you need to make sure the potential client is “hooked” by your cover letter, the same as a traditional employer would be hooked.

Remember that potential clients want a “nutshell” overview of your skills, they want to ensure that you understand their requirements and they want to make sure you are up for the task.  There is an approach that I like to call “the vowel approach” to a freelancing gig cover letter that works like this:

• A) Acknowledge – acknowledge the type of job opening you’re applying for
• E) Engage – tell the client why you are a good candidate
• I)  Introduce the client to you! They don’t need a book, just a brief – here’s my background
• O)Offer them “something” in your portfolio, preferably that is related to the gig.  Also offer your rate.
• U) Understand – let them know you understand the requirements of the gig

It is a good idea to have a basic template that highlights pertinent skills, for example as a writer you might want to make sure that the following items are in every cover letter:

• Typing speed – Critical if a client is to make an informed decision
  • You might want to include can complete X word article in X time (with or without research)
• Link to portfolio – Always helpful to any potential client
  • Make sure you are highlighting your best possible work!
• Current availability – Let the client know how much time you have to devote daily/weekly/monthly
  • Especially important if you are bidding on large gigs

Bidding on freelance gigs doesn’t have to be rocket science and you don’t have to write a book every time you bid.  If you find something that works for you, use it over and over again but always make sure that you are referencing the terms of the gig you are bidding on.  Don’t forget this or you could wind up with egg on your face.

Finally, make sure that your cover letters read well, they are professional sounding and do not contain errors (critical if you are a writer).

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