The last couple of days I’ve been back on Upwork, ramping up sending some proposals for work.
(We’ll not mention any more about that OTHER freelancer work platform that I’m none too impressed with right now.)
I’ve been pretty quiet on Upwork lately. So am just getting back into the groove.
Rewrote much of my profile and title (again). And actually put some SEO keywords into my portfolio items this time. Apparently that’s a good thing to help clients find you if they’re searching for specific things.
But one of the big changes I’ve made this time around is the way I approach writing proposals.
You see…
I’ve moved away from flexing all my “Pick me! Pick me!” muscles.
And stopped trying to do my darndest to land the job from that one proposal.
Now I did pick up work that way in the past. So it is perfectly doable.
But not the best way for making it a smooth process. And positioning yourself as the stand out choice to clients.
Instead…
I’ve taken a few bits of advice from, lets call them my Upwork “mentors”: Daniel Throssell and Steven Alexander Young.
Steven is famous for having a $999 hourly rate on Upwork. Because Upwork won’t let him make it any higher — and people do hire him!
I’m eternally grateful for them putting out such learnt-from-the-trenches info to help people succeed on Upwork!
Some of these things I kinda did on and off previously.
But now I’m trying to be consistent.
Here’s what I’m doing…
• Personalizing the proposal intro. And heading straight into talking about their website or their particular focus. (Forget the “Hi, I’m Chris and I’m a super-awesome copywriting dude who can solve all your problems” schtick).
• Giving valuable commentary on their website or what they’re looking for — to “show not tell” about my expertise.
• Finishing with a question. For example, “How soon are you looking to get started?”. It’s about viewing the proposal as an opener to a conversation not the one and only opportunity to impress with shock and awe tactics (hat tip to Mr Young for this golden nugget!)
I just sent one like that this morning (and 5 others too)… and the person was in touch within 1/2 an hour. Not that we can get too statistical from one anecdotal blip of experience here. But I’m happy. 😁
And these tips can apply just as well in other interactions with clients.
Perhaps when connecting with prospects via LinkedIn or cold email. Just asking a simple question can keep the conversation flowing. Because it makes it so much easier for clients to provide the info you need.
How would you like to be them and being bombarded with a veritable survey of 10+ questions at once? That’s brain freeze and overwhelm territory!
Sticking to one question at a time can grease the path like butter.
Ready to build your email list? Go here…
EmailForTheWin.com
Chris Milham