You are likely to be more successful as a freelancer if you get to a point where you can consistently win more projects on freelancing sites. The sites in question include odesk.com, elance.com, guru.com, getacoder.com and freelancer.com. Winning projects in these freelance work sites is not always easy though. You have to compete against others, and the nature of these sites is such that new freelancers are always coming in, making the competition stiffer. Notwithstanding this state of affairs, winning projects on these sites is not a matter of chance. There are things you can do, proactively, if you want to win more projects in the freelance work sites. We will be looking at some of these:
Make a habit of bidding for reasonable amounts of money
One of the reasons as to why a client may select you, as opposed to a competing bidder, is if your rate is lower than that of the competing bidder. If you make a habit of bidding for reasonable amounts of money, you will probably start winning more projects. This is not about undercutting other bidders, because if you bid too low, you won’t be able to cover your costs and your business will go bust. The idea is to bid for ‘reasonable’ amounts of money.
Create an irresistible profile
The average employer will take a good look at your profile, before awarding you any type of a project. You should therefore endeavor to come up with a profile that influences the employer, at a subconscious level, to start thinking of awarding you the project upon viewing it.
Work on your reputation
When you manage to get any types of projects, you need to do them as well as reasonably possible, so as to get decent client feedback (which is the main measure of reputation) and enhance chances of winning other projects in the future. The average client will be interested in seeing the number of reviews you have, and perhaps more crucially, the type of reviews you have, before awarding you a project. If you neglect your reputation, accumulating lots of negative feedback, your business will soon start suffering the consequences.
Take skills exams
The average client will want to have a peek at the skills you have, before awarding you a freelance job. You are therefore likely to win more projects if you have passed more exams. But don’t employ people to do the exams for you, because that amounts to extreme and scandalous fraud, and you will be almost certainly be banished from the freelancing sites if you are caught. Most of the exams are designed to measure practical skills as opposed to general intelligence. They cannot be regarded as being too expensive, nor are most of the freelance skills exams too hard. There is no valid reason as to why you shouldn’t sit for at least a few.
Sponsor your bids
On some of the freelance work sites, there is an arrangement where, upon paying a small amount of money, your bid can be labeled in a manner that draws attention to it, or even pushed to the top of the bid list. You should make use of these features when bidding, especially if you are bidding for high-stakes projects that would greatly improve your fortunes if won.
Invest in the purchase of bids
It is simple: the more projects you express interest in (by bidding), the more projects you reasonably stand to win. In many of the freelance work sites, you can purchase bids, and use them to express interest in projects. This is a feature you should take advantage of, especially if you are confident that you can handle huge amounts (volumes) of freelance work.
