When freelance writers first join a site like Elance, the first thing they have to master is the art of bidding for work. The bid is in three parts:
- The fee
- The delivery time
- The proposal
The Fee
The first thing to be considered is the fee. It is easy – when one sees buyers who want 100 articles for a dollar each - to make the mistake of thinking that every buyer is simply looking for the cheapest bid. However, people who are willing to provide 100 articles for a dollar each are either living in the third world or are not making a living as professional freelance writers.
Don’t bid for jobs where the buyer sets a range of payment that is ludicrously low.
Buyers who are looking for high quality work will normally be prepared to pay for a professional job, so don’t undervalue your work and offer the lowest possible price, thinking that it is the surefire way to win the job. You might well win the jobs, but you run the risk of feeling growing resentment at being underpaid. You might also find yourself working long hours, but never making enough money to live.
On the other hand, don’t put too high a price on your time or you will run the risk of pricing yourself out of the market.
It’s important to find a balance. Put a price on your time that is realistic and that is also within the range that the buyer is willing to stretch to. Calculating how much to charge, means having a realistic idea of how long the job will take you, so give serious thought to the delivery time.
The Delivery Time
It’s important to know how long it takes you to write, not only so that you can estimate a price for the job, but also so that you don’t put yourself under unnecessary pressure. Don’t say that you can deliver a job in a week if it means you have to work through the night every night.
You should monitor your working schedule and work out:
- What is the average time it takes you to write a 500 word article, including research? (This will help you to estimate a time for bigger jobs)
- How long does it take you to write one thousand words of a book or a longer piece, when the research has already been done?
- How much planning and researching can you do in a day?
- What else makes demands on your time? (Administrative tasks, bidding for new jobs etc)
Monitoring your time can be enlightening. You will probably be shocked at how much time is spent dealing with E-mail, telephone calls or administrative tasks during a day.
The Proposal
The proposal is without doubt the most important element of your bid. Write every proposal individually. It is a mistake to make up a generic bid. It will put buyers off straight away. You need to stand out from the other bidders.
Open your bid with a brief confirmation - one paragraph at most - of your credentials:
- Establish your experience and professional background.
- Highlight what makes you special, what your particular talents are.
Don’t take more than a paragraph before getting on to the individual job for which you are bidding. It’s vital that you establish your interest in the job, in the buyer and in their needs. Your proposal should focus on:
- What attracts you to this job in particular.
- What you believe the priorities are when tackling this job, and how you have a special understanding of them.
- What unique talents you bring that should make you the prime candidate for this particular job.
Demonstrate that you have given a lot of thought to the job, and how you think it should be done. Show that you are interested in the buyer and will put the buyer’s needs first.
Find The Balance
Winning bids on freelance writing sites is a balancing act:
- Find a fee that’s low enough to attract a buyer, but high enough to satisfy your needs.
- Establish your credentials and your unique talents, but demonstrate your interest in serving the buyer and putting their needs first.
Get the balance right, and you’ll find yourself getting jobs, gathering satisfied clients, and receiving good reviews, which in turn will help you to get more jobs.
Remember, if you don't win the bid, you must learn how to deal with rejection as a writer.
Click here for more information about Freelance Writing
Janice Hally - Janice Hally has written more than 300 broadcast hours of prime-time TV drama in the UK, as well as fiction and non-fiction books.
