Now it is time to write the proposal. The type of work you are doing will set the amount of specifics you need in your proposal. An engineering proposal will need more specifics than a website proposal. An e-book proposal will need more specifics than an article or set of articles proposal.
- Learn as much as you can about the company, website, or project before creating the application.
- Apply for jobs that you feel are the right fit for you. If you are not interested in financial products, do not apply to write a blog entry on financial products.
- Follow application instructions as closely as you can. Ask for clarification if you are not sure what some instruction means.
In your proposal include:
- A short introduction to who you are with background information that is relevant to the project.
- When listing experience only include items that relate to the project, including education, interests and hobbies.
- Include only samples of writing that are along the same lines of work as the project. You may need to create a sample piece of work if you do not have any experience in that area. Write an article if applying for articles, write a blog entry for blog entries, etc.
- Emphasize how your skills can help their company, what are the benefits you can bring to the client.
- Bid for what your work is worth, do not shortchange yourself.
- You can write the details of your bid in a personal message (PM) or email that only the client will see. You can more easily sell yourself in this email.
- Organize details and benefits in bullet points for easy and quick reading.
- Make your bid a customized proposal that will demonstrate you understand the project and what they need. If you see a way to solve their problem, let them know.
- Give your proposal and personal message an original subject. Make it 10 words or less and a tag line for why they should hire you.
- End by letting them know you are a real person in the US by telling them where you are located, offer your phone number for any questions, and that you look forward to hearing from you.
Dos and Don’ts
- Do not include sensitive information.
- Do respond quickly to client questions
- Do customize to client’s requirements.
- Don’t oversell
- Do get to the point
- Do stress benefits
- Do ask questions
- Do let your personality show
- Do think about the project from the client’s point of view
