As a first-time freelancer, do you know how to write a proposal? The thing is that the freelance offer letters are essential to a successful freelancing career. Some of your clients will not hire you until they get the chance to evaluate your proposal. The proposal is like a promise that you make to the client. It offers the client an opportunity to see what you can deliver. But, a poorly written proposal will not do much good to your cause.
Keep in mind that the client relies on the information contained in the freelance offer letter to know more about your skills and your expertise. They’ve never worked with you before, and so, you need to assure them that you can deliver as expected. Whether you’re a newbie in the freelance business or a guru in the field, a well-written freelance offer letter goes a long way to convince the client that you are the right fit for the job. Of course, you’re not going to exaggerate your capabilities, but by presenting them correctly, your client gets a hint of the kind of services you offer. As such, they may hire you to see if you can help them accomplish their business goals.
If you’re writing a freelance offer letter for the first time, you might find it challenging. Like, how do you bring all that information together to make the client understand your expertise? Considering that the client will be receiving several proposals for the same job, you might find it daunting to create a freelance offer letter from scratch. That’s why you may need to work with a sample freelance proposal letter. Even so, not all samples capture the information that’s required in the freelance offer letter.
Therefore, it’s important to check the best sample freelance proposal letter to learn how to structure yours properly. What can you learn about proposal structure from the sample freelance proposal letter? A good structure does the following:
- It gives the letter a simple layout - you don’t want a complicated format that you’d waste time trying to understand. So if you think the sample freelance proposal letter will give you a hard time, take time to choose a simple one.
- It makes the letter easy to read - a client won’t have all the time to read through the proposal. As such, the offer letter should easy to read. Go for a sample freelance proposal letter with a simple flow, and it’s easier to understand.
1. Be ready with different sample freelance proposal letters
First, it’s important to understand one thing; your freelance offer letters will change from time to time depending on the client and the kind of work you’re doing. However, one thing that never changes is its structure. In freelancing world, time is of the essence. Having a pre-determined structure ensures that you save time and deliver when clients expect you to. A good structure is the most potent weapon you can use to capture the client’s attention. A well structured proposal is concise and clear, as you will see from the sample freelance proposal letter.
While you may want the client to get your proposal before the rest, quality matters, most clients will ignore proposals that don’t address their specific needs. It would be best if you had several sample freelance proposal letter PDFs so that you have a different one each time you’re applying for a different job. The good thing is that we’ve got several samples online, and you can always get one that’s meant for the given project. Therefore, take your time and choose the best out of what’s available online.
2. Featured samples of the freelance proposal letter
A well structured freelancing proposal should have samples of the work you have done for other clients in the past. Your current clients will not ask for a sample since they already know the quality of work you’re capable of delivering. Clients take a massive interest in a freelancer’s previous work. They have nowhere else to look except the freelancer’s samples. Therefore, never underplay the importance of samples. Never assume that your proposal is topnotch if you fail to include a few excellent samples in its structure.
Most freelancers make a mistake of talking so much about their skills but forget to highlight past work. Usually, clients prefer hiring freelancers who have completed similar projects before. Therefore, adding work samples to your proposal is a bonus for you. Even so, be honest. Don’t include fake samples, as this will work against your progress in the freelance business. Some clients may want to contact your previous employers just to confirm that you’ve actually performed the tasks mentioned in the proposal. As such, only mention jobs that you’ve actually completed before that are relevant to the one you’re applying for. In case you don’t have past work experience, juts highlight your skills. Some clients like working with freshers if they’re impressed with your profile.
3. Proof of experience in your sample freelance proposal letter
To most clients, a freelancer’s proposal is like a CV. A properly structured CV shows experience. Similarly, a properly structured proposal should also indicate the freelancer’s experience. Experience here refers to the number of years (or period of time) a freelancer has worked. Experience also refers to the type of work you have done. Most clients want to know that they are hiring freelancers who know what they are doing. They need assurances and guarantees that the person they are hiring has the right skills and qualifications.
While attaching samples to your proposal can help highlight your expertise to the client, you still have to prove your experience in the sample freelance proposal letter. You could share links to previous work or the recommendations given by past clients. In that way, the client will be confident that you’re the perfect fit for the job. Also, share a link to your portfolio and reviews given by different clients.
4. Lists previous projects in your sample freelance proposal letter
A well structured freelance offer letter also talks about the projects the freelancer has handled. The actual number of projects is important to the clients too. At times, this piece of information is the difference maker. It determines whether you clinch the contract or not. For example, a person who has handled a handful of projects is less likely to be considered by a client who needs a freelancer with tens or, possibly, hundreds of projects. Once more, study the sample freelance proposal letter for guidance on how to include the list of projects you have done in the past.
5. Professionalism and warmth in your sample freelance proposal letter
A well structured freelance proposal, as you will notice in the sample freelance proposal letter, is professional and friendly. Striking the balance between the two is a major challenge for many freelancers. For the most part, freelancers will choose either professionalism or friendliness but not both. In fact, most freelancers will tell you to be professional all the time. There is nothing wrong in telling the freelancing clients that you have checked their website, LinkedIn profiles, and other social media profiles too to learn more about them.
Therefore, it pays to study the freelance proposal letter closely if you want to land your dream contract or client. As you will notice in the sample freelance proposal letter, the experience a freelancer has matters a lot to any new client. For this reason, it’s important to structure the proposal letter well so that it brings out your strengths properly. A well-structured letter or proposal is a marketing tool through which you advertise your strengths while avoiding mentioning weaknesses that would make the client to consider you unqualified for the project.
