Create a professional freelance profile that clients like to see

Freelancers should focus to create a profile that looks professional and helps to get clients. The blueprint of a freelancer’s success and failure is mostly decided by his profile. A well-made profile of freelancers attracts more clients and projects. While poorly made freelancing profile will create more distance between clients and freelancers.

As you know freelancing websites give high preference to the freelancer’s profile. Profile and portfolio are often the deciding factors for many clients while selecting the best remote workers.

You can make a mark in the freelance market based on your profile alone, even if you’re a fresher. So let’s look at how you can represent yourself through a profile on freelancing platforms, social media, and on your own website.

Tips to create a profile on Freelancing Websites

When you sign up on freelancing websites, it will give you options and space to create a profile wherein you can share and declare your professional title, your expertise, and your experience.

The first thing you will be required to write is the title of your profile. This should match with the skills and expertise you have and the client should be able to understand easily who you are and what exactly you do. Let’s say you are into designing or developing websites and you have experience of around 3 to 4 years. So the title that will suit your profile can be Website designer/developer with 4+ years of experience.

It is not certain that you will be able to find the perfect title for yourself in the first attempt. This is especially true if you are a person of varied talents and can do a lot of things for your clients. So you can modify your title with time, experience, and current market demand.

For instance, if you have kept your title as “website designer with 4+ years of experience” but you are not able to land a project despite sending 10-12 proposals, your title can be the reason behind it. You will have to reinvent yourself, your title, and what you can do to meet the market demands of the time.

Besides your profile title, your profile description is an integral part of your profile. Hence you should highlight your skills and experience in the description, clearly listing the things that you are an expert in.

Make sure that your profile description should explain and justify your title. Taking the same example of a web designer with 4+ years of experience, you should mention your expertise in HTML, CSS, PHP, Adobe Photoshop, Keyword research, SEO, the website you’ve worked own including your own and other related experience etc. It shouldn’t be that your profile title is web designer whereas your profile description is sales manager. Keep it relevant and to the point.

After writing your description, you can upload screenshots of your earlier work samples and add testimonials that show your work in good light. Almost all the freelancing websites give you this facility so you should make use of it to highlight your strong points.

Some websites like Upwork also allow you to give customized tests based on the skills, knowledge, and subject matter related to you so you should also try to get a good score on these tests to prove your capability in your field. Furthermore, you should also add your previous employment history and qualifications in the profile description.

One of the most important things that every freelancer must do after this, is to set an appropriate price for the services he renders. For example, you can set your charges at $5 Per hour for content writing, Rs.1000 for designing a logo, or Rs. 20000 for making an e-commerce website. Never undervalue yourself beyond a limit to get more clients. It just shows desperation and erodes the market value.

Always keep the asking price for your skills and services in proportion to the time you will have to spend working on it and on the scale of the project assigned. Quote a higher price for a large and complex project and quote a lower price for a simple and short project. Whatever rates you decide to quote, explain to the client why you are asking for it and also explain the benefits he will get from working with you.

Your Profile photo is also an important feature that can make or break a deal. Keep it professional and simple without any flashy editing and a single-color background. It should look like you are a professional (website designer, content writer, etc.) who is ready to work on a project.

There are some freelancing websites such as Upwork that don’t allow you to add your personal contact information, but there are several others that allow you so you should add these details where you can as it builds trust with the client. Freelancing sites are notorious for changing their policies, terms, and conditions frequently, so you should read these conditions set by them and remain updated about any changes in them.

You can use the tips given above to make an impressive profile on freelancing websites. Also, you can use suggestions from other experienced freelancers to make your profile better. But the most important tip of all is that your profile title, description and portfolio etc. should be in sync with what your client is looking for.

If you are a website designer you should be aware of what questions your client may ask you, what confusions he is likely to have and you should be prepared to answer these satisfactorily so that the client trusts you with his work. Once you know all these things, you can prepare your profile in such a way that most of the client’s questions are answered automatically without any confusion.

I know that when someone makes a freelancing profile for the first time, it won’t be 100% perfect.  It improves with time and experience. You can analyze other freelancer’s profiles that are in the same field as yours and modify your profile after getting some ideas about why he or she may be getting more clients than others.

One of the most crucial points that need to be noted here is that you should only mention what you are and what you can do. Do not try to impress clients by writing things that are not true, do not copy from other freelancer’s profiles since it will hurt your image instantly and you may even get banned. Write with sincerity and honesty.

Do not use unnecessary words while describing things and stick to writing to-the-point information. Your profile description shouldn’t be overstuffed with generic information and it shouldn’t be lacking anything important either. In other words, it shouldn’t be too long or too short. Your profile is your primary weapon here and you should keep it sharp and ready for action. Try to keep a balance in the tone you are using, it shouldn’t be too technical and it shouldn’t be too philosophical either. Use your knowledge and common sense in equal proportions while making a profile.

Learn this article when you have the time it will help you to analyze what can work: What is freelancing?

Now create a profile on your own website that gets more leads from Google searches

In this section, we will see how you can display your skills, knowledge, and experience on your personal website to earn credibility and recognition.

Remember one thing; the ultimate aim of making a profile on a freelancing website, personal website or on social media platform is to get projects/jobs to work on. So it’s best if you make these profiles with a professional outlook.

On your personal website, you can display your profile and portfolio on the homepage or landing page. If you are using WordPress to design your website, use a theme and layout which is related to personal websites. Choose a theme that is neat as well as pleasant to look at, while being suitable for you to make a profile/portfolio.

Now let’s see how you can make a good profile on your personal website:-

1.Add a high-resolution photograph of yourself on your website. This creates a virtual bond between you and your viewer when he knows the person behind the website by face. Add a photograph in which you are smiling and well-dressed. You are a freelancer and your personal image can make a good or bad impression on a client.

2.You can keep any profile title but it should be something that many clients are searching on Google. The reason for this being that when a client searches on Google using the term “web designer in Shimla” or ”freelance web designer” or “graphic designer”, then your website and profile should be able to rank within the top 10 results or on the first page itself.

To look for the best keyword for your title you can use Google keyword planner, which is a very useful tool for knowing how many people are searching for a particular keyword or keyphrase. You can then use this information to fine-tune your website content based on what most clients are searching for.

3.You can upload your samples and previous project experiences on your website portfolio. While doing this give your samples their titles in a way that matches your profile and skills. Research what type of samples clients may be searching for and prepare these accordingly if you don’t have what they are looking for presently. For example; letter typography samples, logo and rebranding samples, personal website designing samples, etc

4.Write about your experiences openly. Write about your struggles and about the small and big achievements you have made so far. Also show what you are doing currently, what kind of work you are focused on and what type of clients you are interested in working with.

5.You can also start a blog on your personal website. Blogging is a hobby among many and a priceless method of sharing knowledge and information with the world. For instance, if you are a UI/UX designer, you can share your knowledge on this subject with everyone. Whatever skills and knowledge you have, keep writing about it. You can write this whenever you are free.

This will enhance your knowledge further and it will also bring in more traffic to your website which will, in turn, help you to connect with even more people. Let’s say your site gets 50 visitors each day, even if 10 people contact you for your services then imagine how much work you can get through your personal website. This is exactly why a personal professional website can be so instrumental in making a freelancer successful.

Learn more: How can new freelancers establish themselves in between many experts?

Tips to create a profile on Social Media Platforms

People don’t usually think of social media as a tool for promoting their careers. We don’t pay much attention to it as a serious platform. We are not very particular about what we are sharing and what we are liking.  As freelancers, it is important to remember that our goal is to create a professional identity by displaying our skills and services.

So along those lines, you should share content on social media which is related to your profession. Make your profile in a simple manner so that it advertises who you are as a freelancer and promotes your services.

Professionally speaking, it is best to make a profile on LinkedIn and other similar professional social media websites. Making a profile on platforms such as LinkedIn can get you in direct touch with other professionals and companies related to your field and give you important insights and updates about the latest developments.

Don’t forget to promote yourself and your skills while sharing helpful content on such social media platforms.

Related: Ways to promote yourself as a freelancer, especially profile

Freelancing Tips: Thing to remember about Freelancing Business

1. Keep sharing, liking and commenting on content that is related to your field.
2. Connect with people who fall within the domains of your professional field.
3. Follow those people who are achievers, an authority in their fields and eager to help others.
4. Pay special attention to your reputation. Your personal image can leave a positive or negative impression on people about the work you do.
5. Never be under the impression that no one is watching you. It’s quite opposite; almost everyone is watching you. It is possible that a client may go through your social media profiles to ascertain if you are a sociable and well-developed individual.
6. Very few clients like people who answer “Yes Boss” to everything, especially if you are working remotely for them. Make your own decisions when it is necessary and convey those to your client. Use your creativity to solve difficult issues and present yourself as a leader, not just another follower.
7. Always remember that you are a freelancer not just for doing jobs but to build an identity and a brand name for yourself and your business. A business in which you have enough freedom and flexibility in your hands to make you financially independent. In your freelancing business, you are the marketing head, the general manager as well as the worker. So you have to keep looking for innovative ideas and implement them timely for your success and that of your clients.