Success secrets: Becoming a successful freelance writer at oDesk

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Tips to becoming a successful freelance writer at oDesk

oDesk has grown by leaps and bounds over the few years it has been in operation with the value of projects crossing the magical $100 million mark. The writer trends at oDesk show a steady increase in the demand for writing jobs. The number of writing jobs posted at the end of 2009 (December) is about 5 times the number posted in January, showing a very rapid rate of increase of writer jobs. This is therefore the best time to join oDesk as a freelance writer.

Writing can be a challenging task, but the good thing is if your language skills are good, you can train yourself to be a good freelance writer. The problem with writing is also that too many people think they are writers. Not everyone who can form a grammatically correct sentence can qualify as a writer. This is why employers often complain of lack of quality of freelance writers. Such a situation is not necessarily bad – in fact it can work wonderfully well for you. This is because if you can create a niche for yourself as a freelance writer, you can indeed go places.

Freelance writing can be hard work at first. However, instead of deterring you, this should motivate you, as George Bernard Shaw once said – “The harder I work, the more I live”.

Tips to land your first writing job

At this point, if you have decided to join oDesk as a freelance writer, Congratulations! You have taken a step in the right direction towards financial freedom. However, the real challenges lie ahead. Landing your first freelance writing job is certainly not a cakewalk. This is so because you will be competing against well established freelance writers whereas you are just a beginner. Therefore you need to play your cards well and turn the situation to your advantage. Here are some tips to get started -

Take oDesk tests: Since you don’t have previous employment history at oDesk, buyers will not know your potential and your English skills. Worse, many people self-assess their English skills much higher than they actually are. This creates problems for the buyers and they may not fully believe you when you say you have great English skills. The only way to overcome this problem is through oDesk skill tests.

oDesk skill tests are a great way to show your capabilities to your buyer. There are a plethora of tests that are available to freelance writers, from basic US English test to technical writing and copywriting. oDesk also rewards people who perform well in the tests by a small badge that is placed on the profile page of the provider that says “1st place”, “Top 10%”, etc. These are great rewards to flaunt because they show your competencies and you can prove to the buyers that you are indeed a good writer and have great potential.

Filling your profile page: This is an important aspect that is very well neglected by starting freelance writers at oDesk. Remember that as a beginner you do not have a job history and therefore it is important that you show any previous writing experience. Also mention how many years of writing experience you have, if it is significant. If you think your background is not so great but you have great talent for writing, you may skip this step and still achieve great freelance writing success through your work, but you will need to work harder in the very initial phases.

Skill description: This is the one line description of your own skills and capabilities that oDesk allows that is visible along with your name when a buyer opens your oDesk profile. It is important to catch the buyers attention here. Do not be cliched with your writing. Do not say something like “hardworking sincere writer” because this is very nonspecific and too general and does not really separate you from the crowd. Instead, be as specific as possible and try to carve a niche for yourself. Playing to your strengths is the key here.

Thus if you have say 5 or 10 years of experience in writing, mention this. If you have published any works previously, it is a big plus and should be mentioned here. If you have any specific skills like writing for blogs or copywriting, then these can be mentioned here as well. Do remember to create value with what you write, because this description will cover, in a nutshell, your skills for the buyer to see.

Write the right cover letter: The cover letter is perhaps the single most important part of your application process and therefore holds a lot of value. It is through your cover letter that you will catch the buyer’s attention and have him consider you seriously for the job at hand. However, many people don’t follow the usual tips of writing a good cover letter, that costs them the job. Being new at oDesk, a good cover letter is all the more important because you want to convince the buyer that you are just the right person for the job.

As a primary rule, make the cover letter as personalized as possible. This may seem obvious but is something that is almost always neglected by new applicants. You should avoid making a generalized cover letter that you copy-paste for each application. Buyers can easily tell a well researched and written cover letter from a generic one. You can of course use parts of cover letter that talk about your skills to be the same in all your applications.

You should go through the job posting, look carefully at what is expected from you as a freelance writer and write your cover letter accordingly. The buyer should feel the cover letter especially tailored for the job at hand. Therefore if the job entails writing blogs, describe how you can write good blogs and show any previous experience that you may have which is relevant. Talk exclusively about blogs. If the job is for copywriting, write about your previous experiences as a copywriter and how you could lead huge sales and traffic. Be as specific as possible.

It is also important to read the whole job posting. Some buyers, to filter out people who mass-apply to job postings, post a password somewhere in the middle or end of the job description just to make sure that you have read the whole post. Without this password in your cover letter, they will not even consider your application. In such cases, it is very important to read through the whole opening and write your cover letter accordingly.

Placing the right bids: Placing the right bids is very important to land your job. In the initial stages, it might be required to work for a price less than what you would normally use. However, this should not be taken in the negative sense. The initial stages are all about establishing yourself and not necessarily for making money immediately. Don’t worry, this stage doesn’t last too long if you are serious – perhaps a few days to a few weeks. However, in this stage you should be alright with placing low bids to compete against the more well established writers. Once you create a name and niche for yourself, you can shift to the rate that is right for your skills.

Bidding on the right jobs: This is a very important point that many new freelance writers neglect. When looking through the job postings, bid only on the ones in which you are confident you can work well. In the initial stages, the feedback you get from the buyer is really very important. Therefore you will need to perform very well on these assignments to gain a good and positive feedback. Thus you should apply only for those jobs where you are confident of performing well.

If you are good with blogs but bad with sales letters, don’t be hesitant to skip a good sales letter writing job and bid on blogs. On the other hand, if you are good at writing website content, you should apply to all the appropriate jobs. This will help you maximize the chances of landing a job and also do well on it – which is very important for long term success.

Minimizing Risk: At a time when you would like to quickly get your first job, you might latch on to anything that comes your way. However, like any other business or freelance opportunity, you need to beware of scams or conflicts. oDesk guarantees you payment for every hour that you log in through the oDesk team software. This guaranteed payment ensures that your hard work cannot go wasted and the buyer cannot refuse to pay you when you have worked.

On the other hand there is no such guarantee for a fixed price assignment. The best way to counter this or to minimize risk is through an advance payment before the assignment starts. However, not many oDesk freelance writers make use of this especially in the initial stages because buyers are uncertain about your skills and may not like to pay you without seeing the work. In such cases, you should look at the buyer history and see his feedback. If you think the buyer can be trusted, go ahead with the project. Also, it is safer to get hold of the buyer’s details like email and phone number so that if there should arise a conflict, you can sort it out.

Using oDesk resources: oDesk is still a small community. This is especially true for the freelance writers working at oDesk. There are several resources available at oDesk for new providers. You can use these resources wisely. One great resource is the oDesk Learning Center. In addition, the oDesk forum is a great place for newbies to interact with people and ask any questions they may have. You can get answers from experienced writers. In addition, if you have any questions regarding the site, you may ask in the forum. It is a very active community and people are more than willing to help you out, so don’t hesitate to ask anything you may need help with.

Use all the above tips and you will soon find yourself as a great freelance writer within no time. Once you establish yourself, you can really get going with freelance writing. There are of course other issues to help you establish yourself after you bag your first job.

Making a niche for yourself in the world of freelance writing

Now that you know how to get your first job, it is time to think of sustainability. That’s right, like an ecological system, the freelance writing system needs to be sustainable to help you support yourself in the long run. As a service provider and a freelance writer, you would like to ensure that you can make a living off writing. This can be done when you can bag not just your first job but good jobs henceforth too. Here are a few tips to help you on this path.

Quality matters: Quality of work is perhaps the single most important factor that will contribute to your success as a freelance writer. oDesk emphasizes a lot on quality, and there are writers who provide excellent quality work at oDesk. Therefore to stand out and prove yourself, you will need to deliver high quality work each time. Your feedback also depends a lot on the quality of work that you can deliver, which makes quality doubly important.

Another very important reason why quality is so important is that you can make some long term relationships based on your work. Small businesses are always on the lookout for great talent and reasonable prices that they can use as and when required. Therefore if a client likes your work and needs a similar work done in the future, chances are that he will approach you for the work. Such long term works are a great way to establish yourself on the freelancing circuit. You can get some really great assignments from your old clients. In addition, having worked with them previously, you will know they pay well.

One thing to keep in mind is not to take up ‘adventurous’ writing works in the initial phases wherein you are not sure of delivering quality work. Therefore if you have no experience in marketing or sales, you may want to avoid copywriting at first because you may not deliver up to the mark. Therefore in the initial stages when you are establishing yourself as a freelance writer, stick to what you do best. With time, you can branch out and explore many more facets of freelance writing and indulge yourself with great variety of writing challenges.

Over-deliver each time: Buyers like it when you go over and above what is outlined in the project. Therefore if your task is to come up with 2 tag-lines for a website, come up with a couple more. This will give the buyer more choice and he will definitely like you for over delivering. Never under-deliver on any project because this can seriously impact your feedback and hence your future prospects of landing jobs.

In the end, it is all about impressing your buyer. If he is impressed with your performance and value for money, you will get a positive feedback and the prospect of working with the company in the future too. Small businesses are greatly interested in enthusiastic buyers who are able not only to write as required but who are able to think independently and make suggestions relevant to the project. If for example you can suggest your own topics that will help the business, it will be a big plus.

Feedback is important: As you progress as a freelance writer on oDesk, you will realize that feedback is one of the most important things that will determine your future success with bigger writing projects and assignments. It is therefore important that you do everything you can to improve your feedback.

oDesk has many features with respect to feedback. You can read about oDesk feedback policies here. You can get your feedback changed within 2 weeks of completing the assignment. Therefore if you think that the buyer has been particularly harsh with your feedback, you can talk to him and discuss the situation. If the buyer was happy with your overall performance, he might be willing to change the feedback.

It is very important that both you and the buyer are honest in their feedback to each other. However, sometimes a negative feedback is a result of some bitterness rather than a reflection of your work. In such cases, you should contact the buyer, set things right, and request for a change in feedback.

Going over and above what is expected is one way in which you can attract good feedback. Also remember to be punctual with your work and keep your buyer updated about your progress at each stage. Quality is what is most rated at oDesk and therefore there is no substitute for good quality work.

Meet the deadlines: Meeting deadlines is the sign of a true professional. As a freelance writer, unless there is a genuine reason, there is no excuse for turning in work late. You need to plan your assignments properly around your daily schedule and availability. Remember it is not the quantity but the quality that matters. Don’t take more than you can chew. This will help you deliver every work within the deadlines.

If you are busy, inform the buyer beforehand. If there are unexpected delays, communicate them to the buyer well in advance. It is also a good idea to voluntarily offer some extra work or a pay cut for a delay in work because it shows that you are serious about timely delivery but could not do so due to some genuine problems at your end.

There is a curious problem that occurs at times while meeting deadlines. This occurs because oDesk is a global workplace and you and the buyer might be in very different time zones. This can be a problem because of miscommunication that arises because of this difference. A buyer from one time zone might quote the time at his place rather than yours. Therefore be sure to double check the deadline for submitting the work and the time zone in which the deadline is specified.

Be communicative: Every buyer will appreciate you telling him about the progress of the project at regular intervals. This is important so that the buyer knows exactly the status of the assignment. This way he can also add to any further requirements that may have come up. Also, if you are not going in the direction that the buyer originally intended for whatever reason, you can quickly make changes to your writing if you keep the buyer informed about your progress. Communication is also rated at oDesk, which means to get good feedback, you will need to be communicative anyway!

If you and the buyer are in the same country, you could always try to communicate via phone if it suits the both of you. Otherwise, Skype works good with many people and buyers appreciate you informing them personally of the progress in your own voice. Instant Messaging is sometimes the preferred option for many buyers while some simply prefer emails. Verify what the buyer would prefer at the start o the assignment so that you can adapt to your buyer’s needs.

At this stage, if you do not have one, you might consider creating a professional sounding email with Yahoo and MSN and a Skype account as well to cater to different buyers.

In the end, remember what Elbert Hubbard said – “We work to become, not to acquire”. This is especially true for freelance writing. It is a journey as you discover your own interests, passions and challenge your limits. Writing can be as creative as you can want it to get, and in the process, gain invaluable experience. Freelance writing can be great fun and present great challenges that are exciting to overcome. In the end, it is bound to be an enriching experience.