Now that you’ve learned the ropes around the Elance Work System, it’s time for you to push the pedal to the metal, crank up the volume, and get awarded more jobs than ever before.
After personally spending quite a bit of time studying the Elance universe, I’ve learned that there are a few ways that you, as a provider, can stand out and shine from the rest. So before you jump the gun and send off your next proposal, familiarize yourself with the following tips.
1. Keep Your Profile Up To Date: Your Profile page is one of the most important assets for any provider on Elance to maintain. Having a well-written, fully-completed, typo-free page shows your potential client that you will take meticulous care of their work, similar to your profile page. Additionally, take the time to fill out the Summary and Keywords sections in detail as these are two key areas that attract the eyes of many employers. DongoDevTeam and Yourtravelgirl are examples of great profiles.
2. Write Awesome Proposals: Making a great first impression is key. Proposals are a lot of times the very first communication your potential client will see from you, so be sure to spend some time preparing your proposal. Aside from replying with just, “I can do this in one week,” ask thoughtful, poignant, and relevant questions, prepare a detailed timeline, establish a standard communication channel and frequency, and spec out your milestones. This will clearly state to your potential client that you mean business. You’ll show that you have put serious consideration and thought into the job as well as understand the requirements and have foresight into the project. For more on proposals, check out our this blog post: Make Every Proposal Count.
3. Take Skill Tests: If you’re debating on investing the time in Skill Tests, consider this: A recent Elance survey identifies that 77 percent of prospective clients found that Skill Tests and Verified Credentials to be important factors when making the hiring decisions on Elance. That’s nearly four out of every five employers on Elance! If you’re still debating on taking Skill Tests, remember, you aren’t playing the odds, my friend.
4. Join Groups: By joining an Elance Group, you are showcasing your talent and professional skill that is officially recognized by a sponsoring company – for example, Adobe Photoshop or Microsoft Excel. Talk about real street cred. Your Group affiliation is prominently displayed on your profile page as well, which helps employers quickly identify the cream of the crop of a specific skill and expertise in no time.
5. Act Fast: Once you see a job that fits your skills perfectly, be sure to prepare your proposal as quickly as possible without contradicting point 2. By responding quickly to a job posting, your proposal will be closer to the top of the list, thus being one of the first proposals that the client sees. Of course, you also have the option of submitting a “sponsored” proposal to ensure the top spot if you wish. Are you on Twitter? Follow our jobs feeds, located at @elance_jobs, @elance_web, @elance_design, and @elance_writing, and you’ll be notified via Twitter of the latest job postings in your discipline.
6. Take Care Of Your Rep: Feedback is one of the most important elements when a client is perusing through a provider’s profile, according to our last survey. How can you build a shining reputation? First, obviously, by completing your jobs on time, treating your client respectfully, and by having stellar communication. Secondly, you can consider bringing your existing clients on to the Elance Work System to instantly build up your feedback while taking advantage of Elance features like Escrow and the Workroom.
7. Be Connected: One thing that all clients can appreciate is fast turnaround with everything, especially with any lingering questions, so staying connected as much as possible is critical to keeping your employer feeling good. Here’s a tip: If you have a mobile device with email capabilities, be sure to have it sync up with your email account associated with Elance. We’ve just recently added BlackBerry support, so answering questions directly into the Workroom or other areas in Elance is a cinch.