Are you new to Upwork and struggling to land your first job? Well, you are not alone. As a beginner, it is always difficult to get clients on any platform. In fact, many freelancers who recently joined Upwork have become frustrated to the point that they think there are no more clients on the platform. In contrast, many Upwork clients are also saying that they aren’t able to find a good freelancer on the platform. Consequently, many frustrated newbie freelancers took to different online platforms seeking answers from clients’ perspectives as to why they are finding it difficult to land their first jobs. While giving answers to these new freelancers’ questions, many clients referred to bad proposal cover letters as the issue.
According to Upwork clients, many new freelancers only care about themselves. In other words, newbie freelancers write too much about themselves in their cover letters. In addition, clients say most of these newbie freelancers often send copy-paste cover letters, which is a no-no. One client I spoke with told me that he would always block and ignore someone who sends a copy-paste cover letter. So, in this article, you will learn, as a newbie, how to write a job-winning Upwork cover letter. However, you need to understand what the potential client wants and craft your cover letter accordingly.
Understand What The Client Wants
Before you start writing a cover letter for a job proposal on Upwork, make sure to read and understand what the client wants. In other words, read the job description carefully to know what exactly the client wants. Most freelancers often make this awful mistake of sending the same cover letter to multiple job offers without taking the time to read the job description. As a result, clients have also developed a trick in other to separate the wheat from the chaff. For example, closely look at the screenshot below.
If you look closely at the screenshot above, you will notice at the end of the job offer that the client asked potential candidates to write the word “BLUE” at beginning of their cover letters to show that they read the job description. This shows that clients on Upwork are frustrated and tired of receiving copy-paste cover letters from freelancers who obviously haven’t read the job description. Failing to begin your cover with the word “BLUE” will definitely result in it being landed in a trash can.
As a result, you might begin to think that there are no more clients on Upwork, whereas there are clients everywhere looking for experts to help them achieve their goals. So, the first step to writing a job-winning cover letter on Upwork is to try to understand what the client wants by reading the job description carefully.
How to Write a Killer Upwork Cover Letter
Now that you have an idea of what the potential client wants, it is time to shine. In other words, it is time to show the client how you can be of help. However, there are a few common phrases you need to avoid when starting your proposal letter. Clients hate getting twenty application letters that all sound the same. Under no circumstances should you begin your cover letter with:
- Dear Sir/Ma’am, or Dear hiring manager…
- To whom this may concern…
- I am an experienced SEO content writer,…
- I’m very good at…
- I have __ years of experience in doing this…
- I am passionate about…
- I’m motivated, creative, organized, and dedicated…
Instead, you can warmly address the potential client by simply starting with, “Hello/Hey there!” I know this may sound ridiculous to you but it is working for successful freelancers. Remember that clients are mainly interested in accomplishing their goals. That said, you need to avoid talking about qualifications and experience or else you’ll lose out to someone whose proposal is focused on the client’s needs. According to an Upwork client, a great cover letter begins with” Hello,” followed by how you understand the project. After that, you can move on to talk about how or what you can do to get the job done. The bottom line is to stand out from other applicants.
The First Three Lines of Your Cover Letter
Write the first few lines of your cover letter with the sole purpose of grabbing the client’s attention. Once again, do not start with: “I am,” “I have,” or “I believe.” For instance, you can start with a you-focused opening:
“Hey there,
You sound like you need someone to update your existing articles and bump them up by giving them some extra touch in accordance with the latest Google product update. You need a writer who understands what search engines want, and who has experience in technical writing. Does that sound about right?”
With an opening like this, you’ve started a conversation with your potential client. An opening like this shows that you understand the client. Moreover, an opening like this will likely be considered more than an I-focused opening that solely focuses on your qualifications and years of experience.
Your Cover Letter’s Body
The next paragraph is the place to talk about how you can use your skills to solve the client’s problem. In other words, you want to explain to the client how your skills can benefit him/her. Do not focus just on how your skills have helped you achieve success in the past. Remember that your clients don’t care much about you. They only care about themselves and how to achieve their goals. Moreover, they have a problem they need a solution to. So, make sure your cover letter’s body focuses on how you can solve that problem rather than writing long descriptions of your career.
Below are some great examples of how to show clients you know what you’re doing:
- Share a stunning piece of knowledge with your potential clients, regardless of whether or not they hire you.
- Share a brief story about a similar project you worked on in the past. Most importantly, the skills or the tools you used.
- Show your client a relevant sample of your work. You’ve done some work in the past right? It doesn’t have to be on Upwork, but at any point in your career.
An Upwork client advises freelancers to share a couple of similar completed jobs with the unique benefit they offer in two sentences. The client says this trait is golden for them, rather than sending dozens of unrelated links as reference. Further, the client advises freelancers to ultimately push employers to figure out the results in their minds. The best way to achieve this is by sharing before and after results as images during applications.
Closing Lines and Call to Action
Your closing few lines and call to action are extremely important. This is where you motivate clients to grab their mouse and click “Make Offer.” Therefore, it’s vitally important you get the final lines right. One way to do that is by always asking at least two to three questions at the end of your cover letter. This is to ensure the continuousness of the dialogue with your clients, thus encouraging them to write back to you. In addition, it also demonstrates your interest in the project and your desire to make the most of the opportunity.
For example, you can ask anything like:
- Which content management system (CMS) are you using?
- Do you already have someone who can upload and publish the content for you?
- Are you available on Google Meet or Skype? Can we continue this conversation there?
- Do you have a content strategy or structure I could look at?
However, try and keep your questions related to the job offer. Finally, you can seal your cover letter with an appealing call to action. Consider the following example:
“Can you tell me more about your website audience or niche? Remember, the key is to come up with interesting content ideas. I’d love to know more if you’d like to chat about it.”
Job-Winning Upwork Cover Letter Samples
The screenshot below shows an actual cover letter written by Danny Margulies, a successful Upwork freelancer, that resulted in a job offer within minutes. The job title called for a copywriter. In the job description, the client said he was looking for someone to write a press release for a new company that had just launched its first app. However, the principles can be applied to any job category you happen to be interested in. Here is the cover letter:
According to Margulies, the client responded within minutes and subsequently offered him the job.
Notice that in his cover letter Margulies:
- Instead of immediately talking about himself, started out by recognizing the client’s accomplishment
- Offered the client a surprising knowledge that can be useful to him, regardless of whether he hires him or not.
- Rather than giving the client a boring list of credentials, he told him a story about a previous project he worked on.
Here is another example of a great Upwork cover letter:
“Hello there,
Your post caught my eye — I am not a web developer but I’m an expert in lead nurturing emails. And one of the biggest mistakes I see is going for the consultation too soon. My advice would be to start out with helpful info for the first couple of emails. No fluff, just a couple of really valuable emails that offer good info without asking anything in return. Then you can transition over to talking about the consult on day 3, and try to close it a bit harder on the last couple of days.”
Conclusion
The example above gives the client a helpful tip or specific piece of advice. As a result, the client will consider you as someone that knows what he or she is doing. Moreover, it also shows that you’re looking out for the client’s best interests. So, the single most powerful thing you can do to start getting jobs on Upwork as quickly as possible is to share your knowledge with the potential client. Firstly, you need to write a unique cover letter for each job offer. Secondly, you need to read the job description and tailor your message accordingly. Thirdly, and most importantly, you need to proofread completely before you hit send.
By following the tips in this article, you will eventually come to realize that it is not that difficult to get clients on Upwork as a newbie after all. Above all, you need to keep a positive spirit throughout the whole rejection process. I’m sure you are already on your way to achieving success on Upwork as a freelancer.