Need Your Advice Warriors

Greetings. The only thing that I could offer is my personal belief that you are pricing your time at too low a value. When I hire freelancers I tend to go right by all of the low-end offerings, cost-wise.

I look for freelancers that value their work-product at a reasonable amount, or what I call Goldilocks pricing. Not too inexpensive and not outrageously high. Additionally, while I understand that it is a very competitive marketplace, I'm not comfortable paying someone less than the price of a McDonald's Quarter Pounder meal, per hour.

While I understand that different people are going to produce a different amount of work in that same hour, I'm still going to begin my search somewhere in the middle of the pack.. I would suggest raising your rate to $12 per hour and see if it has any effect on the amount of inquiries you receive.

Good luck. - Frank

Hi Pinakin,

To be blunt, your bio is boring. I think you would benefit from spending some time studying good copywriting, and applying those lessons to your own bio.

When I hire off of freelance sites (and I am hiring for a big, long term job on one right now, btw, but not for seo) I tend to gloss over the generic bios. I take more notice of the people who actually can use a bit of salesmanship in telling me about themselves - the kinds of results they get for their work, the great benefits of choosing them as a resource, etc.

Of course, that just gets me interested in sticking around for the important part - portfolio, experience and compensation review. But if you don't have my attention before I get to that part, I am less likely to view the rest as seriously.

I realize this makes me sound a bit shallow, but I think I am reacting as most humans would - whether they would admit it or not.

Good luck.

Hey Pinakin-

Jack is right....there is nothing in your bio that tells me you're the guy I'd want to hire. One thing you have to remember is that you're competing against hundreds of other freelaners for every single job, so your profile has to go above and beyond to "wow" potential clients.

Another crucial part of getting hired is your actual proposals- over 90% of the people out there just a generic proposal that doesn't mention the client's specific needs at all. So it's your job initially to give more direct feedback than any other freelancer...whether it's talking about their business, their website or the project they're hiring for. The more you show a client that you care about their business, the higher your chances are of getting hired.

For example, I saw a job on Elance last week where a tech company wanted someone to complete the copy for their website....they only had a homepage. When I visited the site, however, it loaded very slow, several links were broken and it wasn't even responsive. And in my proposal, I flat-out said, "Honestly, you should not hire anyone for your website's copy at this time...it is a waste of money with all the other issues in place and you should fix them first."

I was the only one who cared enough about the client to point this out though, and they ended up asking for a phone interview so I could explain their issues in detail. And now I'm building them a new website and taking over all their marketing from here on out....and they were only looking for a few pages of copy. But that's what happens when you show that you're an expert and willing to always go the extra mile for clients to see value.

So I think you just need to start over on your profile and find ways to impress me. For example, don't say that you've worked in online marketing for four years- that's boring and says nothing about your skills. Instead, tell me about how you helped companies find new customers or increase their profits. The same goes with the keyword stuffing in the 3rd paragraph...most people don't even know what that stuff is. Put it in plain English, explain how it helps and then people will take notice.

And as Frank said, drastically raise your hourly rate. Mine is $65 an hour, and even though that's higher than 99% of the writers on Elance, it separates me from those who look desperate. Now, that doesn't mean I always pitch clients that high, but having the confidence to show that you're worth a premium makes a big difference in how clients view you. Honestly, I wouldn't say $12 an hour....that's still too low. I would go with at least $25/hr.

I hope that helps.

No problem at all- just do for clients what I just did for you. Get very specific and SHOW THEM how hiring you is going to make a difference, and you'll be amazed at how many more jobs you get.

Like I told you in the PM, just get something...anything...to show as a work history on the new site. If I was already there, I'd hire you for a few basic things for my site, but I'm waiting for their staff to import my portfolio from Elance.

Hi Pinakin,

I understand your situation is difficult, but you have to face it: being too cheap is suspicious.

I agree with Jack, you really should increase your price so that it matches what the client expects, not "the cheapest possible" (Actually, only 10% of buying decisions are based on Price, so the price argument is not really the most powerful one: i suggest focusing on the results you will bring).

Good luck - Pif69

Do not undervalue your services...You need to come across as an expert on what you offer. Of course, you also need to become an expert on that so that you are honest and you can deliver what you promise.

I would say that try to find a niche in the big market you are working in and do absolutely everything in that small niche to prove that you are the expert. May be you need to take on more courses onilne - I don't know, but do not offer cheap rates and expect big businesses to hire you.