Freelance Bidding: The SMART Approach
By Sharon Hurley HallWe all know we have to set goals. In fact, many of us know that we have to set SMART goals. The acronym stands for:
- Specific
- Measurable
- Attainable
- Realistic
- Timely
This formula can also be applied to bidding for freelance work (I’ve been writing about that recently on my other blog). Here’s how.
Specific
Clients aren’t always as focused when providing a brief as freelance writers would like them to be. However, that doesn’t excuse us from stating clearly what we can provide. Whether you are sending a query, making a bid or writing a proposal, be specific about what you will do for the client and how you plan to achieve it. This makes it easy to see whether you are on the same page, and will help the client to clarify the brief.
Measurable
The next question is how you and your client are going to measure success on your freelance writing project. This might involve setting milestones for completing sections of the project. If it’s a ghostwriting book project, these milestones may also correspond to payment points, so it’s in your interest to get them right. With article projects, milestones often consist of a number of articles to be delivered in a given period. For a recent 50 article project I worked on, the client wanted at least five articles every business day.
Attainable
Sometimes you might stretch yourself a little by taking on a different kind of project or writing about a different topic. This keeps it interesting for you and expands your portfolio. When you bid, tell the client why this is something you should do. Highlight projects which show similar skills to the ones required. Don’t be afraid to step out of your comfort zone a bit; you will be all the more thrilled when you achieve success.
Realistic
That said, it’s important to make sure that you can actually do what you promise. There’s no point in promising the client 10,000 words in two days when you know that it will take four days to write and proof them. If your client has a schedule that is at odds with yours, then negotiate. Sometimes I bid for several projects and they all come in at once. If they do, then it’s obvious that I can’t do them all at the same time. My approach is to offer the clients alternatives. Either I can start the project later or I can outsource. I don’t often lose project because of this.
Timely
Deadlines, people, deadlines. Meeting these is the key to successful freelancing. As I mentioned above, be clear about when you can start and finish a project, and about what you will provide along the way. If you can, deliver early. That always makes the client happy and leads to repeat work.
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Loading …About the author: Sharon Hurley Hall is a born again blogger who has been writing for more than 20 years. She is a freelance writer and ghostwriter who specializes in ebooks, SEO articles and blog posts. Sharon runs the freelance mentoring blog, Get Paid To Write Online.
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February 25th, 2008 at 5:51 pm
Great advise, Sharon. I, too, am a freelance writer and find that you will even get clients who are not sure exactly what they want or don’t know how to properly explain it. In my experience, I have been able to suggest certain things to the client and they are taken aback at my expertise. Some clients do value your suggestion. Some will even say, “you are the expert.” However, to make sure you and he client are on the same page, be clear on the goal that the client is trying to reach and together with sound suggestion from you, it will work out for both of you, but pretty much more so for the client.
February 27th, 2008 at 11:33 am
Yes, and keeping the client happy is what it’s all about, Cheryline.
February 28th, 2008 at 5:04 am
I think this approach can be applied not only on freelance writing project but also for any kind of job which customer oriented. Nice post…
February 28th, 2008 at 5:35 am
You’re right, Shane. It’s a good balance between being customer focused and having a system that also works for the service provider.
July 25th, 2008 at 2:55 pm
What is the biggest challenge you can face as a freelance writer?
November 21st, 2008 at 8:42 pm
You are so right. Buyers can be very vague when posting their jobs on the outsourcing sites. It blows me away when I see people placing bids without any information about what the job entails. I always send a message for more information. Sometimes, I don’t get an answer, and I don’t get the job. But who cares? I don’t want to make a wild bid and end up working weeks for a little bit of money. Like you said, we need to have smart goals. We also need to be smart about bidding.
Thanks for the article.
Kelli Workman
freelance writer’s last blog post..Specialty Writing: Why Choose A Writing Niche
July 1st, 2009 at 11:38 am
I have been browsing throught your site. I find it very informative and very helpful. When I am setting my goals and reviewing them everyday, this keeps me going. i am getting motiovation out of it, because I read about my goal every day and visualizing is like it’s already complete.
Great Post