How to write an Upwork Proposal that wins jobs? 

You are new to Upwork. How will you draw attention from a client so that he/she hires you. So, a cover letter is the ultimate weapon with which you can showcase your skills and relevant industry  experiences. With a perfect cover letter or proposal, you highlight why you are unique and fit their project well. You should know the secret to a good first impression that is achieved by crafting proposals that clients are likely to respond. Begin like - "Hey! Thanks for the job invite. I am so excited to meet you. Can you please tell me........?"

It is seen that a few of the freelancers make a template cover letter and use the same in each and every proposal. This, according to me, isn't the right approach. Below I have mentioned a skeleton, a proper framework which will help you to write a quality cover letter for Upwork proposal. Though I mentioned Upwork, the below points apply to all kinds of freelancer proposals. Platform to platform, there may be slight UX/UI differences. 

Number 1

Tell the client - How are you going to complete his work? 

See the client is expecting you to do his work in the best possible way and you are here to solve his problems. Focus on how to perform and complete his work. In this way, you are drawing his attention that you are willing to give time to his proposal to understand. You will highlight the technology/software etc. that you are going to apply in the process.

Number 2

Tell the client – Your participation in similar or related projects. 

This makes the client feel secure in assigning you the work. Your confidence in the work is brought about by your experiences. However, if you are fresher having zero experience in the particular work then don’t hide anything. Be straightforward. You have to convince the client at the very beginning.

Number 3

Tell the client - Your estimated time duration.

You must mention properly the terms and conditions of the project. Often it becomes a tedious task to estimate the project if less amount of information is shared by the client. Always you divide the project into milestones. Make a proper division of the whole project into the number of hours, milestones etc. Take help from other similar projects if information is less. Just don’t show the client your ignorance.

Number 4

Tell the client – Your budget.

The client must get an idea that your charges/hourly rate are genuine . You must show that you are aware of your pricing. When you set a rate randomly then the client will have less confidence in you. He will not be able to trust you as he will get confused. It is seen that the estimated budget is much higher than the client initially threw in the project description.

Number 5

Tell the client – Your discount.

Allowing discounts is clever and a better means to strengthen your communication with the client. The client must feel happy that along with top quality work you are allowing discounts. See you have to increase your hourly rate as time goes on and you head towards being an expert on Upwork . But the same client for the same work may not be ready to give a different hourly rate every time. 

What I suggest is that you keep the hourly rate $10 more than you expect. In this way you can trick the client by allowing him a discount at first but in the long run your value is maintained. At the end it's up to the quality of your work that will attract a client towards you long term. He/she will not be able to refuse your rates if your delivery is of high quality from all aspects.

Don’t give a discount on Upwork seeking a review from clients. Your account will be banned.

Number 6

Tell the client – Your Questions.

If you don’t ask a single question the client will be sure that you haven’t bothered to spend time studying the project details. If you ask too many questions that will reflect your ignorance. Unnecessarily the cover letter will be long. So ask only the relevant questions that are necessary to know if the project is suitable for you. This will also give you an idea in handling future projects.

Number 7

Tell the client – Your availability.

You are ready to communicate verbally and through text. That you are familiar with modern communication methods. Daily, you will submit a work report to the client regarding the development of the project. That you offer live mode chatting. How the process of work is going on etc.

Other ideas to help selling your Proposal

- In Upwork, your client will notice the additional questions first. This is called the "upside-down proposal" approach. So, use all your efforts to reply to the additional questions. This doesn't mean that you will neglect your cover letter. You have to write the proposal upside-down to get maximum attention and stand out from the crowd. It's your responsibility to check how a client sees you.

- A good cover letter must highlight your background first. Then you must display how you can help the client and at last you must list all the relevant skills. A good cover letter offers value to the client. You can offer the same by addressing the client's project. Mention your approach towards the project and any key experience that makes you the best for the project. You must discuss all the doubts before starting the project. In this way, you will develop a personal touch with the client which is good. 

- Write a captivating first sentence always. It is the first sentence that makes a client turn towards your proposal. Never hesitate to give the client some guidance if you think you can. This will show your expertise in the field. Also, it's very important that you end your proposal with a relevant "Call to Action". Upwork has a tool called "Meeting Scheduling Tool" which often gets ignored. Use this tool always as it makes it easy for the client to schedule a call with you. 

- Skip traditional intros like "Hi, my name is...." or "I am...". Use a professional and friendly tone and answer all the stuff the client requires. At last, you can summarize the main points. You shouldn't bury your unique qualifications, instead they must be at the top. The client must realize your unique value. Don't forget to proofread the proposal. 

- You have to remain professional and polite through the entire proposal and make sure that it is concise. Avoid using all CAPITAL letters, emoticons and words that are considered slang or jargon. 

- You should display reasonable rates. Rates shouldn't be too low or too high. You have to place the rates so that it covers your additional business expenses like taxes, tools, insurance, etc. Most of the time, a client doesn't know the rates, so it's on your part to guide him or her in this context. 

- You have to develop your specialized profiles. This will save your valuable time. Make a habit to reassess your profile once a month and position it in accordance to your latest growth. The most important thing is to learn new and higher paying skills in your niche. It will be too good if you take a course on selling or negotiation. 

- At the end of the project, offer the client other relevant and on-going services. This selling technique is referred to as "upsell". 

Conclusion

I know this will not be easy for you as a beginner to apply all the above mentioned points in your proposal. So, I would like to suggest you to go through all of them over and over again and apply as many as you can. This will sure to improve your chances of getting responses from clients. How you transform those responses into proposals that win jobs is up to you again. To create a unique proposal that wins jobs, you will require a good amount of patience and perseverance during your beginning days.