Do you know why we’ve many freelancers today without consistent, long-term work?
It’s not because there are no clients.
It’s not because there’s no work.
It’s not even because these freelancers don’t do quality work.
There’s only one problem and clients won’t tell you this in that job post on Upwork or Problogger job board.
Have you ever met clients with the promise of long-term work, but once you complete the first task, you don’t hear from them again?
There’s a reason for this and the client may not tell you. But if you don’t realize and work on it, you’ll lose a lot of business.
So, what’s the one trait that all clients wish you had? It’s called reliability.
Because of distance, internet hitches, power hiccups, communication and time zone challenges, most clients are afraid to hire anyone online. And these challenges can make outsourcing a nightmare.
Read More: Instagram swag bios
So, other than the quality of your samples and the uniqueness of your pitch or proposal, prospects also want to be certain of your reliability.
You may be better than other people in terms of quality, but if you’re not reliable, forget about it.
So how do you show a prospect you’re reliable?
1. Be prompt
Respond to any emails or messages promptly. Sync your email with your phone so you respond to messages and emails immediately they come.
Don’t let a few hours pass before you check your email. If a client has a team of, say 3 freelancers and one of them takes eons to respond to important messages, he may think of working with only two or replacing the third guy.
2. Be available
No one wants to give you work, and then you disappear for a whole week yet it was due in 2-3 days. Assuring the client you’re available makes him or her easy because it shows you can handle a revision or any new work.
Even after successfully completing a one-off project, saying something like “I’m available anytime if you need my help” can win you repeat work. It sounds simple but it constantly reminds your client that you’re dependable.
3. Turn in high-quality work
Believe it or not, high-quality will separate you from the rest and once clients know you produce valuable and quality work, you’ll always be in their minds when they’ve any work. You don’t want to give them a hard time, editing or cause them to hire a third hand. Be meticulous.
And speaking of quality, you should do due diligence to proofread and edit everything before submitting.
Check it through Copyscape for originality too.
Ensure you’ve used any suggested keywords and with the right keyword density.
Double check the title and subtitles.
Ensure all links in your article are authoritative-should have a domain authority of 50 and above
Double-check the formatting: Everything from alignment of text to the size of paragraphs, spacing between paragraphs and font size are critical
4. Beat Deadlines
Always work hard to submit work before the deadline. If you aren’t sure of meeting the deadline, communicate 1-2 days earlier to help your client get a way out. If you submit late without any prior explanation, it may as well be your last work from that client.
5. Have a portfolio
Having previous quality samples tells prospects you can be depended on to do quality work. They don’t know you so they can’t be sure you’re that good if you don’t have a frame of reference.
6. Get Some Social Proof
Did a previous client praise you for submitting in quality work? Don’t delete such messages whether a client said it on text, Skype, email or via Upwork messages. Create a file and paste all of them there including the message and the client who said it.
Once you’ve your blog up and running, create a page for this and paste them there. You can also use a WordPress plugin to showcase them.
Testimonials are powerful and study shows they increase the chances of being hired (conversion) by 34%. Besides, video testimonials tend to do well than text ones as m
