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I was not supposed to publish any article today because I had set my posting schedule for tomorrow. However, there was a rather peculiar (and quite funny too) event that instigated me to put a post together today.

Your Actions May Reflect Your Skills

Let us say that you are a lawyer. You are talking to an acquaintance, but you had not yet informed him about your occupation. While you were chatting about certain things, he noticed that you were using concise and deep words. You were also very specific with every detail. Your acquaintance then said, “Ah, you must be a good lawyer!”

As you can see in the example above, your action reflected what you are capable of doing — convincing people and exposing all details you need to expose.

Now, this very same concept was evident in my experience just a while ago! Let me tell you more about it.

The Peculiar Yet Funny Experience

I was looking for a person who is capable of writing high-quality internet marketing articles a while ago so I could pursue my article marketing efforts. I posted a few threads on different forums showing my interest, and I received quite a lot of private messages.

There was one which really stood out — it was from a guy who apparently sees himself as a “quality article writer”. Note that I am not trying to insult anyone here, but I just found it rather ironic that he called himself a quality writer because of… the following message!

Private Message Title: Articles Writing!

Hi!!

[my forum username]. I saw you posted, and you need some internet marketing articles. I would be very very interested in writing for you, but only if it’s still available! I am quality article or content creator,, I’ve been providing different firms in my country very good article.

Please, give me some topic to write, about, and then I will be give you articles 500-words each for $10 each. And I can, right now, create 5 articles for you!

Thanks and very kind regards!!

[his forum username]

Oh wow. A quality article writer, eh? Sure, sure. Now, if he had only written a properly punctuated and grammatically correct private message, then I could have considered him for the job. Since he did otherwise, well, he will not be getting anything from me. Not that I’m a perfect writer, but still if he had the guts to call himself a “quality writer” then he should have produced at least a decent PM. Don’t worry, I didn’t insult him or something like that. I politely replied that I have certain criteria that he did not meet as a freelance writer.

How YOU Can Get Clients as a Freelancer

As you can see, the guy did not get me as his client. Now, what can YOU do to get clients as a freelancer? Here are some of my tips.

Flaunt all the skills that you have, and do this from the very start. Don’t be like the guy above. If you’re a freelance writer, then by all means introduce yourself to a potential client using a formal (or semi-formal, if you want to get a bit personal with clients) tone! Write properly; proofread your messages before sending them. Make sure there are no grammatical mistakes whatsoever. For those who are not writers, just imply that you’re a trustworthy and professional freelancer by telling them what you can do in detail — don’t use too much jargon though.

Show your portfolio with confidence. If potential clients ask for a link to your portfolio or some samples of your work, then don’t hesitate unless you find them suspicious. Don’t say “I think my work is not good enough,” or something like that. Weird, I know, because it will only lessen your chances of getting hired, but I’ve received a similar message before!

Always be open to suggestions and ideas of your potential clients. Some clients have great ideas and want to help you finish their project with ease. Always listen to them and consider all their suggestions. If you think your plan is better, then just say it politely and with respect.

Have flexible rates. There are some clients who send in projects in bulk. Make your prices flexible, if they want you to create 100 articles then maybe you could give a 10% discount. That would surely increase the chances of having them as repeat customers (more money for you!).

Never ever lie! If they ask you, “Can you finish it in 48 hours?” and you can’t, then say you can’t. Don’t beat around the bush or worse, lie, because you will gain nothing but trouble.

Lastly, don’t offer to do something that you’re not really good at. As per my example, please, to save yourself from total humiliation, don’t offer to do something that you’re not good at. The worst thing that you could do is say you are an experienced person in terms of doing a certain job, but in reality you have not even tried doing it. For example… If you can’t write, then don’t look for people who want some articles to be written.

Summary

Succeeding as a freelancer highly depends on what you can do and how you present what you can do! Always showcase your skills from the very start and show what you’ve got with confidence. Don’t lie or give false information to your potential clients, or else you would be in trouble. Last but definitely not the least, do NOT offer to do something that you’re not really good at. That would just embarrass you — and not just the normal level of embarrassment, I’m talking about total embarrassment here!

Hopefully, you will be able to get more clients because of the tips I mentioned.

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