Do you often catch yourself thinking, “Why not me?” when you get an email saying the client picked someone else? Or do you still believe that writing a strong proposal is some kind of secret art only a chosen few can master?

We're here to show and prove that anyone can submit proposals that clients actually accept. You just need to know a few secrets.

Start with the most important thing — fill out your profile properly

We subconsciously trust people we know at least a little about. Imagine you're a client who just posted a project and received two proposals:

Who would you trust more? Most likely the second freelancer — at the very least, you know where they’ve worked, what they can do, and what they look like. That’s why, once you register, your first step should be to polish your profile:

A well-set-up profile is 50% of your success. Even if you write a great proposal, but your profile is empty, the client is less likely to trust you. That means your chances of getting the job drop significantly.

The most common mistakes freelancers make when writing proposals

Most freelancers make the same mistakes. Let’s take a look at them so you can avoid falling into the same traps:

These points might seem minor. But if two proposals offer the same value, and one of them includes the mistakes listed above — the client will go with the cleaner, more polished one.

Recommendations on how to do it right

If you’ve been thinking that writing a proposal is some kind of secret ritual for seasoned freelancers — you're wrong. To create a strong, valuable proposal, you just need to:

Always think about the client, not about yourself. Write from the perspective of what will be useful to them, not what you feel like saying. A winning strategy is to offer a specific solution to their problem.

How to increase your chances of getting your proposal approved

Having a good portfolio and a solid proposal doesn’t guarantee you'll be fully booked with projects. It’s daily work that requires effort and consistency. But to slightly boost your chances of success, follow these tips:

Don’t get discouraged if you don’t land the first project. Stick with these recommendations, and clients will eventually start choosing you. Keep learning, improving, and building your skills — and you’ll get there!