The Outsourced Writer

I recently spoke with a client about a research/writing project they wanted me to handle. During the discussion, I realized the bid I had originally offered may have been low, as there was probably more research I'd have to complete to do the project right.

This brought up the issue of how to let a prospective client know you will have to raise your rates. In general, I raise rates only when 1 of the following are truet:

1. I have a lot of projects and need to decrease the amount of work I have.
2. I have already bid on a project and I believe my bid was low.
3. I've done more work than expected because the buyer changed what they wanted somewhere in the project.

Of all these the 3rd option is the most problematic. 1 and 2 are easy to explain to a client, but 3 generally tends to bring up issues of who is responsible for the miscommunication. These are the projects that tend to go bad most often, especially when a client is not sure what they want. In such cases, I tend to either complete the project for the original fee and try to make the client happy. If that client comes back, I charge much more than I would other clients because of their past history.

This avoids the need to have a difficult conversation in the middle of a project. Having one before you've agreed to the project is a different matter, and it is much easier to handle.

Over the past several days I've had several experiences with clients and writers that have underlined a point I learned a while ago: good help is hard to find.

This week I was called by two clients who wanted to hire me because the writer they had been using had either stopped communicating entirely or had written increasingly poor quality copy. They wanted to talk to me because;

1: I made my phone number available (somewhat rare),

and

2: I had a perfect job performance rating on the site where they found my profile. (Increasingly rare as the number of projects you accept increases.)

I've also been in the process of trying to find a new writer to handle some of my weekly content jobs. A pair of writers I had been using have since turned out to be unreliable and unable to meet deadlines, so I had to fire them and look for new employees. It isn't always easy to do.

So, kids, pay attention. If you find a good writer or want to get more jobs, be reliable, communicative and make sure you do good work. If not, you're going to have a tough roe to hoe.

Yesterday I received an e-mail from a potential client who found my provider profile through one of the freelance sites I use: guru, elance and ifreelance. Though they hadn't posted a job, they found my profile and wanted to talk to me, so I gave them my cell number so we could talk over the phone.

Without getting into detail about the conversation, after about a 1/2, the buyer posted a job and invited me to bid on it. I did and was quickly awarded the project.

Why am I posting this? Because as a freelancer, I think it's important to remember that just like anything else, you are selling something. In my case, it happens to be my writing skills. Potential clients are your market, and you need to be able to inspire enough confidence in your abilities to allow them to want to buy what you are selling.

Sometimes, having a well written profile with good feedback is enough. But I've found that having a voice on the phone available is a big selling point, especially with outsourcing. A potential buyer doesn't know you form any other outsourcer, be they in India or Indiana. Being able to talk to you is often the deal maker. So, the moral for the story is this: be available for phone communication. You'll be happier, your clients will be happier, and you'll get more jobs.

'Til next time, true believers!

I had 2 experiences with freelance clients this week that provide a good point-counterpoint example.

Job 1: I was hired to write a few web articles about poker. As an avid poker player, this job is perfect for me. I can write the articles completely from personal experience and I know everything I write is valuable. The provider originally wanted a much lower fee, but I convinced them that my skills were worth my higher prices. When I submitted a sample to them, they were very happy with the results, and I think this may be the start of a beautiful relationship.

Job 2: This was a job that started out promising and went downhill fast. (More like off a cliff.) I had an ongoing conversation with a buyer who wanted to hire a blog writer. Since his site covered some of the same outsourcing material that I write about, but from a buyer's perspective, and so it looked like a perfect fit. We discussed me writing a weekly column for his blog about outsourcing from a provider's point of view. He seemed receptive and said he'd contact me.

He eventually did contact me, but the project details were nothing like we discussed. He wanted me to write 15 250-word reviews for sites that he could post on his blog. This was nothing even close to my original bid or anything like what we had discussed. I had proposed a weekly column for a 2x hourly fee. The project he wanted was about 10 times the length , and he offered the same fee as the original.

Needless to say, I passed on the project and wished him luck with finding a cheaper writer.

'Til next time, True Believers.

I spoke with a potential client this weekend about a project they wanted done quickly.

I had originally bid on the project and given it a 2-month deadline. The buyer contacted me and asked if I could do it in 3-weeks or so. I told them I could, but I said I would have to increase my fee. He asked me why I would increase my fee, if the project length was the same.

At first I didn't know what to say, but then I referred to the 'rule of 3'. I can make it good, and I can make it fast, but I can't make it good, fast AND cheap. I don't like to write things that aren't good, so asking me to make it bad is not an option. I can make it fast, I can make it good, and I can make it good and fast.

But if you ask me to make a high-quality product and make it quickly, the price will not be cheap. My time is valuable, and making something fast means I have to devote more time to it right now, instead of spreading that time out. If I don't have time to do other things (like find more clients or work on more projects), the price goes up.

That's just how it is.

I've blogged before on when to send a follow-up message to projects you've bid on. This week I've had several follow-up related experiences that illustrate my previous point, as well as raise some new questions.

First, the questions:
1. What is the best time to send a follow-up?
- I tend to wait until a few days after the project has ended.
- I never send it on a weekend, because it will just get lodged in with all the other 'wait-til-Monday-to open it' messages.
- Send on Wed. or Thu. if possible.
2. How much follow-up is too much?
- In general, I've found sending 1 message is enough.
- Make it short.
- Make it to the point.

I've come to these points mostly because of prior experience, but also from a little careful observation. I think a good follow-up will put your name in the client's head and get them to at least think of you, which is a lot when there are multiple bidders.

I've landed 2 projects this week because of follow-ups, both of which may turn out to be long-term clients.

'Til next time, true believers.

I came across an Elance project the other day that I thought I might bid on. I added the project to my watch-list and researched it.

This is part of my basic process for finding good projects:

1. Go to the category.
2. Select 'Time Left" twice so all projects are listed from ending soonest to ending latest.
3. Scroll through the project lists.
4. Click on any that look interesting.
5. Read the description.
6. If the project seems good and budget it right, add it to watch list.
7. Repeat until you have added about 5 - 10 projects.
8. Go back and research each project.
9. Any projects that stand up, place a bid.
   

Right now, I'd like to take a minute to talk about step 8: Go back and research each project. For this, I do 3 main things:

1. Look at the watch-list to find the average, low and high bids. If these are in the range of what I think the project is worth, I move on to the next step.
   
2. Look at the project description to see if the budget is stated specifically. If it is less than what I think the project is worth, I delete the project and move on. If it is in my range, I go to the next step. If it isn't stated, I might take a look at the provider profile.
   
3. Look at the provider to see if past projects they've awarded are similar. If they have, the price they paid will be listed, and will determine whether or not it's worth bidding on.

So this is what I did for this last project. I added it to my watch-list and then researched it. The average bid prices weren't bad, so I looked at the project provider in more depth. I found a past project that was nearly identical.


The price they paid for the last project was about $300 less than what I thought the job was worth, so I didn't bid on it.

Yeah, maybe this seems like a lot of work to weed out a single project, but bids cost money on Elance, and wasting them is just like burning up money. I don't do this entire process on every potential bid, but I have saved myself a lot of wasted time and effort by not bidding on projects I would be very unlikely to get anyway.

'Til next time, True Believers.