0 1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:03,090 To get jobs, you usually have to send cover letters with your proposals. 1 2 00:00:03,090 --> 00:00:07,340 These are just, you know, small email or a message that you send to a client, 2 3 00:00:07,350 --> 00:00:13,710 when you're kinda sending them a proposal. On Upwork and freelancing platforms there's usually a field 3 4 00:00:13,710 --> 00:00:19,980 that you fill out and you send that. On outside of the platforms, that's usually an email that you send 4 5 00:00:19,980 --> 00:00:21,680 to them with your proposal. 5 6 00:00:21,700 --> 00:00:25,170 That' it. Freelancing didn't teach me how to write good cover letters. 6 7 00:00:25,170 --> 00:00:31,020 Hiring freelancers did. I've had, as a client, I've had experience of receiving cover letters that were 7 8 00:00:31,020 --> 00:00:36,990 great, because they were working well on me, as a client. And there was a lot of pile of crap that I was 8 9 00:00:36,990 --> 00:00:40,470 receiving, that made a lot of freelancers completely unhireable. 9 10 00:00:40,470 --> 00:00:43,080 Here are some tips on writing damn good cover letters. 10 11 00:00:45,850 --> 00:00:51,210 A cover letter that puts me to sleep instantly is where the freelancer is talking about themselves. 11 12 00:00:51,220 --> 00:00:56,530 I post a job, describe my problem and the solution that I'm looking for, and you respond with how amazing 12 13 00:00:56,530 --> 00:00:57,140 you are? 13 14 00:00:57,160 --> 00:01:03,760 Nearly all of these freelancers are talking about themself. I am this and I have that, I have this amount 14 15 00:01:03,760 --> 00:01:06,070 of experience and I've done this in the past. 15 16 00:01:06,160 --> 00:01:07,640 Frankly, dear, I don't care. 16 17 00:01:07,690 --> 00:01:10,160 Tell me how you're going to solve my problem. 17 18 00:01:10,180 --> 00:01:11,760 Talk to me about the project. 18 19 00:01:11,770 --> 00:01:14,140 How can you help me. Show me that you're amazing. 19 20 00:01:14,140 --> 00:01:15,240 Don't brag about it. 20 21 00:01:17,790 --> 00:01:18,110 Okay. 21 22 00:01:18,140 --> 00:01:20,570 If you can't talk about yourself, then what do you say? 22 23 00:01:20,580 --> 00:01:21,110 Very easy. 23 24 00:01:21,110 --> 00:01:22,460 Start giving ideas. 24 25 00:01:22,460 --> 00:01:26,080 Imagine that they already hired you and start brainstorming their project. 25 26 00:01:26,090 --> 00:01:27,620 How are you going to design it? 26 27 00:01:27,620 --> 00:01:29,750 What would be some fun things to do? 27 28 00:01:29,750 --> 00:01:34,970 Send links to example websites and say you could do these sort of interactions or this sort of 28 29 00:01:34,970 --> 00:01:35,640 hero section. 29 30 00:01:35,690 --> 00:01:40,280 Nobody does this. If I saw a proposal with ideas and examples, I'd be like, "Thank you. 30 31 00:01:40,280 --> 00:01:41,320 Those are great ideas. 31 32 00:01:41,330 --> 00:01:42,170 You get me. 32 33 00:01:42,170 --> 00:01:43,040 That's what I want. 33 34 00:01:43,050 --> 00:01:44,270 Done. You are hired." 34 35 00:01:44,480 --> 00:01:45,350 Want real examples? 35 36 00:01:45,350 --> 00:01:50,540 Here is an actual cover letter that I've sent on Upwork, which got me a job right away, without an interview. 36 37 00:01:50,540 --> 00:01:56,770 I start by linking example pages. I took landing page templates, not even my work and showed him as examples. 37 38 00:01:56,990 --> 00:02:03,150 I showed him what I was going to do. Now he can see with his own eyes, and I made his life easier. 38 39 00:02:03,170 --> 00:02:08,780 Then I give him a quick rundown of the process. How I was going to do all that. Told him it will look 39 40 00:02:08,780 --> 00:02:11,960 good and we'll convert effectively. That's his goal, isn't it? 40 41 00:02:12,080 --> 00:02:14,180 Now he knows I understand his goal. 41 42 00:02:14,180 --> 00:02:19,340 Then I ask some meaningful questions, that shows that I'm not painting the picture pink. And I've considered 42 43 00:02:19,340 --> 00:02:21,100 the specifics of the project. 43 44 00:02:21,110 --> 00:02:27,820 Notice, how I only start talking about myself after all of that. In the very end where it says "About me". 44 45 00:02:27,860 --> 00:02:32,540 There is a little more blah blah blah about me. But I've cropped that out, because today I wouldn't even 45 46 00:02:32,540 --> 00:02:33,170 do that. 46 47 00:02:33,170 --> 00:02:35,090 I would just keep it without that paragraph. 47 48 00:02:35,090 --> 00:02:39,400 Here's another example of a good cover letter, that I received on one of my job ads. 48 49 00:02:39,410 --> 00:02:44,990 This person has more than 50 k earnings on Upwork and it shows why. He is straight to the point, he is helpful. 49 50 00:02:44,990 --> 00:02:47,930 He is even going to show me how to get visitors for my page. 50 51 00:02:47,960 --> 00:02:51,590 He understands my goals and asks me meaningful questions. 51 52 00:02:51,590 --> 00:02:53,470 The message is short and sweet. 52 53 00:02:53,540 --> 00:02:56,000 Not wasting my time with bunch of canned fluff. 53 54 00:02:58,840 --> 00:03:05,740 Don't try to save time by sending template cover letters and canned cover letters. I hate canned letters. Screw 54 55 00:03:05,740 --> 00:03:07,740 them and screw people who send them to me. 55 56 00:03:07,780 --> 00:03:09,800 Saving your time, but wasting mine? 56 57 00:03:09,820 --> 00:03:10,450 No thanks. 57 58 00:03:10,450 --> 00:03:17,880 Good clients, notice canned letters miles away and they're not even going to bother reading them. Sometimes 58 59 00:03:17,880 --> 00:03:21,590 inside cover letters, you want to give examples of your past work. 59 60 00:03:21,600 --> 00:03:22,210 Right? 60 61 00:03:22,260 --> 00:03:28,050 So, you know, a lot of freelancers what they're going to do is they are going to refer to and link their 61 62 00:03:28,050 --> 00:03:29,930 portfolio work within the Upwork. 62 63 00:03:30,150 --> 00:03:35,460 But what you can do and because you have a website. You can send them links to your website. Because 63 64 00:03:35,460 --> 00:03:39,060 portfolio pieces on Upwork, they're not displayed in the most flattering way. 64 65 00:03:39,090 --> 00:03:42,950 However, on the Web site, they look very attractive. Because it's your website, it's your style. 65 66 00:03:42,960 --> 00:03:43,290 Right? 66 67 00:03:43,290 --> 00:03:49,230 Everything is kind of organized nicely. And you have a bit more content. And it's your opportunity to 67 68 00:03:49,230 --> 00:03:54,440 use it, that you know, to show that you're actually, not just Upwork, but you're kinda very professional, 68 69 00:03:54,450 --> 00:04:00,510 have your own website. And kinda impress them with the whole presentation that you have. But only, if 69 70 00:04:00,510 --> 00:04:04,710 you are going to publish that website on your personal, custom domain. 70 71 00:04:04,710 --> 00:04:07,420 Because 71 72 00:04:07,890 --> 00:04:08,930 myportfolio/123.webflow.io 72 73 00:04:09,030 --> 00:04:10,640 Doesn't 73 74 00:04:10,830 --> 00:04:12,420 look very professional. 74 75 00:04:12,410 --> 00:04:19,200 It looks amateur. And I don't take anybody, any freelancers, seriously, who sends me their portfolio, which is 75 76 00:04:19,200 --> 00:04:25,050 on .webflow or something. Or .weebly, or wix.com, because that doesn't look like you're 76 77 00:04:25,050 --> 00:04:26,860 taking your profession seriously. 77 78 00:04:26,880 --> 00:04:33,270 So cough up $15 per month for Webflow's first month of subscription, and you're gonna look miles 78 79 00:04:33,390 --> 00:04:38,310 ahead of other freelancers, who are on Upwork. And you just need to pay for the first month. 79 80 00:04:38,310 --> 00:04:40,920 Once you start making money, it's just gonna pay for itself. 80 81 00:04:43,500 --> 00:04:48,570 Almost half of the proposals that you submit, will have an extra field called Additional Questions. 81 82 00:04:48,570 --> 00:04:50,670 First field is cover letter. 82 83 00:04:50,670 --> 00:04:53,000 That's where you write your main message to the client. 83 84 00:04:53,130 --> 00:04:57,250 Then if client added an extra questions to the job, you'll get those fields below. 84 85 00:04:57,540 --> 00:05:02,880 When I posted a job on Upwork and I got proposals, I noticed something very strange. On the clients 85 86 00:05:02,880 --> 00:05:03,240 side, 86 87 00:05:03,240 --> 00:05:05,560 the order of these fields was reversed. 87 88 00:05:05,610 --> 00:05:10,080 I was seeing answers to the question first and then answers to the cover letter 88 89 00:05:10,080 --> 00:05:13,130 second. Most freelancers had no idea about this. 89 90 00:05:13,200 --> 00:05:18,470 So, they were writing things like, "As I mentioned above in my cover letter". 90 91 00:05:18,570 --> 00:05:23,820 What's above? Embarrassing. And I was like, "Oh my God, that's what I've been doing too. Writing a cover letter 91 92 00:05:23,820 --> 00:05:25,770 first and then questions." 92 93 00:05:25,800 --> 00:05:31,470 So, here's a hidden tip, that most freelancers don't know about. When there is a field for additional questions, 93 94 00:05:31,480 --> 00:05:32,780 and sometimes there isn't, right? 94 95 00:05:32,790 --> 00:05:35,310 Sometimes it's just a cover letter. But sometimes there are. 95 96 00:05:35,370 --> 00:05:40,590 So whenever there are additional questions fields, write them upside down. Because that's what the person, 96 97 00:05:40,630 --> 00:05:42,380 that's what the client is going to see first. 97 98 00:05:42,390 --> 00:05:50,230 The additional questions answered first and then cover letter later. On the page, where a client receives 98 99 00:05:50,290 --> 00:05:55,600 all proposals, they can already see a few beginning lines of a cover letter from the freelancer. 99 100 00:05:55,720 --> 00:06:01,470 Many freelancers start by something like, "Dear Sir/Madam". Is that how people connect? 100 101 00:06:01,480 --> 00:06:06,850 Dear Sir/Madam? Sounds so impersonal and just plain weird. 101 102 00:06:06,850 --> 00:06:13,300 I often see this one, "Dear hiring manager". What the hell? Hiring manager? Who, Me? 102 103 00:06:13,300 --> 00:06:16,470 Why are you calling me random names? And who talks like that? 103 104 00:06:16,480 --> 00:06:21,240 This one is actually Upwork's fault. Because in one of their blog posts, they advise to use that, "Dear 104 105 00:06:21,250 --> 00:06:26,320 hiring manager". Which was probably written by one of their employees, who has never been a freelancer, 105 106 00:06:26,440 --> 00:06:30,160 and/or a client. Because that's the stupidest advice I've ever heard. 106 107 00:06:30,160 --> 00:06:33,310 So, be careful when reading advises from Upwork itself. 107 108 00:06:33,340 --> 00:06:35,080 So, if you can't say that, then what do you say? 108 109 00:06:35,230 --> 00:06:37,860 Well let me solve a big mystery. 109 110 00:06:37,890 --> 00:06:41,270 What do you say when you greet somebody in your work environment? 110 111 00:06:41,270 --> 00:06:41,880 Do you say, 111 112 00:06:41,980 --> 00:06:45,310 "Dear Sir/Madam" or you say "Hi", 112 113 00:06:45,550 --> 00:06:46,280 "Hello", 113 114 00:06:46,330 --> 00:06:47,080 "Good morning", 114 115 00:06:47,170 --> 00:06:48,580 "Hi there"? 115 116 00:06:48,580 --> 00:06:49,440 Simple as that. 116 117 00:06:49,450 --> 00:06:50,460 Why complicate this? 117 118 00:06:50,470 --> 00:06:53,810 All of those are professional and polite too. 118 119 00:06:53,860 --> 00:06:54,490 Don't be weird. 119 120 00:06:54,490 --> 00:06:56,000 Just be natural and friendly. 120 121 00:06:56,050 --> 00:06:56,620 That's all. 121 122 00:06:56,620 --> 00:07:02,230 Now some of you probably come from other countries and cultures, where use of words "Sir" is sort of required 122 123 00:07:02,230 --> 00:07:03,550 to be polite. 123 124 00:07:03,550 --> 00:07:10,180 This is, for example, a case in India. And when I work with freelancers from India, 124 125 00:07:10,180 --> 00:07:11,110 they always call me "Sir". 125 126 00:07:11,110 --> 00:07:12,490 They go, "Hi Sir", 126 127 00:07:12,490 --> 00:07:13,180 "Yes, Sir", 127 128 00:07:13,360 --> 00:07:15,030 "Thank you, Sir". 128 129 00:07:15,250 --> 00:07:20,310 I get a little weirded out when this, when they do that. Don't you sir with everybody around the world, 129 130 00:07:20,320 --> 00:07:22,840 because it's not part of everybody's culture. 130 131 00:07:22,840 --> 00:07:26,680 For example, in North America, Britain and Australia, 131 132 00:07:26,680 --> 00:07:32,890 The word Sir, is used in very impersonal situations. For example, when you want to grab a stranger's attention 132 133 00:07:32,890 --> 00:07:38,170 like, "Oh excuse me, sir, you dropped something". But work environment in these countries, it is more friendly. 133 134 00:07:38,170 --> 00:07:44,210 There is no honorific, status distance between people, because of their age or job position. 134 135 00:07:44,230 --> 00:07:49,660 So never an employee would call their boss "sir", even if that boss was Bill Gates. 135 136 00:07:49,660 --> 00:07:53,800 They would probably say something like "Bill" or "Mr. Gates" but not "sir". 136 137 00:07:53,950 --> 00:07:56,370 So, you're gonna come across a little strange and impersonal. 137 138 00:07:56,380 --> 00:07:59,830 If you use this with people, who are not used to this sort of courtesy. 138 139 00:07:59,860 --> 00:08:01,560 Check where they're from and use "sir", 139 140 00:08:01,570 --> 00:08:03,280 only if it's expected in that country.