The Confident Copywriter

If you don’t really know why your job board Profile and Portfolio are important, we’ve got work to do.

Your Profile describes who you are, where your talents lie, and what you bring to the table. In other words, why the buyer should hire you. There are a wide variety of styles evident in the Profiles. Some people post their resumes. Some give a long-winded explanation of everything they’ve done professionally. Some try to write ‘creative’ descriptions.

For those who even bother to post a Profile, of course.

Why is the Profile so important? The Internet, Elance and your freelance work occur in a virtual vacuum. No one can see you. No one can come to your office or meet you for coffee to size you up. There are no verbal or visual cues to help the buyer decide if he or she ‘likes’ you and wants to do business with you.

Truth be told, no one can be 100% sure you’re even who you say you are.

Certainly there’s an implication of professionalism. But from the buyer’s point of view, you could be anybody. So it’s extremely important to use every tool at your disposal to establish yourself as a real person… a professional writer… a dependable freelancer who will really do the work for which you have been paid.

The best way is through your Profile, which allows you to:

• toot your own horn
• provide alternate contact options (to prove you’re really real and available)
• post your history/resume (although I don’t recommend doing this…exactly)
• convince the buyer you’re the best choice
• assure the buyer that you can get the job done as promised
• highlight your writing abilities through your self-description

Most people have no idea what to write in their Profile, and this is the main reason they ignore it. The answer? Tell the truth, but do it with enough bravado that you don’t look like a complete and total newbie. And for heaven’s sake, don’t say you’re a newbie! If you’ve written in the past, whether for pay or for free, you’re NOT new to writing. You’re only new to the job board.

Your Profile really has nothing to do with you and everything to do with the client. Concentrate on talking about what you’re going to do for the client. Take the focus off ‘me, me’ and make the client feel secure that you can do the job.

Avoid sentences like, “While I’ve never written about the mating habits of the blue-nosed buggaboo, I feel confident I can do a great job for you.” Don’t tell the buyer what you haven’t done (unless they ask you directly). Tell them what you have done and what you can do… for them
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