Spur on by palfitness’s questions, I suppose most people are having problems selling yourself to clients or making yourself attractive to clients. The first step you will need to do is to beautify your profile.
Research
There are plenty of articles out there to teach you on how to do up your LinkedIn account and your resume. As a freelancer, your resources are quite a pittance. But what you can do is to is to look at what others are offering. Do a comparison between you and the high sellers. Select those that offers the same range of services that you offer.
Photos
Images make a lot of differences. A good image speaks a thousand words and creates a much more lasting impression than pure words. Hence, it is important to have a good professional headshot available and as well as pictures of your offered services of required.
Experience
Don’t sell yourself short by being humble, your clients need to know what are your related background. I won’t hire someone who confessed that they are new at web designing when I can hire someone else at the same price from someone who has many years of experience as a web designer.
But don’t make up stuff that is not true. Don’t lie about being an expert at WordPress when the only WordPress blog you have managed is your own. Your lies will catch up with you in the work you produce.
Services Offered
Talking about experience, let’s talk about the services you are offering. Before you declared to the whole world you don’t have a skill or you have only one skill, look at the categories that the freelancing platforms offered. Try to integrate your services according to what you do best and what you love. Love to read? Offer proofreading services. Love to blog? Be a writer. Love to travel? Be a tour guide at your country.
Pricing
Before you go all high and mighty, thinking that you should charge whatever your current or ex-employers used to pay you, think again. You are competing with all the folks in the world who have loads of time on their hands and a laptop. You are competing with students, professionals even companies that offer services at a shockingly low price. Same thing goes if your fellow competitors are offering to write an article at $1 per 1000 words, are you able to charge $10? If you don’t wish to lower yourself to that pricing, reconsider if freelancing is for you. However, don’t offer your services at such a low rate that works you to death. It’s all about balance.
USP
If you want to stand out, find your own niche and your unique selling point. There are a lot of people selling what you are selling so what makes you special? What is it with you that people should trust your work?
In other words, look at yourself as a product on the shelf.
I hope the above tips helped any new freelancers who are venturing the muddy waters out there. If you required a tailored one to one assistance, I’m happy to offer career consultation here.
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MiddleMe 
Good one. As a freelance content writer, I think for me the biggest challenge is the pricing. I mean I am a content writer since 2009 and I never faced this problem before, but in the past couple of years too many amateur writers have sprung up offering rock bottom prices that hurts my business, but I usually stick to my rates. After all, some clients do understand the difference between a $1 content and $10 content.
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It’s the same with so many jobs. Language training and translating for starters, but as you say, some clients do understand that you have to pay if you expect quality. You might find yourself in a situation in which it could be a good idea to decrease you rates by just a tiny percentage and make sure your clients realise they’re getting a 5 or 10% discount “for special clients”
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Yeah, I do that at times, or else I would be starving to death by now. 🙂
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I agree that the hardest is to price yourself, and I have seen the work of a $1 and it’s all plagiarism all over.
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What else can someone offer at such price? Or it must be someone who doesn’t value his/her hard work and time.
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These folks are going for quantity rather than quality. Trust me, to complete a 500 word essay by plagiarism takes only a few minutes.
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Very well said. Useful tips for hone up our skills. Have a great day. 🙂
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Thanks, Jackie!
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You are most welcome Kally. 🙂
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For me it’s a ‘no no’ when people tell/write they have already 30 years experience. You can drive a car for 3o years and still be a bad driver. Experience doesn’t mean much to me; passion and certificates of qualification tell me more 😉
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I think passion wins over. There are too many bookworms who have high qualifications but unable to apply the theories into the real world.
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Indeed…hm. I agree, passion wins 😉
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Brilliant tips, Kally!!
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Thanks, pal!!
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That WordPress scenario you have mentioned happened to me on a interview I gave last year. Avoided very narrowly. Phew!!
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Lucky you!!
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Nice one Kally..
I have not yet decided to do payed jobs for people yet yet yet always given free works..
Thank for the spur and new idea you give. 😉
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You’re most welcome!!
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Any time Namaste 😉
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Kally: Thank you for the obvious love you have for YOUR FELLOW MAN and dedication to it. To GET we have to GIVE! And I have no doubt this Universal Law will manifest itself in your success
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Thanks for the compliment!!
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Great article and very motivating. I am not a freelancer but blogging is very similar. All of your points are valid and especially the one about finding your niche.
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Thanks, Asa!! I hope you are doing well with your fashion blog!!! You’ve been busy bee!!
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Reblogged this on KCJones.
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Reblogged this on cristina capodaglio.
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Thanks for sharing this!
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Reblogged this on Avatar Initiative and commented:
You should read this.
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Thank you for sharing this out!
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