Hi everyone Is anyone getting any work from this website and if so how are you using it? Its either that i just dont understand how the site works or i ned to do something different to get my profile noticed. Any help would be appreciated Ian
Hi Ian Thanks for joining Freelance Alliance first of all! Did you read the help guide linked to from your payment acknowledgment email when you first joined? There are lots of useful tips in there about how to make the most of your profile. Splitting out 12 portfolio items (rather than one pdf) would help rank your profile when clients search, plus we know from feedback that clients want to instantly see what you're capable of, so the visual impact would be higher this way too I feel - it's up to you to make sure you have enough striking visuals and clear written benefits on your profile to make a client feel sure you are worth contacting. It's very similar to the old '6 second rule' when designing a website - make sure your visitor knows what you excel at and why they should use you within that time. I opened the pdf and was impressed by the first line of 20 years experience in brand development for instance - that level of experience is a valuable offer to clients, but I had to open the pdf to see that (be better if it was in the first few lines that shows up in on site searches). Also, can you elaborate on how you've developed brands? Can you pinpoint what unique benefits you've brought to client's brands, how have you stood them apart from competition. What effect has that had on their business bottom line or progression of their business? If you can qualify and quantify what real value your design brings, then so much the better. A lot of businesses realise that good design actually brings return on that investment, but some still think it's a one way street in terms of a outlay that doesn't generate sales - so demonstrating how you've made that happen for past clients is no bad thing. One thing, I know you've used a client logo 'its best to test' but my first thought was 'where's the apostrophe?' so I wonder if others might think the same? We're always happy to help in any way possible. This is just my thoughts but you can email us on admin@freelancealliance.co.uk any time - and hopefully some others might be able to help with their opinions too, you might want to link to the profile though so they know which one it is. Freelance UK
Just to say I really like this example of a good business summary: Hannah Martin Copywriter :: Freelance Copywriter Based in West Sussex :: Freelance UK Obviously she has the advantage that words are her craft, but I hope you can see what I mean. She's said now much experience she has, name-dropped some impressive clients, said her work increased response by 111%, given examples of the scope of her talent and then the all-important 'call to action' (here's my website, get in touch). Is this helpful at all? Perhaps you could barter with a copywriter in terms of a skills swap - you write my profile, I'll spend the equivalent time designing your logo or whatever? Let me know if we can help further anyway.
This site - reply Hi Ian I am a user of this website and get loads of work from it. I am a full time freelancer and have to say that most of my work comes from here and there was a time when ALL of my work came from requests from this website. I took a quick look at your profile and have to agree with everything mentioned in the comments above. My guess about people who come onto the website looking for designers want someone who is positive and makes an effort. It is well worthwhile taking an hour or so to jazz up your profile. As you probably know, if someone types in 'Freelance/r designer UK' or similar into Google, these guys are very high up on the first page so it's no surprise that members are getting work. I would only talk about positive things in your profile so I wouldn't say anything about your conditions ("brief changing substantially") before landing the job and you can avoid mentioning the PDF size issue by uploading your portfolio items separately. As this is their only window to your work ethic, I would keep things very positive so that they expect you to be a really pleasant person to work with. I hope this helps. Emma
I am also curious how this site works. Do we wait and see if people browse us? With so many "freelancers" it is very hard to stand out and to ultimately get someone to contact you. I have tried sites like Elance and ODesk, but there are far too many bids from India and the Philippines willing to do the work for next to nothing. Whilst those who know about the industry would not use such services and the simple rule of "you get what you pay for" applies. It is very hard to justify your $1000 bid when 10 people will do it for $150. I also find the clients on these sites too optimistic. Wanting a full site design, build, cms and ecommerce for less than $500. I usually steer clear of such "jobs". But people will bid on these and the jobs to get awarded to them. I find the whole system devalues our services. If you have a minute or two I would appreciate a little critique of my profile page (and maybe my portfolio is you have time) to see if there is something I am missing. Regards Sam digi.ltd - Experienced, versatile freelance digital designer
There are two ways of being found. Those clients who are already aware of Freelance Alliance and therefore come to the site and search on Freelance Alliance, and those that stick 'London freelance web designer' in Google to see who comes up and of course this does narrow down who they'll see: Find and Hire Freelance Web Designers and Developers based in London :: Freelance UK We deliberately made it just for UK based freelance professionals for the reasons you state. The site focuses on its members' portfolios (i.e. talent and experience) rather than the cost of a project as the initial starting point. So the idea is that the client messages you regarding their project and you obtain a full brief before you quote. So you know what the scope is and you may also be able to help shape the brief based on your experience too. Yes your quote will still have to be competitive as any client is going to compare you to others, no business would go with the first cost in, but a lot of clients hiring will ask to speak to you before you get down to work. That means they understand more about you and you can learn more about them on a bigger scale (rather than just a piecemeal project in isolation), i.e. where is their business going this year? What are their overall objectives and where does this project fit in? What other work will there be? How else can you add value? Like any advertising it's down to you to use the space well so that anyone looking at your work calls you, and once they call you make sure they become a long term client. The beauty of online profiles is that you can test different business descriptions to see what works for you, but looking at your profile Digi, it does show how versatile you are in terms of who you service which is a great start.
