Here's a fun fact for you: clients spend seconds looking at your profile. Within that time, the bio, skills, experience, and anything else they see will determine whether they want to hire you or not.

Simple as that. You might have a background working with big banner brands, on impressive projects with remarkable results. But if you're not presenting the right picture, all of that could slip through the cracks.

Most of the time, freelancers have at least a few years' experience as a permanent employee before transitioning to self-employment. It's great for your marketability, but it can make it difficult to know how to position yourself in this new stage in your career.

As part of our new mini-series, Freelancing 101 where we'll explore the fundamentals of succeeding in the freelancing world, here's how to create a winning profile - direct from the team that's reviewed thousands.

4 Basics

A winning profile is about rethinking how you communicate what you have to offer clients to attract the opportunities you're looking for.

First, the basics:

• Services. Communicating your services isn't saying you're a 'writer' - it's showcasing whether you offer SEO content writing, thought leadership writing, website writing, and so on. Specificity will serve you.
• Career History. We're not talking about copying and pasting your CV, but including the roles you've had and businesses you've worked for provide the right colour and context for clients. Particularly if you've worked for big brands.
• Expertise. If you have a high level of knowledge or training in a certain arena, that might be a USP. For example, if you're a fractional CMO and your expertise is marketing for investment rounds, that's a big selling point.
• Industries or Sectors. You might choose to showcase a wide-range of industries you've worked in, or position yourself specifically to one or two sectors. There's no right or wrong, it simply depends on the opportunities you're looking for.

4 Dos

Do…

1. …provide scannable content. You might have the most relevant experience for a project, but if your profile includes paragraphs of text, your prospect might not see that. Scannable content should communicate your key skills, specialisms, sector experience and successes quickly, and encourage business leaders to read on.

2. …include high-quality examples. Talking the talk is great, but clients want to see if you can walk the walk. Including examples of your work, be it a portfolio of designs or PDFs of blogs you've written, will give prospects examples of how your on-paper skills translate to real-life work.

3. …demonstrate successes. Showcasing stats and successes of your work can seal the deal. The number of leads gained in a recent paid campaign you ran, awards and nominations received for a brand you developed, sustainability goals you've achieved - strong outcomes will pique interest.

4. …keep your profile up-to-date. Just gained a certification in Social Media Marketing? Recently completed a project in a new sector? Invested in the latest AI tools? Shout about that. Your profile is designed to evolve alongside your career, so keep yours up-to-date with new skills and successes for greater relevance.

4 Don'ts

Don't…

1. …direct prospective clients to your LinkedIn. Sending your prospects elsewhere prolongs their journey, and requires them to read through your bio, career history, recommendations and so on to find your skills and experience; most simply won't. It sends a message that you're not invested in their project or haven't read their brief.

2. …promote your services as an agency or a company. If a client wanted to hire an agency or a consultancy, they'd be searching for an agency or consultancy. Leaders use our platform to find freelance individuals, so to secure your next client, make sure you're marketing yourself as a skilled professional - not a scaling agency.

3. …skip the testimonials. We get it: asking for a review can at times feel awkward. But social proof tells us that decision-makers - particularly business leaders investing in resources - are more likely to trust peer reviews and word-of-mouth recommendations than most sales pitches. A great testimonial from a trustworthy source is key.

4. …forget to reset your availability. Planning ahead is essential for freelancers. But it's equally as important to be honest about your capacity, so make sure you're setting your availability within your profile as soon as anything changes. Clients will appreciate knowing upfront if you have the time to complete their project or not.

The world is your oyster

One of the most thrilling things about being a freelancer is what it brings to your door. With thousands of opportunities ready and waiting for the right freelancer to snatch them up, you’re bound to find the perfect project for you with the help of a winning profile.

And the good news is, there's no need to complete your profile and call it done. Our platform is designed so that you can more easily fine-tune how you present and market yourself, and attract the precise opportunities you're looking for.

If you'd like to find out more about The Work Crowd platform, and how you can connect with business leaders looking for professionals just like you, join our network today. We'd love to have you.