When you apply for a job on a freelance platform, the first thing that the client sees is your profile. If your profile is incomplete or not professional enough, you will make a bad first impression.

It is not enough just to make a profile on a freelance platform. It has to be complete and attractive to potential clients.

Platforms like Upwork, Freelancer, People Per Hour and Fiverr are serious websites that mean business. If you want to earn as a freelancer, the least you can do is to create a stellar freelance profile.

Here are the ten tips that will help your profile stand out in a good way.

Use your real name

A major element of freelancing is transparency. If you want to do business with a client that you have never seen before, you probably want to know their name, right? Well, that is how clients feel about freelancers too.

If you don’t want to share your name with potential clients, freelancing is not for you, my friend. Providing your real name instills trust and confidence in your potential clients, so it is essential that you use your real identity.

Therefore, make sure that you use your real name and never try to hide your true identity.

Add a professional photo

If you are skeptical about providing your real name, what will you think when we tell you that you also have to upload a photo of yourself? And not just any type of photo.

A selfie or a picture of you riding a pony won’t do the job. The photo has to be professional. In other words, you need to be dressed professionally and try to smile (but not like Chandler from Friends at a photoshoot).

In the business world, a lot depends on the first impression. If your photo is professional, clients think that you will do the job professionally and they are more likely to hire you.

Bottomline – upload a photo where you look straight in the camera and smile. Make sure that the background is clear and uncluttered and that your facial expression conveys friendliness and professionalism.

Add your title

Your title says a lot about what you can do for your clients. Plus, platforms use it as a keyword on your profile page. Therefore, you need to think carefully before writing your title.

With an effective title, you will be able to catch clients’ attention right away because that is one of the first things they see on your profile.

To create a good title, try the following:

• Use simple words to create a professional title which describes your skills.
• Be very precise when writing your title. Instead of graphic designer, maybe you could write logo designer, infographic designer, and so on.
• Use keywords and key phrases that describe your skills.

Write a good overview

In the overview, you tell your clients more about yourself, so make sure to include everything that adds value to your profile.

You can list specific skills that can be valuable to your clients. However, this doesn’t mean that you should blow your own horn.

Instead, try telling your potential clients what you can do for them and why they should choose you over other candidates. Be specific and personal, yet professional.

The overview is your selling point, so you need to make it work the best you can. Here are a few quick tips on how to write your overview:

• Start with the most important information first.
• At the end of the overview, include soft skills.
• Include the type of work you want to do and the industry you would like to work in.
• Mention the level of proficiency with systems and industry-related software.
• Include your years of experience.
• List languages that you speak.

Bonus tip: If you are creating an Upwork profile, add an introduction video. A video will make your profile stand out and increase your chances of getting easily noticed by clients. Also, this is a good opportunity to show who you are and what you offer in a more personal way.

The video should not be longer than a minute. You should only introduce yourself, give a short overview of what you do, list your skills, experience and working history. At the end of the video, thank the viewer for watching the video, express your desire to work with them and invite them to take a look at your profile.

List relevant skills

If you possess a variety of skills, you might as well let your clients know what they are. But be careful, for you probably know the saying Jack of all trades, master of none.

For this reason, consider which skills you want to list on your profile. If you are a marketer who knows a little bit about video editing, don’t mention the latter. Make sure that you focus your skills on a specific niche and improve them if necessary.

In addition, you should never list more than ten skills. Some freelance websites won’t even let you exceed this number. List your skills in order of priority – the things you are best at should be at the top of the list.

Finally, Upwork allows you to take tests and prove if you are really an expert in the listed skills. Use these tests to confirm to your potential clients that you are the right fit for their project.

Add your work experience

Your employment history says a lot about your past projects, qualifications and experience. Here you should focus only on the projects that are related to the type of job you are searching for.

Highlight your specific expertise and achievements by using bullet points. Also, add a brief description of your role in the listed projects and positions.

In a nutshell, include all the relevant details, especially if you spent some time working at a well-known company. Clients love when they find someone who knows how to get the job done.

Build your portfolio

Your portfolio is extremely important, especially if you are in categories like design & creative, web development or writing. With a great portfolio, you are much more likely to attract clients because you practically show them how great you are at what you do. Make sure that you include your best samples first and leave out pieces that you are not proud of.

Think of it this way – your overview and other sections tell your story, but your portfolio shows it. And since a picture is worth a thousand words, freelancers with good portfolios are much more likely to land good jobs.

Connect your social accounts

As a freelancer, you should have an online presence, especially on LinkedIn. This tells clients a lot about who you are and what your personality is like, it validates your experience, and so on.

This helps freelance platforms better understand your interests and narrow down job searches according to the information found on your social accounts.

When you link your accounts, you build your reputation and verify your identity. This means greater credibility for clients.

Set your rate

One of the final steps to a successful freelancer profile is setting your hourly rate. Here, it is crucial that you know your own worth.

You should neither aim too high nor too low. This may sound somewhat confusing, but in reality, it is rather simple.

There is no perfect hourly rate, so make sure that your rate matches your skills and experience. Also, you could take a glance at other freelancers’ profiles in your field of expertise.

Although you are a beginner, you shouldn’t sell yourself too short. In the beginning, start a bit lower but increase your rate over time. If you start too low, you will feel frustrated when you realize that clients are using you for little money. On the other hand, don’t overestimate yourself, especially if you have just created your profile.

Simply put, your rate should match the quality of service that you offer.

Update regularly

Finally, the last step is to frequently update your profile by removing irrelevant skills and samples, as well as adding successful projects to your portfolio.

This will keep your profile fresh and relevant for all potential clients to see.

Conclusion

Taking some time to create a professional and attractive freelancer profile may sound tedious at first, but it will pay off in the end.

Make sure that you follow the steps that we listed and be patient. The beginning is always the hardest, but you will see that having a complete freelancer profile is crucial.

If you don’t believe us, take a look at successful profiles and those that are lowest-paid. When you see the difference, you’ll know what we mean.