As you’re aware, I really dislike bidding on freelance projects. The process just takes too much time. It’s very easy to get absorbed in it, and before you know it, you’ve wasted an entire day doing nothing but looking through potential job opportunities. That’s why I’ve made a habit of bidding like a maniac as of late. There’s a certain kind of bidding instinct that comes out – I’ve fine tuned my approach and finally learned how to smell the good projects a mile away. Now I casually glance at the screen looking for all the key indicators of goodness before I continue on.
How Much Time Should You Spend On Bidding?
If you get really really good at it, you should do all of your bidding for the entire week within the span of just a few hours. I know that sounds crazy, but you’re looking through a huge pile of rejects here. The good ones will make themselves known with experience, and you’ll go right for them. I have a basic list of things I look for in a project listing, but it’s really an overall impression that strikes me. I could list all of the qualities of a good project. I just don’t think it would really help anyone. Each project is unique in its own way.
If there is one quality I’m looking for, it’s this mysterious sense I get that I can make somewhere near $100/hr on the job. Now I know you’re going to say I’m some kind of crazy extortionist, but hear me out. It makes total sense to go for $100/hr on every job. There’s a few good reasons for it.
1.) They aren’t paying your health insurance.
2.) You have to spend time prospecting.
3.) They aren’t paying your social security.
These costs add up. $100/hr needs to be the start of any negotiation. Sure, you can probably go down a little bit, but you aren’t being properly respected as an employee unless you’re making something near this amount. Now it would be different if the client were your only client, and he or she could give you enough work for an entire year. It would be different if they were paying your health insurance. It would be really really different if they could all pay their invoices early and on time. Sadly, our world does not work this way. $100/hr is your buffer. That’s the mysterious property you need to search for.
I also know that I realistically only have about 4 billable hours each day. That’s how most people operate too. Only a few of us can focus that much for hours and hours on end. If I’m not making somewhere near $100/hr for those billable hours, I’m selling myself short. I spend a lot of time working every day, it’s just that it’s not all billable time. It’s time spent on emails, pitches, and searching for new work.
I’m always on the lookout for the $100/hr potential. It means the client is serious.
What The Ideal Project Looks Like
The ideal project is a small fixed price project somewhere in the range of a few hundred dollars. It’s relatively small because the client isn’t an extortionist. It’s got a decent sized budget for what it is. It’s like a little nibble and usually nothing more. These types of jobs, in my experience, have always paid out the best.
The ideal job tends not to require a lot of research. It’s a short copywriting project. The big research projects tend not to have a big enough budget allocated to the research time itself. Somehow, to many clients, our thinking time doesn’t seem to have as much value as our writing time. I take it we’re being hired because of our brains, so I value it all equally. Skype, emails, thinking, writing – it’s all the same to me. It should be the same to you as well. Charge for all of it.
Be sure to be the first one to name the number too. That’s why I never bid on projects with a stated number that’s below my pay threshold. They’ve already thrown out the first number! The entire negotiation has been determined because they’ve set the context. Why even bother with that? You can’t win. The game has been defined so as to make winning impossible.
I’ve had clients tell me that freelancing should not be a lifestyle choice. Fair enough, but at the end of the day it all comes down to money. Some of them can afford your rates. Others can’t. That’s why you need to be the best. It means you’ll land the best gigs. You’ll get your rates because literally nobody can step in and do the job with the same presence and style.
So bid like a maniac! Look for that golden $100 per hour potential. You deserve it! Your kids deserve it! You are good enough, smart enough, and doggone it, people like you!