It’s that time of year again. Thanksgiving is upon us and our office will be closed Thursday and Friday, November 22 and 23. All payments will be processed on Wednesday, November 21 and Monday, November 26. Please do not make payments from your bank account to third parties until you confirm receipt of your payment.

To those celebrating, eat too much turkey (or tofu, for our vegetarian friends) and give thanks for everything the last year has brought you. Be safe and enjoy the holiday weekend!

Stacy

To improve site speed, we have temporarily disabled showing alerts for milestones, tasks, files and time tracking on your Dashboard page.  To learn about the latest status of your project, please click on the project title link within your Projects page.

After making system changes, we expect to restart these alerts by October 05.  In the meantime, your patience is much appreciated!

Stacy

When working through Guru.com, you have the option of using either Guru Invoicing or SafePay for payment. Both payment services are free to Employers. For a risk-free guarantee, SafePay is the way to go.  Here are some tips on how to use SafePay.

SafePay is the safest method of transaction: When payments are managed through SafePay, Freelancers avoid unpaid invoices and Employers have peace of mind knowing that the Freelancer is not paid until the completed work is reviewed and approved by the Employer. On the off chance it is needed, SafePay users gain protection through Guru.com’s Dispute Resolution services.

Just follow four simple steps to use SafePay:

1. Project Award
   The Employer awards the project to the Freelancer by clicking the “Award Project” button within the chosen Freelancer’s quote. Guru.com will ask that Freelancer to accept or decline the project, and we’ll notify the Employer via email as soon as the Freelancer makes a decision.
2. Project Agreement
   The Freelancer creates and uploads an online Project Agreement. The Employer will be asked to approve or decline the agreement.
3. SafePay Request
   The Freelancer creates a SafePay request in the agreed-upon amount. Guru.com will send the Employer an email prompting him or her to pay the amount to Guru.com.
4. Work & Payment Approval
   Once the Freelancer completes the project work, the Employer reviews it to ensure it meets the terms of the Project Agreement. If satisfied, the Employer approves the work by approving payment to the Freelancer. Guru.com will pay the Freelancer (minus applicable transaction fees). Both parties then can leave feedback on each other. If the deliverables do not meet the terms of the Project Agreement, the Employer will not approve the work. Instead, he or she will ask the Freelancer to refund the payment. Guru.com will assist with Mediation and Arbitration services.

If work is approved but later determined to be insufficient or unacceptable, Guru.com’s dispute resolution department will not be able to assist.

Additional Tips
If you and an Employer or a Freelancer have worked together in the past, you may feel comfortable using Guru Invoicing. Only use invoicing when you know and fully trust the Freelancer. Always use SafePay for your first transaction with a new Freelancer.

The SafePay system is very flexible: Employers can choose to make one payment and approve all of the work at the end; make one payment and approve work in increments as the Freelancer reaches certain milestones; or make multiple payments and approve work in increments as the Freelancer reaches certain milestones.

You may stipulate in your project posting (Employers) or the work terms section of your profile (Freelancers) that you will only transact using SafePay. Never pay or receive payment outside of the Billing and Payment system. Direct payments are high risk transactions and are, therefore, a violation of Guru.com’s Terms of Service.

Stacy

When you post a project on Guru.com, you open your door to a broad marketplace of talented Freelancers, eager to send you their quotes. While this method is fast and easy, the positive response and sheer volume of results can be overwhelming.

Carefully considering each of the basic elements of your project posting will present a good image to the Freelancers and you will receive higher quality quotes. Invest some time in your project, and you will be rewarded with quality quotes.

Title

With nearly 10,000 projects posted on Guru.com each month, your project’s title is paramount in making your project stand out. A specific, succinct project title is most likely to draw Freelancers to your listing. Good examples include “Menu redesign,” “Tax advisor for small business,” “English to Spanish textbook translation,” and “Shopping cart for retail site.”

Description

Your project description is where you describe everything about your project. A precise description will give the Freelancers a better view of your needs and enable them to produce a quality bid for your project that includes a cost and time estimate.

Project descriptions should include:

• What work is needed
• Some background on your organization and the reason for the project
• When the project must be started and finished
• The size of the project, i.e. five webpages, 10,000 words, or three photographs

Avoid including sensitive information. Withhold that information until you’ve narrowed your pool. You may then require the Freelancer to sign a confidentiality or non-disclosure agreement (NDA).

Documentation

You may upload up to 2 MB of files to augment the project description. If you want a logo for your business, use this feature to upload examples. This will give Freelancers a sense of the direction in which the project should move.

Budget

One great advantage to hiring a Freelancer is its relatively moderate expense. To some extent, though, it’s true that “you only get what you pay for” and offering too low a rate may result in poor applicant and work quality. You can enter an estimated total project budget when posting your project. This estimated amount will give the Freelancers a clear idea of the payout in relation to the work requested.

Determine a fair price for your project, while remaining within your comfortable budget using these tips.

• Call firms that offer the service you need. Just as you would call several plumbers to obtain a price estimate on leaky pipes, you should compare work rates when searching for Freelancers.
• Check with friends, colleagues, or members of your Guru.com Network who have hired Freelancers for similar projects. How much did they pay? Were they satisfied with the results?
• Research professional organizations to determine the going rate for the type of Freelancer you seek.

Your project posting is not only an outline of the work you need done, but also a portrayal of the perfect person or vendor for the job. Be detailed about the work your project entails, and include your ideal candidate’s qualifications.

Stacy

Acquiring new customers doesn’t come cheap. The best way to minimize this cost is to turn new acquisitions into long-term customers. The longer you retain a paying customer the greater your ROI (return on investment). Get more bang for your marketing buck by learning to keep your customers longer.

Like financial investments, each Employer will offer you different potential rates of return. Some Employers may only have the budget for one small project right now. Those Employers should not be discounted because someday their needs and budgets may change. They are your long-term investment.

Other Employers with huge discretionary budgets might only be taking the outsourcing option out for a test drive or might have a regular in-house person who just can’t do this one little project. By getting to know your Employers, you will learn what you can ultimately earn from them. Start maximizing your potential today!

Tips to maximize earnings:

1. Establish yourself as a resource for life
   By positioning yourself as a provider of services, someone who can solve customer problems instead of someone who just wants to sell a specific item, you instill a sense of trust and confidence in buyers. Provide excellence and be dependable and customers will continue to return to you for their business needs.
2. Make it personal
   Providing those personal touches, such as following up, asking for and considering feedback, remembering certain likes or dislikes of your customers, sending birthday discounts, holiday cards, etc. makes customers feel connected with you and your business.
3. Don’t be shy, let them know what you can do
   If you have just completed a logo project for an Employer, why not suggest a brochure? Letting Employers know the scope of services you offer cues them into what else you can do for them and may even help them identify additional needs.
4. Reward customers for long-term commitment
   Creating a loyalty program that rewards customers for long-term repeat business makes customers feel appreciated and reminds them to return to you when they need more work done.

Having a customer retention strategy is key to securing long-term success and gaining a greater competitive edge. Customers have endless options and unless you plan to keep them they can simply go someplace else. What is your strategy for turning one time customers into lifelong sources of revenue?

Stacy

Securing projects in the freelance marketplace can be a job in itself. Regardless of your freelance background, you must be willing to add the roles of businessperson, marketing guru, salesperson, and financial whiz to your list of skills if you want to survive and thrive.

Below are items to ponder when creating your customer acquisition strategy.

1. Create a detailed but brief profile. You don’t have to give someone your life story. Employers generally spend five seconds on a resume or proposal before clicking to the next one.
2. Upload Work Samples that showcase your work. Seeing is believing.
3. Personalize each proposal to the Employer’s needs. Employers are looking for someone who is in sync with their thoughts about the project. If you send a canned response that does not speak about their project or organization, you are sending the message that you don’t care or have the time to communicate with them. If you can’t take the time to write a personal response, how will you manage the time to complete the project?
4. Submit a Premium proposal to indicate how serious you are about working on the project. Premium proposals are sorted to the top of the Employers’ Quotes page and are distinguished from standard proposals by a special icon.
5. When writing any document for an audience other than yourself, avoid using the first person (I, me) and rephrase your accomplishments to reflect what you did to help XYZ company overcome a specific challenge or how you managed to lower the IT budget by migrating from an outdated legacy system to Linux.
6. Focus on quality over quantity. Though it is tempting to spam Employers as you feel there may be nothing to lose, no one can proposal-spam successfully. Eventually, all spammers resort to dry, canned responses that are ignored by Employers. This creates a lose-lose situation for both parties as you become frustrated from sending out hundreds of proposals and the Employers become annoyed by receiving numerous quotes that do not relate to their project.
7. Re-evaluate your approach often. Though your resume and proposal text may have worked wonders last year, this year and its economy are a whole new ballgame. You need to take into consideration the changes in the marketplace and modify your plan to suit these changes.
8. Make sure all your documents are free of spelling and grammatical errors. Though your work as a C++ programmer often does not require you to be an expert in grammar, the person in human resources will likely perceive you as a poor communicator if your proposal and profile are lacking in the proper grammatical structures.
9. Complete all projects assigned to you in the most professional and time-conscious manner. Good credentials and a well-developed track-record go a long way to securing future projects.

As a professional in the freelance marketplace, you have to arm yourself with the information and tools needed to achieve success. What can you add to this list?

Stacy

On Guru.com, you’ll find literally thousands of work opportunities at your fingertips. To turn these opportunities into paying jobs, you’ll need to do more than send canned proposals to Employers.

Submit customized, attention-grabbing proposals

Though Employers certainly consider your resume, earnings, and feedback when deciding whether to hire you, your proposal will convince Employers that you are the right person or company for the job.

Employers will know, and will not appreciate, if you send them a canned proposal. Improve your chances of being hired by thoughtfully tailoring each proposal to the project.

Structure your proposal around these five major points.

• Introduction
• Plan of Action
• Skills and Experience
• Pricing and Time Estimates
• Closing  

Introduction
In a brief opening paragraph, state the project title and Project ID and thank the Employer for the opportunity, or briefly outline the rest of the proposal.

Plan of Action
This part really sells your pitch. Employers are less interested in your past projects than they are in hearing what you can bring to their current project. Offer a concrete series of steps and ideas on how to execute the work. Demonstrate your ability to plan efficiently.

Skills and Experience
Build this section around a few unique advantages that only you can bring to the Employer’s project. Highlight the skills and experiences that make you the ideal candidate for the job.

Pricing and Time Estimates
If you’ve written a strong proposal, the Employer knows that you’re a talented, capable Freelancer, and wants to hire you, so lay out the nuts and bolts: When will the project be done, and how much will it cost? If you’re willing to negotiate, let the Employer know.

Closing
Reiterate your interest in the project and thank the Employer for taking the time to consider your proposal. Feel free to provide your website address and additional contact information, such as your phone number, a chat ID, etc.

The Employer is receiving many proposals, and may not want to read another lengthy pitch. By keeping your proposal concise and topical, you are more likely to ensure that the Employer will read to the end.

If the Employer has asked specific questions in the project posting, be sure to address them. These questions are key points that the Employer needs answered; if you neglect them, you paint yourself as lazy or uncooperative.

If you are a Guru or Guru Vendor member, you can grab an Employer’s attention before they even read one word of your proposal by having it featured as a Premium proposal.

Finally, check and check again to make sure that your document is free of spelling and grammatical errors. The way you present yourself through your writing is indicative of the way you will approach a project. Establish yourself as thoughtful and detail-oriented, not hasty and careless.

Stacy

The Project Agreement is your project contract. It’s wise not to begin the work until you have a mutually approved Project Agreement in place. The binding freeform contract (which is required if you choose to bill through our SafePay service) defines the exact responsibilities of each party.

Uploading a Project Agreement will ensure specific objectives will be met on a predefined timeline, ensure proper compensation, safeguard against “scope creep,” and provide a back-up plan and protection in case problems arise.

What should be included in the Project Agreement?

The Project Agreement adheres to no strict outline, but you should consider the following when drafting yours:

Scope: Include a start and end date for the entire project, with a comprehensive description of the services to be performed.

Deliverables / Milestones: Here, break the larger scope of the project into smaller, concrete, measurable components, with a due date for each. In addition to the due dates, schedule review time, and determine how revisions will be made.

Payment: Determine whether payments will be made via SafePay or Guru Invoicing. Set a total cost for the project and a “due by” date. Specify how extraneous expenses (materials, transportation fees, etc.) will be handled. Include a provision if additional work is required due to change in project scope and the associated payment terms.

Ownership: Without contrary specification, all rights relative to the project work belong to the Freelancer by legal default. If the Employer wishes to retain ownership, include a clause in the Project Agreement transferring all rights relative to the project from the Freelancer to the Employer.

Non-Disclosure / Confidentiality Agreement: If the project pertains to proprietary or confidential information, the Project Agreement should stipulate that the Freelancer will sign a confidentiality or non-disclosure clause or agreement.

Contract Termination: Address how contract termination will occur, by written notice or email, and include what reasons will lead to termination (for example, failure to meet deliverable dates, lack of communication, and poor workmanship).

Dispute Resolution: If SafePay is used, you’re agreeing to use Guru.com’s Mediation and Arbitration Services should a dispute occur. Otherwise, the Project Agreement should outline the plan to resolve issues in a quick and easy fashion.

What do I do if the project slides off track?

A Project Agreement is best drafted using a “Hope for the best, but plan for the worst” mentality. It should be designed with the best of intentions and success in mind.

If you find that your initial timeline and project milestones are too restricting, and you mutually agree that the project plan should be modified, you can upload a Change Order. This is a helpful tool in realigning priorities as a project progresses.

It is in both your best interests to draft a solid Project Agreement. It starts you off on an auspicious note; it guides your sure and steady progress; it guarantees proper and prompt payment; and acts as your safety net in case of trouble.

Stacy

To maximize your success, your proposals should include thoughtful cost and time estimates. However, Employers sometimes post vague project descriptions because they don’t understand the full scope of their project or the costs involved. Employers look to experts like you to help them articulate their project and determine a fair price.

General Tips

• Include a polite disclaimer: “This proposal may change when more details are available.”
• Make some assumptions about the Employer’s needs: “I see that you request a website for your small company. If you’re interested in a brochure-type website that includes the layout and programming up to 20 pages, I usually charge $X / hour or $Y per page.”
• Base your estimates on your relevant past work: “A recently-designed, tri-fold brochure for a Charlotte-based carpet reseller was completed in 20 hours and the final cost was $X. While I’m unclear about the full scope of your needs, I hope this example gives you an idea of my pricing and time estimates.”
• Make suggestions to broaden the service: “You indicate that you’re looking for a technical writer. Not only can I satisfy your writing requirements, but I can also provide design and layout services, if needed. I typically charge $X – $Y per hour for these services.”
• Ask questions in your proposal that will help you to provide a more accurate estimate.

Cost Estimates

Though you must first state your total estimated budget for the project, within the proposal you can present your cost estimates in various ways, including per hour, per project, per page, and per word.

For example, writers often calculate fees per word / page, but Employers may be unfamiliar with this standard. Instead, you may want to present your cost estimate in industry and non-technical terms, such as, “I submit a proposed cost estimate of $X [250 pages with approximately 750 words per page at a cost of $Y per word].”

Time Estimates

Time estimates may also depend on many criteria. It may help if you break the work into its components.

For instance, “I propose completion in 3 weeks, including: 1 week of homepage design, 1 week of internal page design, graphic and text upload for up to 20 pages, 1 week of customer review and upload of the completed website.”

Use the suggestions below to determine cost and time estimates.

• Call firms that offer the same service and check their time quotes.
• Check with friends or colleagues.
• Check with professional organizations that cater to your profession.
• Base your time estimate on how long it has taken to complete similar work in the past.

Consider vague project postings an opportunity to convince an Employer of your expertise. Offer ballpark cost and time estimates and help the Employer understand the full scope and cost of their project. Employers hire Freelancers who demonstrate expertise, cooperation, and patience. A vague project posting allows you to prove your unique ability to cultivate success.

Stacy