How To Stand Out And Get More Leads On Your Freelancing Platform

In this article, you will find tips and tricks to optimize your freelancer portfolio. By putting together an attractive portfolio, you can make a positive impression on your clients and get more leads.

Get a professional photo

Your photo is the first thing your future client notices when browsing through freelancer profiles. Therefore, to make the very first impression of you more memorable, consider how you can make your profile photo better.

As a general rule, your profile photo should: 

• Be taken in good lighting. Soft natural lighting will help you take the most flattering pictures. Artificial lighting is not to be avoided completely, as long as it is bright and complements the picture well.
• Be taken by someone else. A selfie can be great for other media platforms, but on professional platforms like LinkedIn or Unicorn Factory, where you are selling your professional services, it’s always better to put out a picture taken by someone else.
• Have you as the central person in the frame. Avoid adding pictures with multiple people, as it will only distract clients and leave them wondering which one of the people in the frame is you.
• Have a positive expression on your face. Your profile picture will have a positive impression on your clients, if they see you smile. They will think of you as someone nice and approachable and will be more likely to want to learn more about your work.
• Have minimal filters on the picture. Unicorn Factory encourages freelancers to use natural pictures as profile photos in order to appear more professional and trustworthy.

To get the highest quality pictures, you might want to get a professional photoshoot done in a studio to get the most high-quality photos. On top of that, adding some color to your photo will help you stand out.   

Optimize your portfolio pieces 

Once you are able to capture the client’s attention with your professional-looking profile photo, the next step is to optimize your portfolio pieces.

First, you can make a mock-up of your work to illustrate it in the context that it’s going to be used. For example, if you are a website designer, you can put your mockups inside computer screens to help visualize what the end result looks like to your client.

Once you get your mockup, the next step is to make sure that the client sees your portfolio item on your profile the way you envision it. To achieve that, you need to get the right aspect ratio for your portfolio pieces. The process will only take 3 steps, but the end results are so worth it.

First, take a screen capture of the area that the image takes up. Second, paste the screenshot into your design tool, and create a new empty template with the same ratio. Last, paste your mockup inside of it in a way that looks appealing to the eye. 

Now you can upload your showcase items to your portfolio and everything will look put together.

Write a spot-on bio

Your bio is a place where you can personally introduce yourself and your services to potential leads.

A template for your bio can include:

• What you do for your clients, for example: “I help plan, implement and manage Facebook Ads campaigns” 
• Follow that with services that your clients may need. Only add skills you can complete as stand-alone services. For example, if you put “Brand Design” as one of your services, you should be able to deliver that service by itself.
• What businesses can achieve with your services: ”Higher conversion rates, or increased revenue”

Here are a few optional points you can add to your bio:

• Name dropping a few clients if you find that appropriate.
•  A personal touch to make the interaction feel more human: you can tell your client what you enjoy doing, or why you are in this business.
•  A link to your website.

In your bio, a common mistake would be trying to appeal to every business without narrowing down your niche. Focus on your key skills and target the type of client that you want to work with.

Get a portfolio website

This is probably the most important tip so far: make a portfolio website and keep it up to date. You have full freedom with your website, and you choose your own website branding, layouts and really your personal touch.

A portfolio website immediately translates to your potential clients that you are serious about your career as a freelancer. It helps you to stand out more than anything else.

Your website can be the tipping point that makes your client contact you. Your portfolio website can include:

• Your personal background. Adding a personal touch will help personalize the experience for your clients. You can add it on a separate page if you’d like.
• Examples of your work. Adding examples of relevant work will show your prospects what you do, and prove the quality of your work.
• Appealing visuals. Without pictures, it’s going to be hard for your clients to visualize what you worked on in the past.
• References and client testimonials. To increase your credibility, you can add nice things that your clients had to say about you in the past.
• Your contact information. This should be the call to action on your portfolio page.

Conclusion

To immediately attract the attention of your dream clients on a freelancing platform, you can follow these steps:

• Get a professional photo
• Optimize your portfolio pieces
• Write a spot-on bio
• Get a portfolio website