How to write web design proposals in 2021

If there's more work now than ever, how come I can't find any?

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Covid has opened a door for online work and accelerated it 5 years into the future. Every single business now needs an online presence, and once was a competitive advantage now is a necessity. So how come if there's more work than ever that it's still very hard to get a project online?

That's a great question! And the answer is very simple.

If you have to ask that question, you are probably looking at selling web design, from a web designer's point of view. It's a lethal mistake in the sea of competition that drowns out all but the most savvy people in the modern web design space. It not impossible to navigate the current market as someone who is not established, but the navigation has to be done as a businessman, and not as a designer.

Clients get anywhere from 20-50 proposals on the projects that they put up for bidding online. Meaning that to get a job you really need to stand out, and this whole blog post will be about how you will stand out.

On our way through this blogpost I will show you everything you need to send a perfect proposal that WILL get you clients. It will not be easy, it will not be something you can get done in a day, but it will be something that will make you desirable for work. So much so that you will be getting projects even if you don't have any reputation on the platform.

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Have a portfolio website

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Whether to make a site or not was always a highly contested topic of discussion. Nowadays it sounds like common sense that you want to, but many people that came to me for help for advertising on freelance platforms are still pondering whether it's needed or not.

There's an argument to be made against it and it goes a little something like this

I don't really need a website because I can put up my portfolio pieces on the platform that I am using, it's a waste of time.

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And that couldn't be further away from the truth.

Putting your website into the proposal will do WONDERS for your credibility, but most importantly it will get eyes on a website that you designed to sell yourself.

So when you make a portfolio website make sure that you have a few things in order:

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• It's visually appealing
• It shows case studies and social proof
• It CLEARLY explains what you do, at a glance
• It looks good on mobile

That's the bare minimum you need.

Let's break down the list

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Visually Appealing

Step one is to make your website not look like a generic Wordpress template. And to achieve that you can absolutely use a generic Wordpress template, but it cannot look that way. There's not much to say here, find an interesting gimmick like the "Hello I'm Stefan" part of my website for example and work off of it to create a unique visual identity. Experiment and play with this. Your website is the most important part of your portfolio. If you don't believe that as a web designer you need to rethink your strategy.

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Case studies and social proof

This is a hard part. While I can coach people on how to get clients outside of Upwork, it also requires a lot of work to get started. The easiest way is to go out and do a website for someone you know. We're not all lucky to have people like that but if you can do a project you care about while learning it's a good start. Use that project to research how to do case studies and then apply that knowledge. Ask them what they think and then use their quotes as testimonials. It is a lot of work up front but it is absolutely vital that you have some form of social proof.

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Explain what you do in a clear way

Go and look at portfolio site roasts on Youtube (shoutout to Ran) and then don't do any of the things that you see people do. At a first glance on your hero section the customer needs to know everything about you. My tagline is "Hello I'm Stefan, and here's how I'll help.". The next section explains that I help businesses grow and convert visitors into customers. It's very simple, very effective. In a month of having this website I have gotten multiple people contacting me and starting with "I love your website".

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Responsive design

It's 2021! Most of your traffic will be mobile anyways, you need to make it look good no matter what the screen looks like.

Once you have all that, you have your tools of mass destruction to make a killer proposal. Not all of them, but the most important one.

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Make a PDF handbook

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You might've never heard about something like this before, but I've been told by clients that this is a gamechanger. It doesn't add much value by itself, but in a package with everything else it shows that you are a professional that takes their job very seriously.

Here's an example of what I keep in mine

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Make sure your profile is 100% complete

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If you are using Upwork or any sort of a freelancer platform, you NEED to have everything in order. Get all your portfolio pieces in there, make sure that all text is clear and short. Nobody cares about your life story on those but they want to know what you can do for them.

If you aren't sure what to put in there look at the Top Rated people on your platform of choice and go with that. Don't copy them but figure out what makes their copy good and figure out why people feel like they are trusted.

Most of the time what you'll find is copywriting that looks like it was written by a salesman and not a designer. And that is good.

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Learn business skills

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Most people looking for web design work are actually looking for a consultant online. They might not know it, but the moment you show that you understand their struggle and know how to help, they will realize they would rather work with you than with a designer. Even if another designer might do better design than you.

So when reaching out you will need to point out how you think you could bring their business value. And please don't use the word value in the proposal.

And what is the best delivery system for that? Video. And now we come to the meat and potatoes of your magic proposal.

You have a good portfolio. You have a completed profile. You have a PDF handbook to make yourself seem more professional and serious and you have skills to prove that you can help your client's business.

Now you're someone who people want to work with and you will use a video message to show that to the client.

Here's how my proposal looks like on a fresh Upwork account. It has already landed me multiple good clients in the span of a few days and only 45 proposals sent.

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The magic sauce

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As you can see on my example, everything is tied together with a video. It becomes personal, it shows that you care about your client.

The contents of the video are simple - it's just 2-4 minutes of you showing them a bit of your portfolio while talking about your experience and your expertise in what they need. But never let the focus be on yourself, but what you can do for them and how you'll leverage your knowledge to help them.

What if I don't know how to help them?

That's what you'll be studying! Let's say the client is a jewelry ecommerce shop, open up 4-5 good ones and see what makes them good. Then tell your client exactly that. Talk about showing the value proposition, talk about their target audience and how you'll customize the site to cater to them. Just look at any sales demo and work off of it. This is what sells websites, not great design. Even though great design will make you an even higher value asset.

It's a hard thing to nail down, but it literally is the magic pill for getting clients and setting yourself apart from the competition.

It's a lot of hard work and smart work, and that kind of work always pays off.

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Until next time,

Stefan
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