My last post here at WriteWorldwide was an article entitled: “Reposition Yourself: How Repositioning Myself Landed Me a $1600 Writing Gig“. Many of our readers have engaged with this post, and it has gotten a lot of positive feedback

A few days after this post was published, I received several requests from our readers to share the freelance proposal template I used to land that gig.

 

Therefore, I decided to put together a breakdown of my successful writing proposal and share it with all our subscribers at WriteWorldwide.

Before we get into it, let me ignite your imagination a little bit.

Imagine yourself travelling around Morocco’s Atlas mountains, and figured out that there was no cab that will get you back to the city where you’re staying at night.

It’s already 6 PM. And it’s getting dark.

No one seems to be around.

You feel lonely, scared, and totally insecure.

Suddenly, a local shows up out of nowhere and invites you to stay at their home for the night.

You feel comfortable, happy and thankful.

You thank them, have dinner, watch TV, learn some Berber, and go to bed.

The next day, you wake up, have breakfast, and all you think of is how to give something back to them.

You cannot just leave without offering anything valuable in return.

There is something inside of you that makes you do that.

It’s human nature.

And you know what? That’s the same approach your client will subconsciously have before hiring you if you send a great proposal.

Crafting a good freelance proposal template is not easy. It should take you hours to write, edit, and critique.

And most of your prospects will appreciate that and reward you for it.

In addition to this, unlike with LinkedIn and email, a well-crafted freelance proposal template will help you present your packages professionally, especially if you use a good-looking proposal creation tool such as Qwilr and follow the tips below.

Without further ado, let’s get into it.

Header

For the header, I like bringing a professional atmosphere and make the most out of the first impression my client has on the proposal.

The headline, Content Marketing & Client Attraction Strategy Packages, serves the purpose of highlighting the results my business will bring to my clients. If you write “Content Marketing Proposal“, “Content Strategy Packages” or any other clichéd title, you run the risk of losing your client’s and interest in your business.

We, as content writers, should always put ourselves in our clients’ shoes and focus more on the benefits they will obtain if they decide to work with us.

Plus, I like adding a ‘Read time’ line to my proposal header to hook my prospective clients’ attention and show my appreciation for their time.

To learn more about how to calculate read times, and why they are effective, check out Marketing Land’s article, How Estimated Reading Times Increase Engagement With Content.

Now that you caught your client’s attention, here is what they will want to see next when they scroll down:

Introduction

WriteWorldwide co-founder Richard Rowlands advises in his post, A Deep Dive Breakdown of My Winning LinkedIn Pitch, addressing your client in a friendly tone using their first name rather than formal greetings such as “Dear Mr./Mrs. <last name>”. Richard notes in his post, “I like using first names because I feel it’s friendly, and puts me on an even footing with the prospect from the start, It really comes down to personal preference here, so go with what you feel comfortable with”.

Personally, I use the opening line “Hi [first name]” for all my messages and interactions with clients, including proposals. Why? Because I only want to work with clients who would communicate in a friendly, informal way instead of a bureaucratic, boss-to-employee manner.

In the next two paragraphs after the opening line and thanking my client for expressing their interest in my business, I emphasize on contextualising my proposal with what we’ve agreed on and summing up what I’ll be covering in the body of the proposal.

Finally, I use the line at the end, “I look forward to working with you“, to inspire action and keep my clients’ attention at its peak. You always need to remind your clients of your goal from the proposal to increase your chances of getting hired.

Proposed Writing Services

I consider this section to be the most persuasive in my freelance proposal template. I use it to list services prospective clients are likely to hire me for.

Here is an example of one of my services in this section:

As you can see in the screenshot above, I put together a short description of this service – Keyword Research – to point up the perks of keyword research and picking up the right keywords for blog content.

The service descriptions play a significant role in the persuasion process. They demonstrate your abilities and show realistically how your services can make your prospects more money.

Packages

The monthly packages part is the most important. It’s will really define whether your client will hire you or not.

As you can see above, I highlighted the second package and labelled it “(Most Popular)“. Why? Because customers want guidance. They simply want to be told what to do. So, I clearly and directly indicated my recommended plan, and highlighted it.

Also, you might’ve noticed that I kept the dollar sign smaller for all my packages – which wasn’t by accident.

According to marketing writer Martin Lindstrom, “The dollar sign is a symbol of cost, not gain“. In fact, this technique is used by restaurants, cafés and many online businesses to increase their sales.

For more on the psychology of pricing and how to create a winning packages page or proposal section, check out Neil Patel’s article, 16 Pricing Page Tips That Will Drive More Sales.

Conclusion

At the end of my freelance proposal template, I ignite my prospect’s imagination and got them to see my best writing samples and learn more about my business and experience. Then, I concluded the proposal by addressing their oppositions in italic front and offering them free help – which increases my credibility in their eyes.

For more on this, read the chapter A Copywriting Primer on Richard Bayan’s book, Words That Sell, and sign up to Steve Roller‘s Copywriter Café membership at Cafewriter.com.

Now that you know how to create a successful writing proposal, it’s time to take action.

Still no clients? Download our free Pitching Template Cheat Sheet below to get you started.