Writing a killer cover letter on oDesk

So, you've got your profile all set up in oDesk - ready to start taking on the world as a freelance worker. Now all you have to do is convince the clients to go and look at it, right? So how do you do this? Apply to the job postings and place a bid on the projects. Then send a killer cover letter.

Your cover letter should, in the least, do three things:

• A) Prove you know what you're talking about,


• B) Prove that you've read the job description,


• C) Explain your costs and terms (such as how many hours it will take to complete, or how much money you will require upfront for a fixed rate, or any guarantees that you offer)

This doesn't mean to send a letter that literally says "I know what I'm talking about and I've read your job description. I charge $15 per hour and guarantee you will like my work." That will probably get you rejected fairly quickly - no matter how great your portfolio is.

In addition to these three things, you should add a bit of your personality into the letter - make it yours.

Now, for me - and I know other contractors disagree with this (and that's fine) - I also include a paragraph within my cover letter that explains about the ability to contact me. I don't include my contact information - but I do let them know that I am available via Skype, email, and cell phone as well as via my oDesk message center. I also let them know that all of these messages are forwarded to my cell phone to help expedite communications (well, except calls to my cell phone - since that would be redundant). I include this because I would want to know how easy it is to get a hold of a contractor, or if I would be limited to just the oDesk message system.

Also, for me, I will ask all sorts of questions in my cover letter. Some contractors view this as unprofessional, and that's fine. Like I said - this advice won't work for everyone. But if there's a discrepancy in the job description, or if I just want to know more details than was given, I ask in my cover letter rather than waiting for the interview.

What does this do for me? In a lot of cases, the clients want to answer the questions, which gives them more of a reason to place me into an interview, which gives me a better chance of talking to them and convincing them that I am the best candidate to hire for their project.

This doesn't mean just start asking any stupid question you can think of. "What's your favorite color?" will probably get you rejected. But asking a question like "Do you think you might also be interested in having Twitter integrated onto your site?" will raise an eyebrow.

So, we are going to build a cover letter for an actual job. Here is the project that we are applying for: Build a new community-oriented website with easy content management system

We are looking to develop a new website/ blog that is easy for us to maintain (create, edit, post, and review content and comments, run user polls and comments, provide social features (like send to Twitter, Facebook, etc.), provide an RSS feed, allow for visitors to create a log-on profile, etc.) While the content would be completely different, the structure of the site would be similar to Engadget.com, GDGT.com, etc.

The design must be clean. The content management tools must be simple for us to use. There must be a way to moderate comments as well.

Qualified candidates can provide a portfolio of websites/ blogs they have developed that have posting and commenting features.

Don't get too excited, this particular job is no longer open ;) But let's write that cover letter! First, introduce yourself to the client and thank them for their time. Why is this important? Clients receive dozens of application within minutes of posting a project. You want to look as though you can appreciate the amount of time they are spending sifting through all those applications:

Hi! Thank you so much for taking the time to review my application.

Now onto the first task - make sure you prove that you know what you're talking about:

I have been building and maintaining web sites using the Drupal Content Management System for 5 years. In my experience, the Drupal CMS platform offers the most flexibility and allows you to expand your site as your business grows. You can find several examples of sites that I have developed using Drupal's CMS listed in my portfolio (which you can see by visiting my profile here on oDesk). However, I would also like to point you toward one site that addresses your particular needs.

So, read that paragraph and what does it say to you? It says "I have been building and maintaining web sites using the Drupal Content Management System for 5 years." So I have plenty of experience using this particular content management system and, therefore, know what I'm talking about. "In my experience, the Drupal CMS platform offers the most flexibility and allows you to expand your site as your business grows." A secondary perk - this shows that I have used other methods of building sites, but choose to use Drupal and why - listing a benefit to the client if he chooses me that goes beyond simply "You'll get a great site done quickly." Next, I point them to my profile, so they can see that wonderful profile that I filled out: "You can find several examples of sites that I have developed using Drupal's CMS listed in my portfolio (which you can see by visiting my profile here on oDesk)." And finally, show that I have read their job description, because I am going to address specific needs that they have asked for: "However, I would also like to point you toward one site that addresses your particular needs."

So now, let's show them the best examples we have that will address their needs:

Progressiveu.org is my longest running site. This is a social networking site that centers its idea on giving a voice to high school and college bound students and offers several contests and scholarships. In this site you'll see several member blogs - each with its own RSS feed, polls and surveys. I have also integrated Facebook into the site. And, although you will not be able to see any of the administrative interface, I have also installed "easy admin" links that allow the moderators and administrators the ability to easily edit, delete, or hide any posts or comments that violate the site's purpose.

There you go... All of the client's needs have been addressed, I understand what he's looking for and can show him a specific example of a site that I have worked on that has everything he's looking for.

But I'm not done here. I still have to explain to him my terms. This is important - it allows the clients to review his budget and see if he can afford me. It also allows him to review his deadlines and see if I will help him to meet those deadlines. Plus, I want to add in a couple of other benefits that he will receive if he chooses me:

In general, I can get a basic Drupal site set up and ready for content in about 8-10 hours. Depending on which other features you would like added and other specifics not listed here (such as a newsletter or the ability to mark and save favorite blog entries), it may add another 15-30 additional hours. However, this includes set up and configuration for each module that you would need.

I am also highly skilled with using Views, panels, and CCK to help give you the customized look and workflow that you need. For example, one site that you'll find on my portfolio (statusje.ipower.com) ultimately took me 19 hours from start to finish. Another site that uses a lot of views, panels, and custom content types is goldentriangle247.com - this site is a little more involved and took me 27 hours from start to finish to get set up.

Now I have added two new benefits that the client may not have thought of before (the newsletter and the ability to save certain posts as their favorites) and I have told him how many hours he would be billed by me to build his site. I have also pointed out two other sites that I built and included the total amount of time that I spent to build those sites - so he can use them as a gage. But did you see what else I did here? I listed several modules that are extremely useful with Drupal sites (Views, Panels, and CCK) that are not included with a basic Drupal installation - and they are not the easiest modules to master. Here again, supporting my statement that I know what I'm talking about.

Next, I need to give the client a reason to want to contact me... So here comes the question. Now, for this particular case, the job description is fairly detailed - so I would really just need to make up a question rather than gain clarification. A well-stated question will help show that you've read the job description. After all, how dumb would I look if I asked him "Would you also like to have an RSS feed?"

I was also wondering how you were going to handle search engine optimization (SEO) for your site? Would you require me to handle the SEO of your project, or are you looking to hire a separate company / contractor to handle SEO? Either way, I am very excited to work on your project; I was just wondering so I can correctly assess entire scope of your project.

Now it's time to wrap things up. This is where I explain how easy it would be to contact me, thank the client again for his time, and, basically, say goodbye.

I am located in the United States within the Mountain Time zone (GMT -7). I am available to talk anytime via Skype, email, or through the oDesk messaging system. To help expedite communications, I also have messages from each of these forwarded to my cell phone - so you can be sure that I will receive and respond to your messages right away.

Again, thank you so much for reviewing my application. I can't wait to get started on your project!

Naomi

And voila! You're done! Now double check your cover letter for any spelling errors (especially in your links!), check the box that shows you understand and agree with the oDesk terms of service (make sure you've actually read the terms of service!), and send the application by clicking on the button that reads "Apply to This Job."

Please notice, there are a couple of things that I did not do, here. I did not beg for the job, nor did I offer to do the job for a ridiculously low rate. (For the record, I apply at every job with the hourly rate that is posted on my profile).

Also remember, every job description is different - therefore every cover letter should be different. Some clients, for example, ask a riddle or want you to include a special word to prove that you've read their job description. Make sure you do as they ask. Even after all this, if the job description had asked me to include the answer to 2 + 2 - I would hate to have been rejected simply for not putting in the number 4 into my cover letter.