It's really tough to be a Magento freelancer, especially if you're just starting out. The competition is immense. You have developers from all around the world competing for hundreds of projects on daily basis. There are things that you could do in order to maximize your visibility and increase the chances of being hired. These tips will focus on freelance marketplaces, like Upwork.

Respect the Customer

You might want to mimic other freelancers, who spend their time spamming projects with their proposals without even reading the instructions. It becomes especially tempting, if you've spent time trying to get a project going on, but there are no clients that respond. This is a clear case of quantity over quality, which doesn't work for many Magento projects. Why? Because Magento is pretty complex, compared to other shopping carts. Clients feel better about their decision when they see that you're going to be potentially invested in the project. 

How can you do that? By respecting the job and the client. Yes, you might have dozens of competitors. But the client only has one project and one position to fill. In order to convey your respect towards the project and the customer you need to demonstrate that you've read the instructions and understand the technical requirements. Your pitch should reflect that. 

Be Relevant

The customer wants to know, if you're fit for the job. They don't have to know about your other skills and abilities that are irrelevant to the platform. If you are bidding on a Magento project, for example, it's not necessary to highlight your experience with Ruby. The clients might not have the time to look through all of the information that you post in your bid. Because of this you should also focus on your previous Magento projects when you're posting examples of your work. 

Show Them That You're Invested

Sometimes people just want to be sure that they're handing their project over to a dedicated Magento professional, who knows what they're doing and is passionate about the platform. If you don't have projects that you can show or don't fit the niche, try showing off your Magento community involvement. Do you submit to the Magento Github? Do you write about Magento or have posted instructions and contributed to Magento forums? That could work for many clients, as a sign of your professionalism and informed opinion about Magento. 

Give Them a Piece of the Pie

Offering a free sample of what their future project might look like. It could be a template that might work for their project. An extension that will perfectly perform the tasks that the customer wants to have incorporated into the project. Or better yet, show them a live sample version of their future website, if they're thinking of creating one from scratch on Magento. Warning: shameless plug ahead! 

You can easily do that with MageCloud.net - just register and launch a free store, using the available themes, extensions and hosting options. You can have a live site up and running in a matter of minutes. Here's a quick demo of how that works: 

You can also use the free theme editor to customize the theme with your client's logo for better impact. If you're bidding on a massive project - the reward might be worth the time you spent setting up the sample store. Later on you can simply continue developing it through MageCloud (we offer full access to code/backend).

Don't Overestimate Your Abilities

If the customer sets a deadline that you can't realistically honor - don't bid for the project or give an alternative. Even if you'll have everything done right, but you're late for the deadline - your final score might not be very pleasing. 

Stay On Top of Your Game

Always be aware of the latest developments in the Magento scene. We're not just talking about the latest security updates or new PHP versions that you should familiarize yourself with. We're talking about everything else that the Magento community has to offer. Subscribe to a couple of Magento subreddits, follow some Magento influencers to be aware of what's coming for Magento and what future projects might bare for you. This will allow you to be more adequately prepare for new and more challenging jobs. 

Visit Your Local Magento Event

It might be the right place to find your next project. Offline marketing also works for freelancers. Just get acquainted with people and offer them your services. It's also a great place to learn something practical about Magento. This is something Magento freelancers might struggle with. If you're working from home and don't communicate with Magento developers that much, your knowledge might become stale/limited over time. By communicating with other devs you're essentially introducing new ideas and practices to your pool of professional skills. Luckily, there are tons of great Magento events around the world. And don't forget about Meetups, if your location doesn't have a relevant conference taking place nearby. 

Conclusion

Most of these tips could apply to any freelance niche, but we're hoping that you'll be able to effectively use these in your everyday freelance practice by bidding smarter, offering better deals for your clients and growing professionally.