You probably can’t help but notice that we’re now selling an eBook.  It’s right there on the front page and even in the upper right corner of the page where you’re reading this.  Before I go any further I should mention that while I did not write the eBook I did edit it.

Anyway, I’m not here to talk about how wonderful an editor I am, or any of the other ways in which I’m wonderful.  Instead I want to talk about the eBook.

When I accepted the job of editing the eBook, I wasn’t sure exactly what to expect.  I knew the subject, but I wasn’t familiar with the text.   So the first thing I did was sit down and read the manuscript before starting to edit.  I was already familiar with most of what was in the book, but I found I was looking at it in a different way than I had before.

One thing the book focuses on is your profile, and as I was working I started thinking about my profile on oDesk, and on some of the other freelance sites.

That’s when I decided to do something:

I took a look at my profile and realized that it wasn’t really all that good.  Yes I had a picture, but the profile didn’t do a lot to sell me to buyers.  So I decided to try a little test.  As I went through the editing process I took the opportunity to update my profile both on oDesk and on other sites in line with the guidelines in the eBook.

The first thing I did was work on my oDesk profile.  I changed my objective to focus more on what I could do for a buyer, added a portfolio and retook some of the tests to make sure I was in at least the top 20% in all the tests I had displayed.  I made a few other minor tweaks, but that’s a fairly good summation.

What happened next was interesting.  The very next day I found that another person had added me as a favorite provider.

I was also interviewed by a buyer for a position where my rate was $10/hr over the average, and even more over the average rate of those interviewed.  The interview was positive though the buyer hasn’t made a decision yet.

Now let’s look elsewhere:

As I said, I didn’t just update my profile on oDesk, I did it on other sites as well.

One reason I use multiple sites is because I’m fairly picky as to what jobs I look for.  There are some things I’m good at, and some things I just don’t want to do.  In order to maximize my jobs I modified my profile to match my new oDesk profile as closely as possible on all the sites I use.

On one of the other sites I saw two jobs come up that looked interesting.  They were both fixed price jobs and ones I felt I could do well.  I looked at the projects and decided to bid.  In both cases the buyer had posted the most they were willing to pay, so that was what I bid.

I followed the advice in the eBook and won both jobs.

That’s right I bid the maximum the buyer said they would accept and won both bids.  I tailored both bids to the specific concerns of the buyer and it worked.  Bill would say this means I was bidding too low because I didn’t lose one over cost, and he may be right.  However that’s not the point.  The point is that using the techniques found in the eBook I was able to win both jobs I applied for.

That was enough to prove to me that it works.

Do your self a favor, buy the book and give it a fair try.  It worked for me, and I think it will work for you too.

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