04 February 2009 | Freelancing Tips | Guest Blogger

I’m new at oDesk, and like most providers, the first couple of months were extremely frustrating. I posted repeatedly, but never seemed to get any jobs. Once in a while I’d get interviewed, but it never resulted in job offers.

All this changed for me after I had an awakening. The result was a new approach to writing cover letters. It’s simple, and seems to work, assuming you’re really above average in your field.

To quickly summarize my approach – Research. Give. Describe. The giving part may seem counter-intuitive, but it’s effective. Just try for yourself.

9 Things to Do When Writing a Cover Letter

1. Save your Powder
Look for openings with either few bids, or requiring skill-sets you absolutely master. The ideal job post for a newbie is one where the buyer is from your area, ethnic group, or connected to you or your interests some other way.

2. The Hook
Find an angle, or ‘hook’. The best bids are ones where you can learn something about the buyer, the site, project, or company. Many posts give specific details. So do some research. For example, looking at website projects, if there’s a URL, visit the site, find a problem/opportunity, and address it specifically in your cover letter. Use search engines like Google to find relevant information that may help you stick out.

3. Give
You need to give now in order to get later. The newer you are, the more time you should spend writing each cover letter. I’ve spent as much as 3-4 hours per piece, giving a lot of detailed information, basically providing a taste of my knowledge and experience.

4. Always Sell Benefits, Never Features
Don’t spend more than a couple of lines writing about your skills, knowledge, or experience. That’s what your profile is for. Focus on the buyer’s needs and what you can do for them. Especially important, is why you can do the job better (or differently) from other providers.

5. Show Instead of Tell
Instead of claiming to be smart or good, or whatever, try to show it indirectly in your response. For example, don’t tell the buyer how well you can write, simply produce a mind-blowing cover letter. This works much better, because when reading a well-written piece, the buyer does not have to take your word for anything, it’s obvious you write well. If it’s a technical skill, instead of saying how brilliant you are at it, simply outline your approach to the task and show that you’re in full command of the subject matter.

6. Substantiate
Try to back up claims or statements with links to reputable industry sources in your cover letter.

7. Affirm
Always mention that you understand the job requirements and really desire to do the task. It’s obvious, but often overlooked.

8. Carefree Giving is Not Working for Free
So what if you gave something away (tips or advice) for free to ten buyers, as long as 2-3 of them will either hire or bookmark you? Don’t ever work for free though. Never offer to give anything for free. That comes off as cheap. Just help out where you can and don’t expect anything in return.

9. Basic Structure
To give away the farm here, your cover letter should be structured like this: quick intro, hook, details/gift, affirmation.

The double motif in all the above is simple. The first is something we all heard in writing class: don’t say something directly when you can describe it. Instead of writing “He was so happy”, it’s much more effective to describe “The way his eyes sparkled as the dumb grin spread across that boyish face of his…”

Second is the concept of carefree giving. I can’t stress it enough. But you need to be able to give freely, without seeking compensation. For many of us, it may be doublethink at the beginning, but since humans seem to have an amazing capacity for simultaneously holding conflicting beliefs, it shouldn’t be difficult with just a bit of practice.

Giving like a miser will backfire, it’s easily perceived as manipulative. You need to give in a carefree manner, like a child, if you want all the candy so readily available at oDesk.

Boaz Sasson is a freelance SEO consultant on oDesk. If you are interested in writing a guest blog post, email stories@odesk.com