How To Create A Killer Cover Letter

Cover letters are the freelancer's first impression. If cover letters are bad, you wont get clients. But if cover letters are good, you will get clients quick. Creating a killer cover letter is not that hard, we just need to follow the guides.

What makes up a killer cover letter?

1. It's 200 words or less. These people don't have enough patience. They need you to get things straight and get there fast. Be straight and get him what he wants. What are the skills he require that you have? Tell it along with your experience with it. After that, tell him where you can be reached and at what time (use GMT or UTC for the time). Then close the paragraph politely. Don't forget your greeting ("Dear", "Hi")  and your closing remarks ("Kind Regards", "Sincerely").
2. It's Unique. Anyone can tell if your message is taken from the internet, or canned. Employers can tell right away if you read his instructions, knew what skill he requires, and knew what his project is about from the start of your sentence or paragraph.
3. You sound serious yet relaxed. Watch the tone of your message. Do not sound too friendly or over confident. A serious and relaxed tone will do. When I write a cover letter, I always think that I'm applying in a company. In that way I look serious and professional.
4. Follow directions. Some clients add additional instructions in their job descriptions. This is a way for them to tell if you are reading his post or not. Read all their post description, and if it has additional instructions follow it.

Cover Letter Dos and Don'ts

Do

• Introduce yourself.
• Briefly mention his job post in the second or third sentence of your cover letter(what is the job about, the requirements).
• Insert links of the samples of your work.

Don't

• Write an essay cover letter. Get straight to the point.
• Advertise your service. Do not use phrases commonly used to advertise a product like: "proven potential" or "deliver maximum results". It sounds too confident and it's not that impressive anyway.
• Mention your contact details unless he replies. You will become an easy target for unscrupulous employers.
• Do Spec Work. Do not submit bare samples of your work or do some work  before you got hired. Just send them samples using a link to your portfolio or a completed project.

And Here's an Example:

Dear Hiring Manager,

Hi, my name is Robert Rutherford, I'm a Freelance writer and a web developer. You said in your post that you require services for these two, I happen to be skilled in both of them. I had have been a freelance writer for 2 years. I write any article topic. One of my finest work is on www.getmyjob.com. When I became their blogger, the site generated 100,000 site visits, 30,000 subscriptions, and 10,000 sales during my first 2 weeks.  My web development skill is displayed at www.designmyweb.com. It is my personal blog. I create website templates and post it on the website.

Other similar projects are in my portfolio you can visit it at www.robertfolio.com.

I am available to chat in IM, email or Skype. I am available all the time at 8:00am to 12mn (GMT +8).

Kind Regards,
Robert Rutherford

note: any name or websites stated in the cover letter is purely fictional. 
the fountain pen is a S.T. Dupont Classic Fountain Pen with Classic Laquer and Chinese finish from IguanaSell.com

Posted in: basics, oDesk Guide, tips