As you’re searching for freelance writing work, you may decide to bid on jobs offered at various auction sites on the Internet. This is a great way for beginners to get their foot in the door and it is also a good way to obtain permanent clients.

Keep in mind, though, that competition is keen and you may have to submit several bids before you win your first assignment. Following, are some tips to help you win the bidding wars.

Bid Within Your Area of Expertise

Only bid on jobs that you are qualified for and are confident you can complete. Of course, merely feeling qualified and confident isn’t enough.

Many buyers will ask for samples; some will ask for references, although this isn’t always the case. The point is, you have to be well versed in the particular job you are bidding on. In fact, your bid should convey that you know exactly what you are talking about.

Don’t be afraid to ask questions, especially if you don’t understand something.

Have Samples Readily Available

Freelancers should always have samples available for clients to see. If your samples are articles, try to have articles on a wide variety of subjects available to send to potential clients or send them a link to your work if you have your own website. Make sure these samples adequately showcase the quality of your work.

They should be error free and representative of your writing style.

Follow Directions Exactly

If you can’t follow directions in submitting a bid, the potential client isn’t going to have any confidence that you will follow directions in actually doing the work. Therefore, take your time and follow the directions to the letter. If there is a maximum accepted bid noted, don’t bid more than that amount.

If you think the buyer is trying to get something for nothing, don’t submit a bid telling him only an idiot would bid on his project.

If the client asks for samples to be submitted along with the bid, then submit samples. Submit samples even if the buyer didn’t request them unless they have specifically requested not to receive samples.

Consider Your Bid Carefully

Freelancers sometimes have to under price their services in the beginning to build up a portfolio, to gain experience, or sometimes just to eat.

While not all buyers go with the lowest bid, some of them do. Try to remain competitive but don’t bid so low that you’ll be doing three days of work for one day’s pay. If you’re able to view the bids of other freelancers, that may help to give you an idea of what you should bid.

Some sites won’t let you view the bids of open auctions but you can see all the bids for closed auctions. This can be extremely helpful because not only can you see the bids of all the other writers but you can see the winning bid as well. After you study a few of these, you will get a good idea of the going rates for the type of writing you do.

Once you are awarded the job, continue to follow directions and above all, make sure you meet the deadline. Once you start getting positive feedback, you’ll be able to win more and more bids.

Separating your home life from your work life can be extremely difficult when you work from home and you may not be able to separate the two totally. In fact, it may be better not to at times.

That’s not to say that you should conduct research during family time but there are times when combining the two can be helpful.

Working Vacations

While you don’t want to blow the entire family vacation on work, you might be able to get in enough work to sell later that would offset the cost of the trip. That doesn’t mean you should take work with you but rather take advantage of wherever you’re going by writing about the locale. If you can take pictures, even better.

Even if your family vacation doesn’t take you to an exotic or exciting locale, you can usually find something to write about, even if it’s only a tour to a local factory.

Did something go wrong on your family vacation? Write about it. Freelancing opens up opportunities that other people don’t have. Take advantage of them.

Perhaps you saved a bundle on your vacation or grew closer to your kids or participated in an activity you’ve never done before. Even if it’s not your area of writing, penning an article about your vacation experiences can pay off. In addition, since you experienced it firsthand, you won’t have to rely on Internet research that may or may not be up to date or accurate.

Bring Your Personal Experiences to Work

What other job will actually pay you to bring your personal life to work? Most jobs demand that you leave your home life at the door but freelancing encourages just the opposite.

Now, that doesn’t mean that you have to reveal intimate secrets about your family or your personal life but you can write about and make money from everyday experiences in the lives of you and your family. Think of all the problems you and your family have encountered and concentrate on the ones you have solved. How did you do it? Can you teach others to do the same thing?

What do you know how to do that others would like to know too? If you’re an ace with the video camera, consider making short videos that you can add to your website or submit to other sites that will share their ad revenue with you.

Whether you’re a whiz at gardening or computers, share your knowledge with the world and boost your freelancing career at the same time.

In Sickness and in Health

Before you decide there isn’t anything worthwhile in your personal life to write about, consider the state of your health and that of your family’s health. If everyone’s healthy, how do you stay that way? Do you have a fitness routine or eat healthy? Do you incorporate exercise into family activity time? If someone in your family does have health issues, incorporate what you know about that disease or condition into your freelancing career. Maybe you’re taking care of an elderly parent and you’ve had to hire help so you can work.

Now that’s an experience that writing about would help others and boost your income at the same time.

As you can see, it really doesn’t matter which dynamics make up your personal life. As a freelancer, you can incorporate many of these dynamics into your career, earn money, and help others at the same time.