Freelancing means constantly looking for ways and means to find clients. Therefore, there are freelancer platforms that connect clients and freelancers. One of the safest platforms is undoubtedly the Malt platform. It is an excellent intermediary between companies and freelancers. However, in order to find clients, you need to be able to follow a few tricks. In this guide, we explain clearly how to find clients with the Malt platform.
Malt: which platform is it?
Created in 2013 by Hugo Lassiège, Vincent Huguet and Jean-Baptiste Lemée, the Malt platform was called ¨Hopwork¨. It was onlyin 2017 that it became ¨Malt¨. As a result, the platform changed not only its name but also its visual identity.
The Malt platform is a site specifically dedicated to supporting self-employed workers (freelancers) and companies. More concretely, it is about freelancers who want to grow their business and develop their skills. The companies working on Malt are companies that wish to cooperate with serious and competent freelancers.
The main objective of this platform is to revolutionise the world of work by allowing everyone to freely choose their co-workers. As a result, it currently has more than 230,000 freelancers specialising in various fields of activity, mainly consulting and communication. And more than thirty thousand companies that work closely with freelancers with incredible profiles and skills on their projects.
How does the Malt platform work?
The Malt platform works in a rather special way compared to other professional platforms. Malt does not offer any tenders at all. This means that you will not find any advertisements for potential clients' projects. Whether it's about prices, or about the tasks to be carried out for a given project, this platform does not contain any information of this type.
So, as a freelancer, you need to start by registering on the Malt platform by creating your profile. You will have to fill in your personal information, your education, your professional experience and many other information that could be useful. So, once Malt verifies your account and validates your registration, all you have to do iswait until a client asks you to work on a project.
On Malt, it is actually the clients who, after finding the ideal freelancer, offer them an assignment on a project. Clients come to freelancers on this platform. And for this reason, it is essential to optimize your profile to hope that a client will contact you.
How to find clients and assignments on Malt?
As we said earlier, Malt does not offer tenders. Since clients contact freelancers directly, you need to work on getting yourself noticed. You have to take care of your profile and improve your visibility on the platform. If you do this well, you will find clients more easily.
Create an innovative and captivating concrete profile
The profile is the element that should not be neglected on the Malt platform. It is thanks to this that a client will be encouraged to contact you. You should therefore promote your know-how and skills through your profile. And above all, make sure you update it regularly. Creating a good profile will certainly take you a few hours, but it will be worth the work. So let's take a look at what should be on your profile.
Your title
To stand out from the other freelancers on Malt, your title must be clear, concise and above all very precise. Conciseness will be the order of the day as you will be limited by the number of characters allowed. The terms you use in your title must also precisely define your core business.
A precise title will actually allow companies to know immediately from your profile what you can offer them. For example, instead of saying "Marketing Consultant", you could say "SEO Web Writer" or "Facebook Ads Expert". In short, make sure your title is concise, precise and clearly states your speciality.
Your profile picture
The photograph you choose to put on your profile should be professional. Remember that the Malt platform is neither a dating site nor a social network. Therefore, you cannot put a party picture on your profile. When a potential client browses your profile, your photograph must already inspire ¨confidence¨ in a few seconds.
Therefore, your photo should be clear, in colour and without filters. You should look neat, smiling, and professional while maintaining your personality. So if you are not comfortable wearing a suit, don't feel obliged to wear one for your profile picture. If you are not comfortable wearing a suit, don't feel obliged to wear one for your profile picture. A nice shirt, a neutral t-shirt or a nice blouse for you ladies will be just as appropriate.
Your Summary
The summary is the description of your company. Unlike the title, where brevity is required, in the summary you must be exhaustive . Just like the description you give on LinkedIn, on Malt, it is in this part that you must know how to sell yourself. Selling yourself is about showing clients that you know their problem, that you understand it and you present your solution. It is this solution that will make your services different from those of your competitors. So describe your company, your business and your services in detail.
Focus on your services, your values, and build your story in a nice, coherent, attractive and precise way. That's right! You must always be precise in your words. In your summary, try to subtly and coherently place the key words related to your activity and your speciality. But don't forget, be exhaustive and detail, detail and detail. You are entitled to 2000 characters! So take advantage of this and present your best assets.
Your skills
The first part of your profile is designed to show your skills. You should take the time to write this part carefully. Since this is one of the most important elements that the Malt platform's algorithm takes into account to identify your profile. Therefore, present your skills correctly. You can also use keywords to indicate the services you offer and what you can bring to your potential clients' companies.
The best way to present your skills is to rank them according to your level of expertise and preferences. So put the most relevant skills first. You can put forward between 10 and 20 skills that correspond to you and characterise you best.
Your experiences
By filling in your experiences, prospects can learn more about your background and you at the same time. If you are new to Malt, you will certainly not have any experience on the platform yet, but fill in your other experiences. The ones you have gained by working for clients you have found through other means (social networks, website or word of mouth).
However, if you have just started your activities, you can enter periods of voluntary work or internships that are immediately related to your speciality.
Your training and certification
This part may be a little less important but it is still essential. Your educational background can reassure your potential clients when your education, certifications and training are directly related to the services you offer. This will be a real plus for you.
So don't hesitate to put all this information on your profile to make it truly unique. Remember that the better your profile is designed, the more it will fascinate clients, who will not hesitate to call you. So be thorough in your information.
Your portfolio
Before asking you to take on an assignment, your clients will want to be sure of the quality of your services. Hence the need for a portfolio. The portfolio allows you to retrace your career path and showcase your full potential in an attractive way. By adding it to your profile, you will reassure your future clients about the quality of your work, your style and your skills.
For example, if you are an SEO web writer, you can display images of your articles. Or if you are an illustrator, you can showcase your creations through your portfolio. And even if you don't have any actual work of your own, you can still upload work similar to yours.
The portfolio building stage will take a lot of time, but it will help you gain clients. Becausethey will already have an idea of your style and the way you work. So don't neglect this part. You need to do everything you can to attract the attention of companies looking for the services you offer.
Your external recommendations
Recommendations are as important as your experiences. It is essential to have them on your profile on Malt. Recommendations will also reassure your potential clients and give them confidence. Imagine that your profile has very little experience and no recommendations. Do you think that a lucid enough company would entrust its projects to a freelancer with no recommendations and little experience? You wouldn't, would you?
That is why, even if you do not have much experience on the Malt platform, you should try to get recommendations. This is really necessary to find clients. But how do you get recommendations?
Ask your current and former customers to recommend you on the Malt platform. Also contact your employees. It couldn't be easier! And the good thing is that they won't need to have an account on Malt before they can give you these recommendations. All they have to do is write comments on your Malt profile that everyone can see. The satisfaction of former customers will inevitably increase the confidence of companies in your services and in you.
Your Average Daily Rate (ADR)
Your ARR must be included in your profile on the Malt platform. Your ARR will give clients an idea of your rates. It can be difficult to define its value. So if you are just starting out in your business, set an average daily rate of between €200 and €300 per day.
After almost 5 years of experience, you can set a rate around 400 and 500€. And when you have acquired solid experience in your activity, you can go beyond 900€. It all depends on what makes you special and the added value of your services. However, try to explore the profiles of competing freelancers to make sure you have set a rate that is in line with your field of activity.
Work on and optimise your referencing
Once you have filled in your profile, you will start to gain recognition. But it is also important to consider a few points, which will make it easy for your target customers to find you.
Your location
It is important to specify the city where you operate and how you operate. Perhaps you work remotely (teleworking) or on the premises of your client's company! You should indicate this. This will give you a better chance of finding clients who meet your expectations. And conversely, clients looking for freelancers with your profile will contact you more easily.
The duration of your assignments
If you have any preferences regarding the length of your assignments, it would be advisable to specify this on your profile. This is possible on Malt. So, if you are looking for long-term or one-off clients, indicate this. This will allow potential clients to take your criteria and preferences into account.
Your sector of activity
In order to optimise the referencing of your profile, define your sectors of activity. That is to say, the areas in which you would like to be much more involved in your activities. A list is provided so that you can separate the areas you want from those you want to avoid. If you prefer the digital, environmental, education or economic sectors, please specify!
Languages well mastered
It is always an added value to be able to offer your services in several different languages. If this is your case, it will be a great asset for you. Moreover, whether your clients are French or European, being able to speak other languages is always useful and beneficial. You will therefore be able to tell them about your profile as well.
Your availability
Your availability plays an important role in improving your visual identity on the Malt platform. You should therefore keep it up to date on a daily basis to get new offers of collaboration. So, whether you are available full time or part time, adapt your schedule. You can choose to be available part-time or full-time.
Also read: Entrepreneur: how to find customers in 2022?
Boost your reputation and visibility
You need to develop your visibility, awareness and reputation on Malt. This is the only way to increase customer demand over time. So you have to really work at it.
Invite your customers to the Malt platform
The Malt platform has a service that allows you to work with your external customers via the platform. This is the " Malt Open" service. You can use this service when you start working with Malt. In fact, Malt is committed to building loyalty among its clients and freelancers (and much more among its freelancers). It therefore puts in place the means to allow you to carry out the maximum of your activities there. As a result, the more clients you collaborate with on the platform, the more you will become known.
By doing so, you will benefit from the privileges offered by the Malt platform, including payment security and contract security. But at the same time, you will improve your visibility. Because thanks to these external clients of Malt, you will get and carry out assignments and work on projects. As a result, you will get comments and ratings on your profile. Over time, your profile will become more complete and fuller.
Moreover, the Malt platform supports the fact that ¨almost 90% of companies on the platform always prefer to work with freelancers who have already completed assignments¨. So if you want to be one of those freelancers who choose companies, you need to have an assignment history. The more your assignment history grows, the more clients you will attract and the more contracts you will get. Once you have built up a good reputation, you can stop inviting clients to work through Malt.
To this end, when you carry out a first mission via Malt Open with one of your personal clients, Malt encourages you to continue. The platform allows you to carry out this first assignment free of charge as long as the contract amount remains within the limit of €10,000 excluding VAT.
Be responsive
The second way in which you can boost your reputation on Malt is to learn to respond quickly to your customers. By being responsive to your potential customers' requests, you are demonstrating professionalism. Being responsive to the needs of your future customers will have two positive consequences for your business.
Firstly, you will gain the trust of your customers, as they will see you as a serious person. Secondly, Malt's algorithms will rank you much higher in the search results. Your referencing will therefore be optimised. It should be noted that Malt's algorithms favour the profiles of freelancers with short response times (responses within 1 hour).
Finding clients with the Malt platform: in brief
All in all, the Malt platform is a platform that can be of great help to you in developing your freelance activities. In addition, you really have to work at the beginning to stand out from other freelancers in your field. But once you gain visibility, you will find many more clients.
So what do you think of these strategies for finding customers on Malt? Have you already tried them? To your keyboards!
