Is a cover letter is still being shown after the additional questions?

[vladalyeksyenko]

Greetings,

I have seen a couple of months ago on Danny Marguiles`s blog mentioning that when writing a proposal a cover letter is shown only after the additional questions (if there are some). So I wanted to make sure if this is still true nowadays, as writing well-structured letters are highly important to me and it would look a bit dumb if it has changed and I am actually greeting my client in the middle of the letter 🙂

Thank you for your time.

[petra_r]

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Vladyslav A wrote:

I have seen a couple of months ago on Danny Marguiles`s blog

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(***self-edited because it wasn't necessary entirely conform with community guidelines***)

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Vladyslav A wrote:

So I wanted to make sure if this is still true nowadays, as writing well-structured letters are highly important to me and it would look a bit dumb if it has changed and I am actually greeting my client in the middle of the letter 🙂

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It is so, but that does not mean you should greet your client anywhere other than the start of the cover letter / proposal, if at all. (I just start with "Hi" and then follow with my USP)

The additional questions are the additional questions and should be answered, not turned into cover letters.

[prestonhunter]

Vladyslav:

Don't worry about greetings.

I never use greetings.

If I apply to a job, I briefly explain how I am going to do the work that the client wants done, in a way that makes it clear that by hiring me, the client's project and life will be better.

Clients are not interested in greetings.

If I talked to a client after she looked over 15 different proposals... I doubt she would be able to tell me which freelancers greeted her and which ones did not. That wasn't the part of applications or freelancer profiles that she was interested in.

[vladalyeksyenko]

I believe what you are saying is correct as I do not have any argument to counter that, but in my image when you are starting communication with a person who you never talked before the better way is to greet them. I believe one Hello/Greetings, in the beginning, is enough and usually what I do.

But I generally do not agree with writing stiff cover letters where I just talk about what kind of job will I do for the client, obviously it is the most important part and it has to be clear and well-articulated, but what I am trying to aim is the balance - Making client to understand whether or not I can do this job AND making him feel comfortable communicating with me. After all, it is also important to establish a personal connection with the client, which might increase the chances of the repeat job.

I was just speaking from my own experience - obviously, you seem to have more experience in the online market, so I would be glad to hear your thoughts.

Thank you.