Cover letter FAIL: how NOT to write one

When using sites like oDesk for freelancing bids, along with having a complete profile and a full portfolio, it is imperative that you write great cover letters.

Many new freelancers skip the third part, instead relying solely on their profiles and cover letters.

This is a huge mistake.

Using oDesk as an example, when a buyer receives an application to their posted job, the first thing they see is your cover letter. If they like your cover letter, they will click on the link to your profile to view more. If you do not take the time to customize your cover letter to the job opening, there's a good chance the buyer will not even bother to look at your profile and resume.

Hi There; Will be able to provide this service for you! I have written
article reviews before for both websites and products. I would be more
than happy to do this for you. Native English in language and speech.
Able to start right away, samples are available if needed. Thanks

The above cover letter was posted in the oDesk Community Forums when they were rejected as spam by the buyer.

Let's break down the cover letter, shall we?

Grammatical errors: There is not a single complete sentence in that letter and the punctuation is less than stellar. This could be overlooked if the provider 1) wasn't a native English speaker, and 2) wasn't trying to get a writing job. Common sense should tell you that if you want to get a writing job, you need to prove that you can write. This cover letter proves just the opposite.

No writing samples: Because the cover letter was so poorly constructed, it would have been nice to see some examples of writing, wouldn't it? Unfortunately, this provider didn't supply any examples…as such, the buyer is left to judge the provider's proficiency based on the poor cover letter.

No mention of WHY they should be hired: Buyers want to know why they should hire you when there are 20 other applicants just as qualified. Without bragging, you need to let your potential buyers know why you are better than the rest.

A better cover letter, at least one that probably would have gotten past the "spam" flag, would have been:

Hello,

My name is [name] and I am a native English speaker, well-versed in review-style articles. I have been writing product and website reviews for [number of days/months/years]. For examples of my reviews, you can visit the following sites:

www.link1.com
www.link2.com

For other writing styles, feel free to visit the following links:

www.link3.com (journalistic style)
www.link4.com (creative writing)
www.link5.com (personal blog post)

I am available to start immediately and can typically turn around a 500-word review in [number of] hours. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask!

Thank you for your consideration,
[name]

This is still relatively short, so it won't bore the buyers…but it still gives the buyer a reason to read on!

Cover letter checklist

• Introduction to yourself
• Introduction to your skillset
• Questions for the buyer
• Portfolio samples relevant to the buyer's job
• Information on how fast/slow/efficiently you work
• Closing statement with an invitation to ask questions