How to write a freelance proposal, step by step

1. Decide whether to write it at all

The cheapest proposal is the one you don’t write for a client who was never going to hire you. Before you open a document, check four things. Is there a budget, even a rough one? Is there a date the work needs to be done by? Are you talking to the person who decides, or someone who will forward your PDF to them? And is the work something you’re good at and want to do?

If two of those are unclear, ask before you write. “Before I put a proposal together, can you give me a rough budget range so I scope the right thing?” is a normal question. Clients who won’t answer it often aren’t ready to buy.

2. Get the facts on a call

A 20–30 minute call saves hours of writing and makes the proposal noticeably better, because you can quote the client back to themselves. Ask what prompted them to look for help now, what a good result looks like in six months, what they’ve already tried, who else is involved in the decision, and what would make the project fail. Write down their exact phrases. You’ll use them in step 3.

3. Open with their problem, in their words

The first paragraph should make the client think “yes, that’s exactly it.” Restate the situation, the goal and why it matters now. Skip your history, your process diagram and your awards. Those can come later, briefly, or not at all.

4. Explain your approach briefly

One or two paragraphs on how you’ll solve it and why this way. This is where your expertise shows: the trade-off you’d make, the thing you’d do first, the mistake you’d avoid. Specific beats thorough. One sharp observation about their situation does more than a page of generic method.

5. Write the scope, and the exclusions

List exactly what you’ll deliver: pages, revisions, files, meetings, reports, in countable terms where you can. Then write the section most freelancers skip: what’s not included. “Copywriting, stock photography, hosting and ongoing maintenance are not included and can be quoted separately” is the single sentence most likely to prevent a scope argument in month two.

Put a number on revisions. “Two rounds of revisions on the homepage design” is a scope. “Revisions until you’re happy” is a promise you can’t price.

6. Give a timeline with both sides’ dependencies

Break the work into milestones with durations, not just a final date, and name what you need from the client at each step: content, access, feedback within a set number of working days. If the client takes two weeks to send feedback, the timeline moves, and the proposal should already say so. This protects you without sounding defensive.

7. Price it with two or three options

A single price invites a yes-or-no decision. Two or three options with clearly different scopes invite a “which one?” decision instead, and let a client with a smaller budget still say yes. Make the difference between options about outcome and scope, not the same work for more money.

State the currency, whether tax is included and how payment is split. A deposit before work starts is normal, and the size is yours to set: larger for longer projects or new clients. It also filters out clients who aren’t committed. For retainers, see our guides to pricing an SEO retainer and social media management.

8. Add the terms

A short terms section turns a signed proposal into something you can rely on. Cover payment due dates and late payment, how changes to scope are handled and priced, who owns the work and when (usually on final payment), and how either side can end the project. We explain why this matters in does a proposal need to be signed?

9. End with one next step, then send and follow up

Finish with exactly one action: “Sign below to confirm the Recommended option, and I’ll send the deposit invoice the same day.” Add an expiry date (“this proposal is valid until 31 October”) so the decision has a natural deadline and old prices don’t come back to haunt you.

Then follow up. Clients go quiet for all kinds of reasons that have nothing to do with you. A short, specific follow-up a few days after they’ve read it is part of the job, not pestering. Our guide to why clients ghost proposals lays out a follow-up cadence, and how to know if a client read your proposal covers timing it to when they actually opened it.

Mistakes that lose otherwise good proposals

Sending it days after the call. Momentum fades. If you can send within a day or two while the conversation is fresh, do.

Copying the last proposal without rewriting the opening. Reusing structure is smart; reusing someone else’s problem statement is obvious. Our guide to reusable proposal templates covers what to keep and what to rewrite every time.

Hiding the price. Burying the number on page six doesn’t make it smaller. Put the options where a busy reader will find them.

No way to say yes. “Let me know your thoughts” gives the client homework. A signature line gives them a decision.

Templates to start from

We publish free templates built on this structure, including a general freelance proposal template and versions for web design, graphic design, copywriting and consulting. The full set is on the templates page.

We make ApeiroCraft, the tool those templates open in. You don’t need it to follow any of the steps above. If you use it, the proposal goes out as a link. You see when the client opens it, they sign in the browser, and the accepted pricing becomes an invoice in one click. The free plan sends 3 proposals a month.