How to Create a Buyer Profile That Attracts the Best Freelancers on PeoplePerHour

When you’re hiring a freelancer, it’s natural to think you’re the one doing the choosing. You post a project, proposals arrive, you compare freelancers and eventually decide who you’d like to work with. But there’s another side to this that business owners don’t always consider.

The best freelancers are choosing you, too.

Experienced, highly rated freelancers on PeoplePerHour don’t necessarily send proposals for every project they could complete. They’ve built successful freelance businesses, their time is valuable and they’re often selective about the clients and projects they take on. So before spending time writing a tailored proposal for your project, there’s a good chance they’ll take a look at your buyer profile.

What will they find?

If you want to attract high-quality freelancers on PeoplePerHour, it’s worth making sure your own profile gives them just as much confidence as you expect their profile to give you.

Why Your PeoplePerHour Buyer Profile Matters

Think about what happens when you receive proposals for a project. You probably don’t look exclusively at the price. You’ll visit freelancer profiles, look at their photograph, read reviews, browse previous work and generally try to establish whether this feels like someone you’d trust with your business.

The Best freelancers do something very similar.

Before committing time to a proposal, an experienced freelancer may want to know whether you’re a genuine buyer, whether you have a history of awarding projects, how previous freelancers have found working with you and whether you appear to value the people you hire. This becomes particularly important when you’re trying to attract the very best freelancers. Someone with plenty of existing clients and an excellent reputation can afford to be selective. Your project needs to appeal to them, but so do you.

Fortunately, improving your buyer profile doesn’t require much work.

1. Use a Real Profile Photo

Let’s start with one of the simplest changes you can make.

Add a profile picture.

Ideally, we’d recommend using a clear, recent photograph of yourself. You’re hiring another person, and being able to see who they’re potentially going to work with immediately makes the interaction feel more personal. Remember, PeoplePerHour is ultimately about people working with people.

If you’d prefer not to use a personal photograph, a recognisable business logo is another good option.

What you’re trying to avoid is an empty, anonymous-looking profile. If a freelancer is deciding between two otherwise similar projects, the buyer who looks genuine, professional and approachable is likely to make the stronger first impression.

2. Use Your Real Name

For the same reason, we’d generally recommend using your real name rather than hiding entirely behind a company name. There’s nothing wrong with being proud of the business you represent, but freelancers ultimately want to know who they’ll actually be speaking to and working with.

“Sarah from XYZ Ltd” feels much more human than an anonymous corporate account. Small details like this build trust before you’ve even exchanged your first message. And when a talented freelancer is deciding whether your project deserves one of their proposals, trust matters.

3. Build a History of Actually Awarding Your Projects

Here’s something experienced freelancers may notice: do you actually hire people? Imagine finding a buyer who has repeatedly posted projects but rarely appears to award them. Would you spend time carefully reading their latest brief, researching their business and writing a personalised proposal?

Maybe.

But you might also wonder whether this project is going to go anywhere. When you post a genuine project on PeoplePerHour, try to see the process through. Review your proposals, communicate with freelancers and award the project when you’ve found the right person. Of course, circumstances sometimes change. Projects get postponed, budgets disappear and priorities move around. That’s business.

But repeatedly posting projects without hiring anyone can make future opportunities less attractive to freelancers who are selective about where they invest their time.

4. Pay Freelancers Promptly

Want to become the sort of buyer brilliant freelancers love working with?

Pay on time.

It’s incredibly simple. Freelancers are running businesses too. They have mortgages, bills, software subscriptions, taxes and all the other costs that come with working for yourself. When somebody delivers what you’ve agreed, make sure they’re paid promptly.

PeoplePerHour’s project funds system helps provide security for both sides, but your behaviour as a buyer still contributes to the working relationship you build. A buyer who communicates clearly, respects a freelancer’s expertise and pays promptly is exactly the kind of client great freelancers want to work with again.

And that’s important because finding an excellent freelancer shouldn’t necessarily be about completing one project. It could be the beginning of a working relationship that lasts for years.

5. Leave Reviews for Great Freelancers

You know how useful freelancer reviews are when you’re deciding who to hire?

Reviews matter to buyers too.

When a freelancer does a fantastic job, take a couple of minutes to leave meaningful feedback. Tell people what they did well. Perhaps they communicated brilliantly, delivered ahead of schedule, exceeded your expectations or simply made the entire project incredibly easy. You’re helping that freelancer build their reputation, but you’re also contributing to your own reputation within the PeoplePerHour community.

Freelancers can leave feedback about their experience working with buyers, giving future freelancers more confidence about working with you. Over time, this creates something incredibly valuable: a track record of successful collaborations.

6. Treat Every Freelancer With Respect

You might receive a lot of proposals. You might receive questions. Some freelancers won’t be right for your project. That’s completely normal. But there’s still another person on the other side of every interaction.

Treat freelancers professionally and respectfully whether you’re planning to hire them or not. You don’t need to write lengthy explanations to every unsuccessful applicant, but professional communication goes a long way.

The freelance world can also be surprisingly small. The person who isn’t quite right for today’s project could be exactly the expert you need six months from now. People remember businesses that treat them well.

Your Project Brief Is Only Half the Story

Writing a great project description is incredibly important if you want to receive better freelance proposals. You need clear requirements, realistic expectations, useful information and an appropriate budget. But don’t spend 30 minutes perfecting your project listing and zero minutes thinking about the profile sitting behind it.

Great freelancers aren’t simply looking for work. They’re looking for good work with good clients.

If they’ve spent years building their reputation, developing specialist expertise and creating a successful freelance career, it makes sense that they’re going to be selective about who they work with. Your buyer profile gives you an opportunity to show them that you’re someone worth working with.

The Best Freelancer Relationships Work Both Ways

There’s a tendency to think of freelance marketplaces as somewhere businesses go to choose freelancers. PeoplePerHour works best when that relationship goes both ways.

Businesses want talented, reliable freelancers who communicate well, understand their requirements and deliver excellent work. Freelancers want professional, reliable buyers who communicate clearly, respect their expertise and pay promptly.

When those two people find each other, something much more valuable than a completed project can happen.

You build trust.

The freelancer gets to know your business. You learn how they work. Projects become easier. Communication becomes faster. And the next time you need their expertise, you already know exactly who to call. So if you’re hoping to attract some of the best freelancers on PeoplePerHour, start by looking at your own profile. Add a photograph. Use your real name. Build a history of successful projects. Pay promptly. Leave reviews. Treat people well. Because the best freelancers aren’t just asking:

“Is this a good project?”

They’re also asking:

“Is this someone I’d like to work with?”

Make sure the answer is yes.