An Australian small-business owner who posts a job on GigNepal may receive twenty proposals in a day. Most are opened for a few seconds and closed. The ones that get a reply share a handful of traits, and none of them involve being the cheapest.

Answer the brief, not the category

The fastest way to be ignored is a proposal that could have been sent to any job. Read the post twice. Then open with one sentence that proves you did: "You mentioned the quote form needs to land in a Google Sheet as well as email; I did exactly that for a plumbing site last month."

Keep it short and in plain English

Australians tend to write and read in a direct, informal style. Four short paragraphs beat a page of formal introductions. Skip "Dear Esteemed Sir/Madam" and "I hope this message finds you well". Start with "Hi Emma," if the client's name is visible, or "Hi there," if it is not.

Show one relevant example, with a link

One link to a live site, app or document that resembles the job is worth more than a list of ten skills. Say what you did on it and what the result was. If you cannot share client work, build a small sample that matches the brief and share that.

Name your price and your timeline

Vague proposals feel risky. Write the number: "AUD 650 fixed, delivered in 12 working days, includes two revision rounds." If the job is hourly, state your rate and the hours you can commit per week. Clients on GigNepal see budgets in NPR and AUD, so quoting in the currency the job was posted in avoids confusion.

Mention the time zone, because they are thinking about it

Nepal is 4 hours 15 minutes behind Australian Eastern Standard Time and 5 hours 15 minutes behind daylight-saving time. Tell the client when you are online in their hours: "I work 7am to 3pm Nepal time, which covers your 11:15am to 7:15pm AEST, so same-day replies are the norm."

End with one question

A single, specific question invites a reply and shows you are already thinking about the work: "Do you already have hosting, or should I include SiteGround setup in the quote?"

A template to adapt

• Hi [name], one sentence showing you read the brief.
• One relevant example with a link and the result.
• Price, timeline, what is included.
• Your availability in their time zone.
• One question. Sign off with your name.

Send fewer proposals and make each one about the client. That is the whole trick.