Giving Upwork tips is easy. In fact, giving tips on anything is easy. For every problem you have, there are a million “27 tips to ________” articles you can read online.
Unfortunately they’re almost all useless. Think about it: If they were really helpful then most of our problems would already be solved. Instead we waste untold amounts of time devouring empty tips, hoping for some breakthrough that never comes.
Giving tips is easy….. Giving useful tips, that’s another story.
It requires a level of experience, expertise, and thoughtfulness most tip-writers either aren’t able, or aren’t willing, to put in.
That’s what Warren Buffett meant when he said “Wall Street is the only place that people ride to in a Rolls Royce to get advice from people who take the subway.”
Most of the people offering advice online are also taking the subway. And some of them are even jumping over the turnstile because they can’t afford to buy a MetroCard.
Sorry, but it’s true. Take advice from random bloggers and your life and career aren’t likely to skyrocket any time soon.
For instance, just this morning I googled “Upwork tips” …
Some of the tips I found were OK.
Others were a waste of time, but harmless…like “make your clients happy.” (Does anyone think a freelancer’s job is to make their clients sad?)
But I also found a bunch of doozies that that can cost you time, money, and in some cases, your reputation.
And I’m not talking about the stuff that’s buried on page 796 of google’s search results, either. All of this is stuff I found within the first couple of pages.
Let’s dig into some specific examples, and my recommendations for what you should do instead.
Bad Upwork Tip #1: Only Talk To Clients Who’ve Already Spent X-Number Of Dollars
A client’s spending history is a pretty useless metric. All Upwork clients start off at zero.
Some of my best clients had no Upwork history whatsoever when I first met them. Like this one…
This wasn’t even the only job I did with her. It turned out to be a very profitable relationship.
The same is true for this client…
Even if you see that a client has spent a small amount, they may be getting ready to start spending a lot more.
A lot of clients want to get their feet wet with small projects before they commit serious money. I call these “Sleeper Hit Clients” — they start off slowly but then they blow up into heavy hitters. It’s totally normal. How many people buy an Acura or BMW for their first car?
Right now I’m talking to an Upwork client who’s spent just a few hundred dollars in the past year. We’re having a serious conversation even though my price is $250/hr.
Maybe their business is growing, or maybe they’re just ready to pay more for higher quality work.
The point is, why should I care what they’ve done in the past? If you knew a stock was going to go up, would you buy it right away, or would you sit there and think about its previous track record?
I’m not sure if the conversation will go anywhere. But it never hurts to exchange a few messages with a client and see if there’s a good fit. You’re risking nothing and your upside is huge.
If your competitors want to pass up great clients over some arbitrary number, let them. Their loss is your gain.
WHAT TO DO INSTEAD: When you see a job you’re interested in, ask yourself, “Can I add value to this project?” If the answer is yes, start a conversation with the client and see where it goes.
Bad Upwork Tip #2: Do Some Free Work For A New Client To Get Them Interested In You
When I read this tip my jaw practically dropped to the floor. I had to double check that the article I was reading was really about Upwork tips…because following this advice can get you kicked off of Upwork.
See the screenshot below, taken from Upwork’s terms of use…
But even aside from keeping your (and your clients’) Upwork account in good standing, doing free work isn’t a good way to build your freelancing business.
20 years ago free work wasn’t such a bad idea. It was a decent way for new freelancers to build up a portfolio of work.
But today that entire concept is totally obsolete. Why? Because sites like Upwork, freelancer.com, and Fiverr have tens of thousands of entry level jobs that pretty much anyone can do. So it makes 1000x more sense to get paid for all of the work you do — even if you’re just starting out.
WHAT TO DO INSTEAD: Use my Crystal Ball Technique. You’ll get paid for your work and start attracting clients in droves (even if you’re new to freelancing). Win-win. Try it.
Bad Upwork Tip #3: Search For Jobs Using Keywords And Filters
Whenever I get an email from someone complaining that they can’t find any good jobs on Upwork, I always ask them to describe EXACTLY what they’re doing.
Their answer is always the same: They’re not even seeing half (or more) of the jobs listed because they’re using filters and keywords to narrow down their results.
They do this in the name of “saving time.”
Yes, you save a few minutes. You can also save time by skipping showers and sleeping for 3 hours a night. Does that mean you should do it?
Clients are human. They don’t always post a job that cooperates with filters. In fact in many cases they don’t.
Different clients use different words to explain what they need (copywriting vs. sales writing, website designer vs. WordPress designer, etc.). Or they misspell something.
Sometimes they post an “intermediate” job when they really need an expert. Sometimes they post an “expert” job when a beginner could do the job just as well.
When you try to save time with keywords and filters, you miss out on tons of opportunities. It’s better to sift through 100 jobs that aren’t a good fit for you, than miss out on ONE great client. Otherwise you’re doing what Shark Tank’s Daymond John calls “tripping over dollars to pick up pennies.”
Great clients are worth a lot of money to you. Think about how much a client might be worth over the course of two or three years…
WHAT TO DO INSTEAD: Look at all the jobs in the categories you’re interested in. You don’t have to read every word of them, just skim the headlines until you find one that sounds good. It’ll take you 10 extra minutes and you’ll leave the “time savers” in the dust when you find great clients that are invisible to them.
Bad Upwork Tip #4: Avoid Hourly Jobs — Only Do Fixed-Price Jobs
There’s a lot of silliness surrounding this topic online so I want to set the record straight.
Some people have this belief that a fixed price job — one where you get paid a flat fee for the entire project — is somehow “better” than an hourly job (where you get paid by the hour).
Their argument is that you shouldn’t get paid for your time — you should get paid for the value of your work.
And sometimes that’s true.
If you can help a client increase their profits by $100,000 a year with one hour of work, then you should charge more than an hour’s worth of your time for that.
But in a lot of cases, charging by the hour makes sense. Look at this Upwork job I did as an example:
This client needed some work done, but they weren’t sure how much. “No problem,” I said, “I’ll just charge you $130 per hour, and we can do as much or as little as you need.” They agreed.
As you can see it turned out very well. And I’ve done even more repeat work for them since then.
Easy and profitable as this situation was, I still see freelancers making their lives difficult by trying to apply “value based pricing” where it doesn’t make any sense.
To show you what I mean:
Back in 2014 I wanted to hire a writer to help me start a new website. I said, “Look, I have no idea how long this will take, or what kind of results it’ll get. But I’m happy to pay you well for your time. What’s your hourly rate?”
He responded by saying he couldn’t work on an hourly job. He wanted to charge me for the value of the work he was doing. Except I had no idea what that value was, which made that impossible. Square peg, round hole.
I ended up paying one of his competitors $75 an hour to do the work instead. Which one of those freelancers do you think got the better deal?
WHAT TO DO INSTEAD: If you think either hourly or fixed-pricing makes more sense for a particular job, let the client know. Most of the time they’ll be happy to go with your recommendation, especially if you can explain why it’s in their best interest. But in general you shouldn’t worry about whether a job is fixed or hourly — you can be very successful on Upwork doing both types of jobs.
What’s your best Upwork tip? (plus a cool prize for the best one)
Yes, there are a lot of useless tips out there. And even some harmful ones.
But do you know what we can do? We can put a lot of good tips out there to balance it out. What better place to start this than right here at Freelance To Win?
So here is what I’d like you to do: Please share your best Upwork tip in the comments below.
It can be something for newbies, something more advanced, or anything in between.
Please help me make the internet a better place for freelancers and aspiring freelancers (and Upworkers). The world needs you.
Even if you started yesterday I still want to hear from you. Just because you’re new doesn’t mean you don’t have something valuable to add.
Drop your best Upwork tip into the comments and let’s get the conversation going.
Thanks for sharing such a useful tips for me and my freelance career. I personally never recommend to anyone to freelance and there is no growth in this field. There is a huge competition and low margin these day. any ways people enjoy freelancing and this is their personal matter but your tips are helpful for me.
So if you are new on Upwork and just starting out: You create your profile with headline, overview and all the rest.. It’s basically your own personal little lead generating funnel. Now let me ask you this: Would you ever invest time and possibly money into getting a funnel to go live online and just leave it? Or would you collect date from the funnel and keep on optimising is accordingly to improve your conversion rates? EXACTLY! Your Upwork profile is in this case your funnel. If you are not getting desired results/response rates, you should take the data and… Read more »
It is a very advantageous post for me. I’ve enjoyed reading the post. It is very supportive and useful post. I would like to visit the post once more its valuable content. Thanks for sharing this so interesting post! I really want to be thankful for the way you have put it here.
Great article, as usual! One thing I’ve learned very recently is that 60 connects don’t stretch very far when you’re new and aren’t getting the invitations or repeat work! I typically allocate myself an hour or two a day to looking for jobs and submitting proposals, but when my connects ran out, I was at a loss. Then I realized that although I couldn’t submit a proposal for another day or so, there was nothing stopping me from finding jobs and saving them. I can go back in when my connects reset and have a smaller pool to work from… Read more »
I’ve literally read almost all the wonderful comments here. Kudos to Danny for providing such a helpful platform for freelancers! As a newbie, I’m currently finding it difficult to land jobs on upwork. When I started out as a writer, I was able to get hired by three clients. Despite the fact that I did my best to satisfy all of them, there was a particular client who suddenly ended our contract (I had earned $50 for the first milestone), and he left me with a bad feedback (3.95) to my greatest surprise. He didn’t have a substantial reason for… Read more »
Hey Joel, hope you are doing fine, I recognize the struggle, i am a top rated freelancer for over 2 years, and i would like to give you some tips and encouragement. Let me just tell you right away, dont worry about your rating too much at this point, because the sample is to small to actually tell anything. I put more weight to success rate, but everything above 90% is good. I was in the same spot as you are, 2 years ago: i had 1 job done, over 500 hours of work, 5 stars feedback, and i couldn’t… Read more »
Hello people. I used Danny`s crystal ball technique to get my first and only job for now. It was about history oriented blog – any period. I wrote article about my hometown Belgrade in Serbia and sent it to client. She like it and she hired me. I used opportunity to make job interesting for me because i was writing about Serbian military structure during WWI. A lot of teachers on a few Universities in USA will read my article than teach their students about my country. I wanted to finish with Upwork when my friend shared with me Danny`s… Read more »
Great post Danny, here’s my tip for newbees: When I was a newbie I wrote longer cover letters. I had some early success after a couple of tries when I looked at an interesting job that already had 20-50 proposals. I thought to myself if I were them I’d be overwhelmed. Then I looked at my draft and thought “no way they’re reading all this”. But what to do? I had no reviews yet, just me talking about myself and my professional experience. I HAD to write a long cover letter. So here’s what I did to land my 1st… Read more »
Getting projects on freelancing portals is not easy and when we get it from a fake client, it is worse because they will hire you, get their work done and go invisible means no reply after getting work done. So to escape these kinds of fake clients on all portals, I have spent some time monitoring jobs that are posted by fake clients, and real clients on Upwork.
Making money online used to be difficult. Today, with the right business idea and enough skills, you can too can learn how to make money online I LOVE your post; you have just stamped everything I learned last week (my first week on UpWork), I was so happy with the results that I did two YouTube videos and I am sharing the same with colleague freelancers in some FaceBook Groups U belong. My Tips: I have always dreaded bidding, which is why I took forever to start working on UpWork. I am an experienced writer, by the way, having worked… Read more »
I LOVE your post; you have just stamped everything I learned last week (my first week on UpWork), I was so happy with the results that I did two YouTube videos and I am sharing the same with colleague freelancers in some FaceBook Groups U belong. My Tips: I have always dreaded bidding, which is why I took forever to start working on UpWork. I am an experienced writer, by the way, having worked on “Take Platforms’ the likes of The Content Authority and Iwriter. *On Upwork, I have no filters. I click on broad categories (Article Writing and Blogging),… Read more »
can you send me cover letter samples for my 1st job. I want to start as a copywriter on upwork
Hi, everyone! Thank you for your hacks and hope mine will be useful for you too. My tip is based on to major ideads: 1) The keywords for some jobs don;t seem to fit any category on Upwork 2) Very often we just don’t realize that we are good at something until we get a chance to learn this new skill. Here’s my story to show you what I mean. I am not sure why but thanks God being a Rising talent freelancer I was noticed by a client who needed to classify his articles of an online magazine (there… Read more »
Such a nice blog for newbies
Thank you danny
Stand your ground! (sorry, it’s gonna be a bit long) Yesterday, I had a potential client that made my jaw drop. He wanted a product description translated, easy enough. We start having a chat and he asks me to give my opinion on his friend’s work. Basically, it was the exact document translated in its entirety. I answered that if 1. he wanted me to proofread it he’d have to pay, and 2. he was basically asking me to give my opinion on the competition. At this point, I already found him to be disrespectful and unprofessional. He then told… Read more »
Great article and I have enjoyed reading every one of these tips. Here is my tip: When you come across a project or client that really interests you and seems like the perfect fit, be careful not to bid too low. Often, it’s tempting to bid lower on the most attractive projects, because we don’t want to lose out to a lower bid. However, what if we use the opposite strategy? If this looks like a client you would like to work with long-term, can you afford to be working 40 hours a month for this client, at your current… Read more »
Great Post yet again. Here is my couple of cents. While submitting jobs, there are parameters client selects like Location, Hours spent, Job success rate etc. The same parameters are shown at the end of the job details where considering your profile, Upwork shows RED sign for the parameters that you doesn’t match. If you don’t match the parameters, that doesn’t mean that you are not best fit, BUT HERE IS THE THING. if you see the total proposals, it will say 20 to 50 or 50+. Please read (?) beside the total proposals. What i understand from the comment… Read more »
I would like to learn more about what you wrote!
Does anyone have any additional insight or comments?
One of the reasons I ask is oftentimes when I click to submit a proposal, I’ll see:
– Job Success Score: At least 90%
– Include Rising Talent: Yes
With red exclamation points beside each.
Am I to understand that a client will not even see my proposal?
If so, what can I do to improve my ratings???
Many thanks!
Dear Martha,
The client will see your proposal but it will be stated that you don’t fit the requirements, which doesn’t at all mean that you shouldn’t apply. I got one of my long-term projects like this. I just started my proposal with the words:
“Dear Employer. I am sorry to apply not having the stated JSS but it seems to me that I could be the right fit for you”, Further I gave my reasons and was hired on that very day!
“
Hi Kate,
Thank you for your suggestions. I’ll certainly implement!
I’ve been away from Upwork for a bit, and am just today rereading this post.
Thanks again,
Martha
What kills me is when one of the requirements is something like 100+ hours on Upwork, and it looks like I don’t qualify, because I’ve only done a few small hourly jobs on there. I could have 5000 hours worked on fixed-price projects, and none of it counts because Upwork doesn’t know how many hours were involved. Then there are all the non-Upwork hours they don’t know about.
When I apply for one of these gigs, I explain why specifying a minimum number of Upwork hours is dumb for everyone.
Please Danny, can you show me your press release work samples. I mean the sample of your press release work you have done in the past.
These are some awesome tips! I spent about 45 minutes soaking them all in. I have created an UpWork profile, but have not submitted for the first job yet. I think I now feel ready to jump in a start cranking out some decent proposals. Thanks Danny for all that you do!
I love job postings where the client asks questions other than the usual “Why do you think you are the best fit for this job?” and “How long do you expect the job to take?” I always try to add something interesting and unique about myself as it applies to the job posting. For example, I’m a former CIA officer (editing a novel of espionage).; my family loves board games (editing 600 Q&A cards for a new game in development);; I’ve lived in ten different countries and have either lived on or visited all the continents but Antarctica .(editing a… Read more »
Why don’t you ask him?
Finally, are these tips restricted to upwork alone?
*Nice tips from my seniors here.
GBU all.
Hello, permit me to call us – one big family.
I am grateful for the tips. I am a broke newbie but I really want to register for Danny’s courses.
I wrote two sales copy but my friend just tore it and called me a failure.
I felt sad and I am more determined to learn. I am just 19 years old and I don’t know if I am too young for all this things.
I am currently an editor for a small publishing company.
Thanks pals.
I’m not sure if you will agree with my tips, but here are my biggest Upwork Tips: “Do not take a job if you don’t think you can meet most of the client’s expectations or exceed them because this might result in bad reviews for you” Another is the following: “If you’re working on influencer outreach projects, always go for hourly rates instead of fixed, because different niches require different periods of time to get results, and so it will be hard for you to price yourself fairly in a fixed project” Finally: “Try to refund clients who have given… Read more »
Thanks Danny for this great blog. And thanks too to all the relevant contributions I’ve read on this blog. Although I have managed to earn q 100% Job SUccess Score with 8 jobs in one month, I am having a hard time getting clients to believe that I can offer them great content simply because I am not a native speaker. I have eight 5 star reviews from these eight jobs but I still have a hard time getting substantive offers. Can anyone help me?
The native category accounts for those who are bilingual. So you can claim it even if you aren’t a native speaker.
Thanks for the tips Danny. I personally think that writing a good cover letter gets you a head start from the other proposals and using some call to action phrases also helps. I managed to get 10 jobs in the last two months by this way and I started as a new account. 🙂
Regards
Naser
I searched “Upwork tips” on google and found your blog. at first. Thanks for great one. I am a freelancer and your tips guided me very well
Thanks again
Whenever I look at jobs, regardless of what site or email it comes from, I always explain that I do more than what they’re looking for. Using Upwork as an example, if somebody needs a writer, I always mention that I’m also an editor/proofreader so the work I do is automatically checked for quality.
I don’t know whether others do that but I have been given jobs to edit work that other writers have done and it included a LOT of mistakes, mainly simple ones, because their writer didn’t care enough to proofread/edit it before handing it in.
Laurence,
I love this tip – Thank you!!
I will certainly offer your recommendation on the next writing job I apply for!
Martha
Good tips, but still looking forward for more details and healthy tips which really effect.
Sometimes starting an hourly contract makes the client psychologically want to come back to you for more work! Since he already has hired you and he knows your contract is an ongoing one, he’s much more likely to come back to you asking for more work or even something he remembered later on that slipped off his mind earlier. For me, hourly projects have been my KEY TO SUCCESS on Upwork. P.S. I always log manual hours. its a lot of risk (no protection by Upwork) but it’s really worth it. Keep week one short to make sure the client… Read more »
My best tip: Write a blanket cover letter that you can tweak easily to personalize it for each client. Spend an hour writing a good letter and you can use it for most of your jobs (though you REALLY should remember to add in a few things to let the client know you read their job post too).
Angela, I agree. My cover letters are usually three (sometimes four) paragraphs long. The first always refers to the project and why I’m interested in working on it. “Your search for an editor for your board game about humanely catching ‘gators in swampland Florida caught my eye for two reasons: I live very near swampland in Florida and we’re always trying to chase ‘gators away. and my family LOVES board games! We’re very competitive, and the chance to wear the family ‘gator-chasin’ crown is just too good to resist?” The second paragraph is almost always exactly the same for each… Read more »
Wow…. Tons of great tips in the comments! Here’s one from me: “Ask your client to change your rating/feedback (given you’ve done a great job!)” My client mentioned tons of time during the course of the project that I was doing a great job. Yet, when the project ended, he left me a 4.4 rating instead of 5. Granted, I had not asked him for a 5-star rating explicitly (which I should have!) yet, I was expecting it. For me, the 5-star was important, especially since this was my first job. So, I shot him a message on Upwork: *********************************************************************************… Read more »
Soon I’ll ask a couple of my regular clients to make a video about why they are using my services. Short, 10-20 seconds videos that I’ll upload to Youtube. Collection of testimonials, together with my intro, shouldn’t be longer than a minute. Here’s a few more tips from Upwork Hiring Headquarters on how to make a great video.
goo.gl/B94v7W
Hi Danny Awesome post you got there. I have worked on upwork (elance) for quite some good time now. This is my tip.of the day: “Dare dream again” – Never be too afraid to bid on the jobs that are seemingly high end. Go ahead and put your proposal out there.. When you get used to bidding too low, you are very likely to act chicken heart on the high end jobs. And always NEVER forget landing a good gig is merely seconds away on most of these gigs. If you can even pitch clients a few seconds/1 minute away… Read more »
Thanks, guys. I loved reading this. I’ve applied many of the techniques here listed, but to no avail so far. Perhaps that’s because I work with translation, not copywriting. Does anyone else here that works as a translator can share some tips? I’ve been a “Rising Talent’ for a day, but that didn’t help much yet. I have one job with a single five-star review in which the client highlighted my skills and devotion. I’ve followed Danny’s 5 tips. I write all my cover letters based on the Crystal Ball technique, trying to follow the standards I’ve seen here, and… Read more »
Hey Jack – are you applying to lots of jobs? When you’re getting started, you’re going to have to use up all your Connects and maybe even buy more. It’s not a ton of fun to do that many, but it really does increase your odds. And it seems like the more jobs you’ve completed, the easier it is to get the next one.
Hey Kate,
thanks for the reply.
Thing is, I am—applied for lots of jobs already. In fact, I’ve used up all of my connects, then got more because of the Rising Talent bonus.
I don’t know why this is happening. It’s like people don’t even READ what I wrote. Because I spend so much time polishing those proposals, they’re so bespoke to the client, it’s like they simply don’t give a damn and just choose whoever isn’t me. (Note that I didn’t say ‘cheapest’, because I’ve already been in that place and it didn’t work… lol)
Hi Jack! just wanted to tell you that starting out is the most difficult part indeed. There’s something that plays agains newbies, and that is you won’t get a rating until you’ve had like 5 or 6 jobs done. So even if you have 4 reviews of 5-stars, you profile still will show an “empty rating”. Now the good news: It will work if done right. I promise you. As soon as you get some rating, you will begin to prosper. Press on, be gritty, review your proposals over and over, and read the course material again an again. Try… Read more »
Ohhh I so needed that Manny. You just made my night!
I landed my first job after about 10 proposals. Since then it’s been blanks!
But your comment gives it a whole new perspective!
For me, avoiding from hourly jobs seems like willing to get paid based on value. This was just an affirmation to my fear. Real fear is it feels like, there is an eye in the room watching me while I am working. Client will see that how I am inefficient or time to time I just surfing on the web :))
I don’t want him to see my error log, instead I want him to see end result.
this is not a tip but can be helpful 🙂
So, I think that we actually don’t trust ourselves but we should
I didn’t even know the freelancing world existed until two years ago and I’m still figuring it all out. Thank-you for your ‘Top 5 Hacks’ and this email Danny, it gives me confidence in my instincts. Although I’m new, the thing that I’ve noticed all my clients really appreciate is my enthusiasm for their project. As a Brit, gushing positivity is not my style, but expressing my genuine interest and excitement for jobs has really cemented my relationships with people. Obvious really, but not something I was confident enough to do right at the beginning, in case it appeared ‘kiss-assy’… Read more »
Great tip.
Dear Danny,
You are a straight shooter with some of the most coherent advice around these parts.
Thanks,
Howard
I started reading Danny’s posts, a week ago. Also, I subscribed for the best 5 hacks. His content is, really awesome! Of course, this post is rocking, as the previous, ones. When I started Upwork, I had no experience in communicating with clients. I was just interested in getting the gig and start working on it. Then, I realized that, even if the job was completed successfully, the clients didn’t leave review, always. So, my tip is to communicate with the client. Even, if you don’t talk about the job, talking with them helps you understand them, as a person… Read more »
Eleni,
How do you remind folks to leave reviews? I have had a number of clients send me emails or Upwork messages thanking me for a great job, but not leave an actual review. This is so frustrating because my success score has dropped because of it.
The only way I can think of is to make sure the client closes the job. Then, I think they are forced to leave a review, but I’m not certain – I’ve only hired once.
How about just asking them?
What I do, is at the START of the contract; when you have the opportunity to leave a message in that little box – don’t just say thanks for the job and look forward to working with you – here’s what I put … “To assimilate and research project, make notes, confer with you for further information and/or clarification, Complete first draft. Discuss and hone first draft with you to create notes for second draft. Complete second draft. Discuss and hone second draft with you to create notes for final draft, Create final draft. Check with you that final draft… Read more »
There are 2 major Upwork tactics that I wanted to share. I have learnt both of these from Ramit Sethi – both were for different use-cases – the first one for building your own business, the second for resume makeover but I’ve found them to be very applicable! [Also, I have written these bearing in mind a copywriter, but these are just as applicable – in fact, more potent in other roles such as web design.] #1: Position Yourself – When they zig, you zag I see 2 kinds of mistakes being made w.r.t Upwork Profiles (I have made the… Read more »
Thank you Danny! My best tip is for newbie Upworkers like me! 1. Apply for jobs you are absolutely sure you can do very well. This will earn you 5 star ratings and attract more jobs from clients who view your profile. 2. After getting a 5 star rating, take note of the particular kind of job you did and apply for more of such jobs. Even though you do not have much Upwork experience, clients will trust your ability to deliver based on the rating on your profile. 3. Take Upwork tests and work hard to be top 10%… Read more »
Thanks for the great post, Danny. My tip is to think about your proposals as copy writing tasks and apply the same strategies. Grab attention, establish authority, and offer value. For e.g., the first proposal I won as a newbie asked for “an amazing writer” to draft a LinkedIn summary. After my introductory sentenced, I wrote this: Do you know what the #1 mistake people make when writing bios and resumes? Most people who apply for this job don’t. But I do. I went on to list my experience and differentiators. And I concluded by saying that I could be… Read more »
Love these three ideas!
Create circumstances so people can’t compare apples to apples. Upwork is a “bidding” site which means a lot of clients want cheaper work. Even Ramit Sethi admitted to using Upwork to find cheap work. But the easiest way to avoid an apples to apples comparison is making the work more than just the job. For example, share what a client will get working with you. Some ideas could include: – Reliability. – Communication in the form of being available 24 hours a day. Agreeing to respond within two hours of a sent email. – Organization in the form of keeping… Read more »
As a newbie to Upwork, I found I often felt fatigued after looking through jobs after awhile. I created a tactic for myself to ensure I sent the best job proposal I could to clients by separating days in which I did research and when I applied for jobs. By separating the days, it gave me time to consider what jobs were best to use with my connects and to ensure I gave a client my best. So far it has worked out well for me! I would highly suggest to any freelancer to separate tasks into different days. It… Read more »
Great blog post Danny. I am really thanking my lucky stars I found out about you when starting out on Upwork, your posts and emails as well as comments from others have really given the confidence I lacked in believing I could use my God-given talents to make instant money for myself and get myself out of the mindnumbingly unfulfilling 9 to 5 grind. My Upwork Tip: Fake it Till You Make It (Google is Your Friend) There are some jobs that usually sound enticing but then you realize you have no idea how to do it. You’ve never written… Read more »
I like this tip but this isn’t faking it. Anyone can learn to write a decent press release, etc., in a short time frame using google. These are real skills you’re building.
Number One Tip From Me (from a middle of the pack Upworker): Don’t have more than 20+ hours of billable work a week. (Unless you are beast, then more power to you!) Let me explain. Danny says something along these lines on his course, but I just noticed why it is so important. Right now I’m doing a keyword research job for a client at $30/hr. I just received feedback from my last turn in of work and am ready to start the next set of keywords. But I can’t make myself do anymore intensive work today!!! Why? Because I… Read more »
Also, thanks for the article Danny! I’m always surprised by how easily your emails keep taking me back to this site…
There are two tips that I’ve been using that have allowed me to get jobs within just one week of actively applying for jobs ( I signed up years ago when it was Elance but hadn’t done anything): 1) I always give specifics on what strategy I would use to create their product, and why. For example, if the client wants someone to create a webinar script, I point out that I use psychological techniques within the webinar to encourage the registrant to stay for the full webinar. 2) I also offer a freebie in addition to the work they… Read more »
Great article, thanks Danny! My big tip…CLEAR COMMUNICATION. I recently had a job invite where the client was looking to improve her sales pages, increase conversions and drive traffic to her YouTube site. So I accepted and said I could help her out. I said I could improve the specific pages she requested, make them easier to read for her potential clients, and get all the pages looking the same in regards to writing style and format (they were all over the place). It turns out, she was expecting me to re-design the web pages as well–although she’d never mentioned… Read more »
Hello everyone, My tip for Upwork is pretty simple: Connect with the client, and think over the long term. When writing a proposal, I try to understand the client vision, and what are they trying to achieve. I build a connection on this, and show them I am the appropriate freelancer to move forward towards their goals, even the ones who are not specified in the job posting. For example, if a client is looking for a ppc manager, I tell them that it’s great they are doing lead generation, and that you can test every component of the funnel… Read more »
Great article as always, Danny! Here’s my tip: When you have completed a few jobs with a client with who you get along well, don’t hesitate to make suggestions on what could be done to improve their website, service or anything. I’ll give you an example of one I client with whom I got plenty of repeat business last year. So the client had hired me to translate his website to French. The work went very well, and I really enjoyed working with him. On his website, there were testimonial videos and other how-to videos in English. I told him… Read more »
When you niche, forget about targeting a specific audience. Target a specific person. That’s right: target ONE person who is in need of your services. -“Copywriter who writes copy for PT’s selling low back pain recovery e-books” -“Web Designer who builds websites for Dog Kennels” -“Social Media Marketer who manages social media for Liberal Arts Professors” It’s scary to niche, and you’re right – you will close yourself off to the majority of jobs on Upwork. But when the right job is posted (and it will happen more often than you think), it’s as good as yours. When I decided… Read more »
I am embarassed to admit this but I am a sucker cause I had believed and used most of the tips you have described here. Seems like I have been following the wrong blogs. Lol. I have been on Upwork (Elance) for the last 6 years and I have never won a single bid. I guess that makes me an old newbie. lol. I have gotten more advice on this single blog post and comments than I have gotten in many years of reading the bad advice you are talking about. The single most important thing I have learnt about… Read more »
Hi Julie, Although I haven’t yet taken Danny’s course (and I am signing up VERY soon!), I’ve followed Danny’s tips from the blog and his site. And although I am a complete newbie to Upwork (active since February 2016), I’ve won several bids and have been invited to apply for at least 5 projects…and I got all of this work because of following Danny’s tips and recommendations. And I mean I followed them exactly. They WORK! I just wanted to let you know that even if you can’t take the full course for some reason, there is a lot of… Read more »
Hello Elaine,
Nice to see you motivating a newbie 🙂
I am a newbie myself and I have applied for 6 jobs using Danny’s crystal ball technique but sadly it has not been possible for me to crack even a single job. It would be great if I can get a certain help for your side on the same.
I aspire to take Danny’s course in future.
Regards,
MIHIR
Hi Mihir,
Don’t give up.
I applied to hundreds of jobs before anything really worked. Do your best to think of your proposal as your first contact or message to the client.
I know this response is long after you posted.
So I hope you are doing better by this time 🙂