How To Create An Upwork Profile That Actually Attracts New Clients Using Only Research You Can Find For Free...
Eric Kleist
??Creator of the Freelance Success Formula. Attend my new free masterclass & start standing out on Upwork TODAY ??
A strong Upwork profile is one of the most important things you need to have if you want to attract clients. Especially upscale clients!
But many freelancers don’t spend as much time as they should on their Upwork profile
So many freelancers like to talk about how good they are, the school that they’ve graduated from, and the skills that they have.
Then they’ll fill the rest of the sections with some quick words to just get it done.
They don’t invest time into their profile. And really, your profile is your most valuable asset as a freelancer.
It’s the asset which persuades clients to hire you, or not.
That’s why it is so very important.
And to craft an amazing profile, you only need three things:
- You
- Research
- An Upwork Account
But before I get into how to do the research, first let me tell you that…
Your Upwork Profile Is Not About You
Many things in life are hard to understand. And this is one of them. That’s why I touched on it above, and am going to quickly discuss it again right here before we dive into research.
Because really…
If you think your Upwork profile is all about you…
Then you don’t need to do any research. Because, well, you should know yourself pretty well, right?
So please take a second, and really consider this next statement:
YOUR freelancing profile is NOT about YOU.
It’s not.
Not at all.
Here’s why…
Your future clients don’t really care about you. They don’t care about your degrees and certificates. They don’t even care about your past work.
Sure, we still need to talk about some of these things.
But more importantly, we need to know what our potential clients care about.
So keep this in mind!
Your future clients care about solving a problem they are having.
That’s it!
When you understand this, then you’ll look at your profile in an entirely new way. Instead of showcasing all the things you do…
You’ll research and figure out the exact problems your clients are having. And you’ll structure you and your profile to be the perfect solution to their problems.
Do you see why I wanted to cover this?
It’s the exact mindset that’s going to help us find what we really want to be talking about.
Because the good news is this:
1. You already know all about you
2. Your clients have already talked about all the problems they are trying to solve
That means all we need to do is figure out where our clients are talking about their problems.
So, where is that?
Let’s find out...
How To Find The Exact Problems Your Future Clients Need Help Solving?
If you want to succeed as a freelancer on Upwork…
You just need to answer this million-dollar question.
What problem are my clients trying to solve?
When we have the answer to this question — putting together a profitable profile is easy! All we have to do is solve the problem they are having, put together our profile in a way that makes them want to respond, and WAZZAM! We’re hired!
So how can we know what problems our clients have without speaking to them?
You likely don’t have direct access to your future clients yet. I mean, they are your ‘future’ clients, right?
And even if you do have current clients.
You may not want to bug them with questions like:
“What’s the biggest problem you have when hiring freelancers?”
“What’s the biggest problem you have in your business?"
These questions will get you answers. But they also could annoy some of your clients (… depending on your relationship). And honestly, questions like this won’t always provide the best data.
Because, half the time, clients don’t even exactly know what problems they’re trying to solve.
So how can we covertly collect the valuable data that we need? How can we do it all for free and without even talking to a single person?
It’s easy….
Just listen to the words they’ve already posted online. There are two main places that you should go mining for valuable intelligence on your future clients:
1. Look at the jobs they are posting
2. Look at the reviews they give freelancers they’ve already hire
Let’s now cover the exact type of language we’re looking for. And where to extract these priceless gems for free.
Look at the jobs they are posting.
The first place to look is in the jobs they are posting. This makes sense as clients are obviously going to try and describe what they’re looking for accurately.
Now, they don’t typically describe the underlying problems they’re facing. But they will at least describe the tasks they need solutions for. And they may also hint at some of their underlying issues, and/or the qualities they are looking for in a freelancer.
To see all of the jobs just login to your Upwork profile and click the main category you’re looking to work in.
Another option is to do an advanced search and type in a keyword for the exact type of work you’re seeking.
Browse and read through all of the listings, or any that look like ones you would bid on. We’re not bidding for work right now, so don’t get distracted and submit bids. ?? Right now we’re just looking for a few things:
1. The problems your future clients are trying to solve
What are they looking for? Start an Excel spreadsheet and take note of all the problems they’re trying to solve.
Do they need a web designer with social experience?
Do they need someone that knows Java ?
Do they need to hire a freelancer that’s available to start quickly?
2. Language your future clients consistently use
Did you run across words that are used over and over again? Always take note of words you see more than once.
Why?
We’ll use these words later on when we write our profile. What do you think is going to happen when your clients see your profile addresses the exact problem they want to solve, and even uses the words they commonly use?
BOOM! You’re hired.
And the best part is…
Your clients won’t even know what hit them
So if you see your future clients always saying:
· “I need a quick pro"
· “I need this done quick"
· "You must be impeccable with detail”
· “The details are important on this one”
What two words should you pick out and record on your spreadsheet?
1. Quick
2. Details
So keep your eye on the lookout for words that you see a lot. Take note of them. They will be the catalyst that turns your profile into a client-getting machine!
3. Skills that your future clients need desperately
Keep your eye out for wanted skills that you already have. Or that you could develop quickly!
Remember though…
We have way more skills than we give ourselves credit for.
So when you’re browsing profiles and think:
“I can do that”
Take a note of it!
Start building out your skill list. As these skills will not only help you when putting together your profile, they will help you pick your niche as well (this is another important concept we’ll be covering here soon).
So if a client says:
And you know you can create “sales driven email autoresponders”
Make a note of it on your skill list.
4. Anything and everything else that stands out and highlights their inner desires or problems
This is an important one. And you have to really keep your eye out as you won’t find a ton of these hidden gems.
But when you do, these are the exact things that will turn your profile from silver to gold!
You see, every once in a while a client will be really frustrated with a recent hire and they will post about this frustration in their job post. It may look something like:
“I’ve hired three freelancers so far and none have worked”
Or
“Make sure to include the word zebra so I know you read this”
In the first example, their problem is obvious:
They are coming across a lot of freelancers doing poor quality work and are sick of wasting their time and money.
The second one is not so obvious. Here is what they’re really saying:
“I don’t think people are spending time reading what I’m writing and this is extremely frustrating"
Both of these clients generated insights that can be utilized to really kickstart your profile.
Why?
These insights give you direct access to the real problems your future clients are having right now
This is how we do it. We figure out the problems they are facing.
Not just the business-related problems they are having. But the problems they are having when trying to hire a freelancer as well .
And if you keep your eye out you’ll find all the problems your customers are facing. They’ve already typed about them and it’s up to you to discover the insights.
Once we discover them...
We can then utilize them in our profile to show that we’re the perfect solution. We solve all of their problems.
And guess what happens next?
BAM! Hired.
5. Dig for insights and language within the reviews clients give other freelancers
I don’t know if it's possible…
But this research insight might just be more valuable than the last one. Here’s why...
When you read the reviews clients leave other freelancers in your field…
You see exactly what they like and appreciate about another individual. (Positive Review)
OR
You see exactly what they don’t want when hiring a freelancer (Negative Review)
Sure, clients don’t always tell the truth. And we don’t always post everything we don’t like in a negative review.
But we can really get some valuable data here.
Ready?
Let’s go review mining…
All you have to do is open up an account on Upwork to post jobs. It’s free, and you don’t have to actually post a job. You just need the account so that you can browse through the full directory of freelancers.
Once you signup and login into your account. Click on freelancers and you should be brought to a page that looks something similar to this:
Now just search for other freelancers like you.
Here are some recommended search settings to find the most successful freelancers you really want to get inspired by and learn from:
Make sure to change the keywords you’re searching for to match your niche! Not much reason to search for email copywriters unless of course, you’re planning to be an email copywriter!
Now that you’ve got pages of the most successful freelancers in your niche…
Start clicking and reading through all of their reviews. Go through the same process you went through above and look for all of the (a) problems they need solved (b) things they like about that freelancer (c) things they don’t like about that freelancer (d) words they commonly use. And anything else that you know is a (e) valuable insight that you should record on your spreadsheet.
Here is an example...
When you run across a comment like this:
Here are some things you should extract and record:
“Talented Writer” = Client Language
“Excellent Communication Skills” = Skill Desired
“Great Job Writing For Lay Audience” = Client Desire
“Make Sure His Work is Informative and Based On Research” = Skill Desired
“Trust in him” = Client Language
That’s how easy it is!
This is quite honestly some of the best data you’ll ever find. It’s exactly the type of data you want to use when putting together your profile.
It’s written by the people you want to hire you. And it describes the problems they’re currently facing in real-time.
All you have to do is find enough of these valuable gems. Narrow it down to the ones that really make sense to you. And weave them all into your freelancer profile.
Anyone can post up a freelance profile. But...
What do you think will happen when you solve the real-world problems your future clients are currently having? And on top of that, you use their own words to describe yourself and what you bring to the table?
BAM! Hired!
Know Everything About Your Competitors
We’re not trying to copy our competitors here in any way. As there is no purpose in being another zebra in a world full of zebras.
Instead, we want to be a purple cow.
And this is how we do it…
We read our competitors' profiles. We read so many of them we get to a point where we think:
“Yeah, yeah, yeah — I’ve heard this all before”
When you get to that point then you know your market well!
And why do we want to know our market so well.
Remember how we want to be that purple cow?
When we know what our competitors are saying, there is also something else we know.
We know what our future clients are hearing.
This is a key distinction.
If you only focus on what your competitors say then you’re prone to make a profile that might be a little better than all the rest.
That’s not a purple cow profile.
But when you consider what your future clients are hearing.
Then you can put together a purple cow profile.
Why?
Because you can speak directly to them and let them know that you know exactly 1) the problems in business they face b) the problems they are having when hiring and c) what your competitors are saying to them.
When you weave all of these things into your profile, your clients will fully understand and realize you know everything about the situation they are in. You’re the perfect problem solver! You have the experience!
That’s purple cow status.
The key distinction is that you’re not repeating what everyone else is saying.
You’re documenting it (i.e. you prove your expertise and industry knowledge.)
Then you combat it (you come up with something better.)
And when done correctly you deliver a profile that makes your end reader respond (i.e. they hire you)
As you’re soon to find out:
Upwork creates a big problem for clients.
They end up hearing the same thing over and over again.
How do you pick when everyone sounds the same
The answer is too…
Acknowledge that. And then provide the antidote for it...
BAM! Hired! ??
Let me now give you a concrete example of how this is done.
I implemented these tactics on my profile and have seen huge success due to it.
I’m an email copywriter. And I saw that...
Everyone was promising “results” and “conversions”, but not really showing evidence of their “results and conversions.”
I also saw that people who did show results were showing results for very small email lists (like 50-200 subscribers)
I knew I didn’t want clients that had small email lists.
And I also knew that very small lists could easily be manufactured (i.e. fake or not that reliable)
So I take a stab at discrediting these “small list results” and come up with a profile that questioned the proof my competitors were using on their profile.
I went on to explain why I’m different. And why my proof of results are different.
Let me show you how I did it:
What’s so genius about this, is this…
I took an objection my future clients were likely already thinking when they went to my competitors’ profiles.
“Hrm, can I trust this guy to get results when he only sent his email to 100 people”
And I stated this question directly on my profile.
When my future client sees it he thinks:
“Now this guy knows what he is talking about”
Why do they think that?
Because I’ve confirmed a thought they already had.
BAM! Hired.
And if they never had that thought in the first place…
My profile still works anyway. It plants the idea into their head and then when they run across this and see it on someone else’s profile. They will remember me. They will say, who was that freelancer who was exactly describing what I’m now seeing?
And then they run back to their browser history to find me!
BAM! Hired.
Really Consider All The Valuable Skills You’ve Accumulated
Remember putting together that list of desirable skills you found on Upwork?
Well, break out that list! And let’s utilize some of what we learned.
First off. Go through the list and extract any skill that you already have.
These are your most valuable skills because they know they are the exact things your clients are already looking for.
Now, let’s build out another skill list. On this one, our goal is to list out all the skills that we’ve acquired throughout our life.
Don’t worry… you have a bunch.
Here are a few questions to get you started...
· What skills do you commonly get praised for? (“You’re a good listener”)
· What skills did you learn in school that you still use today? (Writing, research, problem-solving, etc.
· What skills have you learned at all your different jobs?
· What skills have you learned from relationships?
· What skills have you learned related to your current freelancing career?
· What skills have you been paid for?
· What skills do you want to make it even better?
· What platforms, tools, or software do you have experience with?
Answer these questions and build out that list of skills!
When Should I “Call It Quits” On The Research?
Wow, your spreadsheet or text document is starting to fill up quickly.
In the beginning, this is all going to be really exciting. You’ll constantly be finding new words, new ideas, and new skills that you know will make you money.
But sooner or later you’ll start wondering...
Is this enough? Should I stop now? Am I overdoing it?
And really...
There is no set amount of time or a set number of profiles and jobs you should search through.
And that makes it tough to know when to stop. So I like to call it quits when:
You feel like you’ve seen it all.
Trust me. You’ll know. You’ll run across profile after profile and think.
“I’ve seen that, yep noted that, uh-huh, ditto, yeah, got it”
When you get to this point.
Congratulations! You’re ready to move to the final step of our research phase.
Review Your Research
We’re almost done with research, yay! ??
Already…
You’ve compiled a pile of golden words that will help you distinguish yourself as a first-class freelancer.
So now…
Just go back over and review all your research. You’ll likely want to take a break before you do your review as well. It will do you wonders to look at everything with a fresh eye.
If you can - set the project aside for the day. Reward yourself and go do something fun or exhausting! Or fun and exhausting are always best. Then come back to complete the review tomorrow.
This rest and recuperation time will give you these fresh eyes I talked about. So when you’re ready to review...
Just go back over and give your entire research document a read.
See what really sticks out.
See what big ideas you can find.
See what you really like.
And while you’re doing all this…
You’ll automatically be priming your brain with all the knowledge you’ll need to whip up your profile.
Final Thoughts
Research can bring you fortunes of clients on Upwork. That’s why I encourage you to spend more time on it.
I can promise one thing, and that is… if you follow the process above - you’ll get new clients...
I know this process works because I’ve crafted my profile using only research, and in a couple of years I became a Top Rated Freelancer on Upwork, earning up to $150 per hour.
And I held that badge for many years, but then I decided to stop working as a freelancer and start focusing on my true passion which is to help people around the world unlock more freedom through freelancing.
Modeling success is much easier than creating it. That’s why I encourage you to do your research. And then use your research to craft an amazing profile that will land you client, after client, after client.
Anyway, before you leave this page, I have something VERY special for you!
Look, on my LinkedIn profile, I upload live videos every week where I share tips that you can use to improve your freelancing business.
But besides that, I’m also offering a FREE 1-hour session with me, a freelance profile review and a proposal review EVERY week for the people who engage most with my posts.
And by engage, I mean commenting, tagging your freelance friends, sharing, and liking the videos.
Here is how it works...
Every week, I’m choosing 3 people that engaged most with my posts and there are 3 prizes for them.
For FIRST place the prize is a FREE 1-hour session where I’ll help you solve your biggest freelance problems, and I’ll share some useful info on how to get more clients.
For SECOND place the prize is a video review of your profile or proposal, and I’ll also share some insights on how you can improve it so that you can land more clients.
And for THIRD place the prize is again a video review but this time only of your proposal. And, of course, I’ll share some insights on how to improve it and land more clients.
And all you have to do to win one of these prices is to connect with me on LinkedIn and engage with my posts. That’s it. And I’ll pick the winner at the end of the week.
At the moment, not many people are engaging with my posts so now is the best time for you to grab this opportunity and win a FREE prize!
P.S. In case you’re one of the people (like me) who skim to the end before you read the page, here’s what this article is all about:
1. Who should you focus on in your profile
- HINT: It’s not you
2. How to do in-depth research and use it to craft your profile
- Using this I became a Top Rated Freelancer
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