How to Get to the Top on Upwork

Given that Upwork is one of the most popular places for freelancers to find work online today, it is no surprise that many individuals want to learn how they can crack the system and be successful there. There are many different types of jobs available on Upwork, and understanding the system can help you get to the top more quickly.

Hidden Proposals and Upwork: Keeping You From the Top

What most individuals do not realize is that if they have consistently poor proposals or poor completed jobs and Upwork, clients will not even see their proposals anymore. This is because the site uses a feature known as hidden proposals wherein those individuals who are deemed to be less qualified for particular job are actually hidden out of the client’s mainframe when it comes time to select a proposal. While this particular feature of the system can be frustrating as someone selecting proposals on up work, because you may find an individual that is a perfect fit for your job who has been set over to the side like this, it is one of the aspects of up work that you should be familiar with as a freelancer.

What You Need to Succeed on Upwork

 There are three different things you need to succeed on Upwork, and focusing on each of these can help you grow your freelance business faster than ever and increase your chances of being successful over the long run. Those individuals who are most successful on this particular site are remarkably consistent and committed to maximizing the benefits of this particular freelance job site. You too can be successful when you implement the following tips in order to skyrocket your rate of success. One of the primary reasons that I suggest this particular job site for people is that I have had tremendous luck there over the past couple of years.

Part of the reason for my own success on Upwork has to do with the fact that I took my time to learn the system incredibly well. As a new freelancer, I simply did not know enough about the market or how other people were being so successful on job boards just like this one. I took the time to analyze my competition very closely and determine what they were doing that was better than me. For example, many of them had better profiles, better writing samples, and better pictures listed on the profiles. All of these were relatively easy to fix, and the made it much easier for me to convert a larger majority of clients into one off clients as well as recurring clients.

Of course, you are your own individual and you cannot simply replicate the success of someone else by mirroring their own behavior, but if you begin to analyze your competition, you will see many common elements the pop up time and time again. This is one of the easiest ways to build yourself up as a new freelancer, because you are eliminating all of the common mistakes that new freelancers make and instead skipping forward onto the most successful behaviors emulated by other individuals on the site. Read on to learn more about mice three specific tips that you need to keep in mind anytime you are building a career on Upwork.

Quality Work

This should go without saying, but there are remarkable number of people who simply are not submitting quality work samples while using this particular site. Remember that your clients have never met you before and this is their only chance to interact with you before possibly paying you. Many of these individuals are single entrepreneurs or small business owners who feel a strong connection to their own company. They need to feel confident that the freelancer they hire as the same commitment to quality and their own branding. By submitting poor work samples, you telegraph that you simply do not care enough to earn the person’s business, but it can also indicate to them that you do not have a high quality of work in general. Nothing can be more damaging to a new freelancer’s career than being labeled as not good enough by a potential client. Spend some time putting together the best possible work samples that you have so that you can feel confident and sending of these materials the potential clients.

Quality Communication

This is a huge factor in the freelancing world. Unfortunately, many freelancers have earned a reputation for being flaky and dropping off the face of the earth after their initial consultation with a potential client. Not adhering to deadlines that you set for yourself can be especially damaging, because it will not only earn you negative feedback, but it is very unlikely that you will be able to convert that client into working with you on an ongoing basis.

 Make sure that if you experience challenges, you reach out to the client directly and share those concerns as soon as possible. Working to challenges and staying in open communication with your client can go a long way towards indicating that you are a true professional. Do not let communication fall by the wayside, or you may find it difficult to grow your freelance business.

All it takes is a couple of bad feedback scores on up work to relegate you to that hidden category where your proposals are not even shown. Even solid freelancers have challenges with just one or two negative feedback comments on their profile from unreasonable and disgruntled clients, so the last thing you want to do is get yourself pigeonholed as being someone who is a problem to work with. Keep the lines of communication open, and request to cancel a job if it is not working out for you or if you cannot keep up with the deadlines and requirements set out at the beginning of the project. A canceled project is much better than a project for you continue to work on it in the hopes of earning money only to have it go into the dispute process or to receive negative feedback after you have completed the job.

Consistent Work of High Quality

This is somewhat of a challenge for new freelancers, however, is that you must be able to maintain consistent working quality across all of your jaws and with all of your various clients. Not taking this seriously and beginning to get sloppy with your work can be extremely detrimental to your success as a freelancer. You must be able to grow your business by showing that you are always committed to high quality and always give professional communication and work to your clients. You need to be able to demonstrate that you are a true professional who always delivers for each and every client. Develop a reputation for getting sloppy and you’ll find this haunting you for years to come.

Use these three tips to propel yourself to the top on Upwork. Soon enough, you’ll have more work than you can realistically handle!

Questions about life as a freelancer? Reach out to [email protected]