How to Get Started as a Freelancer on Upwork
The freelancing industry is growing three times faster than the traditional workforce. And stats predict that by the year 2027, the majority of the US workforce will be freelancing*. If you’re looking to try something new in your career or pick up a side hustle to finally afford your dream car — freelancing might be for you.
If you aren’t sure what “niche” to enter in freelancing, I made an entire blog outlining a step-by-step process to figuring that out.
Once you have a little bit of direction, it’s time to find your first client. You can get clients through your personal network, getting out and about in your community, or trying gig sites, such as Upwork. This article will detail how to get started as an Upwork freelancer.
How to Know if Upwork is Right For You
There are multiple gig platforms out there. Some of the more popular ones you hear include Fiverr, Freelancer, PeoplePerHour, 99Designs and Dribbble. My personal favorite is Upwork.
The Pro’s of Upwork
Upwork supports 180 countries for freelancers, to see if yours is included look here.
Makes taxes easier than one off clients
People posting jobs often go through a verification process - you can see reviews from other freelancers, how much they typically pay, how much they’ve spent on Upwork and whether or not they are a verified business through Upwork.
They have a program where the more clients you get and your retention rate moves you up in Upwork’s tiers, making you a recommended freelancer. For example, I am a Top-Rated Plus freelancer on Upwork.
The interview process is typically quick. You won’t spend hours doing panel interviews — there’s typically one meet n greet and you get started.
Upwork pays you on a schedule you predetermine. All you need to do is link up your banking account and they do the rest.
The Con’s of Upwork
You will need to spend time pitching proposals, people won’t just flock to you because there are so many freelancers on the platform. So there’s a significant level of admin involved. You also have to track + submit your hours.
Upwork takes 10% of your costs so adjust pricing accordingly.
There’s a lot of competition, so you’ll need to put in the work to stand out. See the next section.
Tips for Standing Out on Upwork
Be precise with your Upwork title. This is clients first reaction to what you do. Instead of listing yourself as “Copywriter” instead list yourself as “Technical Healthcare Writer for Medicare Population”. My title is listed below — since marketing consulting is broad, I chose to hone in on conversion rates, which is a common KPI businesses like to benchmark.
Use all profile areas.
Plug relevant skills
Add a profile picture and do not use an AI generated image. People are extremely sensitive to scamming on these platforms and an AI generated image can convey “scammer” to potential clients.
In the Overview or written bio, format is as a list. Include skills, software and certifications.
Fill in Work History
Link professional accounts in your profile settings
Build out portfolio pieces, even if they are hypothetical
Tips for Submitting Upwork Proposals
Once your Upwork profile is up and running you can begin submitting proposals for work. The Upwork algorithm will suggest job postings based on your profile, so make sure you take your time on the previous step. When you’re getting ready to submit your first proposal use these tips to increase your chances of getting hired:
Clients only see the first two lines of your proposal. Make them count without being too over the top.
Focus your proposal mainly on how you would take on this particular project. If you spend the entire proposal talking about how qualified and amazing you are (which you are!), the person reviewing this is likely to be turned off or bored. Focus on the ask.
Try to include a question or feedback based on what they have provided. Ask about company values tying into this ask, objectives, KPIs, their tech stack, what their current process looks like for KPI tracking, etc. It gets the conversation going and gets your client thinking. And ultimately, that is what makes you an invaluable freelancer.
If you come across a proposal asking for you to reference past work, focus on the how instead of the what. For example, I could say I increased referral traffic for a client by 640% in 9 months. The people looking to hire you will think that’s cool but they won’t care a whole lot unless you tell them how. So I might add to it, “Developed and implemented keyword structure built on pillar pages and topic clusters. Identified media opportunities and key reporters to develop relationships with. Implementation of Hubspot for marketing + inbound lead tracking.”
