Let’s start off with the main picture up top. THAT is why I absolutely hate freelancer platforms like Upwork. Clients post job opportunities ranging from offensively low bids or they’re “too good to be true” wages, ending in them being scams.
I’ve been off and on Upwork since 2009. I had no success the past decade because I didn’t really put any sweat into it. I wasn’t sure what to do and didn’t realize that it was a bidding war.
Every time I wanted to get out of my 9–5 office lifestyle, I’d explore my account on Upwork. But, I didn’t nurture my account nor did I want to put in extra effort whilst juggling a full-time job.
Fast forward to the end of 2022. I decided to give Upwork another try. I revamped my profile, added to my writing portfolio, and sent proposals to gigs I wanted to work on.
After 110 proposals, I landed ten jobs. TEN. It’s a total numbers game. Plus, I did not bid low. I wanted to get my feet wet so I did a couple of quick “5 minutes” review jobs for international clients, and it landed me a few bucks and got me acquainted with the client pool, but most importantly, these simple jobs gave me 5-star reviews. That’s the gold you’re chasing here. The higher your reviews and the more you have will ultimately land you in the “top-rated” seat.
After two weeks of playing around with Upwork, I made $1,400 over the span of 10 jobs that took me a total of 9 hours to do.
Here are the things I’ve noticed (from my own experience) with Upwork:
- There are plenty of jobs in different categories or niches.
- There are scams to look out for, but the hard thing is that you don’t know which ones are scams until they message you. Fortunately, Upwork has protection in place to weed these scammers out.
- Clients want to pay the least amount for the best quality of work.
- Sometimes you never hear back on the status of your proposals.
- Clients may be hard to work with (demanding, setting unrealistic expectations, poor communication)
- Clients may be absolutely great to work with. I have met some pretty incredible people who have dedicated their lives to their professions. I am thankful for those clients.
Unfortunately, it will take you trial and error to figure out what works for you. I know the quality of my writing is solid, therefore, it’s really hard for me to sit back and accept a job that entails multiple citings, research, and writing content for a client who wants to only pay me $20–50 for a 1,000 blog/article.
But, I also understand we’re on Upwork because we are trying to establish our authority, our brand, and our freelancer status.
At the end of the day, if you are content with taking on lower-paying projects to gain experience, then kudos to you.
I highly recommend you find a mentor who has extensive experience in the field to help guide you through the obstacles of the ever-changing world.
No matter what you decide to do with your journey, never give up. Imposter syndrome will hit on random days, writer’s block is inevitable, and you’ll have some of the best days to reflect back on.
Continue to look at the prize and work towards your “why.”
