How I made over $20,000 on Upwork.

Many freelancers think that it is not really possible to make money by working for clients signed on Upwork. I regularly use Upwork as part of my business creation effort and have found it a fairly useful tool. With over $20,000 as earnings, I figured I could offer some advice on how others could leverage its power.

1. Create an Effective Profile-

It is important for you to showcase your skills well so that the prospective clients know what exactly it is that you offer. It is therefore imperative that you create a profile that highlights what it is that you bring to the table. You may also want to upload a video introduction, considering that clients often want to see who they are hiring. If they see you make your case clearly and forcefully, they may become inclined to hire you.

2. Don't Focus Too Much on the Rates Initially-

If you are just starting off on Upwork, you will need to prove your worth by successfully completing a few projects first. For a beginner, it makes eminent sense to not focus too much on what you are being paid, so as to start building a reputation of a dependable freelancer who is rated well by his or her clients. You may start as low as $8 an hour to start with. This will ensure that you get the initial few gigs that will help you find your feet.

Once you have completed a fair number of assignments and proved your worth as somebody who is an expert at what you do, you can hike your charges to as high as $30 an hour or more.

3. Always Leave a Positive Feedback for Your Clients-

Make it a point to leave a great feedback for your clients, even if you are not entirely happy with the way that the client conducted himself or herself. This is important for two reasons. Firstly, your chances of obtaining a great feedback from a client increases when you do that. Secondly giving vent to your frustrations with a client by giving them a poor feedback will not only invite a retaliation from the client, but it will also make other prospective clients wary of hiring you.

4. Sign Up For Both Hourly and Fixed Price Projects-

You may initially want to sign up for more hourly projects, as the payment is automatically credited to your name on a weekly basis and you don't have to fret about delays. Once you have a few hourly projects under your belt, you could consider fixed priced projects as well. These offer you greater flexibility of time and you are not constrained to work certain fixed hours. If you are a bit chary about getting your payment after you have completed and submitted the payment, you can choose to set milestones. This also allows you to ask for an advance.

5. Try and Make It To The Top Rated Ranking-

Earning a top rated ranking, displayed as a badge on your profile page is a status you should try and obtain at the earliest. You can earn this by signing multiple clients and delivering top notch work and always complying with the Upwork terms of service. Once you have achieved this status you will find it easier and easier to bag bigger and more lucrative assignments. You will also start getting job invites from Upwork on account of your top rated status.

6. Choose the Right Jobs- 

Prospective clients are most attracted to those Upwork freelancers who have specialist skills. You should endeavor to take up more of a certain type of assignments that would portray you as someone who specializes in that field. For instance a writer may specialize in writing white papers and research reports while a technology specialist might want to focus on a certain skill like Node JS.

There is no point in applying to random jobs you may not be very good at and sullying your fair name. You should also be wary of working for clients who don't appear to be above board. It makes sense for you to always study the profile of the clients before applying. Look at the volume of payments they have made and the kind of rating they have received from the people they employed to work for them.


7. Make a Killer Proposal-

The kind of proposal you make and send to prospective clients can make or mar your chances of landing an assignment. Spend some time in understanding the client's requirements and showcase your skills in a manner that perfectly gel with the client's expectations for the job.

Make sure to attach samples of prior work that can buttress the claims that you made in your proposal. Above all never use a common template when applying for job assignments.