10 Upwork Tips For Beginners

What exactly is Upwork? It’s a freelancing platform where businesses and individuals can connect with each other for projects. As an individual, you can hire others for your business or projects. This can be done through the website or in person at events like meetups or conferences.

If you’re new to Upwork, getting started can be a bit overwhelming. We know how it feels to be new in the world of freelancing — we were all beginners once!

With that said, we’ll cover some tips and tricks to help you get started on the platform as a beginner.

1. Fill out your profile with at least 90% completion

Your profile is one of the most critical aspects of your Upwork account. You need to fill out as much information as possible to attract the right clients and ensure you’re getting paid fairly for each job.

To begin, make sure that all of your skills are listed on your profile. If you have more than one skill set, make sure they’re separate from each other so it’s clear which ones are relevant for a particular project or client request. Example: “Video Editing” and “3D Animation.”

In addition to listing your skills, include any relevant experience or education that applies directly to what you plan on doing on Upwork. This will help potential clients see how qualified you are for their projects. Also, be sure this section includes an availability section where potential clients can see when it would be best if they reached out with requests (i.e., days/hours).

2. Showcase your best work

Your portfolio will first catch a hiring manager’s eye when they browse your profile. Put your best work in there, and make it easy for them to find.

If you’re a designer, put up one or two of the best designs you have done for clients. If you are a programmer, show them some code samples (as long as it won’t reveal any of your client’s secrets). If you are a writer, showcase some of your articles from publications or blogs with high readership traffic, or better yet, write something new just for this purpose.

3. Understand the Upwork bidding process

The Upwork bidding process can be confusing for first-time users. Understanding how the process works will help you win more jobs, get paid faster, and work more efficiently in the future.

How to bid? Bid at or below the average hourly rate of other freelancers with similar experience and ratings on Upwork. If your skills are in high demand, consider bidding slightly higher than competitors’ bids because you may be able to finish the job faster than they can. You don’t want to bid too low. If so many people outbid you, the client will likely select an entirely different candidate because they think yours was too low.

How to win projects? It all depends on how much others value what you offer relative to what others offer and how much time and money they want to be saved by choosing YOU over other candidates.

4. Craft strong proposals

Your proposal is the first impression an employer will have of you, so ensuring it’s as strong as possible is essential. To get started, consider what information needs to be included in your proposal. In addition to describing the project and how you plan on achieving results, it’s also important to include:

• A timeline for completion and deliverables
• Budget details (if applicable)
• Relevant samples
• Any questions you have about the project

5. Write a well-crafted follow-up email after an interview or test project

Your email should be short and straightforward. You don’t need to detail what you did during the interview or test project. Just let them know you enjoyed working with them and want to continue. Keep it friendly while also being honest. After all, they are the ones who will decide whether or not they want to work with you again.

Finally, ask them to comment on your work. This is one of the most critical parts of this email. If you get a bad review from clients after completing a test project (or even an interview), it may be because of something small that could easily be fixed in your next round of applications. The client might have given you conflicting instructions or misunderstood what was required from them during the assignment. 

Either way, getting this kind of feedback early on can help prevent problems when applying for more serious jobs later in your career as a freelancer. 

6. Ask for feedback

As a new freelancer, you don’t have much experience with the platform. That can lead to some mistakes and missteps along the way. A great way to learn? Get feedback on your work so that you can improve it. Chances are, your clients will be happy to give it.

Here are some tasks where you could get feedback:

• After each project is completed, ask for input from your client about what went well and how he or she would like it done differently next time. This will help build trust and make them more comfortable working with you in the future.
• Reviewers at Upwork provide valuable insight into how effective your profile is at attracting clients or not. If parts need improvement, post questions about those sections in the online forums or contact an advisor who can give more personalized advice based on their experience working with freelancers like yourself.

7. Build relationships with clients as much as you can

Building relationships with your clients is crucial because it will help you get more referrals and repeat business. If you’re friendly and polite, it can make all the difference in communicating effectively with them. If you ask questions about their needs and goals, it’ll be easier for both of you to work together.

For instance: “Would it be okay if I asked some questions so that I understand what you need?” Or: “I’d like feedback on my writing — is this the tone/style that works best?”

If there are problems with your work, offer solutions as soon as possible instead of waiting until they return to ask for more revisions or new materials. This shows initiative in solving problems quickly while also building trust between both parties involved because they know they can rely on each other when issues arise down the road, which is inevitable.

8. Communicate clearly and often with clients

Communication is critical to the success of your Upwork business. Sure, there will be times when you can’t communicate with a client. But in those cases, you must keep them updated as much as possible.

Once you’ve started working on a project, ask your client what they think of your work so far. If they are happy with it, then great! If not, don’t get defensive, and remember that constructive criticism is just that — constructive! Take note of their feedback and use it for future projects. 

9. Keep learning

Even if you’re a seasoned freelancer, there’s always more to learn. Learning is a lifelong process, and it’s essential to keep learning new skills. Even if you’ve been working with Upwork for years, some new tips and tricks can help you become more successful.

Learning is also a great way to keep your mind active. As we get older, it’s easy for us to fall into the trap of doing the same things repeatedly daily. There are many ways to learn new skills online, including online courses and workshops, so take advantage of those.

10. Be patient

Though you may be eager to begin working on Upwork, you should be aware that a learning curve is involved. The first few jobs you work on may not be paid or paid well. It takes time to build a reputation and gain the trust of clients. However, once you have established yourself as a reliable freelancer, the gigs will start rolling in!

Conclusion

We hope this article has given you some insight on how to approach Upwork and a few tips on making the most of your experience. Remember: the people who are successful on Upwork are those who stay positive, keep learning, and remain patient. You can do it!

Angeline Licerio

Angeline Licerio is the blogger behind Dollarmize.com. After working online as a writer and SEO strategist, she decided to start this blog to give advise to people who would like to earn money online. She is also the founder of SEO Tutorials for FREE, a Facebook community that helps aspiring freelancers and SEO specialists to kickstart their work from home journey.