3 Cold Hard Truths About Upwork (warning for beginners)

[COURSE] How To Build a 5-Star Profile on Upwork:
https://www.udemy.com/course/five-sta...

[ARTICLE] The Ultimate Upwork Proposal (Free Template)
https://www.freelancegrowthacademy.co...

TIMESTAMPS:
00:40 - Your First Projects Will Be Small
04:26 - Most Clients Won't Even Read Your Proposals
06:40 - You'll Need Above & Beyond To Get 5-Star Reviews

Getting your very first client on Upwork is NOT easy, but obviously doable (every single successful freelancer there started with zero clients - including myself.)

There are 3 cold hard truths you need to accept regarding your first clients on Upwork:

1. Your first projects will be SMALL.
If you have a new profile with no feedback or work history, clients won’t trust you with big projects. Just accept the fact that you’ll need to apply for small gigs that pay between $50-$100.

Your goal as a beginner on the platform is NOT to get rich, but to get a few small clients and receive amazing feedback. THAT’S what will land you the big clients down the road.

2. Most clients won’t even READ your proposal.
Every time a client posts a job on Upwork, they’re flooded with dozens (if not hundreds) of applications. No one has time to read every single one of them, so clients usually just read the first ones and/or the ones from freelancers with highest ratings and most experience. As a beginner, you have neither - so clients will usually ignore your proposals.

Once you understand that, you have to think about it as a numbers game and apply to dozens of jobs - because eventually a client will read your application and decide to give you a chance.

3. You WILL have to go above & beyond in order to get 5-star ratings.
Upwork is heavily based on client feedback & job success score, so if you want to land big clients one day then you NEED to make sure your profile has lots of 5-star reviews and a high job success score (mine is 100%, but anything above 90% is excellent).

Problem is, most clients have unrealistic expectations - so you’ll usually have to do more work more than what’s ‘fair’ in order to amaze your clients and assure that 5-star review.

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#upwork
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