STEP 1 — Have A 100% Filled Out Profile
If you ever played around with Upwork you have heard this advice. It is common sense that a profile with a great description of education, work experience, certifications, profile picture, testimonials, videos, etc. converts much better than a sloppy profile with no profile picture. I will not dive more into this one step since Upwork itself has a guide on how to obtain a 100% filled-out profile.
STEP 2 — Keywords
Oh no, I do not know how to do keywords? Relax, I will show you, and it is quite easy. As you can see above I rank number 1 in my native country (Denmark) when searching for “Powerpoint” or “Presentation design”. Have in mind that I do not have any experience with keywords myself, I just tested different approaches as I went along. I think 3 elements will set you up for a great ranking on Upwork.
When writing your profile text, be aware that only the two first lines appear in the search results when people are looking for freelancers. Therefore these two lines weigh more in the algorithm, which is why you should include the keywords you want to rank for a couple of times in a smooth manner. In my case, the words “Powerpoint” & “presentation(s)” can be seen two times, and “Designer” & “designing” can be seen one time.
Align profile text with headline. It is common sense that your headline weighs the most in the algorithm, thus you should align the headline to the profile text. What do you mean by aligning? I mean you must have the same keywords in the headline as you have in your profile text. In that way, the keywords you wanna rank for appear 2–4 times depending on how aggressive you are in implementing the right keywords
Video. In a book by Mike Volkin he does statistical testing on how much more a profile with a video converts and ranks better than profiles without videos. 30%. Yup, 30%, that is how much more you will increase your chances of landing clients. Thus make a video and make it show up next to you when people are looking for freelancers in your field.
3 STEP— Do not tell anyone about this one step
In our postmodern society, almost everything we buy is based on trust. Thus it is very hard to land your first client if you have not been serving any clients prior to them. A quick way to work around this is by having a friend sign up to Upwork, and have them pretend they wanna hire a freelancer. Then you have to apply for the “fake” job, “finish it”, and your friend will pay you through the Upwork pay system. Finally, he will give you an awesome review, which is very important. Do not do this multiple times because it is ethically wrong. Do it one time, and you will see it is much easier to land your first real client.
STEP 4 — Apply with style
Never start your proposals with “I”. You should always have the clients’ interest in front of your own. Write something like:
“Hi Paul, you need a pitch deck turned around with great visuals and a freelancer that is available now. I think we are a great fit. To help you with your decision:
I have +5 years of experience with pitch decks
Won multiple championships where a pitch deck was a must-have
Created +100 pitch decks for clients within and without Upwork
Creative, efficient and self-managed
Punctuality is key for me
I will go out of my way to provide you with a well-executed pitch deck before the deadline. Attached you see some previous work I have done for clients.
Best regards, Benjamin”
You see… First, you show the client that you read the job description and tell them that you can help. You even try to help them by listing 5 bullet points that may convince them that you are the one. Then you finish off by saying that you will put anything to the side in order to provide the client with a great product before the deadline.
Do not:
Start the proposals with “I”
Promise things you cannot deliver
Write more than 150 words (No one wants to read it)
Propose an hourly/fixed rate that is too high compared to your skillset and clients served
Final words
Much more goes into a great Upwork experience, but these are the main points I learned within the month I started on Upwork. You can definitely earn +$1000 every month if you just put in the work. Please check out my account if you need inspiration or just want to validate my story: https://www.upwork.com/freelancers/~01db6ed2bc01672315
Additional info
If you have any questions, ideas, or just want to discuss something, please feel free to share your thoughts in the comments or send me a mail at Benj5799b@gmail.com