I started my profile on Upwork in 2021.
Before that, I was a level-one seller on Fiverr.
I started on Fiverr in 2014 when I was in the second semester of my bachelor's degree program. I was selling web development services on Fiverr.
I got banned from Fiverr twice due to the violation of their TOS.
I started everything from start on Upwork and positioned myself as a social media strategist. I will tell you in future letters, how I got into marketing.
I was ready for a fresh start and I wanted to implement all my learnings from Fiverr on Upwork.
Upwork was new for me, I used to send proposals to every job that matched my skill set.
I failed to win a single job for the first 3 months and wasted so many connections.
That three months of sending tons of proposals taught me the most important lesson.
I will share it with you in this series of "My Freelance Journey"
Today I am going to start with - Choosing the right jobs
The reason I was not getting jobs on Upwork was that I used to send proposals for every job that matched my skill set. Let's dig into it.
Choose the right job
Winning a job on Upwork is not about writing a good proposal it's about choosing the right job.
How to choose the right job?
Make sure you have added all the skills you have related to your services.
You will get jobs on your feed related to your skill set.
You can see the most recent job tap, keep your eye on it.
Avoid four types of jobs with unverified payment, ratings below 4.5, submitted proposals up to 20 to 50, and jobs for specific locations.
You can save this search filter using Upwork's advanced search filters. So it will be easy for you to filter out the right job. If you positioned yourself for a specific industry then choose that industry too.
Once you get the filtered jobs, it's time to review the job description and reviews.
There are two types of job descriptions you will notice.
One, a longer one - Most tech companies and marketing agencies write a longer job description that will tell everything, "What to do" and " What you should be capable of" except what they want to achieve.
If you want to go for a full-time job go for these jobs posts.
2nd, a short one- These are actual clients. You are speaking to the actual owners behind the businesses. They usually write a short job description and they will tell you the exact problem and sometimes they mention their website too.
If you want to build a business then go for these job posts.
When you are done with the job description then go for reviews.
Analyze the reviews of clients and try to understand the tone of the client.
You have a chance to know the name of the client on review.
These things will help you to write a proposal that matches your client’s intention.
I will tell you in my next letter how you can adjust these things in your proposals.
Plus how to write proposals for the longer ones and for the shorter ones so that you will be able to win a job or client.
This is enough of today, see you next week.
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Hadi 🖤