How to be Successful on UpWork
Are you looking for a good argument? Ask freelancers whether they should work on UpWork.
On Twitter, I asked, “Freelancers: anyone here had success on Fiverr or UpWork? Interested in hearing your stories.”
Here are a few responses, mainly about UpWork:
“STAY AWAY. My 2 cents.”
“That’s not freelancing, it’s working for a low-grade agency where you have to beg for work and compete with your coworkers.”
“I never get anywhere with either” (UpWork or Fiverr)
“Both are for the lowest common denominator.”
But also:
“Upwork was a great place to start for me. Getting some practice and building my portfolio to start, and then actually getting some big retainer clients that I now service through my agency. Took me about 2 years to reach 6 figures in ARR through Upwork clients alone.”
“Yep! Upwork has been my primary source of clients (and probably 60% of my income) for the past 5 years.”
“I started out as a freelancer on UpWork and gained experience with simple Perl/Python projects over 3 years before landing my first full-time dev job. I don’t think I would have gotten into a tech job without my freelancing experience.”
“I posted the story of how I got started today. TL;DR: I got fired and had $10.21 in my account, had a wife and daughter to feed. Had to make it work. I made it work.”
$2 million in just under 7 years? That’s not bad. You might want to follow Courtney on Twitter.
So, there are many opinions on whether you can succeed on UpWork. I wasn’t surprised.
Disclaimer: I’m not saying you should work on UpWork for all or any of your income. I’ve only used it to find someone to build a travel website. I’ve never used it to find work. But… if you’re going to try UpWork, give yourself the best chance of success. It’s up to you.
The tips in this post come from people who have had great success there. So, as usual, “stand on the shoulders of giants”.
Is UpWork the Model for Today’s World?
Think about the changes in the working world over the last few years:
Covid gave us a silver lining. It made “work from anywhere” a common model for corporations and freelancers. You can be on a laptop in a Bali beach café working for a Fortune 500 company in NYC. It’s no longer unique or exotic.
Many collaboration platforms have made remote working much more accessible.
There are global payment platforms so you can get paid. You no longer “go to the bank” to get your money.
Now look at UpWork. It assumes you’re working remotely. It’s a collaboration platform with sophisticated communications and tracking tools. It has a built-in payment system.
If you read the investor section on the UpWork site, you’ll see they believe they are the future of work. They are also migrating towards helping people find full-time jobs (competition for headhunters) and are integrating AI into their platform.
So, is it time to learn how to succeed on UpWork?
UpWork is Targeting Major Corporations and Expert Freelancers
This is important for you to know. Yes, many individuals and small companies are looking for someone to “work for nothing”. “Will pay $20 for a blog post”, etc.
There are also many wannabe freelancers with no experience, no expertise to offer.
UpWork makes it clear they’re not interested in either of these audiences.
Their goal is to serve the world’s corporations with expert talent who will be well-compensated.
To Succeed on UpWork You Have to Crack the System
UpWork requires the right mindset and an understanding of what potential clients are looking for.
Think of UpWork this way: it’s a massive database of people ready to hire. You don’t have to guess whether they have jobs to give out; they’re on the platform because they have work that needs to be done.
So, unlike cold calls, where you’re trying to determine whether a company has work for you, the people on UpWork definitely have work.
The Starting Point for Cracking the UpWork System—Your Profile
Let’s get down to business. When you work on UpWork, you create a profile similar to many other platforms.
So, let’s address key parts of your profile:
Create a clean profile picture. Look at the camera, plain white background, like you’re a reliable, talented writer / designer / whatever.
Nothing fancy, just a sincere, happy, professional-looking headshot. You can get your partner or a friend to shoot it with a phone. Make sure it fills the space. You don’t want a tiny pinhead picture.
Note: don’t get cute and use an AI-enhanced portrait. They look fake. You don’t want that. Think honest, talented, and relatable.
Write an SEO-optimized headline. Be specific. You could say “Web developer” or you could say “Rock Star PHP | WordPress | React Native | Node.JS | with UI/UX Expert”.
If you’re a copywriter, rather than “Copywriter”, it could be “Conversion Copywriter / Direct Response Copywriter / Email Copy”.
See the difference? Be specific rather than general. The more targeted, the more niche, the better. Think SEO. What are the keywords that describe what you do? What words do UpWork clients use when looking for talent? Use those.
Take some time and look at 20 profiles, noting the profile pictures and headlines.
Work on The First Few Sentences of Your Profile
The first few sentences of your profile are critical. It’s what shows up as the result of a search just like any search engine.
This WordPress developer and designer charges $175/hr. He’s up against thousands of others who charge far less. His total earnings so far are over $200,000, so he’s working.
$175 an hour! But look: 100% success rate, Top Rated Plus. That’s the secret.
How does he convince you that he’s worth the premium? Here are the first few sentences of his profile.
“I’m one of the highest-rated WordPress developers on UpWork—carrying a “Top-Rated” badge and plenty of reviews from highly satisfied clients. Efficiency and quality are my priorities— typically delivering ahead of schedule and above & beyond client expectations. I’m fast and thorough and have seen just about everything you can imagine within the WordPress framework. I have over 15+ years of experience in Web Development, Design and Digital Marketing.”
I’ll bet it took some editing to get to this version. I think it’s worth the effort.
You want to come across as an expert, confident in fulfilling any client request. It’s also personal. You sense his voice and character here.
Write to Answer Your Clients’ Needs
Look again at J. Colton’s copy. Although you might initially think this is just about him, it’s actually about his clients.
What do his clients want? They want expertise delivered quickly—“delivering ahead of schedule and above & beyond client expectations”.
They want assurance—“reviews from highly satisfied clients”.
They want a problem solver—“seen just about everything you can imagine”.
They want to hear “over 15+ years of experience”.
He’s hitting all the clients’ hot buttons.
That’s why he’s worth his higher-than-average rate.
Your Portfolio Is Important—But You Know That
Whether it’s UpWork or anywhere else, it’s your portfolio that speaks for you.
The easiest way to figure out how to present your portfolio is to look at others. Find portfolios of successful UpWork freelancers working in your niche and emulate them.
How to Make Money on UpWork With No Experience
Like anywhere outside of UpWork, you’ll have to work your way up. That means you will be competing on price and the confidence you can communicate. You’ll have to lower your rates to land those first jobs.
Then, deliver and over-deliver so you get the critical 5-Star ratings.
Can you work your way up with your rates? Kjell did… Follow Kjell on Twitter.
After a while, and a few jobs, start raising your rates.
Yes, it takes patience, and you’ll resent starting at low rates, but your world changes once your portfolio page shows jobs completed and your 5-star ratings.
5-Star Reviews Are Gold
Your goal is to ask for and earn 5-Star reviews. If your ratings slip, you start to disappear on UpWork.
How do you get a 5-Star review? Same as working outside of UpWork. Deliver a great job, be easy to work with, communicate well, and be reliable.
What I Really Think About UpWork
If you have the right mindset and take the time to learn how the system works, you can succeed on UpWork. If you don’t want to do that, don’t bother. It takes a lot of work to get going. But then, so does launching any freelance career.
I wouldn’t count on it for 100% of my revenue. Maybe closer to 25%. As the saying goes, “Don’t build your house on rented land”. (It’s the same reason you should have a website and not count on social media for your portfolio or online presence.)
UpWork can be a good place to deliver long-term relationships. Produce good work, and clients keep coming back without searching for a vendor.
UpWork continues to pursue companies to use their service. Those companies will give UpWork all or much of their work as they succeed through the platform. As a freelancer, you may have to work through UpWork if one of your clients decides to use them—something to consider.
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