Upwork is one of the freelancing websites where you can sell your skills to clients remotely, and get paid for your services.
It is considered the best of other freelancing websites because it offers freelancers the opportunity to get jobs, even without any previous work experience.
Secondly, there is no limit to the amount you can earn on Upwork monthly. Your earning is directly dependent on the number of jobs you are able to deliver.
Another great thing about Upwork is that you do not search for clients. The platform connects you to the type of clients you need using the information on your profile.
The security of your income is assured on Upwork. There is no such thing as half-pay, or no payment, as could be applicable in your regular 9-5 jobs. As long as you deliver on your job, your payment is certain and you can cash out anytime you want.
Skills On-demand On Upwork
- Translation
- Transcription
- Graphic design
- Copywriting
- Content writing
- Editing & Proofreading
- Audio and Video production
- Customer service
- Technical support
Optimizing Your Profile On Upwork
Profile optimization is the key to getting hired by clients who need your services. By profile optimization, I mean setting your profile, title, picture, overview, and every detail that talks about you and your skill in the best possible way to help connect you to your clients.
The use of major keywords that clients are most likely going to type while searching for a freelancer is very important in optimizing your Upwork profile.
There are about ten sections to fill in your Upwork profile. Your picture, skills, title, overview, portfolio, education, professional certification, employment history, the introduction video, and external account.
In this article, we will discuss the major sections that clients always watch out for, and how to put them in the best shape and tone.
Profile Picture
Your profile picture should be a professional headshot, just as in a passport. The background should be neutral and devoid of random objects. You should be facing the camera and your facial expression should be friendly with a smile. Clients may not want to hire someone with an angry face you know.
Title
Your title describes your skills. What exactly do you do? What do you have to offer?
Your choice of words should be able to portray you as a professional, even if you are just a newbie. It will be easier to get hired when clients know that you are good at something, not when they feel you are only going to learn with their jobs or projects.
If you are a content writer, for instance, use such titles as, “professional content writer”. A designer can use such title as “creative Logo Designer”. Words like professional, creative, experienced, etc, portray you as a freelancer who knows what he/she is doing.
Overview
The Overview is an opportunity for you to sell yourself. Writing an eyecatching, professional overview in your profile is key to landing jobs on Upwork as a freelancer.
To write your overview, try answering the following questions:
- What can I offer?
- Who is my ideal Client?
- What qualifies me to offer such skills?
- How will I satisfy my clients’ expectations?
At the end of your overview, add a call to action (CTA), telling clients what to do if they are interested in working with you. It could be, “hit the invite button now” or ” feel free to contact me”.
The use of the second person pronoun, you, is very important in writing your overview. Remember it should be about the client, not you. Tell him/her how you are going to use your skill to help him in his project, to help generate traffic to his website, or generate sales, whatever problems your skills tend to solve. Do not sound needy, but needed.
Proposal
When jobs are posted on Upwork, you will have to write proposals to clients for them to hire you. Upwork offers you what they call ‘connects’ when you are approved as a member of the platform. The ‘connects’ are what you use to tender proposals to any job you want, and they expire by the end of every month if not used up.
Just like applying for a job, before writing your proposals, you should go through the job descriptions to find out what your client’s expectations are. The keywords in the descriptions should appear in your proposal whether directly or indirectly. Try to convince your client that you are able and capable to meet his expectations.
The proposal may be similar to the overview, but while the overview is skill-specific, your proposal should be job-specific with your client’s satisfaction in mind.
To sign up and get started, visit the Upwork official website here.
If you encounter any hurdles in the process, do not hesitate to contact me on Whatsapp. I will be glad to help you with a token.
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