Steps to start Your Freelance Career Along with Upwork
When many individuals hear Upwork(formerly oDesk), they immediately think about outsourcing jobs overseas for $3 each hour.
For years, I thought the same.
Yet when I chose to start up my freelance website design business, I was amazed to locate that oDesk was actually an excellent source of getting earlier clients.
My goal with this particular post is to reveal to you who should be utilizing Upwork and ways to get started.
What is actually Upwork?
Upwork is employment posting sites. Individuals from worldwide post jobs or projects they need help with, as well as freelancers anywhere can utilize.
These companies are worldwide, so in a big part these platforms are related to outsourcing jobs for reduced dollar amounts to people overseas.
Yet there are self employed and creatives from worldwide, including America, that are becoming their career started along with Upwork.
Who should end up being using Upwork?
Freelancers who’re early on in their own career and struggling to obtain their first few customers
Freelancers who are scared of selling and discussions
Freelancers who want to operate remotely
Who should not really be using Upwork?
If you’re steadily generating over $4k monthly, then you should not really consider oDesk
If you’re niched vertically and offer services to some specific target market (health care, fitness, education, etc. )#), then you shouldn’t consider Upwork
How much money are you able to actually make on Upwork?
Results can differ depending on your support and portfoli. From my personal experience, within 2-3 weeks upon Upwork I was generating several hundred dollars a 7 days. Within about two several weeks I was generating typically $1000 per week. The most I ever generated was just below $1400 in one 7 days.
How much should a person charge?
Regardless of your own experience, the minimum you need to charge on Upwork is actually $20hr.
If you price yourself any lower you’re putting yourself in competitors with individuals overseas who’re working for extremely reduced rates.
The maximum I was ever in a position to steadily charge on Upwork had been $55hr. When I elevated my rates beyond which, I saw the quantity of clients willing to employ me drop dramatically.
How can you get started on Upwork?
Set up a profile after which go through all the guided steps to get a profile to 100% conclusion. This process will consider about 4-5 hours and you’ll have to take a series of tests in your town of expertise.
Once you’ve your profile setup, you’ll be given an application quota associated with 20 applications. Applications expire after 7 days.
My recommendation is in the beginning to keep your software quota maxed out and regularly make an application for new jobs.
How would you win jobs on Upwork?
Create real cover letters.
There are plenty of individuals on Upwork that just copy and paste exactly the same cover letter to each and every job opening. Don’t just do that
The simple act of writing a genuine cover letter about the task posting will do wonders that will help you land your first couple of clients.
How do you know when it’s time to move upon?
Upwork isn’t a great long-term solution, but it can be that boost you have to get things going in the beginning.
As build your advertising machine, you will start to become less and less determined by Upwork.
To this day time, I still keep my profile on Upwork and even for a price of $85hr I ‘m occasionally hired for little projects.
While Upwork isn’t for everyone, it helped me and many other creatives I understand get our career began.
Listen to the podcast Used to do with Ilise Benun as well as, if you are thinking about learning more, this more in depth blog post includes a good example cover letter.