How to Get Started on Upwork, Guru, or Freelancer
You can easily start marketing your freelance business or your business-to-business start-up on freelance brokerage sites such as Upwork, Guru, and Freelancer. Sadly, this is not as profitable as it appears at first glance, as this form of marketing also has potential drawbacks. Before you spend your time and resources on freelance brokerage platforms, make sure you’re thoroughly aware of how to advertise on them. Here, you’ll read everything you need to know to start marketing. If other freelancers can earn millions on these platforms, why can’t you?
Upwork, Guru, and Freelancer are freelance brokerage platforms. They help clients find freelancers and business-to-business start-ups and take a commission for this. The client pays the freelancer or the start-up, not the freelance brokerage platform. These platforms offer a convenient way to help new entrepreneurs to get their business underway.
You can’t find a more controversial platform for freelance and start-up marketing than these freelance brokerage platforms. You will see some freelancers complaining that they’re not getting their payments and some clients claiming that all the freelancers are “amateur clowns.”
Both of these positions are partially true, but only partially! At the Interaction Design Foundation, we’ve come across some of our loyal freelancers on Elance (now Upwork). Many freelancers earned more than $150,000 on that website with time. In fact, Dennis Waitley, one of America’s most respected motivational authors, makes a very good point when he says in his book “Seeds of Greatness:”
“The winners in life think constantly in terms of I can, I will, and I am. Losers, on the other hand, concentrate their waking thoughts on what they should have or would have done, or what they can’t do.”
– Dennis Waitley
So, let’s dive into these platforms and see how you can fairly easily get your business underway and earn your first income:
How Do Freelancing Platforms Work?
Freelance platforms allow freelancers to create a profile and display their work portfolio. They provide you with credits to “bid” on RFPs (Request for Proposals) submitted by prospects for services. Once you spend all your credits, you can pay a small fee to buy more. You can also pay a little extra for improved profile options or add additional information to the quotes you place.
Besides these fees, freelance websites also take a commission of about 10% from any project. In return, they offer payment security so that it is guaranteed (to some extent) that you are paid after you finish your project, as long as you have used their protection methods.
These platforms also offer faster payment than “in real life” since the client pays for the job (in escrow) when they order it. While many clients in the real world will wait for 30 days (or even 60 or 90 days) following completion of work before they pay for it, those using freelancing platforms will have no reason to hold back payment when the project is finished.
Should You Use Freelance Platforms?
We’ve spent a considerable amount of time studying these platforms and communicating with other freelancers and managers of business-to-business firms. Overall, we can say the following about these platforms:
Upwork
Upwork, the best general freelancer site, was the name Odesk and Elance took after they merged into one single company. This platform hosts a great number of freelancers earning all or a part of their living. Upwork offers jobs from nearly all freelance specialisms. Not every client pays market rates, but some clients do pay them (or thereabouts).
Hubstaff Talent
Hubstaff Talent, whose popularity is increasing each day, is a free directory for the world’s leading freelancers.
The main thing that distinguishes Hubstaff Talent from the other freelance platforms is that neither the freelancer nor the business owner pays any fees to the platform.
Both business managers and freelancers find it quite easy to use the platform. Managers can quickly build a remote team for their business. The platform allows them to search contractors based on various parameters such as skill, location, or category and to message the team member they deem to be appropriate for their project.
Thousands of remote startups, software companies, agencies, and e-commerce businesses are searching for talent just like you on Hubstaff. You can create a profile on Hubstaff so that they can communicate with you directly for the job they need to be done.
Guru
Guru may not be as large or well-known as the other freelancer platforms, however, its focus is best defined as “opportunities for developers.” Guru has writing and design projects, albeit not very many.
Freelancer
The worst of the three famous brokerage platforms is definitely Freelancer. We’ve tried hard but couldn’t come across any freelancer on Freelancer with a six-figure earning. Nevertheless, Freelancer offers the largest presence, and if you’re desperate for work—it’s the easiest platform to find clients.
You can try Freelancer if you’re not sure about how to approach your brokerage site marketing.
Freelancer is a good platform to find out about people’s opinions and see if you can influence them. However, the drawback of Freelancer is that the ratings on Freelancer are quite terrible
What about Fiverr?
As the name implies, Fiverr is a platform where people list their services for $5. You can certainly earn more on Fiverr, though most people don’t. Someone working full-time and working really really hard will potentially earn a maximum of $30,000. To be fair, this may not be much worse than Freelancer. Still, we strongly recommend you not to market your services on Fiverr because once you market your services for $5, how are you ever going to sell them for more money?
How to Use Freelance Platforms for Marketing
Brokerage platforms offer two types of marketing: the first type of marketing is passive marketing that includes creating a profile to attract clients; the second is proactive marketing that includes creating written quotes for RFPs.
Profiles on Brokerage Platforms
Although brokerage platforms do not necessarily require you to have a perfect profile in order to attract clients, you’d still benefit from having a complete profile. However, having a complete profile will still not be enough to generate leads – visitors to the platform won’t see your profile in a search on the site until you’ve completed a lot of projects through active marketing.
What Should Your Profile Include?
Your name—Yes, I hear you say ‘Obviously,’ but I’ve encountered a few profiles without this vital detail.
A strapline—This is a short, easily remembered phrase indicating your area of expertise. Make sure you clearly specify your core service as well as the benefits of working with you—e.g., “Web design that drives sales.”
A description of your services—Indicate what you do and the benefits of that. Don’t write useless things like, “I’m enthusiastic.”—or —“I’m married with two kids.” This is of no relevance to your clients’ businesses, and when they read such a statement, they will most probably stay away from your profile to search for someone who knows what they are looking for.
A professional photo—A headshot of you smiling and dressed appropriately will do good. The photo should not include your pets, family members, friends, etc.
A brief career history—Assure your potential clients that you know what you’re doing.
Testimonials—Make sure to include some persuasive client testimonials, if you have any. Save your clients from having to look for feedback about you on the platform.
That’s all it takes.
So, don’t put so much faith in your profile to attract clients. Have a complete profile for the sake of professionalism and to give your potential readers some confidence when reviewing your bids.
Your Upwork profile is, in the eyes of potential customers, your showcase. With a good, concise, apt, suitable profile that polishes you and your skills, it’ll be more likely that your clients reach out to you without you having to market your work to them.
How to Respond to RFPs (Bidding)
A request for proposal (RFP) is a document that requests a proposal. While some RFPs contain comprehensive explanations of the work demanded, most of them only include a summary of the work.
For example, “We would like to order a logo for a travel company. We are a travel tour for seniors.”
Or—“I need a User Experience designer for a fitness product. It must be ready in one month with a minimum viable product.”
To write a quote to an RFP, you will have to spend some of the credits given to you (priced or free of charge) by the freelancer brokerage site.
To gain the greatest possible advantage:
You should bid only on projects in your area of expertise to which you can add value. You’ll see that people can hire competent people on these platforms but pay them only a little amount of money.
Make sure that your bid is written in good English and that it includes the value that you’re going to add to the project. Most of the bids are like this —“Hello, I design logos. You can see the samples below. I charge $500 for a logo.” Though concise, it’s completely wrong in so many aspects. OK, you design logos and charge $500 for one, but you sound just like a mercenary, not someone who really wishes to help. “You can see the samples below.”—that sounds like a scattershot approach as if the freelancer copy/pasted the samples for his fourth bid of that day. It is because of such junk bids that many freelancers have a hard time getting decent fees on brokerage sites. Well-respected freelancers deal with things in an efficient way without wasting time, not by soliciting with uncreative pickup lines or labor-exchange casualness.
Start by introducing yourself. Casualness is the rule on brokerage sites. You can open your bid with a simple “Hi.” If the client’s name is stated in the RFP (usually, it isn’t), include it in your bid and then add a simple sentence about yourself that will capture the client’s attention. “I’m an experienced American designer who attaches importance to details while designing logos and who adds great financial value to brands in the travel industry.”
Detail the process of the work. Remember that clients don’t design logos, they are there to outsource the designing of logos. So, clients’ simple sentences like “I want a logo for a travel company” shouldn’t make you think “They have no clue!” This can in fact be a chance for you to elaborate on the process: “I will find out about your brand values and identity through a Skype meeting with you. Then, based on that meeting, I will draw three sketches for you to review. Once you decide with which one we should proceed, I will design the master logo based on that sketch. Then I will ask for your feedback about this master logo and do revisions if requested. Finally, I can create different versions of the logo to be used in different mediums —Facebook, Print, your letterhead, etc.”
You should be clear and professional while describing what value you will add to the company: “Logos play a great role in building brand recognition. In fact, it has been underlined by research that brand recognition is quite important to a business. Your business may be worth tens of thousands of dollars more by creating a brand identity.”
Don’t be too shy to price high. “This project is going to cost $5,000.”
Talk about your professional background: “I’ve worked with several companies in your industry like ABC Travel, XYZ Trekking on high-profile logo projects.”
Offer the client to discuss the project: “This process is an industry-standard, but if you think it doesn’t meet your exact needs, I’d be happy to have a Skype meeting with you to revise it and adjust my quote.”
Don’t forget to thank the client for their time. “Thank you for taking the time to read my quote. I look forward to hearing from you.”
Indicate your name. “Best Regards, Me Freelancer”
Remember to attach a relevant portfolio and your freelance CV.
Things that you should avoid:
Don’t try to be too smart. Different types of clients from multiple cultures use these sites – all clients may not actually be based where they say they are. So, try to be concise. Avoid telling jokes or being humorous—this may cause the client to turn away from you.
Don’t be too informal. Never use obscene language or slang. Don’t forget that you’re a professional and this should be as formal as any other meeting with a client. While writing the quote, you may be at home in your underwear. But still, think of it as if you are having a job interview, not as an informal talk with an old friend in a bar.
Don’t make disparaging remarks about previous clients or bosses. Your client, wondering what you may have done for your previous clients and bosses to cause them to treat you so badly, may contact them. Also, this is quite improper and unethical—your client may think of you as someone who takes things personally and may become distracted. More importantly, your client may take into account the probability that you’ll gossip about him or her to your next prospect. For this reason, try to be nice and respectful. If you don’t have anything good to say about a previous client, don’t talk about them, or if you need to talk, try to be constructive. Let’s say your client asked you why you quit your previous project unfinished and let’s say that the real reason is that your client truly turned into a jerk for no reason related to your performance. In this case, you could still explain that the client seemed to have been experiencing certain difficulties related to his business and had to cancel the original project. You’ll have no reason to worry unless there is some scornful feedback filled with bitter criticism left by that client on your profile. After all, not all clients leave feedback.
Avoid asking too many questions. Although some argue that asking questions helps start a conversation with the client, clients can smell desperation rather than expertise in this tactic.
Don’t send anything irrelevant other than materials that will help improve your case to get the work.
The Big No of Freelance Brokerage Work
Don’t price too low to win the project. This might require you to explain to new clients why you no longer work at lower rates.
At first, search for small projects that will offer you a decent amount of money as an earning. These are usually low-risk ventures for clients, where they can take a risk on a novice freelancer. After you receive a little feedback, you can start trying to win bigger projects.
Once the Project is Finished
Ask the client to leave comments on your profile if he or she is satisfied with your work. The greater the number of positive comments, the easier it will be for you to attract clients. All freelance brokerage platforms allow clients to leave comments.
Usually, freelance sites allow clients to rate their satisfaction levels—as can be seen at Freelancer.com here.
The Take-Away
Freelance brokerage platforms may have fallen into disrepute, but much of this disrepute is due to the inability of freelancers to use these platforms properly. To win work on these platforms, we recommend you to practice writing effective responses to RFPs. In RFPs, look for signs indicating that the client is a professional, not a work-from-home part-time business and that they will pay real rates. If other freelancers can earn millions on these platforms, why can’t you?
References & Where to Learn More
Hero Image: Author/Copyright holder: Upwork Global Inc. Copyright terms and licence: Fair Use.
Course: How to Become a Freelance Designer:
https://www.interaction-design.org/courses/how-to-become-a-freelance-designer
