The truth is, Upwork is a goldmine for anyone who wants to work from home, quit their job, start their own business, or travel the world as a digital nomad. 4 months after getting started on Upwork, I had my first $1,000 month, and I’ve now made over $100,000 within my first year. 

My number one mistake with Upwork was that I didn’t start sooner.

The internet is full of negative comments about Upwork, and for too long I believed them. 

“Upwork takes too big of a cut” 

“There’s too much competition” 

“No one is willing to pay what you’re worth” 

“There are too many cheap freelancers in other countries driving down prices” 

“No one will hire me” 

“I’m not getting any offers” 

“The platform is too hard to use” 

“I don’t think there’s a market for my skills on Upwork”

Now that I’ve tried it for myself, I can confidently say that if you aren’t making money on Upwork, the problem isn’t Upwork.

Let me start by addressing the top complaints.

Upwork takes too big of a cut. 

I strongly disagree. It’s a big cut, and I wish it was smaller, but it is still the absolute best way to generate income because Upwork is a source of WARM LEADS.

They charge 20% of your first $500 and 10% after that, but it’s worth it because Upwork connects you directly with people actively looking for your services. I cannot stress the value of this enough. Upwork operates like your commission-only salesperson because they make money only when you get paid. There is no better way that I know of to find leads this qualified and ready to work with you. I guarantee you will spend the same amount of money or more trying to market your business some other way, and the leads will be much less likely to convert into clients.

There’s too much competition. 

No, there isn’t, it only looks that way. Yes, there are a lot of freelancers on Upwork, but that’s not as big a factor as you might think. While I am a freelancer on Upwork, I am also a client, and after hiring over 13 different freelancers through the platform I can tell you that just about all the applications I receive are utterly terrible. Either they’ve not read the job description, they’ve copied and pasted a generic proposal, they have horrible grammar, bad reviews, no reviews, or they’re priced too high. Some don’t even show up for the interview. Once in a while, I’ll post a job without even making a hire because no one qualified has applied. That means all you have to do is read the description, speak directly to the client, write well and craft a good profile, and you’ve already dramatically increased your chances of being hired.

No one is willing to pay what you’re worth. 

You need to get rid of this mindset right now. Do you know what happens when you assume? So many people convince themselves they will fail so they choose not to even try. Have you scanned Upwork to see what other freelancers are charging? Most people tell themselves no one will pay enough without even LOOKING to see what’s possible. Get on Upwork right now, make a client account, and search for other freelancers in your niche and/or country. Many of them are making tens or hundreds of thousands. Some have even made over a million. If you have the right strategy in place, a good profile, and a good pitch, you can and you will make money too.

There are too many cheap freelancers in other countries driving down prices. 

This simply is not true. Any client who hires based on the lowest price instead of the best value is going to learn a very expensive and time-consuming lesson; cheap freelancers take twice as long to complete an assignment, submit poor-quality work, or don’t finish the work at all. Trust me when I tell you that you don’t want clients who shop for the lowest price, and there are plenty of high paying clients who know that hiring an expert will get them better value and better results. Besides that, Upwork has filters for clients to search for freelancers in specific countries, including the US only and native English speakers. Smart business owners use these filters to make sure they’re choosing from the right talent pools for them.

No one will hire me. 

If you approach Upwork the right way, you should have more than enough chance of getting hired. Many people don’t think their skills are marketable on Upwork, but those people usually aren’t thinking outside the box. You need to stop thinking like an employee here and realize your skills can be applied to many different situations, not just the industries you’ve worked in before. For example, a nurse might know medical terms that would translate well into medical billing. If you worked as a painter, you might be great at choosing color palettes for branding. If you worked as a sports coach, maybe you can help write fitness articles. Think about how your real-world experiences can translate into the digital world.

If you’ve overcome all your doubts and gotten started, but you’re still struggling, you could be making some common mistakes.

You’re not specialized enough. 

Try focusing on a smaller niche so that you’re competing with fewer experts. Look at the highest paid freelancers in your field and study their profiles. I always suggest picking one specialty to focus on when starting. For example, instead of offering social media management, market yourself as a Facebook expert.

You aren’t applying to the right jobs. 

Use Upwork's search filters to find the best jobs and clients. Upwork now charges for connects (credits you use to apply) so it’s extra important that you’re not wasting them. Try searching for US only jobs (or jobs within your own country), check the client's profile for reviews from other freelancers, and make sure their payment is verified. You can also search requests for intermediate and expert and specific budgets for clients who are willing to spend more for quality work.

Your profile is poor or incomplete. 

Your clients will view your profile too (not just your proposal), so think of it as an extension of your cover letter. Focus on what sets you apart from other freelancers. Have a good profile photo and use images in your portfolio. 

Your proposal isn’t that good. 

Make sure you’re addressing the client and their needs. Go to their profile and read the feedback to see if other freelancers mentioned the name in their review. If so, you can use the client’s name directly in your greeting. Clients get overloaded with proposals so using their name will help you stand out. It’s not about experience but making small changes that will speak directly to your client’s needs and your first paragraph needs to grab their attention. Instead of focusing on your degrees or years of experience, focus on the benefit to them and how you can solve their problem.

You don’t have any feedback. 

I struggled with Upwork until I got my first review. After that, I was getting new clients at an average rate of one per week! I do not suggest working for free to get your first review, but here are a few things you can try.

Find a friend or family member who can use and benefit from your services. Get them to hire you on Upwork by creating a client account and sending you an invitation to the job.

Tell potential clients that you are new to Upwork but not to the industry. Since you are new to the platform you are offering them a discounted rate while you build your portfolio.

Maybe you have clients from outside Upwork. Ask them to create an account and hire you within the platform instead.

You aren’t bidding on jobs enough. 

When you’re first starting on Upwork, I suggest you set aside an hour each day to apply to jobs. By applying daily, you will find newer jobs that don’t have a lot of applicants yet. Applying early will drastically increase your chances of being picked. Weekends are also a great time to check for new jobs because there won’t be as many people online to compete for them.

You gave up too easily. 

Do not be discouraged when clients hire someone else or don’t respond. Right now I’m earning a comfortable income off of just 8 clients, but in the past 90 days, I’ve applied to 151 jobs. That should give you an idea of how many jobs you will need to apply to before you get a ‘yes’. I recommend creating a template that you can easily edit for each job which will make applying quick and easy.