Boost Your Proposal to the Top of List

kochubei_valeria · ‎09-08-2021

Update 10/13: Our Boosted Proposals test has ended, for now, so we can study the results and learn. We sincerely appreciate all of the feedback you gave us during this test, and we’re taking time to review our data and plan some improvements with your input in mind.

We will share more information about our plans for a re-launch of Boosted Proposals. So stay tuned!

Open auctions will run their course; however, no new boosts will be available.

Our goal remains to support the best outcomes for Talent and Clients and help you win more. We’re working to make this feature even better as part of that effort!

We are testing a new way to help you make your proposals stand out to clients. We’re dropping the required price of proposals to 1 Connect and allowing talent to bid for a chance to boost their proposal to appear in one of three promoted slots at the top of the client’s proposal manager. With boosting, you can promote yourself to clients by signalling that you are highly interested in their job. You can use your Connects to boost your proposal and increase the chances of being among the first that’s noticed. When clients see “Highly Interested” next to a blue lightning bolt, they’ll know these proposals are from talent who paid to express their interest by investing extra Connects into their proposal.

How it works

When you submit a proposal, you can choose to boost it by spending additional Connects — whatever amount you think it’s worth. If you bid high enough relative to the other bidders, we’ll boost your proposal to the top of the stack, so it’s one of the first proposals the client sees.

Decide. If you really value a job, choose to bid to be eligible to boost your proposal above others.
Bid. Set the number of Connects you’re willing to use to outbid other freelancers. We encourage you to bid the amount you truly think the job is worth.
Submit. Your proposal will be boosted to the client if your bid is high enough. If another freelancer bids more than you and your proposal is not boosted, we will refund some of your Connects (if boosting did not result in an engagement with a client). You’ll be notified either way and your proposal will still show up for the client, even if you’re outbid.
The auction will last up to 7 days. It starts when the job is posted, and it is cleared after 7 days, or sooner if the job is closed or a hire has been made.
Using Connects. The value of a job is always up to you, and you never have to worry about wasting Connects if you over or underbid.

For example, if a job post allows for 3 boosted proposals, the top 3 bids will win those slots, and the final cost will be set by the lowest of those 3 bids.

So if you spent 7 Connects to boost a proposal, and the lowest of the top 3 bidders spent just 5 — you’re in! Plus, you’ll receive a refund of 2 Connects to match the cost of the lowest qualifying bid.

What if you had bid just 3 Connects instead of 5? No worries! Your proposal won’t be boosted, but it will still show up for the client just like a regular proposal, and you’ll be refunded all the additional Connects you spent to boost your proposal.

We know you put a lot of effort into developing quality proposals, especially for projects you’re excited about. That’s one of the reasons we created the option to bid to boost your proposal, so you have an even better chance of being seen by clients for projects you’re really passionate about. We see this as a way to express your level of interest while increasing the odds of being noticed. So, in cases where boosting your proposal results in an engagement with a client, you will be charged - even if you are outbid, since this exposure can often lead to future interactions. An engagement means one or more of the following was done by the client (in other words, the client engaged a freelancer in at least one of these ways): viewed your proposal, messaged you, shortlisted you, sent an offer, and/or archived or declined your proposal. It’s another way to make your Connects work for you!

Screenshot from September 8, 2021 9_20 AM.png

For more information about boosting your proposals so you’re more likely to land the work you really want, check out our help article.

Excited to try this out? We are eager to gather feedback while we’re testing this feature. Let us know your thoughts so we can continue to make the work marketplace even better for you.

alexpattison · ‎09-08-2021

Please reconsider! Another poorly thought out idea that makes the platform worse for both clients looking for quality freelancers and the quality freelancers who will now be outbid by less qualified freelancers.

This along with the free connects, available now badge, ect. Downgrade the quality of Upwork for all.

gilbert-phyllis · ‎09-08-2021

Martina P wrote:
Oh no. I was sort of hoping this idea had disappeared for good after the avalanche of negative feedback.
So a client will see: This freelancer spent 60 cents because he is so extra-interested. Blue lightning bolt.
(sarcasm warning)
Wow that will look fantastic to a client who just spent 500$ a month for client plus (don't come for me, I didn't look it up). It will look nothing but cheap. It cheapens the freelancer who does it, it cheapens the whole platform. Why and how a client should be impressed by this, I really don't know.
And just to make it perfectly clear: I only send proposals to jobs I'm really interested in, or passionate about. Sending a proposal is testament to my interest. I don't need no blue lightning to show my interest.
Again, no, please no, please don't do that. It will look absolutely terrible to the client.
Finally, not looking forward to the new "I was outbid, why did I not get my connects back" thread. I implore you, can this. Please. Into the can.

This right here: I only send proposals to jobs I'm really interested in, or passionate about. Sending a proposal is testament to my interest. I don't need no blue lightning to show my interest.

I can't wait to hear what clients have to say about this. I'm afraid too many, after experiencing it, will simply leave instead of sticking around long enough to offer feedback about it.

claudiacezy · ‎09-08-2021

Martina P wrote:
Enthusiastic unfortunately does not necessarily mean most qualified or most professional, as demonstrated daily in the "New to Upwork" section.

This kind of feature was available on Elance. As far as I remember you needed to upgrade your membership in order to highlight your proposal, and it cost additional connects. As far as I remember most of those boosting their proposal were freelancers that already had jobs completed succesfully on their profile (you could see the profile of those who submitted a proposal).

There are limited free connects every month, more connects --- more money to spend. Not every single newbie on site will afford to boost the proposal.

It mostly increases competition between already established freelancers. Someone new to the site maybe will try to boost the proposal with 3 connects, maybe 6 if they are about to throw the towel. Depending on the job post prospect I wouldn't be surprised if there will be 20-50 connects bids.

amt17 · ‎09-08-2021

This is not an advantage to neither freelancer nor client but exclusively about Upwork implementing another useless microtransaction scheme that imitates the “play-to-win” concept from free-to-play computer games (without Upwork being anywhere near to free-to-play!) and it is difficult, if not impossible, to take this kind of moneymaking stunt seriously as anything but a moneymaking stunt.

Upwork is becoming less and less transparent in how it charges its freelancers as we have to add up subscription, commission (“service fee”), VAT of commission, connects to submit proposals, connects to boost proposals, connects to state availability – and I am confident that Upwork will continue finding other microtransactions for equally ridiculous gimmicks.

If freelancers who may not have much luck in writing winning proposals pay their way to the top of the pile, it is a disservice to both the clients and the well qualified freelancers. It draws attention to potentially useless proposals which will waste time for clients and freelancers alike and reflect poorly on the platform as a whole.

If Upwork wants additional revenue streams, then by all means implement things that add value to the platform, elevates it, and makes it a more attractive marketplace for more serious (and better paying) clients and more professional freelancers. But please do spare us for further ridiculous microtransactions that only benefit Upwork.

efc5e71c · ‎09-08-2021

This is idiocy, pure, unadulterated idiocy.

hglewis · ‎09-08-2021

Hello Annette!

Annette E wrote:
This is not an advantage to neither freelancer nor client but exclusively about Upwork implementing another useless microtransaction scheme that imitates the “play-to-win” concept from free-to-play computer games (without Upwork being anywhere near to free-to-play!) and it is difficult, if not impossible, to take this kind of moneymaking stunt seriously as anything but a moneymaking stunt.

I went back and reread the original post and didn't see it at first.

Submit. Your proposal will be boosted to the client if your bid is high enough. If another freelancer bids more than you and your proposal is not boosted, 👉we will refund some of your Connects👈 (if boosting did not result in an engagement with a client). You’ll be notified either way and your proposal will still show up for the client, even if you’re outbid.

Annette, you nailed it!

moonraker · ‎09-09-2021

Claudia Z wrote:
Depending on the job post prospect I wouldn't be surprised if there will be 20-50 connects bids.

I'm already thinking of spending 20 connects for every job I apply to. And I still don't know if that will be enough.

feed_my_eyes · ‎09-09-2021

I'd like to know the reasoning behind the decision that only 1 connect will be required to apply to all jobs now. Won't this increase spam bidding and overwhelm clients again? (Yes, it will.) So has Upwork decided that this is magically no longer a problem?

And the way that boosted proposals will appear to clients makes me think that I'll never use it. First of all, I imagine that there will be loads of ties, with 20-30 people all "boosting" by 3-6 connects (no more than that), within an hour of a job being posted. So if that's the case, the early bidders will get the top spots, and those usually aren't the most qualified people. If I don't spend all of my time hovering over the jobs feed - which I don't - then I won't stand a chance. And having a little lightening bolt next to your name with an explanation to the client that these people are just super, mega interested in being hired - meh, it sounds desperate, and will mostly be used by the desperate. I predict that the top spots will mostly be rubbish bids, and I think that clients will quickly learn to ignore them, in much the same way that I scroll past the ads at the top of Google searches in order to get to the "real" results.

Upwork, if you want to increase revenue from the sale of connects, wouldn't it be better to stop rewarding 10 connects for interviews (now that you've brought in this boosting nonsense, I expect that there will be a frenzy of fake projects so that people can keep their connects topped up)? And/or increase the number of connects required for higher-paying jobs? Or just increase the price of connects, period?

m_terrazas · ‎09-09-2021

Valeria K wrote:
..........
Excited to try this out? We are eager to gather feedback while we’re testing this feature. Let us know your thoughts so we can continue to make the work marketplace even better for you.

No, I'm not at all excited about this new mess.
Like others I expected that, with all the opinions we already gave when the experiment came to light "by mistake", this would not take place.
Now, again, Upwork awaits our opinions. Do you really think we've changed our mind?
The only ones who will see it as something wonderful will be freelancers who have no experience and who try to get hired by all possible means. Sorry for them, this is not going to be more than an auction and we will add one more thread with complaints about not being hired and "where are my connects?".
And again, why would an inexperienced freelancer with no work done be above me in the list that the client sees? Just because he has decided to spend a few connects for the customer to believe that he is the most suitable.
Customers were already getting a strange list of "best matches." Now the issue will be even worse.

ETA: Have customers been directly informed of what the "blue ray" means? It doesn't help me that they have to hover over it to see what it means. And the text that appears is a bit fuzzy. It should clearly state that the freelancer HAS PAID for his proposal to be the first.
Have you thought about making a list with all the badges and their meaning that can appear in a proposal? If I were a customer, I would need it

moonraker · ‎09-09-2021

It's baffling that level of interest is being defined by how many connects you spend. It's going to be relative to what you can afford - not your actual level of interest.

For a lot of people, 6 connects will be a big deal but for me it's nothing. I could spend 6 connects on a job that I'm only half interested in (not that I apply for jobs unless I'm 100% interested), and still outbid somebody for whom it's a dream contract. The reverse will happen for me at the top of the ladder. 50 connects will be nothing for some people but something I'd need to be more cautious about, but it won't mean I'm any less interested than they are.

I've seen people welcoming this because they spend 'a lot' on connects and want to be noticed. I think they're going to be rather disappointed because they're going to become even less visible unless they're spending more than they previously were.