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Project Catalog™—now available globally!

lenaellis
Community Member

Over the past few months, many of you have helped us test and refine our newest Upwork offering: Project Catalog. 

 

Through your contributions, feedback, and support, we’re thrilled to announce that Project Catalog is now officially live for the entire Upwork community—talent and clients alike.

 

If you’re not familiar with Project Catalog (or just want a refresher), here’s a quick introduction:

 

Project Catalog is where the work you love finds you. Build and sell your own project offerings based on the type of work you want more of. Each project will be listed on Project Catalog, ready for clients to purchase for a fixed price in just a few clicks. Once a client purchases, they’ll fill out any requirements you’ve requested, and you’ll be set to get to work.

 

It’s an easy way to get more eyes on your offering and land new projects quickly—all while putting you in the driver’s seat. That means you and your clients can get started right away, and with confidence.

 

Check out this video to learn how clients will discover and purchase your projects. 

 

 

Stay tuned for more exciting rollouts 

 

Project Catalog is just the beginning of a series of exciting new ways to land clients on Upwork, adding to Talent Marketplace, the current platform you already know and love.

 

But no matter how you choose to use Upwork to grow your independent work, know that we’re dedicated to helping you build the strong and profitable relationships that are the foundation of a growing business.

 

We want to thank you for your hard work and the contributions you make to creating a thriving community on Upwork.

 

Happy New Year—may it be your most rewarding one yet!

 

 

824 Comments
kochubei_valeria
Community Member

Hi Md Rasel,

 

I see the team sent you an email when your project was declined which outlines a specific reason why that happened and some suggestions on how to improve. I encourage you to check that email out!

selar
Community Member

I've just had a message from a client on my first project:

"Hi Paul,
I have footage for a video that I want to edit. ~5 minutes long. My budget is 30$ - and i liked you reviews and service description. Can we do it for 30$? i see many video editing in this catalog for that budget and if it works I'll have more projects to send your way."

 

My basic package starts at $90. I'm already being pressured to lower my prices by two-thirds because clients - predictably - aren't just picking these off-the-shelf the way we were told they would in the webinar.

 

Edit: I've now also been linked to another project in the category listed at $15 and told 'but I prefer your work and I'm willing to pay more - what can I get for $35?'. We parted company when they told me 'keep in mind that there's a strong competition in your category - i think that 90 is too expensive.'

 

Mods: are there any plans to put systems in place to prevent these bartering attempts? They undermine what you're trying to create.

gina-herrera
Community Member

Paul R wrote:

I'm already being pressured to lower my prices by two-thirds because clients - predictably - aren't just picking these off-the-shelf the way we were told they would in the webinar.


"clear scope. upfront price. no surprises"

^ the tagline used to promote project catalog... more like it's not a surprise that people don't understand or care what a clear scope is.

atlinguist
Community Member

Hurra! Just got my very first message through the project catalog. It reads:

"hi - can we do 1000 words for 15? that's the other quote i got from another freelance here, but your service looks better. I'm willing to go to 20 if it helps."

atlinguist
Community Member

Thank you, Valeria!

I hope that by talent quality you are not going to suggest that a computerized ranking mechanism knows what quality is.

atlinguist
Community Member

I think someone is having a lot of fun with us here. (Wait a minute, isn't there a name for that kind of trolling? ... baiting-something?)

 

My first message reads:

"hi - can we do 1000 words for 15? that's the other quote i got from another freelance here, but your service looks better. I'm willing to go to 20 if it helps."

(My offer is 80 for 2k.)

gina-herrera
Community Member

Alexandra H wrote:

 

My first message reads:

"hi - can we do 1000 words for 15? that's the other quote i got from another freelance here, but your service looks better.


yes, better service for the same price, makes perfect sense! how... unsurprising

m_terrazas
Community Member

facepalm.gif

kochubei_valeria
Community Member

Hi Paul and Alexandra, thanks for sharing your experience. We've shared this with the team and will see what we could do around educating clients better about how the feature works.
The way Project Catalog works already is that a client isn't able to purchase your project for less than what you've determined. If, instead of making a purchase, a client reaches out via a message with an offer you're not interested in, you're free to refuse it (and even block the client if you wish so,) similarly to how you could reject an invite or an offer from a client who's reaching out via your profile.

atlinguist
Community Member

Thank you, Valeria, for the tip.

 

What I did is point out to the "client" that she should post her project on the UW marketplace instead, where she can state her budget limit. And that the project catalog is not the right place for her request. Always at your service. Customer is king. 

 

(And since we are supposed to be having carnival over here, I'll go to the grocery store or a craftsman or whatever and ask for a whopping great discount on a pre-packaged product. Should be fun.)