Would sending many invitations makes a project less attractive to freelancers?

[05aaa321]

Hello there,

My main question is this: Would sending many invitations to freelancers makes it less attractive for them to bid for the project?

Recently, I had a book chapter that required editing. I posted the advert and made it available to Upwork community. I could only send a small number of invites, so I decided to pay Upwork specialist to help finding the right freelancer – and I also contacted several freelancers by myself that have been known to me from previous jobs.

I received a proposal from a freelancer. I did not respond immediately as I wanted to wait for others to respond first, so that I could compare their skills, experiences, and rates. A few hours later, this freelancer sent this message to me: “In light of the fact that you issued TWENTY invitations, this no longer feels like a likely prospect -- so, if I have not heard back from you before 6 PM, I will be withdrawing my proposal this evening.”

A couple of hours later, she sent me this message: “My schedule is now closed until August.”

I responded back by thanking her for the proposal and mentioned that she would need to give me some more time to think about the proposals – not just for a few hours, though I appreciate she might want to close the deal as quickly as she could. Also, it was Upwork who encouraged me to send as many invites as possible, as they anticipated a low response rate. They were right, out of 21 invitations, only 5 responded. Nevertheless, as she had withdrawn her proposal, I just left the conversation there.

She then responded by saying: “Unfortunately, the higher-rated members on Upwork rarely take on a project that has gone out with a blanket invitation. Whatever recommendations you received about that are not regarded highly by those of us who actually make a living as professional writers and editors. Just today, I've just received a new ranking on Upwork -- Top Rated Plus. That's a new classification for those of us who do superior work.”

And then another message came in from her: “If you would like to send me a direct invitation in about 2 weeks, I'll see if I can work it in.”

So my questions are:

1. Is it true that sending many invitations put off freelancers from bidding for the work?
   
   
2. Could the freelancers actually see the number of bids, because surely this would provide a better picture of who were interested in the project?
   
   
3. I also found the messages from this freelancer to be pushy (wanting a contract as quickly as possible), condescending (talking down to client and belittling other freelancers using her “superior” status of “Top Rated Plus” and contradictory (she said she’s closed until August and then ask me to send a direct invitation in 2 weeks if I am still interested in hiring her). What an odd encounter!

Thanks for reading and look forward to hearing your responses.

[kfarnell]

Some freelancers are put off by 'many' invitations. But if you put them all in a room and asked what 'many' meant to them, there's a fair chance you'd get different answers. Others couldn't give a hoot. I'm in the hoot category. (Though obviously if you sent - say - 300 invitations, most people would think you're just messing about.)

Yes, we can see the number of bids, but that isn't always meaningful. If (for example) someone replied to an invitation by saying 'Thanks but my cat's just been run over so I'm taking time off' and you replied to say, 'Oh, no. I'm sorry about that', it would look like a bid when you're just chatting about cats.

I wouldn't think anything if someone who didn't respond in less than a couple of days. Although a few people send some sort of holding response within nano seconds, and some will hire right away because a proposal presses all the right buttons and more, it's more usual for a couple (if not more) days to pass before a response is sent. It isn't uncommon for it to take weeks. (Personally, I have reservations about working with someone who tries to rush through the process unless there's a clear reason why they're in a hurry.)

But there are some people who are always in a terrible hurry. It sounds like this editor wants to move faster than you do. And what you found pushy, someone else might think is dynamic. You found you aren't a good fit and are more alert to what you do and don't want so you gained something from the encounter.

For what it's worth, I'm also a Top Rated Plus rated editor.  

[05aaa321]

Thanks for responding. I agree that by receiving her response, I am more alert to my "energy" - which certainly does not match hers. Interesting use of the word "dynamic" 

[sjbercot]

I'm a bit shocked by this freelancer's behavior to be honest, but I suppose some might call it dynamic! 🙂 At any rate, 20 invitations is not a number I'd be worried about when applying, at all. If it were 50 or 100, you might start getting avoided by some freelancers. But this one certainly doesn't speak for all "high-rated members on Upwork," as I am also Top Rated Plus and am happy to respond to clients who have invited even 20 (!) other freelancers. There are a lot of freelancers on here and it can be difficult to find the right one(s).

Personally, I don't pay much attention to the number of invitations if the job is a good fit and looks otherwise serious, but I also don't mind if clients take days or weeks to hire. My schedule often changes about as quickly as theirs, I imagine. You may miss some very busy or rushed freelancers by inviting more than a few or taking more than a day to hire, but there is enough great talent on here that you really don't need to spend more time than you want with freelancers you find condescending or pushy or too rushed.

[05aaa321]

Thanks Sarah, I found your reply very reassuring. Especially when you said, "there is enough great talent on here that you really don't need to spend more time than you want with freelancers you find condescending or pushy or too rushed." Thank you 

Initially I thought I did something wrong - albeit guided by Upwork Specialist. But as you said (and others too), many invitations is an arbitrary expression - it differs from one freelancer to another. The last thing that I wanted to do would be to offend anyone on this platform.

[wescowley]

Yes, many freelancers, including me, use the number of invitations as a filter when deciding whether to reply. I don't have a fixed number, but there's a point where it starts to feel spammy.  That depends in part on what the posting looks like: how interesting is it, what's the client's history, etc. Once I submit a proposal, though, I won't go back and withdraw it something from my discussion with the client makes me decide the project isn't for me.

Yes, we can see the number of bids (in rough ranges) and the number of answered/unanswered invites (though this is often very delayed).  

Yes, that interaction does seem a bit rude. First, I don't care how long it takes someone to get back to me. I've had excellent contracts with people who've come back more than a month after the proposal. Certainly, a few hours doesn't matter. If I'm backed up, I'll share my earliest availability in the proposal, and if that changes significantly shortly after an interview starts, I'll update the client so they don't waste time if my new availability doesn't meet their schedule. But, just based on your quotes, that interaction does seem rude and arrogant. It's certainly not something that would make me want to go back to them.

And, again, just based on your quotes, I think that freelancer may be misunderstanding the difference between TR+ and TR. All TR+ means is that they've reached a higher level of annual billings than TR requires and they have worked at least one large contract ($5K for editors, I think). Neither rating will get you a cup of coffee at Starbucks.

Best of luck with your book.

[05aaa321]

Thank you Wes, I found your reply reassuring too. I forgot that freelancers could see client's history. Hopefully a combination of client's history, the job posting etc will be sufficient to determine if a job is genuine or not. 

Also thanks for the explanation on TR and TR+. Admittedly I did not pay much attention to this before - I only looked at the freelancers' expertise, job success, earning (sometimes) and feedback from previous clients (all the time), and at times, personality too . Sometimes, freelancers sent me a sample of their work, and when I sent a sample of my work to them, they mentioned how they could help me - all of these things I found very helpful in making a decision on who I'd like to hire.