Marketplace Updates: Boosted Proposals and Connects

[4f19aa7c]

Two new Marketplace updates: 

1. Introduced a fourth slot in Boosted Proposals, increasing your chances of being noticed, while continuing to let clients see who is most interested in their job post.
2. Adjusted the range for the cost of Connects per job to better match the demand for jobs in the Marketplace.

Check out the product release for Marketplace Updates: Boosted Proposals and Connects and let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

[imcaptain]

I didn't mean by WEAK profiles "HOW BAD THEY ARE", but I mean newcomers.

And i understand why you are defending on these increasings in bid connects as it benefits you not as a PROFESSIONAL but a freelancer who already made a lot of jobs with a based budget to help him more than anyone else like newcomers.

We say "The one whose hand is in fire is not like the one whose hand is in water." , you wont get the point ever as you are seeking your own interest only.

Its not about professionals anymore, its all now about money and who could PAY for his proposals.

[iqraasoft]

Why upwork is not doing anything to attract serious clients and screen clients? Upwork does a good job of removing old jobs but still, there is room for improvement. 

[6e2aac4a]

Help me I’ve been trying for so long not a single order for me I have
watched thousands of videos but no benefits gained till now I am a website
developer and expert plz help me getting a project

[9ae2d9a7]

Hi,

All Frustrating freelancers, I am also one of those, I think its a big stone burden on our head. When I check a job for 8 connects.

• Job hire rate is 50%.
• Upwork decides the connects as per their amount or high billing rate only.

if the clients' chooses us for job as per our score and our badges(they are top rated or top rated plus). Why not these rules for clients' jobs for their connects(if they have low rating or low hire rate)? But Upwork has no eyes on their clients his only eyes on freelancers who makes money.🙄 😂

•  if the job have 8 connects how far the connects for boosting, why upwork squeeze us very slowly 🙄. 

Hope you all agree with me 
keep raise your voice for it.

[imcaptain]

They are dealing with freelancers as BiG CHANCES to scam their profits, even if they are already cutting shares of their profits already from 10-20% per done job.

Instead of delivering a good service for both Freelancers and Clients, it turns into an INSANE desire of demolishing freelancer's hopes. This is not a fair system.!

If they want to help they just can LIMIT the number of proposals, but as we can see it only help the site only and most of freelancers would go to another platforms or even find another job but freelancing.

[kelly_e]

Limiting the number of proposals would mean—only people who have nothing to do but stare at their feed and jump on job listings instantly get a chance to propose

In my field I regularly see over 50 proposals within the first 20 minutes of a listing. What a firehose!!

Professionals who are doing work for their clients, may check in to their feed once a day (or less—when Upwork was functioning better for me I tried to check in only once or twice a week). Limiting the number of proposals would mean clients get only the lowest-quality, most desperate proposals, and clients would think that UW has nothing but such people to offer them. Already a large percentage of clients make no hire. Showing an even worse selection would be the kiss of death for the site.

Stopping proposals after X number just wouldn't help in the way it seems. Like turning off the firehose when only dust and sand has gotten through... before there's any water.

In my opinion (it should be) either random order, time order (with clients made aware that good freelancers aren't always jumping in first), or weighted by quality of freelancer. Weighted by who pays most, as it is now, is crap.

[imcaptain]

I know, but I said that because this guy William T C said up there that one of the reasons for increasing connects for bids is making fewer freelancers bidders.

[kelly_e]

I see where you were going with it. It's a tough problem.

[feed_my_eyes]

---

Abd El-Karim K wrote:

I know, but I said that because this guy William T C said up there that one of the reasons for increasing connects for bids is making fewer freelancers bidders.

---

It's not. If Upwork really had too many freelancers, they would stop accepting new ones.

[hw_skuratov]

Great points, Kelly. I don't like to spend time prospecting - I like to work and do what I am good at, and it's definitely not my top priority to spend countless hours scrolling through proposals that have boosted proposals that would cost like 50$ just to bid and over 50+ people applied. And that could be a one-and-done type of job.

I think making changes that you've proposed would make it better than just showing those proposals from oftentimes people who have no clue how to approach the job, yet who spent 50-60 bucks to be #1.

And it's about clients. I think Upwork does little to nothing in terms of attracting new clients. If there's no demand, there's no supply. If we don't have good clients there's zero reasons to stay here, IMO.

[numbsain]

For the record that boosting proposals has yielded zero (0) jobs for me since its inception. I don't even bother bidding on jobs anymore it just costs more money. I normally only apply to jobs i am well suited to, why would i bother otherwise? Now the client isn't looking at the most qualified freelancers but the most desperate. I'm not here to play little bidding games and gamble connects. It's a big waste of time and clients i've spoken to don't like it either. Spend time on improving the functionality of the site. I spend more time explaining to clients how to hire me than I should.

Fix prefab questions suggested to clients that are not relevant to the industry.  "where do you get your inspiration from?" I'm a commercial artist. I'm trained to have inspiration. it comes from everything, everywhere all the time (not the movie although it was good!) it's so hard to answer that question without insulting the client. Or helpful tips for novice clients like how to end a contract and that releasing a milestone does not end a contract. I tell every client:
When the job is done and you are 100% satisfied, please follow the 3-step process
1. Release the funds from escrow
2. click the 3 dots ··· on the contract page  and scroll down to "end the contract"
3. you will be prompted to leave feedback.
I might also say:
Please note anything less than 5 stars is a demerit and a blight on my JSS that takes a year to go away.

Regardless of how many great outcomes I have, one client who tried to scam me has knocked my JSS down 3 points for a year. But this idea of boosting proposals to first second third and now 4th place is absurd. I am happy about the 10 percent across the board that works for me and it's fair.

I have ideas that will make upwork function better and make us all more money faster.
1. charge the credit card before allowing the post so people don't use stolen credit cards.
2. Weed out the people who post logo design contests where you only get paid if they pick yours.
3. teach novice clients what they need to do before hiring. Such as submitting a job ticket with all the relevant information at the start of the job.
4. Consult with freelancers in each profession on how to write relevant questions that help both client and freelancer understand the job. Questions like, "Describe a recent project you did that was similar to this one." That's what your portfolio and reviews are for. For me, as a logo design specialist every job is as unique as the client. 
5. Don't let clients post 5 dollar jobs. How can upwork or anyone make money on a $5 dollar job?
6. Don't let scammers blackmail freelancers with low scores. change the algorithm. When I give a client a refund because they are unreasonable and expect too much they should not be able to hurt my score with a bad review. They got their money back!
i have more.

[usdadp]

Yes totaly agree with you. Upwork must need to think about this.

[d7f0c067]

I would like to propose that the connect boosting system be discontinued, as it may not be affordable for many freelancers on the platform. With the current exchange rates, 150 connects can cost up to $24, which is a significant amount in some countries.

Additionally, it is observed that a vast majority of job postings boosted over 100 connects, making it difficult for freelancers who cannot afford to do so. The recent increase in connect prices to 8 connects further exacerbates the issue, as jobs under $100 now require 6 connects, which may not be fair to freelancers who cannot afford to boost their proposals.

In the interest of promoting fair competition and considering the needs of all freelancers, I suggest that the connect boosting system be discontinued. This will ensure that the right talent is considered for job postings, regardless of their ability to afford connect boosting.

[65b1ab38]

I am in a country where the exchange rate is $1.00 = R18.00.  I cant afford to do this. My rate is low so that I can encourage business, but with the price of connects, the boosting etc... I am "spending" too much and its prooving impractical. All these additional charges that Upwork earn are now on top of hte 20% commission. I feel that there is no longer a balance and that freelances are being taken advantage of.

[d7f0c067]

If you apply for a job that pays $100 and boost your proposal with 20 connects, and you are subsequently hired, Upwork will deduct $20 as fee. When you transfer the funds, an additional 3% transaction fee will also be deducted depend on your pay system and converstion rate. This means that you would receive $74 after all fees are deducted - $2 from your proposal fee and $20 for the connect boosting fee, with an additional 3% transaction fee.

[scaffer]

Absolutely agree. The increase in connections is killing young freelancers who do not have a top rate and the opportunity to grow is now almost non-existent. Looks like it's time to look for a new place to work.

[abixbg]

I think this system is great ...for milking freelancers doing multiple small gigs each week. I won't say the name but some other platform have 100 times better UI/UX and feature set for such gigs! Unfortunately the other one it's not what i am looking for, hense the reason why I have worked on oDesk/Upwork for more than a decade. This betting system will get some quick money for Upowrk, but it will hurt in the long term. Personally I link this panic move to the trend i am seeing on NASDAQ: UPWK. I woudn't be super happy if they solved it by rising the 20% cut for the first $1000 instead of $500 but at least it wouldn't have ruined the platform for vets and the serious clients.

[yofazza]

Upwork said they have more freelancers than needed.

Instead of doing some kind of vetting (as some of their competitors do), they keep the gate open and implement the boost thing so they can have something good from those more-than-needed freelancers. Good thoughts, actually.

I heard they also just raise the max required connects per project into 8 connects.

There's no reason for them to listen to your complaints. They want to make money, not to create a "fair" ground for freelancers.

They will only change this if the boost thing eventually lead into more "unsuccesful" projects → disappointed clients → less clients. I hope that's not what's currently happening right now.

[aaron-messer]

haha, good sense of humor. 
Correct critizm

[aaron-messer]

It's really hard to get jobs for freelancers. Many fake and unprofessional guys boost their proposals and took the top 4 slots.
So the other developers don't have enough chance to show their proposals to the clients.
Vise versa, clients have fewer chances to hire professional developers because many new freelancers(0 earned) boost their proposals to take the top 4 seats.
The boost option is not a good idea for both clients and freelancers.

[rafiq_jsr]

Absolutely true!

[df602768]

Hello,

I applied for a job and realized that instead of 6 Connects I had to spend 8 Connects. (?) Did Connects price rise?

[a485ff2e]

Yes, even I did see the same.

[df602768]

Why didn't they announce it? Can some moderator let us know what's going on, please?

[sofia2008]

They did announce it and it was already commented multiple times on the Forum since yesterday

Marketplace Updates: Boosted Proposals and Co... - Upwork Community

[df602768]

Yes, but it was removed from the trending. Previously such big announcements were there. Anyway, thanks for the link. 

[sofia2008]

It might depend on which device you use because I can still see it as : Marketplace Updates: Boosted Proposals and Connect

[mdbutnayem]

Hey,

Yes they did a 6 to 8 very soon it is very disappointing for us

[142a2e59]

8-12/16 i saw today 3/6/2023
is it glitch or upwok raised connects again per job?

[azharuddin99]

There have been many many jobs that do not justify 8 connects. To apply for a potential job, 6 connects were more than enough as freelancers are already paying a lot. I think this needs to be revised.

[4deb59e6]

Why 8 connects to apply for a $100 job or less? Indigestible!
 It was better if they had introduced it for only >= $500 jobs, it could have made more sense.

[jgellock]

Exactly. If you're going to ask me to spend 8 connects, the job should have a minimum. 

[k_froudarakis]

I wouldn't mind the boosting proposal system that much if Upwork added the following. A "relevance" score where the result of Upwork's ranking algorithm would be displayed next to the name of each freelancer to send a proposal.

That would be a great indicator of whether a freelancer is a good match for a job or is just using financial resources to do the equivalent of shouting louder than everyone else.

[williamtcooper]

Konstantinos,

It's already a feature - it called Best Match.

[k_froudarakis]

So the client can already see the score of the ranking algorithm next to every freelancer's name? Not just one dubbed "Best Match"?

[jgellock]

Have you used this function? Anyone who has knows it doesn't do a great job of matching.

[mike_zimmerli]

Not every freelancer at UW wants to work for an agency. I want to be a freelancer. I am 66 and semi-retired. I wanted something I could do for as long as I desired - hopefully into my 70s. But I haven't had a new job this year. I had two that crossed into 2023, but since then, zilch. 

I keep hearing that Upwork needs to be profitable by 2024. How about this: I need to be profitable in 2023!  

Is something going to be down about the horrendous flood of "agencies" that are lowballing us, telling us a job that should be priced at $4K can be ours if we're willing to do it for $100 or less?  $400-$500 jobs are being "offered" for $25-$50, and the condescending line included is "Yes, this is below normal wage, but it's steady work." It's a farce.

A few months ago, I was turning away work because I couldn't do it all. Then last fall, it crashed, and I have had two smaller jobs since then. It's good that I don't have to live on what I make through UW.

1. COMPLETELY do away with the boosting fiasco.

2. VET the clients. There are so many scams on here that it's not even humorous anymore. Has anyone else in the writing world seen this one: "I'm just starting out, so I don't have a big budget. I know professional editors get paid a lot. I just hope I can find someone to do one round of editing of my 20K word romance for $50." Give me a break. I see dozens of that exact ad every single day. By the way, I figure editing at 1¢ a word a quarter of a penny a word. 20K words = $200, not $50. And that's still below my hourly rate of $35/hour. 

3. VET the freelancers. It's not for everyone. Bad freelancers give us all a bad name. 

4. Somehow, REDUCE the percentage that Upwork takes. If they TRULY  care for the people that bring them money, they wouldn't force us to work for next to nothing. My $35 an hour after UW's 20% is $28 - taxes, etc., and it's under $20. If  I have to buy $20 worth of connects for a job, I'm losing money in the first hour I work. More happy workers and happy clients mean a bigger pot of money. UW would rather take 20% of a little pot than 15% of a huge pot. 

I used to invite clients from the outside to come to UW. No more. If it's this bad for the workers, I can only imagine how bad it is for the clients. 

If I'm not here in six months, you know why. 

[shahidul_quddusi]

They have set my profile visibility to private (on some ground) maybe just after I raised my voice about insincere job posts. That's disgusting.

However, I kept it visible only to up workers before.

[kochubei_valeria]

---

Kazi Q wrote:

They have set my profile visibility to private (on some ground) maybe just after I raised my voice about insincere job posts. That's disgusting.

However, I kept it visible only to up workers before.

---

Hi Kazi,

Your posts in the Community have no effect on your profile visibility.

Profiles of freelancers with a history of earnings on the platform will remain public unless they have not earned in more than two years, while profiles of new freelancers who haven’t earned on Upwork will be set to private after 90 days. You can check out this help article to learn more and request for your profile to be set to public. You can also consider subscribing to Freelancer Plus membership to ensure that your profile visibility is never set to private.

[shahidul_quddusi]

Valeria

I knew there are some conditions but it's hard to believe that this is a coincidence that I raised my voice about the insincere job post issues and I got my profile quarantined if I am not utterly wrong. That's not a problem for me but that's not decent.

I would like to reiterate that "the problem is when we see job posts from clients with less than 50% hire rate or even lower and where total client spend is not much or not mentionable and they demand 8 or 6 connects that becomes expensive for the newbies. Moreover, a good number of those clients are observed not to respond to even a few applicants for interviews let alone hiring anyone for months. Hope you understood my viewpoint about insincere job posts that are costing freelancers time and connects for no fruitful reasons."