$2M Earned on Upwork. I would love to HELP!

[virtualbrix]

Hey Everyone,

I posted this in the newbie group. I can answer newbie questions there,

I can help answer more advanced questions here, I would love to help my fellow freelancers : )

I have been on upwork for 12 years now (previously elance),

I have been on the forums for a couple years but never really participated much,

I figured, what better way than to help others, ask away, some stats below (you can also click to see my profile)

👉 Earned $2 Million+ on Upwork.
👉 Completed 400+ jobs on freelance platforms.
👉 Attained 200+ 5-star reviews.
👉 Worked 40,000+ hours on freelance platforms
👉 Earned a 100% Feedback Rating
👉 Worked with 1,000+ Clients

Thank You - Sam

[virtualbrix]

The KEY here is to be super specific from the start.

[36235de5]

Hello Sam.

Your experience is great! It is commendable that you decided to share your knowledge. :excellent:

Can you take a look at my profile and suggest what could be improved?

Have you had a hard time getting a job on the platform?

can you help me

Thanks.....

[virtualbrix]

Hey Nighat,

I am one of the lucky ones that has been here for a long time (back from the elance days)

I had a look at your profile and I would recommend you edit and go through each section and review it in detail. Let me know when you do that and I will review the changes. Add testimonials, add a protfolio if it makes sense and other sections.

[a9587e09]

Spoiler

Have a nice day i will like to join you 😊 

Spoiler

Spoiler

[virtualbrix]

Thank you!

[virtualbrix]

Sunday, My Pleasure

[9c5778fd]

Hello Sam.
Your experience is great! Can you take a look at my profile and suggest what could be improved?
Have you had a hard time getting a job on the platform? I am new to the platform and I am still not getting good jobs.
Can you help me

Thanks.....

[virtualbrix]

Hey Mykola,

I hope all is well, here are some quick recommendations: 

• add more items to your portfolio
• add more experiences if you have them
• add a video if you can (i know, i know, i don't have one but I should!)
• any certifications you can add to your profile will give you more credibility
• try to include keywords which are relevant to your industry in a non spammy way.
• Most importantly, continue to keep clients happy and get great reviews > JSS > Score > Badges

Have a look at mines, may be it will help and give you some ideas: 

https://www.upwork.com/freelancers/samerbazzi

[renata101]

I'm curious. What exactly do you think systems administrators should use as portfolio items?

[virtualbrix]

That is a tough one, may be show some certifications you have taken? You cant really show anything like a design portfolio or anything like that. If you do secuiruty (sys. admin), you can always show number of threats you have stopped?

[8e30a943]

Thank you so much for your help. Could you also look at my profile and suggest what can be improved?

 

[virtualbrix]

Hey Alexandros,

I had a quick look and it looks fine. I would suggest, like i have for others, that you focus on things like videos, certifications. etc.

[raju42]

Great Instruction!

[virtualbrix]

Thank You - I appreciate it.

[e5cf79eb]

Hey Samer! It's so nice to see that people getting what they actually deserve, welldone and congratulations to you for this big success. I'm new here on upwork and I have been applying for small tasks or projects but they never seem to read my proposal idkwhy? But i have tried to boost them and it's been 3-4 days i have been writing short and good-quality proposal and i am really confused where I am wrong can you please give me advice what to do ? And also can you please give a walkthrough to my profile https://www.upwork.com/freelancers/mukadusjawaid

Thankyou Samer, 

may Success always knocks on your door.

[virtualbrix]

Mukadus,

I hope all is well on your end. I will have a look at your profile.

[virtualbrix]

Thank You and I replied.

[tjmisny]

Hi Samer - Congrats on your success.  I looked at your portfolio and I have a question - your hourly rate is listed at $200/hr, however almost all of your "In Progress" projects you are working for $60/hr.  What is the logic of listing your rate at over 3x what you are actually working for?

[virtualbrix]

I get a lot of invites which are much lower than the even $60 listed. I put it a bit higher and go from there.

[lysis10]

I have questions.

1) Do you farm out work and bill on your profile?

2) What did you make last year or within the last year?

[financemark]

Great questions Jennifer:

The OPosting just sings scam, and the claims are really difficult to believe --- my experience with SEO.PPC.CRO FL here on UW is that they charge US rates (or Michigan rates if you believe he resides there -- I dont) and produce the work offshore -- price arbitragers are ALL OVER UW.  

[javedaslam72]

Hi Samer!

When I first started out as a freelancer on Upwork, I was able to receive projects, but once I achieved the status of Top Rated Freelancer, I found that I was no longer able to get as many assignments. I am now going through the process of submitting the proposals to the clients and putting everything into action. What are your thoughts, and can you tell me how I might find work on Upwork?

I am looking forward to seeing your response.

[virtualbrix]

Hey Javad,

This is a great question that I am asked often, basically, with the algorithm changes, the new upwork features which allows freelancers to promote thier proposals and so on, I would say the best way would be to: 

1. Keep submitting proposals (if you can pay to play, DO IT - I know it may be painful to some)
2. Keep current clints happy (they will always come back and or give you more work / extend the current contract)
3. When submitting new contracts, try to make them unique, without spending a while day on it

4. Reviews, Reviews and Reviews. Really, these types of platforms are based on history and reputation, keep it awesome

In reality, you have to have a good reputation and just keep submitting. The traditional notion that you should spend a lot of time and make your proposal perect is not longer as relevant as it use to be with the new features. You now have two options: 

1. submit a LOT of proposals (of course, to jobs which are relevant to your skill set)

2. pay to play, meaning, submit and just pay what ever it takes to be in the top 3

I hope this helps

[javedaslam72]

Samer, I appreciate it. I will put your recommendations into action and I appreciate your attention to my response. 🙂

Congratulations on reaching the 2M+ earned milestone on Upwork. If you have any blogs where you share your expertise about freelancing and Upwork, I would be interested in reading them. 

[virtualbrix]

Hey Javad,

I wish I had the time, I spend more of my time freelancing and taking care of my clients. Feel free to ask me a question here on the forum anytime you want.