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pdkmusic
Community Member

A long dry spell. I need some help

Hi, I work as a freelancer for the last 2 years. I never had long periods of inactivity, even when I was starting out. For the last month, I didnt get any replies so I am wondering what may seem to be the problem. So any input would be much appreciated. 

12 REPLIES 12
prestonhunter
Community Member

This is what I saw when I looked at your profile:

 

Screen Shot 2021-10-21 at 11.32.06 AM.png

 

For many people, music is an enjoyable avocation, but not necessarily a source of income.

 

I am thrilled if you have had a substantial period of success using Upwork. I don't know that there is any specific explanation that could apply to your situation. You are working in a very narrow niche, and it isn't one that many regular Forum participants (if any) work in. My firsthand experience with Upwork has no dry spell or slow down. But my niche has no overlap with yours, and my experience may simply not apply to you.

 

Upwork is not necessarily where typical music clients search first when looking for people to help them with their music composition/music production projects. You're probably already findable using other places that clients typically look.

I have to disagree with you on this one. There are many jobs in audio on upwork. People want music for their games, their films, their ads etc. There is a category dedicated to audio people on upwork(!!!). The problem is not that there are no jobs. Please read my post if you want to help. 

Panos:
I am glad to hear that there are lots of jobs on Upwork for this niche.

 

re: "I am wondering what may seem to be the problem."

 

If you are wondering if there is a specific technical issue taht can account for your dry spell... I doubt it.

I'm also in music/audio. I would say if you were getting steady work then good for you lol. I get MAYBE two jobs a month..if that. Sometimes one. Sometimes none. That's across composing, editing, mixing, voiceover, etc.

 

My job rate is something crazy low like 1 out of every 100 jobs applied for. My best answer is competition. If you notice, most of our jobs have 20+ freelancers..sometimes 50+. It's very hard to get jobs with that many people going for them.

 

Wishing you continued success!

Thank you. Yes its the first time I have this problem. I also do many audio related things, thats why I was having work most of the time. The problem isnt that I get no jobs. Its that I get no replies. And how it suddenly stopped. Its not about luck by the way. I do this thing since I was 9 y.o. 

As for replies, 99% of my job submissions get no replies. If a client gets 20+ submissions, they are not going to reply to everyone and most likely just the freelancer they want to use.

 

I'm sure you're good. I did not use the word "luck" ;).

I send a message to the stuff cause I am also getting an error message when I open upwork. As you can see in the screenshot. I dont know if this has anything to do with my problem. My profile is 100% completed. If I refresh the page, I can see the jobs. Screenshot_1.png

BojanS
Community Manager
Community Manager

Hi Panos,

 

Could you please try adding Saved Searches to see if the issue persists?  In general, My Feed is powered by your saved searches and will consist of the jobs that fit the query and filters you use when saving those searches.

 

Thank you! 

~ Bojan
Upwork
pdkmusic
Community Member

Ok, I added a saved search. This issue happens once a day. So its not something that I get all the time. But it started hapenning, when I started not having replies. So I thought that maybe it has something to do with that. But I am not sure.  

I've noticed less jobs available in my area, book editing. I used to see more than a dozen a day, now I just asee a few. Might just be a busy time of year and less jobs posted. 

Hello Panos K,

 

If it's a problem with the jobs display, you could try changing browsers, it may be an Ajax compatibility issue with some browsers.

 

Regarding jobs and replies, I have felt that the competition has become stronger. This is not necessarily on the level of professionalism, but on the excellent profile of most freelances, the perfect JSS, and the lower rate.

 

I don't know if you feel it as well, I feel that clients in general have also started to become more price-sensitive after the epidemic.

tlbp
Community Member


Panos K wrote:

I have to disagree with you on this one. There are many jobs in audio on upwork. People want music for their games, their films, their ads etc. There is a category dedicated to audio people on upwork(!!!). The problem is not that there are no jobs. Please read my post if you want to help. 


Okay, 

So the jobs are there, but you aren't getting them. 

First, evaluate this premise. There are job postings. But, what percentage of those postings end with a hire. That number represents the total number of 'real' gigs that you might land using Upwork. 

Next, how many freelancers are actively competing for those gigs? Are different freelancers landing each of these gigs or do most of the real gigs go to the same few freelancers? 

Also, what are the posted hourly rates of the freelancers who are landing these gigs? And, in general, what do their profiles look like in comparison to yours? 

 

Bottom line: Freelancing isn't just  "I have a skill, hire me." You must act as a business owner, do market research, analyse your competitors, find your differentiators and educate prospects about what makes you the person with the skill that they should hire.  

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