About "Viewd by Client" feature

[1997amin]

Hello Upworkers,

Upwork launched a new feature "Viewed by Client". But I can't see it in my proposal tab.  Please help me with it. How can I make it visible? Why it's not visible on my profile?

[25005175]

Ask here: https://community.upwork.com/t5/Feedback/Proposal-Views/m-p/1258193#M2958

[raxanaeem]

Hi there,

The "Viewed by Client" feature is designed to let freelancers know when their proposals have been viewed by the client. This feature is currently only available for certain job postings and clients, so it may not be visible in all cases.

If the feature is available for a particular job posting, you should see it in your proposal tab after submitting your proposal. If you don't see it, it's possible that the client has not yet viewed your proposal or that the feature is not available for that job posting.

If you have any further questions or concerns, please let me know

[sinisa_rudan]

unfortunatelly, if  this is true:

---

If you don't see it, it's possible that the client has not yet viewed your proposal or that the feature is not available for that job posting.

---

then it means that "Viewed by Client" cannot be used as proof that our proposal has not been seen, thus it almost looses any value. It becomes it might be that ... if and ... if .. and ... 😞
It would become valuable if the "not available for this post" badge/feature were added.

So can someone really confirm that this quote from Naeem R is true? Thanks

[the-right-writer]

If you don't see the client has looked at your proposal, then they didn't view your proposal. There is no question.

[a304bdf0]

Quote from Naeem R  was true six months ago, when the feature was in the early stage of implementing.

Not any more. Like Jeanne H said, there is no question.

[designrussia]

Hello,

It is interesting that under my "Proposals" I see that only about 30% of them get "Viewed by client" icon. Like this https://prnt.sc/DoS09EEA0dJ1 

Does it really mean that in most cases buyers don't even get to see my proposal? 

Does it say about low proposal quality (though how do buyers judge about it if they don't see it)? 

Or this is typical for Upwork and most of the proposals we write never get viewed?

[PradeepH]

Hi Alex,

I understand your concern about the "Viewed by client" icon on your proposals. It can be frustrating to see that your proposals are not being viewed by potential clients.

There are several possible reasons why this might happen. One is that the clients receive a large number of proposals and they only have time to view a few of them. Another is that the clients have specific criteria or preferences that they use to filter out the proposals that do not match them. A third is that the buyers may have already found a suitable freelancer and did not close the job.

It does not necessarily mean that your proposal quality is low or that you are doing something wrong. However, it is always a good idea to review your proposals and see if you can improve them in any way. Some tips to make your proposals more effective are:

- Tailor your proposal to each job and show how you can solve the buyer's problem or meet their needs.
- Highlight your relevant skills, experience and portfolio samples that match the job requirements.
- Use clear and concise language and avoid spelling or grammar errors.
- Include a call to action that invites the client to contact you for more details or to discuss the project further.

I hope this helps you to understand the "Viewed by client" icon better and to improve your chances of getting hired on Upwork.

- Pradeep

[sinisa_rudan]

Sorry @Pradeep but how improving the proposal can help if they haven't even seen it??
It would be like advice to make the content of our email more interesting so that the receiver gets a desire to open it.

But the content is not seen at all unless opened.

So in emails only the subject can be changed to motivate its opening.

What is the "subject" in upwork proposals?
Why would clients decide NOT TO VIEW a proposal even before opening it?
And how we can improve that?
Your advice unfortunately doesn't work - they all address the question of not accepting our proposal, and not of not viewing it at all.
Thanks!

[luce-neidert]

Sinisa,

Whithout opening your proposal, the client sees only the 2 first lines.

Imagine that you wrote something like "I hope you are doing well, my name is ..., I'm ... years old, I live in ... I'm writing you about your job offer entitled.... .

Why on earth would the client click on your offer to read more? Those two lines need to be about what you can offer the client, why you are a good fit for the job and things like that.

[sinisa_rudan]

First of all, how many freelancers are aware that only the first 2 lines are seen?
It's not communicated upfront at all.
And that leads to my initial doubt:

How can writing the full content better help at all??
What does help is:

- writing the 2 first lines to be catchy (a call-for-viewing) - the same rules that go for writing an email's subject

- ranging better by algorithms that sort proposals (b.c. clients probably often don't read the whole list of proposals)

[the-right-writer]

I'm not sure where I first learned about the two lines, but it's been that way for years. I don't think clients have ever seen more than that initially. I don't think they ever saw the entire proposal at first without clicking on it.

You have to write something in the first lines to get your foot in the door. Then you follow up with a dynamic proposal, that covers every crucial aspect of the job. I don't mean do the job, I mean tell them what you can do that is better than all the rest.

[yofazza]

---

Sinisa R wrote:

What does help is:

- writing the 2 first lines to be catchy (a call-for-viewing) - the same rules that go for writing an email's subject

- ranging better by algorithms that sort proposals (b.c. clients probably often don't read the whole list of proposals)

---

You're right about the full content will only appeal to the client after they open it. Before that, other than the two lines, I think I can say:

• Profile title
• JSS
• Total earnings
• Photo

I'm not sure about other details because they seem to change quite often. Upwork is experimenting with them. Our skills used to appear in the list, but not anymore. I've seen screenshots where Total Earnings weren't there, but a newer screenshot confirmed that they put it back, etc.

The client's 'custom questions', I think it used to also appear on the proposal snippet, but I'm not sure now.

Other than those, yes of course, the notorious sorting algo can keep your proposal at the bottom, or the other folder, so even the snippet might not be visible to the client.

[sinisa_rudan]

With all that put aside what would be your approach to write those first 2 lines?
Focus on:

1. your offer for that job, or
2. on yourself/your portfolio
3. on the specific job/client?

I have a history of good "cold-emailing" writing good business emails that get opened and responded to, and also I write dedicated, professional cover letters, yet with Upwork it doesn't seem to work (almost no views)

[luce-neidert]

It's up to you to work of what those two first lines should be. You need to convince the client that you are a good fit for his job in a few words.

Upwork does not tell you about the two first lines but they already tell you about many things and not many people take the time to use those things.

Should you propose a job as a client, you would see how important those two first lines are. Right from the start you can put aside cover letters that don't seem to be to the point.

[sinisa_rudan]

seems that you misunderstood again.

I was not saying that it should be expected from Upwork to tell what should be content of those two lines 🙂

it's up to us.
I was saying it was not communicated that clients see those 2 lines from the proposal prior to opening it.

And that knowing makes a huge difference

[luce-neidert]

Well, most of the freelancers don't bother to use the advice given by Upwork anyway. It's not up to me to tell Upwork what else they should tell freelancers.

[yofazza]

I know the two lines thing from the forum. I personally think it's not a detail that is required to be explained by Upwork.

[tlsanders]

Then you must also have a history of writing subject lines that convert. Apply the same principles.

[designrussia]

Interesting. Never heard of 2 lines rule, thank you Luce! 

Can I ask what is the rough persantage of your proposals that get "viewed by the client" marker?

[luce-neidert]

Well, things are changing rapidly, and right now none of the few offers I've made have been viewed, maybe because I don't boost anything. 
Up to two weeks ago, I would say at least a quarter of my offers would be viewed.

Mind you, I have not needed to make any offers for long periods, thanks to my repeat clients. Also, right now, most of the jobs offered do not interest me.

[msimon_pm]

1 in 8 proposals got opened, and I cannot imagine how catching the first two lines can be. We were encouraged by Upwork to start with "Dear Whoever". Should I write "howdy baby" instead?

[designrussia]

Hi  Pradeep,

Thanks for reply, but honestly this doesn't help at all. 

Do I get it right, you are saying the quality of proposal matters in terms of "viewed by the client" ratio to submited proposals? But how if they don't view them? 

Things like too many proposals or not meeting the specified job criteria are of course crucial for "viewed rate", this is obvious and goes without saying, but do you have some statictics how many proposals usually get viewed on posted jobs? 30%? 70%? 90%?  more? This seems to be important question to me.

[yofazza]

Pradeep did not say that the quality of the proposal matters. In fact, he almost said the opposite:

It does not necessarily mean that your proposal quality is low or that you are doing something wrong. However, it is always a good idea...

And they will not tell you their internal percentages data unless it has some advantages and they've thinked about it thoroughly (like the how many percent higher the chance of getting hired if we boost).

But, lots of people have posted their stats and I'll say it's about 30%, view to sent ratio.

[sinisa_rudan]

Actually, Pradeep did say that the quality of the proposal matters. To quote several sentences claiming or implying that:

"- Another is that the buyers have specific criteria or preferences that they use to filter out the proposals that do not match them. 

- However, it is always a good idea to review your proposals and see if you can improve them in any way. Some tips to make your proposals more effective are:

- Tailor your proposal to each job and show how you can solve the buyer's problem or meet their needs.
- Highlight your relevant skills, experience and portfolio samples that match the job requirements.
- Use clear and concise language and avoid spelling or grammar errors. 
- Include a call to action that invites the buyer to contact you for more details or to discuss the project further."

All these directions are to improve the proposal to make it more often viewed. Yet it doesn't work, bc all these improvements are not seen until the proposal is viewed 😄

[the-right-writer]

If the client does look at your proposal, and it's garbage, how does that serve you? Proposals must be perfect and appropriate.

So, you write a killer first line, but then the client reads further and discovers it is horrible. Again, foot in the door until the clients sees the amazing proposal in full.

[sinisa_rudan]

Jeanne, we are not trying to help those whose proposals the client denied or skipped after viewing their proposal.

We are trying to help/solve the issue of the proposal NOT VIEWED at all.
And for that having a killer proposal WOULD NOT HELP.

Even opposite! Writing a killer proposal takes time and you will see at least in IT jobs that often after 30 min there are 50+ proposals so accordingly you might see that clients often start interviewing before you even see a post not to mention write a killer proposal 🙂 🙂

What we've agreed so far is that only the first 2 lines might help in rising VIEWED RATIO.

And what else?

[the-right-writer]

If you get your foot in the door with great opening lines...then the client reads total garbage...how is that going to get you a job? It won't.

The vast majority of instant applicant jobs are not real. They are scammers, bots, agencies, cheats, and freelancers who will never, ever, get a job - unless it is from one of their scammer friends.

If you are trying to be one of the first, it won't work out well. It is not the way to get great jobs or clients.

No one has to follow my advice. However, when they don't, and come crying to the forum about losing it all, I am losing my empathy.

[tlsanders]

it is very, very easy to weed out many freelancers without opening a proposal, so you should not assume that if someone's proposal wasn't viewed, the client didn't make a conscious decision about them. 

[yofazza]

Yes, quality of the proposal matters, but I was responding to this:

Do I get it right, you are saying the quality of proposal matters in terms of "viewed by the client" ratio to submited proposals?

... where even the mod said, "it doesn't necessarily mean...", so it's really determined by things we almost have no control of.

Of all the people who complained here about this, I only saw 1-2 people lament about not getting interviewed after they got their proposals viewed, and I would tell them, "unlike me, you know what to improve."

[giglesiasdi]

Hi Pradeep, thank you for that answer, I have exactly the same doubt. I applied for a job that's absolutely within my area of expertise, they asked for an expert on specific software, they needed someone who's been using it for at least 4 years; I have been using that software for the last 12 years; I even made a sample that they said the would require to test the abilities, it was a rendering, and my result is exactly the same as what they needed for the test. 
I even bought connects to boost my proposal, and it remains on top of the bid, but with all of this being said, I checked the job posting and they are interviewing 2 persons, but I did not even get the "viewed by client" check. This means exactly that, they didn't even see my proposal.  I'm confused. I followed the recommendations , solved the client's needs in advance, highlighted my skills, and added my portfolio abstract showcasing the same rendering quality that the client already hast on their webpage, also added a call to action, everything; made a bid that cost me money from my previous work, but I did it because I knew it was absolutely within the client's need but the thing is that the client didn't even got to see all that, because the proposal was not even viewed. 

Now I know about those "2 first lines"; and it happens that my first line is an introduction to myself (my name and profession, just that). Then I start directly talking about the proposal and how it caught my attention, but, the thing is, I always leave 1 blank line after the first line, and between paragraphs, so it's easier to read.  Why did nobody tell us about this?

Also, if you bid to be in 1st place, at least you expect one click over your proposal, not being hired, but at least being seen; and if you spend that money, is because you are confident that you will be useful to the client. I'm really confused about how these things work. 

Can we get a screenshot of what the clients see when we apply? That should be a little bit more fair. 

[yofazza]

You need to find the screenshots on Google (they are often posted here and often deleted).

Blank lines should be okay. Someone (a client) confirmed this, and Upwork's tech is **bleep** if they didn't think about it.

About your unviewed boosted proposal (are you sure it stays in the boosted slots until the end?), well, maybe the two lines cause it; your name and profession are not interesting for clickbait. The client also already saw your name and your title(s) in other parts of the proposal snippet.

[giglesiasdi]

Of course, my first two lines are not catchy! I mean, every cover letter advises states that you should start in a cordial manner, and then start talking about the proposal, not yourself, etc. But if I had known  that the client would only see 2 lines, of course I wouldn't have started with my name and profession, although, I'm not sure if the client will see that in advance, or only two lines. And yep, my bid is still there, not having been outbid. Who knows. 

[luce-neidert]

A cover letter on Upwork is not the same as other cover letters. I do start with a short greeting, but never include my name, it is not necessary. Right away I get into why I'm sending an offer.

The thing about the 2 lines has been discussed on the forum for a long time and that's how I've learned about it. Now that you know about it, try to take it into account.

[giglesiasdi]

Of course I will take it into account, now that I now it, thank you. The problem is that I have been spending money in connects, using time personalizing both my cover letters, my portfolio abstracts per each client, and all of a sudden the problem is that my first 2 lines were not catchy, because nobody at Upwork tells you that. Now I googled some screen prints showing what do the clients see, of course I changed my main cover letter template, and I also changed the title of my profile. Meanwhile, I'm losing chances just because of two lines. Just not fair. 
Anyhow, we are talking about proposal that rarely get more than 15 freelancers, it is not a big deal to enter the first profiles to see what can they get. I hire people myself at my current work. 

[luce-neidert]

I would not say that not knowing about the importance of the two first lines is unfair. When I started using Upwork, in 2016, there was much less competition. I didn't know about the 2 first lines for a long time and did not need to know about it as there were plenty of job offers and less freelancers.

To my mind, the present situation of competition has changed everything, and it's up to us freelancers to figure that out.

[giglesiasdi]

Well UpWork has guides and recommendations, it costs nothing to say something like "Your 2 first lines are important". I made my own research, I watched tons of Youtube videos, tutorials, recommendations, etc from people who already use Upwork. In fact, this helped me to get my first 4 or 5 clients during the past year, so yes, I'm trying to figure everything out. But in the meanwhile,  I just keep buying connects with the money that I earned from my previous works, until some new client read my first two lines 😞 

Not to say that right now bids start at 50 connects, so it just gets harder and harder. Or harder and more expensive. But hey, maybe all this pays in the near future.

[luce-neidert]

Beware of the YouTube videos about Upwork. Most of the ones I've watched where made by people who don't seem to know much about Upwork. Their aim is to get views on YouTube. They are not very reliable sources of information. Besides Upwork has changed a lot recently, and what was good advice only last year is not that useful now. We're all trying to adapt.

I don't think bidding is useful. If you are a good fit for the client's job, that's what is going to get you the job. But Upwork is currently trying to make money from selling connects, that's why they propose to bid jobs.

[yofazza]

Yes it's typical, and I agree about no judging before seeing.