Boosting Proposals - A Simple Test

wlyonsatl · ‎01-02-2023

Things were a bit slow over the holidays and I typically can't even carryover all my connects from month to month because most of my new jobs come from invitations, so on December 15 I decided to waste some connects to see if boosting would be any help for me in submitting proposals on non-invitation projects.

The result? I wasted at least 140 connects on 10 different projects.

Attached is a table of the results..

Out of these 10 projects, at least 1 was cancelled.

None of my proposals resulted in an interview.

At least half of the 10 had 20 - 50 (or more) other proposals submitted.

Upwork's Connects History report only goes back seven days, so I couldn't track the results completely.

Of the eight proposals I could fully track, I was outbid on only 2. 2 had no interviews at all and 2 had only 1 interview. 5 of the 8 had unverified payment methods.

So, is boosting worthwhile? Not if these 10 attempts are any indication. But this is the holiday season, so I'll try again in a couple of weeks.

gilbert-phyllis · ‎01-02-2023

Will, there is a drop-down menu on the Connects History page that offers a choice of viewing the last 7 days, 30 days, or 90 days.

kbadeau · ‎01-02-2023

I sent 9 proposals over the last 90 days. Like you I mostly get invites and have had connects that were going to go away, so I thought what the heck; I'll try it. I boosted 3 of them, all for under 20 connects. My rate is similar to yours. Three proposals were viewed; I was interviewed and hired for one, and it was a boosted proposal. I did reduce my rate in my proposal; I don't know if you do that. I have this belief that if people think they're getting a discount they're more likely to act.

Not even having them look at a boosted proposal is a bit of a letdown, but again, I was going to lose the connects anyway so it wasn't a total loss. I can't imagine it's working well for people trying to get piddly jobs, although it's probably making UW some $ from folks buying connects.

I'm torn. I like the idea but I hate for UW to be a race to the bottom and I don't like the fact that it essentially makes every job require more connects.

wlyonsatl · ‎01-02-2023

Hi, Kelly.

We have seen no evidence that boosting proposals makes a significant difference. And, if it doesn't, the number of freelancers willing to spend connects on it will drop over time. Some of us may decide not to use it at all without any proof it helps increase the chances of being hired. And if clients don't find that the top 3 "boosted" proposals they see on their new projects actually helps them find "better" (whatever that means) freelancers, then many freelancers will definitely stop wasting their connects.

But I do think this boosting process is making significant extra revenue for Upwork itself. And the company certainly needs it.

ericaandrews · ‎01-04-2023

I was part of the 'pilot' last year when they tested this feature before deploying it site-wide and realized it was completely useless way back then. I didn't get additional views or interviews, and actually seemed to get interviewed LESS because the system attaches a 'note' to the proposal that the client can see that basically says you paid extra to 'be noticed'. That looks desperate, so I understood why I was getting fewer interviews. Since then, I don't 'boost' anything. It's screams 'desperate for a job' to the client, and that's always a bad first impression.

lysis10 · ‎01-02-2023

It would be interesting to do this in your busy season. I didn't even really bother bidding in December and my invites are pretty awful. This week isn't even really busy for me. Things are usually better mid to end January, so I'll probably throw some bids out there.

wlyonsatl · ‎01-02-2023

Yeah, I'll probably take a closer look again by March.

4c875c39 · ‎01-02-2023

I'm new, I've burned through just about all my Connects. Is there an indicator, or some way to know if the client has actually viewed your proposal? I'm not expecting to land every job but it would help to know they viewed the proposal.

25005175 · ‎01-02-2023

No. This is the closest you can get (but still useful). https://support.upwork.com/hc/en-us/articles/211062968-My-Stats

4c875c39 · ‎01-02-2023

Thanks, Jonathan!

ArjayM · ‎01-02-2023

Hi Pauline,

Thank you for your message. The "Analytics" section under your "My Stats" page can give you a good idea of how well you present yourself to potential clients. You can see the number of distinct people who visited your profile, the invitations you received, the number of proposals you’ve sent, how many of those were viewed by clients, and how many of those resulted in interviews or hires.

You may also want to check this help article for more details.

~ Arjay

4c875c39 · ‎01-02-2023

Thank you, Arjay, I sent nice, courtious cover letters along with samples of my work in the style the client was looking for. No one has even looked at my profile so it had me wondering if the proposals were even being delivered to the client.

I appreciate your time. Thank you again.

Pauline

kbadeau · ‎01-04-2023

Update. I boosted two proposals this week and 1 was viewed and I got an offer, and the other wasn't even viewed, even though I should have been at the top of the heap. I was in the wrong time zone though and bid more than double the budget. If you look at the job posting for the second job though, it looks like the client hasn't viewed any of the proposals, which seems odd. Maybe she found what she needed on another site.