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battershall-ramo
Community Member

'Boosting' your proposal

Hi,
How do you boost a proposal so it comes at the top please?

23 REPLIES 23
wescowley
Community Member

You cannot (yet and hopefully never).

Now you can boost your proposal. 🙂
AleksandarD
Community Manager
Community Manager

Hi Ramon,

 

Having a complete and clear profile along with submitting tailored proposals for jobs you have the skillset, time, and experience to complete in line with the client's requirements will help position your proposal higher on the list.

 

Please note that clients have the option to sort the view depending on how they would like to view the proposals they received. They can also see the best match for their job that's run by an algorithm that is solely focused on sorting the proposal order, all of which are displayed and available on the client's end. However, we won't be able to discuss the algorithm's specifics, we can share it takes into account the content of the proposal, information available on the freelancer's profile and service they provide, as well as the client's hiring preferences. Hope this helps.

 

Thank you.

~ Aleksandar
Upwork

Thank you for your valuable response on this topic.


Aleksandar D wrote:

Hi Ramon,

 

Having a complete and clear profile along with submitting tailored proposals for jobs you have the skillset, time, and experience to complete in line with the client's requirements will help position your proposal higher on the list.

 

Please note that clients have the option to sort the view depending on how they would like to view the proposals they received. They can also see the best match for their job that's run by an algorithm that is solely focused on sorting the proposal order, all of which are displayed and available on the client's end. However, we won't be able to discuss the algorithm's specifics, we can share it takes into account the content of the proposal, information available on the freelancer's profile and service they provide, as well as the client's hiring preferences. Hope this helps.

 

Thank you.


Aleksandar, Ramon is asking about this new Upwork Brain child.

martina_plaschka
Community Member


Ramon B wrote:

Hi,
How do you boost a proposal so it comes at the top please?


Just wait for September. 


Martina P wrote:

Ramon B wrote:

Hi,
How do you boost a proposal so it comes at the top please?


Just wait for September. 


I was hoping Upwork might bin that idea.


Robert Y wrote:

Martina P wrote:

Ramon B wrote:

Hi,
How do you boost a proposal so it comes at the top please?


Just wait for September. 


I was hoping Upwork might bin that idea.


I am hoping too, but not too hopeful.....

ME TOO.  I think it's the worst idea they have ever had. Yet another way to bleed money from freelancers. So now the more we PAY to apply for a job the better chance we have. Not just skills based then... 

 

Dear Upwork: Sometimes I think you have never had a conversation with a freelancer. 

I am available if you want some serious advice.

Unless I'm missing something this boost option is really a silly idea.

 

I can't see how it benefits me (and other freelancers) at all.

 

What I do see is clients getting 50+ proposals (at 1 connect I assume). All the recent jobs I've applied for recently have been flooded with proposals which is unusual for my field of writing and none of them has hired anyone.

 

And then all the boosted connects get refunded... Smiley Wink

petra_r
Community Member


Bev C wrote:

Unless I'm missing something this boost option is really a silly idea.


You are missing nothing!

 


Bev C wrote:

What I do see is clients getting 50+ proposals (at 1 connect I assume).


As we predicted. I see the same. 

That was what Upwork claimed to be the reason to introduce the 2-6 connects system in the first place. That clients were drowning in proposals....  Not making sense.

 

Even some niche writing categories that wouldn't usually get more than 1 (or even less than 5) invites are now getting 25+.

I dread to think of how many clients are being put off or, worse, ending up with a poor experience after being misled. 

This is just wild to me. I saw in other threads people boosting (and getting outbid) for 15+ connects per job. I consider myself to be drowning in connects but sure as he** not to the point of being able to bid 15+ connects per job without slashing my credit card.

I would only consider boosting if my proposals weren't getting seen at all - i.e., if I frequently apply to jobs with 50+ proposals and/or the clients don't check the job post after I submit mine. This is never the case for me so literally no gain from boosting.

I guess it's just turning out to be a good way for unqualified freelancers to weed out themselves by spending all their connects on 2-3 jobs? *shrug*

There does not seem to be much discussion among freelancers, but I do find it useful, in a manner of speaking, although probably not in the way Upwork expected.

 

I find it useful because it tells me whether the client is smart or is simply buying bells and whistles. If the client just picks the one on the top, just because it is on the top, it saves me some time I may otherwise waste on someone who does not read the content, or understand it.

 

To be honest, I'd rather keep the feature so other freelancers waste their connects and help me weed out the bad clients, while I keep sending my proposals at 1 connect.

What I'm noticing though Marc is that clients aren't hiring, I assume because they've got 50+ proposals to look at. That's a daunting task.

 

So only if they've got the time to open and read each proposal will the "lessers" be noticed. Maybe that's why they haven't hired - the boosted profiles aren't necessarily what they want, but they must find the time to wade through the rest?

 

That's just me hypothesizing Smiley Wink

 

In my case, the clients have interviewed no one (very unusual with most jobs I apply for) so all the boosted connects are credited. 

 

How does that figure? 

sasindu13
Community Member

I have also noticed that since August, the rate I get any responce from clients who I send proposals are declined significantly (Almost 1 reply per week) whereas I used to get some sort of reply more than 70% of my proposals earlier. 

Something is hapening in the clients' side. 

I hope Upwork ay look into this carefully.

Loosing clients is loosing the market place.


Bev C wrote:

What I'm noticing though Marc is that clients aren't hiring, I assume because they've got 50+ proposals to look at. That's a daunting task.

 

So only if they've got the time to open and read each proposal will the "lessers" be noticed. Maybe that's why they haven't hired - the boosted profiles aren't necessarily what they want, but they must find the time to wade through the rest?

 

That's just me hypothesizing Smiley Wink

 

In my case, the clients have interviewed no one (very unusual with most jobs I apply for) so all the boosted connects are credited. 

 

How does that figure? 



Well, in that case it still works like it has always worked.

 

If I'm not mistaken, most contracts are closed in the few days (or even hours?) of posting.  Which means, most of the time the client doesn't sit back and wait for the tray to fill up before going through the 10 top applicants.

 

So, if you send a proposal when there are already 50 proposals in the tray, your boost may help you get noticed, but the client often has already someone in mind.

 

Only when you are THE one and only perfect fit for the job, you may end up changing his/her mind. Only if you have reason to believe you are better than anyone else and, more importantly, if you have means to prove it, it would make sense to use a boost on a 50 proposals job.

 

So, if you are a really top talent, it may work for you. If you can prove somehow that you are THE perfect fit, it may work. Otherwise, using it because you think you can do a great job may not be enough. There are many people who can do a great job. If you are a star in your field, use the boost. If you are a fairly talented freelancer, don't use them as much.

 

For me, it is much more important to submit the proposals when the job is still hot or doing so on jobs with less concurrency. The boost may help, I agree, but I think only in very seldom occasions.

 

That is just my opinion.


Marc C wrote:

To be honest, I'd rather keep the feature so other freelancers waste their connects and help me weed out the bad clients, while I keep sending my proposals at 1 connect.


Marc, you missed the part where your unboosted proposal is now hiding among 50 or more other unboosted ones and are forgetting that most clients only look at a very few proposals.

I think I'll start boosting mine but only with 1 extra connect. I just want to see how many are 'interacted' with meaning I don't get a refund. 


Marc C wrote:

There does not seem to be much discussion among freelancers, but I do find it useful, in a manner of speaking, although probably not in the way Upwork expected.

 

I find it useful because it tells me whether the client is smart or is simply buying bells and whistles. If the client just picks the one on the top, just because it is on the top, it saves me some time I may otherwise waste on someone who does not read the content, or understand it.

 

To be honest, I'd rather keep the feature so other freelancers waste their connects and help me weed out the bad clients, while I keep sending my proposals at 1 connect.


Not much discussion? You missed the thread in announcements then. 

I don't find your logic compelling. It would require the client to be "aware" that the first proposals are spam, and the better quality is found somewhere below them. That's is not how the typical client will think, he will assume that the top proposals are somehow boosted by Upwork as the best ones. 


Marc C wrote:

There does not seem to be much discussion among freelancers, but I do find it useful, in a manner of speaking, although probably not in the way Upwork expected.

 

I find it useful because it tells me whether the client is smart or is simply buying bells and whistles. If the client just picks the one on the top, just because it is on the top, it saves me some time I may otherwise waste on someone who does not read the content, or understand it.

 

To be honest, I'd rather keep the feature so other freelancers waste their connects and help me weed out the bad clients, while I keep sending my proposals at 1 connect.


As Martina said, you've missed the general discussion.
You have 46 pages to read.
https://community.upwork.com/t5/Announcements/Boost-Your-Proposal-to-the-Top-of-List/td-p/957413

Yes, I must have missed some of those pages. I have read a few and I only read people saying this is not useful.

 

Sorry if I stepped on someone's toes.


Marc C wrote:

Yes, I must have missed some of those pages. I have read a few and I only read people saying this is not useful.

 

Sorry if I stepped on someone's toes.


No professional engaged in this issue cares about their toes. The problem is the likelihood that a client will look at the top of their list and assume it's the best UW has to offer, not realizing the top three slots are populated via the boosting mechanism rather than some kind of matching algorithm that presents them with the best prospects for their project. And what about the client who posts a job, takes a quick peek at responses an hour later, then returns eight hours later to review proposals and discovers the original top three--one or two of which she might have found interesting--are nowhere to be found because they've been outbid. They are still there, but buried in a slush pile of several dozen. What the fern? the client may think. Am I being gaslighted? These top three are crap. Where's that really good one htat was here this morning? This platform is rubbish. 

 

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