Can Upwork add a reminder on the side bar for clients?

[arooj78]

Is it possible to instruct/remind clients to at least view all the proposals?
Maybe a sidebar saying "freelancers have invested their time to craft this, Have a look" or something shorter or longer.
I have sent some proposals that were ultimately relevant to the client's requirements, adding a loom video explaining the solution to their problems & adding samples of previous work & results.

Thing is, I am 95% sure that if those proposals had been viewed, the client would've approached me.
But they hired someone without viewing my proposal.

This is pretty disturbing, and a waste of time & connects.
Can upwork help in any way?

[5ee30004]

Great question and I think a lot freelancers have this problem(

[ArjayM · Accepted solution]

Hi Arooj,

Thank you for reaching out to us. We truly appreciate your feedback/suggestions and this could help us improve our service.  I assure you that we'll continue sharing your feedback with the team and providing updates to the Community about the team's initiatives regarding additional features.

[arooj78]

Thankyou Arjay.
Also, will you have a look at my consultation projects?
It's been under review for almost 7 days. ( I thought it should be approved within 3 days, right? ) 
Let me know.

 

[d9fc6d8d]

Clients get 50+ proposals and out of those, most are likely copy-pasted or ai-generated proposals. It's understandable that clients get fed up after opening 2 or 3 terrible proposals. But keep working on your proposals. If they're truly good and if the client is someone worth working with, they'll open it.

The only thing Upwork should do regarding this is to purge the platform and reduce the number of low-skilled freelancers here. The problem is that nowadays Upwork lives off of low-skilled freelancers buying connects, so it's not in their best interest to kick them out.

[arooj78]

 As you can see, my viewed-to-interview & interview to hire ratio is pretty fine.
My problem is actually getting views, and not the quality of the proposal. I only submitted proposals on the jobs I've previous case studies to share with clients.  
No AI- No boring formal letters with high claims.
Yes, I do agree with your point of view in general, but as I said my problem is not a low-quality proposal right now.

[yofazza]

that 25% view ratio is normal for most freelancers.

[arooj78]

NOT when your proposals are highly customized with relevant links, loom guidance, conversational & effective. I expect at least a 50% ratio.

[d9fc6d8d]

Arooj, if:

- Your Sent-Viewed ratio is low -> You should work on your opening lines. (this seems to be your biggest issue at the moment)
- Your Viewed-Interviewed ratio is low -> You should work on the body of your proposals.

- Your Interviewed-Hired ratio is low -> You should work on your interview skills.

[arooj78]

Makes sense.
Thank you

[yofazza]

I've been observing posted stats like the one you posted above for months, that's where I get the "conclusion" (only Upwork know the real thing though).

You can do a search for keywords like "not viewed" or similar.

highly customized ...

I tried different ways, post immediately, putting clickbaits in the first two lines, no result. One tiny noticeable change to me is when I changed / reduced my skills. This is actualy makes a little sense because this might be related with the sorting algo. If algo thinks your proposal should be placed at the bottom, clients don't see them. Me reducing my skills might make it think that I'm more like a "specialist" that should be placed a little on top on some relevant jobs posts.

There are of course a few people that are still getting high view ratio (or very low), just like the "boosting" that could also have "no effect at all" to some people.

Based on this, I can convince clients better during interviews than you, but the algo likes you more.

[tlsanders]

And how do you imagine clients know all those things without opening your proposal? 

[tlsanders]

Are you taking full advantage of the first two lines of your proposal? 

[arooj78]

1- You want to build brand identity first, engagement and then sales. I get that but.................
2- I need to know if it is about managing day-to-day campaigns or strategizing things also. ( because it'll affect the offer, budget & hours, right? )
3- Hi NAME Well, congratulations on the very step of this online venture. I have some questions about the gig.
4- Here's a 1-minute loom video responding to your queries before I place my offer.

I randomly copied the first lines from this week's proposals.
I am sure it is the correct way. Right?

[tlsanders]

No. The first two lines are what the client glances at to see whether they should open your proposal next or someone else's. You want your hook in those lines. You need something in them that helps them see the difference between you and many of the other people sending proposals--something that answers "Why THIS freelancer?"

You can ask questions and all that later in the proposal, but in those first two lines you have to make them curious about or interested in YOU.

[2297e2bc]

100% agree Arooj.

Individual home made and  honest  proposals are best. I am in the same boat as your last 2 paragraphs too!

I also appreciat you're using the management tools that UWorks provide. A bit to simplified, but better than nothing when running a business. To many here are just looky-lous trying to flood the market too!     Good luck

[tlsanders]

" If they're truly good and if the client is someone worth working with, they'll open it."

This, of course, makes no sense. A client can't know if the proposal is truly good until AFTER they open it.

This does, though, highlight the importance of those first two lines, which are all the clent sees before deciding whether or not to open the proposal.

[d9fc6d8d]

"A client can't know if the proposal is truly good until AFTER they open it."

No, but a client can certainly tell if a proposal is bad before they open it. Anything that starts with "Dear Hiring Manager" can easily be disregarded. That should eliminate about half of the proposals received for any given job.

[tlsanders]

I agree there are signals that a proposal isn't worth mentioning. But, I very rarely get one that opens "Dear Hiring Manager"

[tlsanders]

Of course not. The client's goal in reviewing proposals is to find the freelancer they want to hire. Most, like any sensible business person, will want to do that efficiently. If they find a great choice on the fifth proposal they open, why on earth should they be obligated to spend an hour or more looking at 50 other proposals when they've already found what they want? 

[arooj78]

That's also a point that who that 5th would be?
The person who sent the 5th proposal?
There is shuffling + a VIEW MORE button that is ever loading + A recommended Freelancer list from Upwork + Bidding on top places & then being outbid by others ( where a boosted proposal will be placed after being outbid ? ) 

I tried to find out if Upwork shows it in a DEFAULT arrangement to clients but this is not the case.
What's disturbing is not the "client's not opening" the proposal but the burial of the proposal due to the algorithm.

[tlsanders]

I can't speak for other clients, but I scroll through the list and choose which proposals to open first based on the opening two lines, the JSS and other information in the mini-profile and the bid. I expect that's a fairly common practice, especially when there are dozens of proposals. I doubt that many clients open the proposals in the order they appear, unless there are only a few.