Hey! If you want to do better on Upwork, you're not alone. (There's a YouTube channel for that)

[the-finance-guy]

Hey all, hope you're having a very productive day. Just wanted to drop this video link here to give a heads-up to people in the Community that I started a YouTube channel focused specifically on improving your Upwork game. It's a tiny channel, we don't have a ton of videos yet, and definitely not the most amazing content, but hopefully it'll help some people by sharing some of the things I've learned in my Upwork journey. 

Edit: my objective with this post is 100% not self-promotion - it's just that the massive support from the comments on the videos got me thinking that "Hey, YouTube is pretty good at sharing this, but it might not reach a lot people on Upwork for a loooong time who might find it really helpful when they need it the most." That's really my motivation behind this - just letting people know it's there and that it does exist - because I know firsthand that 'freelance loneliness' is a real thing, but really we're not all alone. 

Pretty much, my thesis is this: None of us actually compete with one another. We all win together, and a rising tide raises all ships. So might as well share what little I've learned, to help out the members of the community that actively want to do better, but just might not know exactly how to do better - many of whom might be in the same difficult situation as I was when I started on Upwork.

Some of the things we've started to cover & will cover more soon:

• The exact method I used to consistently get jobs
• Cover letter strategies that get clients to respond
• How to optimize your Upwork profile
• What really matters when applying to jobs
• Handling Upwork stress, under 5-star reviews and even disputes - and how to make sure they don't happen in the first place as best you can
• The yellow and red flags I look for that help me identify the best, most awesome clients - and avoid the ones that aren't so great
• What I do on every project that helps me get 5-star reviews consistently 

As we go along, I'm basically crowdsourcing what content we'll make, from the questions people ask in the videos' comment section (basically, if you're an Upwork FL and you ask a really good question, maybe we'll make a video on it 🙂or at minimum I try to answer everyone with strategies I've seen that work)- after all, what better way to hone in on what people really want answers to about getting successful on Upwork, than by giving some answers in videos?

I know I'm definitely not the smartest and I don't have all the answers to life's questions, but hopefully we'll help & inspire some people to grow, do better, increase their earnings, and achieve financial and work freedom through positivity, constructive feedback and shared experience.

So if that's the sort of train you want to be on, come on and join our little community of "people who want to actually make a wonderful living and spend more time with their families by doing great remote work on Upwork" on the channel. Who knows, you just might find a gold nugget that helps you get where you want to go faster 🙂

P.S. - Please ignore the channel name, it was the best I could think of at the time, and just wanted to put out some videos so said, "Whatever, thinking of a channel name is taking too long, that's what we'll call it for now, let's just put out some videos and see what happens" 🤣

[joansands]

The money you have made on Upwork is just astounding!

[the-finance-guy]

Thanks so much Joan, I really appreciate you replying on this. I never took it as a "mark of honor" or something - today, it's honestly just a good marketing hook for the channel (as an LOL hopefully-this-guy-knows-what-he's-doing)

But really, I think of success in terms of glowing 5-star reviews and mega-happy clients after delivering some really great work, because that's where the money comes: from the long-term and repeat clients that come out of that. I am not special, I'm just a guy who discovered, "hey here's what seems to work on the Upwork platform!" then pushed it to the limit 😂and now I get to share what I learned with some people who it might really help to know some of this stuff! We're really all in this together.

...HOWEVER!!!! When I first started - and I am SO GUILTY on this... I DID look at the total earnings of the top-earning person in my niche, and said to myself, "One day I'll make more than them" as motivation to myself to figure out 'how to Upwork' 🤣 so, there's that. LOL

[goldenmerc]

Hey Evan, really fantastic to see you contributing to the community. Awesome channel, really want to see it take off. I subscribed to the channel and shared it across to my networks. You gotta keep making content. Let's take it to the moon (Doge emoji here)

[the-finance-guy]

Thanks, Ross - I'm glad you enjoyed it and really appreciate you sharing it! We're all in this together!

[petra_r]

I expected to hate it because I usually do hate that stuff because it is normally delivered so badly or the info included is just plain wrong, but to my surprise, I enjoyed it and don't even disagree (shocker, I know!)

Well done.

The only thing I would say is that doing what you suggest will work only if the freelancer actually knows what they're doing (long term).

Winning contracts that then go wrong is not a good thing...

[the-finance-guy]

Thanks Petra, I'm glad you enjoyed it, and appreciate your feedback. It would be tough to cover everything on a single video (and if I did, I bet no one would watch it! 🤣) but you're absolutely right about just taking on contracts only to have them go wrong - because then everything starts to go wrong, and fast. I have a little rule that has served me pretty well to this point:

"Don't take on a job, no matter what it pays, unless you have 100% certainty that you can knock it out of the park. And if you have any doubt whatsoever about massively exceeding expectations, then best to just politely decline to take it on, move on and keep going."

It's something we're going to cover in a future video for sure, because I think that might be one of the most important unwritten rules.

[alexandernovikov]

I think whole thing works simply because Evan is doing a good job. It's not necessarily that he's even good at sales or can help anyone with sales. Looking at his profile, it's obvious he's simply good at what he does. 

Ironically, i'd take sales advice from someone who achieved a lot being a mediocre professional, a lot more seriously.

[99194c5a]

Kudos

I don't have much to say, but I will surpass, they are nothing you nor I can do about it

I know am new

Less than a month, 1job doesn't matter, ain't quitting 💕

You are a motivator

[the-finance-guy]

Thanks so much, I really appreciate you! 😍

[martina_plaschka]

Stats: FL $1.5M | 99% JSS | Top Rated Plus | CL $500K

Don't know what you mean by FL or CL except there are some eye-watering $ amounts after them .... but hey, go ahead and update your JSS to the correct number! No reason to be modest about that 😉

[the-finance-guy]

Thanks @Martina P 🤗

FL is Freelance earnings, CL is Client spend

I didn't realize my JSS hit 100, gotta update now - thanks for the heads up! ❤️the only reason any of those are where they are is because the JSS is the biggest focus, can I get an Amen?!

[martina_plaschka]

---

Evan Heron F wrote:

Thanks @Martina P 🤗

FL is Freelance earnings, CL is Client spend

I didn't realize my JSS hit 100, gotta update now - thanks for the heads up! ❤️the only reason any of those are where they are is because the JSS is the biggest focus, can I get an Amen?!

---

Right. So CL is what you spent as a client? I hope this is what you mean, otherwise I would be even more confused. 

[the-finance-guy]

@Martina P

Yes, you’ve got it 🥰

So basically much of what I’ve done, has come back around and been spent through Upwork again, working with other freelancers via Upwork 😄 

[39d560ee]

Kudos

[the-finance-guy]

Thanks Charmaine! 🤗

[zubi567]

Hey Evan, I really appreciate your content. I was scrolling YouTube suddenly saw your video. I spend 2 hours in watching your videos and reading your content and other stuff. I would love to get your guidance to build freelance career.

Thank you in advance.

[the-finance-guy]

Thanks Zahid, I really appreciate you!

[imraselahmmed]

Hi Evan, After watching your videos I got hired on 2 projects in a single day. I really appreciate you and your videos are so helpful. You deserve at least 1M views every video. Take Love from Bangladesh.

[the-finance-guy]

@Rasel hired on 2 projects in a single day?! That's awesome!! I'm glad you found the videos helpful, and appreciate your kind words 🥰 sending much love your way too!

[jonathancastro39]

Hi @Evan Heron F, I'll watch your video to see if I learn something, I've been on this platform for about 3 years and I've only gotten 3 jobs, 2 clients who wanted to change the rules of the original job, I have some experience creating courses on platforms like udemy and I understand the operation of these rating and review systems and their impact, where comments and reviews are 70% unrealistic, since last year I have started investing in connects and membership where I  only gotten $15 fixed price jobs where no I appreciate some economic gain.

thank you in advance for your contribution.

how about Evan I have seen your video, a video on how to deal with toxic clients would be useful, for example I will give you 3 realistic cases that happened to me with 2 clients.

*) Example 1: A client hires you by the hour and after some time wants to change the conditions of the initial job, such as training the staff of his company without paying extra money

*) Example 2: A client requests to repair a small problem between a price of 5$ to 15$, and when he has solved his problem he wants you to repair his entire website or create a platform for him equal to facebook paying 15$

*) Example 3: A client hires you by the hour and his payment method is no longer available and he wants you to continue working without using the tracking tool

[the-finance-guy]

Thanks for the suggestion Jonathan! We actually did a few videos on that 🙂

[d8a01736]

Hi. Evan. I watched your Youtube Channel in June 2022 I created my profile on Upwork just for something additional to my salary (I work in a company in my country), I like excel sheets, VBA, macros, and things like that, but I didn't understand too much about the platform. When the next day started to see jobs proposal for my career. In 3 months, Upwork changed my perspective on remote work. Now I work with Upwork and I have 100% remote work. 

Today I put alone in the search and appeared your publication. I try to create a network with people from my country. I have some people and I want to connect them.

[the-finance-guy]

That's awesome, congratulations Desire! Well done!!

[jonathancastro39]

Hi, Evan. I've seen your video about the 15 worst types of clients. I agree with the number 1 position, which are clients with anonymous contracts. A review of these clients does not add value to a specific niche and to job success, even if only one client It can be a combination of the 15 profiles that you mention in the video, thanks for your contribution, regards

[the-finance-guy]

Yes, there are tons of types of clients every freelancer would be best to avoid if they don't want their earnings growth to slow - or end up with massive headaches along the way!

May we all have wonderful, fun, happy clients with reasonable expectations and large budgets 😍

[the-right-writer]

Information is helpful, but when will someone address the fact that there is a dearth of good, quality clients that pay well? There are no decent jobs to apply for on Upwork.

[the-finance-guy]

If there's a needle you need to find in a haystack, the needle isn't going to magically present itself - it could be a great idea to cover your body in magnets and go roll around in the haystack, see what happens.

The clients are there - but if you're not finding them, you might find success in upping your own game.

[the-right-writer]

Upping my game? Oh, do tell. Let's see, AI? Go get yet another degree?

I have no problem finding work. I have a huge problem finding any decent paying jobs on Upwork. Until two years ago, this wasn't the case. Instead of answering with your dollar figure, perhaps you could post something helpful?

[6bfcdaf8]

Promoting your info-products targetting upwork users in this forum should not be tolerated. Because we'll have hundreds of them in no time.

[yofazza]

I think I read a moderator 'tolerated' these, saying "it's okay if it's about Upwork" (or something like that).

Getting rich by telling people how to get rich is a trick that has been available since ancient times. Marketers, motivators, they succeed when they meet the "right" audience.

I'm wondering, what if the only answers on this forum are from the marketers, motivators, **Edited for Community Guidelines** mods, and Chat-GPT pasters? 😁

[n_pudikova]

Hi Evan! 

As you can see, I follow you everywhere 😊 Thank you for this, and looking forward to Saturday! 🤗

[2779bde0]

Hi Evan,

If it weren't for your videos and positive influence, along with that of others here, I probably would have been gone from the platform a long time ago.

The three greatest takeaways,  of the many that I got out of your videos are:

1. Get past the idea that sending out a minimal number of weak proposals will make offers and invitations magically appear. Upwork is a numbers game. People seem to be impatient, though it is rough for everyone right now. Try, try again. 

2. Let work examples and the first two sentences of a proposal do the heavy lifting. Put most of your effort here. It took 30 proposals for me to get my first job, and that was only after putting up solid work examples.

3. You constantly need to look for ways to improve yourself here. Do research on both the client and seller sides of Upwork, then incorporate it into your profile. Try new approaches to creating proposals.

I could go on and on. You get the idea.

Thanks again