Is this possilbe?

paul_bartomioli · ‎02-06-2021

I had someone tell me they do not bid on proposals for the editing work they do. All their work is by referral, and they don't use connects. Last year this person grossed less than $4k on Upwork. Is this possible??

prestonhunter · ‎02-06-2021

Yes. That is possible.

lysis10 · ‎02-06-2021

It's possible once you get going. I don't bid in the open marketplace much anymore either. I despise that place. I paid my dues.

paul_bartomioli · ‎02-08-2021

Is it possible if your gross earnings are less than $4k? BTW, no 1099 either, just the notice of gross earnings.

mwiggenhorn · ‎02-08-2021

I only freelance part time so my Upwork earnings are relatively low over a year. I work entirely from invitations. Does that answer your question?

paul_bartomioli · ‎02-08-2021

Yes. Now, I have another question. How do I get to the "Invitations Only" level?

lysis10 · ‎02-08-2021

Paul B wrote:
Yes. Now, I have another question. How do I get to the "Invitations Only" level?

I still bid in the open marketplace occasionally, but I would say after 2-3 years I didn't really need to bid much anymore. I think it has more to do with revenue than longevity on the platform tbh.

paul_bartomioli · ‎02-09-2021

Thank you

researchediting · ‎02-08-2021

Paul B wrote:
Yes. Now, I have another question. How do I get to the "Invitations Only" level?

It's not a "level." You become attractive to buyers, and generate good word-of-mouth referrals, by only bidding on and accepting jobs at which you know you can excel, and then excelling at them.

researchediting · ‎02-06-2021

Yes, it is possible to gross considerably more than $4K in a year working strictly off repeat business and referrals. I do remember buying connects a couple of times in the last quarter of 2019, and faithfully checking my custom feeds each day. Prior to that (mostly) and for the last year (exclusively) I haven't had to do that.

Part of my success has come from delivering the goods. Part has come from defining and aiming for the market I have aspired to, and focusing there rather than on work that is literally not worth my time.

paul_bartomioli · ‎02-08-2021

But, this person did not gross "considerably more." What I listed was the gross earnings from Upwork. I understand that IF you earn a "significant" income, perhaps you qualify for such a perk. But at $4k, that seems to be such a low bar.

martina_plaschka · ‎02-08-2021

Paul B wrote:
But, this person did not gross "considerably more." What I listed was the gross earnings from Upwork. I understand that IF you earn a "significant" income, perhaps you qualify for such a perk. But at $4k, that seems to be such a low bar.

What are you talking about?

prestonhunter · ‎02-08-2021

re: "What are you talking about?"

I believe that the original poster is contemplating how and when freelancers start receiving invites, and can earn money from invites rather than relying on jobs they get by submitting proposals.

The original poster thinks that if a freelancer establishes a track record on Upwork, she can start to get invites from clients.

This is true.

But then the original poster may be looking at a specific example of a freelancer, and may be wondering if that freelancer has earned too little to begin receiving invites.

That is my interpretation.

If that is correct, then the correct response to the original poster is:

"Mileage may vary. This is neither here nor there. Don't worry about it."

tlbp · ‎02-08-2021

Paul B wrote:
But, this person did not gross "considerably more." What I listed was the gross earnings from Upwork. I understand that IF you earn a "significant" income, perhaps you qualify for such a perk. But at $4k, that seems to be such a low bar.

Receiving invites isn't a perk. Clients may use a search feature to seek out freelancers to invite. If a freelancer meets the person's search criteria they may show up in those results and the client can opt to send them an invitation.

Some cautions about invitations:
If you receive an invitation, you should respond within 24 hours (even if your response is to decline to send a proposal).
New freelancers occasionally receive invitations that sound too good to be true--these are from scammers hoping that people who are new to the platform will be easily tricked. They use invitations to avoid listing their gigs publicly and getting caught.

If you are new to Upwork and using freelance platforms, be sure to read the information in the New to Upwork community section as it will explain some of these practices.

resultsassoc · ‎02-08-2021

I recently invited four or five people after scouring keywords. I'm writing a novel about a detective agency whose first big job is on a 13-day luxury yacht charter. The only part I need help with is what the maritime crew does, not the hotel side. Nobody invited had any revenue. I used three separate sources, got six responses, finish interviews tomorrow.

An unusual skill can get you an invite. Lots of revenue is irrelevant to me.

lysis10 · ‎02-08-2021

Bill H wrote:

An unusual skill can get you an invite. Lots of revenue is irrelevant to me.

You're not a big client with any money. You're a freelancer who hires freelancers to pontificate. Different lanes.

kfarnell · ‎02-09-2021

Jennifer M wrote:
Bill H wrote:

An unusual skill can get you an invite. Lots of revenue is irrelevant to me.
You're not a big client with any money. You're a freelancer who hires freelancers to pontificate. Different lanes.

He's right about the unusual skill though - at least, as far as I'm concerned. I have a few odd skills that have brought in invites (unless the clients who told me so were making it up). And they're often not directly relevant to the project.

Certainly not going to list them as some twit will copy me, but one (which is hard to pretend) is that I'm a qualified paleographer. Hardly anyone needs a paleographer but it makes me sound like a certain type of person (probably a very boring one) and has been mentioned several times on invites.

lysis10 · ‎02-09-2021

Kim F wrote:
Jennifer M wrote:
Bill H wrote:

An unusual skill can get you an invite. Lots of revenue is irrelevant to me.
You're not a big client with any money. You're a freelancer who hires freelancers to pontificate. Different lanes.
He's right about the unusual skill though - at least, as far as I'm concerned. I have a few odd skills that have brought in invites (unless the clients who told me so were making it up). And they're often not directly relevant to the project.

Certainly not going to list them as some twit will copy me, but one (which is hard to pretend) is that I'm a qualified paleographer. Hardly anyone needs a paleographer but it makes me sound like a certain type of person (probably a very boring one) and has been mentioned several times on invites.

Sure, my skill brings in people too, but the revenue does indeed help with trust to get them to spin up initial contact and shows them that I'm not some fraud profile or someone who just calls this a hobby and will flake out. People who don't want to bother with "maybe this person copied their profile or they are lying" don't want to bother with the noobs, and those types of people are the ones with money. It's small clients and even other freelancers who want to give noobs a chance. That dude likes to hire freelancers to pontificate about himself and tell them about all that they are doing wrong. lol

That said, paleographer is pretty cool. I know someone who doesn't post anymore who was a forensic archaeologist. She had cool stories. 🙂

researchediting · ‎02-08-2021

Paul B wrote:
But, this person did not gross "considerably more." What I listed was the gross earnings from Upwork. I understand that IF you earn a "significant" income, perhaps you qualify for such a perk. But at $4k, that seems to be such a low bar.

It's not a "perk." It's a function of the market. Upwork does not bestow that level of desirability. One earns it by excellence.