🐈
» Forums » Freelancers » Re: No messages?
Page options
39ab676a
Community Member

No messages?

Has anyone else experienced this before? 

 

I worked on UpWork as a freelancer and I had mild success (I didn't try too hard because I work full time). But I decided to partner with some folks and get an agency account. We have sent out dozens of proposals and received 0 responses. Even with my freelancer account, I received a few responses even if it didn't work out. To receive 0 seems like it could be some sort of glitch. 

 

Tech support doesn't see anything 'wrong' with my profile. I am also in the top 10% of some tests.

 

Any words of wisdom are appreciated here.

ACCEPTED SOLUTION
39ab676a
Community Member

Don't worry, Tonya, I will change the price and market my company the way that works best. So far the community seems to be a little hostile.

 

I found out today by discussing with UpWork that there was a technical problem with my profile. 

 

They discovered that although I have been putting hours into writing proposals, they had automatically set my profile to "Private". This means that even though I pay for the service, customers could not view my profile. The reason they are doing this is in order to only allow active users to show up for job postings.

 

This is not a good way to eliminate users from the search results because it favors those who are earning against those who are not. Even if those users are actively submitting proposals and working leads regularly - Like myself.

 

This is not a well-thought-out implementation. It could be better and I hope they decide to fix it.

 

Best of luck to everyone out there.

View solution in original post

15 REPLIES 15
petra_r
Community Member


David B wrote:

 

I worked on UpWork as a freelancer and I had mild success (I didn't try too hard because I work full time). But I decided to partner with some folks and get an agency account. We have sent out dozens of proposals and received 0 responses. Even with my freelancer account, I received a few responses even if it didn't work out. To receive 0 seems like it could be some sort of glitch. 

 


A lot of clients avoid agency freelancers like the plague.

 

When you say you "had mild success" what do you mean? You appear to have not a single contract on your profile. That isn't quite my idea of success, however "mild..."

 

39ab676a
Community Member

So is there no reason to use the agency feature then? I'm not saying it is better or not, I just want to know the best way to utilize the platform. 

 

Mild success meaning I actually had the opportunity to qualify specific clients on the phone or through messaging. I didn't find that a lot of them had the funds to do larger projects or were just not really the right fit for my business.  

 

Since then I started offering smaller packages through my agency and it would work really well for the one-and-done projects. So it makes sense to go through my agency to do that. UpWork has not been a driver of leads for the agency, but it would be nice if it could be. 

 

 

martina_plaschka
Community Member


David B wrote:

Has anyone else experienced this before? 

 

I worked on UpWork as a freelancer and I had mild success (I didn't try too hard because I work full time). But I decided to partner with some folks and get an agency account. We have sent out dozens of proposals and received 0 responses. Even with my freelancer account, I received a few responses even if it didn't work out. To receive 0 seems like it could be some sort of glitch. 

 

Tech support doesn't see anything 'wrong' with my profile. I am also in the top 10% of some tests.

 

Any words of wisdom are appreciated here.


Considering you are employed full-time, you probably don't have much time to spend on writing great proposals, plus will likely be undercut on price by thousands of other freelancers. 

Your profile is all about you, but does not tell the story how you will solve the clients problems. 

 

Thank you for the feedback! I am always open to changing my profile for the better. 

 

I guess you don't think there is anything else that could be going on here? I just want to make sure that 0 responses on 40+ proposals sent is completely normal even if I have some improvements to make on my profile. Others may be wanting to know that it takes 100+ proposals to get your first customer.

petra_r
Community Member


David B wrote:

Thank you for the feedback! I am always open to changing my profile for the better. 

 

I guess you don't think there is anything else that could be going on here? I just want to make sure that 0 responses on 40+ proposals sent is completely normal


OK, as you are asking: I think your profile is not in line with your hourly rate. If you are selling a premium service, you have to sell it. It has to tell the client right away why forking out that kind of money is great value.

At the moment your profile doesn't do that. It does not make the client want to buy what you are offering at that price.

 

And yes, 40+ proposals to win that first contract, especially when you are playing in a very small premium market with a not-so-premium profile, is pretty normal.

 

Upwork is breathtakingly competitive.

Customers in your sector exist, but you "must try harder" to attract them.

 

 

 

39ab676a
Community Member

Thank you for the feedback, Petra. I would agree with you if it had not been working without an agency account. You never answered my question about that. 

 

Your comments about my profile are not necessarily accurate because I change my price based on the proposal, but that doesn't mean you are wrong. It also doesn't mean there is not a glitch in the system. 

 

Your encouragement is nice. Thank you.

petra_r
Community Member


David B wrote:

 

Your comments about my profile are not necessarily accurate because I change my price based on the proposal,


Yeah, what do I know? I've only earned well over half a million here.

Changing your rate according to the proposal and bidding at significantly below your profile rate makes you look like a dodgy second hand car salesman.

 

Either stand by your rate, or adjust it to something more realistic.

Do NOT try the "this week only at half price because bla-bla..." The clients in your target market will roll their eyes so hard they'll be pointing at the back of their skulls and then decline your proposal at a rate of knots.

 


David B wrote:

Thank you for the feedback, Petra. I would agree with you if it had not been working without an agency account. You never answered my question about that. 


Personally I think agencies work for either entry level desperado freelancers or for already well established teams of professionals who can offer a meaningful and comprehensive package that gets rid of a whole set of client headaches in one fell swoop.

 

In the vast majority of situations it (having an agency)  makes no sense at all. I would submit to a year's worth of root canal treatment before being associated with any agency for any reason or at any price at all.

But again... "What do I know?"

 

Right ?

 

39ab676a
Community Member

Hi Petra,

 

No offense intended here.

 

I don't think you are necessarily wrong at all. I am just looking at this from several angles before I spend more time working through this. 

 

Not questioning your authority on the issue. I have an agency in real life, so that is why I got the account.

 

Thanks again for the help.

tlbp
Community Member

Based on your responses, I think you may be attempting to market on Upwork using a model that doesn't work here. Freelancing via a platform is not quite the same as marketing your services directly. 40 proposals with zero return is not unusual at all. However, Upwork is beginning to limit non-earners' profile exposure. So there is a risk to 'trying out' different strategies.

39ab676a
Community Member

Tonya,

 

Yes, this seems to be the most accurate of the answers. I have used UpWork off and on for years. So your comments about new strategy make sense. I think this is true primarily because I have been able to use UpWork with more success in the past. If things are changing in a significant way, I think transparency should be a major part of the leadership's decision-making and informing the public. What do you think?

 

Are there any other changes that have been taking place over the past few years that one who wants to be informed should know?

 

Thanks,
David

tlbp
Community Member


David B wrote:

Tonya,

 

Yes, this seems to be the most accurate of the answers. I have used UpWork off and on for years. So your comments about new strategy make sense. I think this is true primarily because I have been able to use UpWork with more success in the past. If things are changing in a significant way, I think transparency should be a major part of the leadership's decision-making and informing the public. What do you think?

 

Are there any other changes that have been taking place over the past few years that one who wants to be informed should know?

 

Thanks,
David


This is response is evidence of the disconnect I referenced. You, are positioning yourself as a marketer worth $175 an hour. Yet you can't figure out how to market yourself on this platform? 

There is an Official Upwork section here in the forums. If you want to see what specific changes have been made, start there. None of us know what you already know about and what you don't. 

39ab676a
Community Member

Don't worry, Tonya, I will change the price and market my company the way that works best. So far the community seems to be a little hostile.

 

I found out today by discussing with UpWork that there was a technical problem with my profile. 

 

They discovered that although I have been putting hours into writing proposals, they had automatically set my profile to "Private". This means that even though I pay for the service, customers could not view my profile. The reason they are doing this is in order to only allow active users to show up for job postings.

 

This is not a good way to eliminate users from the search results because it favors those who are earning against those who are not. Even if those users are actively submitting proposals and working leads regularly - Like myself.

 

This is not a well-thought-out implementation. It could be better and I hope they decide to fix it.

 

Best of luck to everyone out there.


David B wrote:

they had automatically set my profile to "Private". This means that even though I pay for the service, customers could not view my profile.


You, or the CS rep, got this wrong. A profile marked as private doesn't show in Upwork's search engine that clients may or may not use to invite freelancers. But this has no impact on the visibility of your profile to clients who receive your proposals. They see your proposal and they see your profile.

 

When a freelancer sends a certain amount of proposals and earn no money after a while, they remove them from search by making the profile private, unless the freelancer has a paid plan, or until the freelancer with a free plan asks them to make his or her profile visible again.

-----------
"Where darkness shines like dazzling light"   —William Ashbless

hi there...

no messages at all. why?

no idea anymore

best leif

Hi Leif,

 

Submitting proposals doesn't always guarantee that you will get hired or a chance to be interviewed, but you shouldn't give up on sending proposals to potential clients. You may check these great articles in our Hiring Headquarters to help you Enhance your Profile: 

Also, I would recommend that you check out these articles to help you create proposals that win jobs, and help you boost your career on Upwork: 

Thank you!

~ Bojan
Upwork
Latest Articles
Featured Topics
Learning Paths