Why are my proposals not being viewed?

[#1]

Good day. Is there a reason my proposals are not being seen by the clients? Even when I boost them it doesn't seem as though they are being viewed. Is there something wrong with my account?

Please see attatchment

[#2]

Agreed. I've been on Upwork for five years and never had any problems until the boosting system started. Now I can't seem to get my proposals viewed even when the number of applicants is small and I set my rates at the lower end of the range. I'm trying to find other platforms but it's just hard finding ones that have lots of offers in my field...

[#3]

I've noticed an increase in views and client engagement starting four to six weeks ago. Nothing else has changed in my approach so attributing the improvement to something UpWork is doing or if there is an uptick in need for the services I offer (marketing copywriting, brand strategy.) We are living through difficult macroeconomic times but things will improve, friends. Stay strong and we will get through this.

[#4]

Me, too, ThiruMoola.

Upwork now costs more and offers less. That's not what you might call an attractive value proposition.

I don't have plans to buy any more connects, either. The only way I would do that was if Upwork refunded connects for unviewed proposals. Sadly, I no longer trust this platform. That doesn't mean anything underhanded is going on behind the scenes; it just means I THINK there is. And I will continue to think this way until I'm proved wrong. Throwing a virtual dice and hoping against hope to get a six (6=view) is one game I won't be playing or paying for. 

I'm already starting to secure work via other channels, which has turned out easier than I thought.

Andy H

[#5]

I am a graphic designer,I submit proposals immediately jobs are listed and still,no one has viewed any of my proposals.

Do you have any tips

[#6]

Same here! 

[#7]

Im super frustrated. 18 proposals... 1 view. Cover letter is concise and relevant and my experience fits the jobs I apply for. (construction management). I can't seem to get any traction. 

[#8]

Yeah, it's disheartening. I've been creating original samples that I've submitted with each proposal...only to have no views 😥 What a waste! 

[#9]

upwork is not the platform of new comer and with out high bidding rate normal proposal has no value.

[#10]

Keep your chin up, Peter. Probabilities play a role here. I have submitted 34 proposals since the start of May and eleven were viewed resulting in five responses and two projects that promptly stalled. The Pareto Principle is at work here (20 percent of people get 80 percent of work) so we 80 percenters have to slog to acquire enough mass and momentum to become part of the 20 percenters. From what I gather from speaking with clients and what I've read here, most of our competition (fellow freelancers) lack skills so if we just keep taking swings, we are going to connect and we are going to succeed.

[#11]

Your view percentage is somewhat below the average.

You should be able to raise it, but not with cover letters. Only the first two lines of the cover letter is seen before a client click (view) your proposal.  Same with "samples" (@Rachel), they are not an affecting factor for views, unless if they're placed at the start I guess (but it could  be awkward when client saw links at the start?).

**Edited for Community Guidelines**

(if picture removed, you can Google it)

How to raise the view percentage is a mystery to me, I can only suggest to be more selective in applying.

Unless if Connects are not a concern (not just in terms of money but also as a matter of principle), I suppose you can "proposal-bomb" the job board which will surely increase the number of views (not the percentage). I believe some people are already doing this.

[#12]

Look at the picture . I am so much disappointed. I got only one view by client among 7 proposals. Thus I have lost many connections which is not acceptable. Now I have only 12 connects. In a word upwork is not the platform of new comer and with out high bidding rate normal proposal has no value.

**Edited for Community Guidelines**

[#13]

What should I say - sometimes I submit 40 proposals and maybe 1 gets viewed, but I discovered it has nothing to do with my cover letter or my profile, it's Upwork! Few months ago a client I know posted a job, and I bid on it with agency profile and my own profile (both profiles had premium membership), and since I knew the client from before I told him to tell me how do my proposals look. You wanna know happened? They weren't there at all. People with 0 completed jobs, no relevant skills, even not completed profile were at the top, and there was a button on the bottom of the page saying other proposals (or something similar) but not even a regular button, just something like a hyperlink, and after clicking that button both of my proposals were there. So, even paying for membership on both agency and freelancer profile my proposals weren't even visible to clients. Who on Earth would find that or click it?!? Recently I tried boosting proposals. You spend 50-80 connects on a proposal that client doesn't even open, and the job has less than 5 proposals. Not to mention that a 95% of clients never hire anyone, and for some reason those connects don't get refunded. That is the reason why I canceled both membership and started focusing my business away from Upwork.

[#14]

just something like a hyperlink

I just realized that. Probably similar to the 'load more jobs' button at the bottom of the job list. In my opinion it's not too encouraging to click on, not too useful for me. I prefer my RSS reader, three jobs in a row with infinite scroll. Easier to 'absorb' a lot of job information this way.

Btw the view ratio is low, which is normal from what I've observed. But 1 out of 40 is below the observed norm.

How to raise the view percentage is a mystery to me, I can only suggest to be more selective in applying. Unless...

[#15]

This is outrageous. Obviously something happened to Upwork this year. It is from bad to worse each month. I truly hope to find something outside. It seems it is now designed to only make "cheap" money.

[#16]

Well that is discouraging. I just turned premium and I think moving on reading all these comments. I take time making proposals an not a single one is viewed. And usually they not have any proposals yet since it was posted recently. 

[#17]

Nivenka, the bad news are it's probably not you.
 
Many of of us, even experienced Upworkers, are in the same boat.
 
See also:

https://community.upwork.com/t5/Freelancers/Invitations-and-profiles-views-hit-rock-bottom-What-am-I...

https://community.upwork.com/t5/Freelancers/75-of-Proposals-Aren-t-Viewed-What-are-your-stats-I-want

https://community.upwork.com/t5/Freelancers/Did-some-Upwork-projects-a-few-years-ago-Came-back-and-b

https://community.upwork.com/t5/Freelancers/Upwork-2023-Something-changed-drastically/m-p/1272777

https://community.upwork.com/t5/Freelancers/Sharp-decline-in-invitations-and-responses/td-p/1253479

https://community.upwork.com/t5/Freelancers/Are-you-facing-the-problems-in-winning-the-new-jobs/td-p

[#18]

I think the explanation here is simple. 

Freelancers who earn, stays. Those who stays spend. 

New Accounts

Gets boosted by algo and gets viewed. More views, more chance to get hired.

In a saturated market, I think this is the best approach to get more people in the platform. Getting new people is not just all about signing up, they need to give them work. Thus, they have to give them the clicks and views... maybe, only after some time before their profiles are pushed down to make way for newer accounts. The recent changes like the 10% fee and Viewed by Client status... both favor new users. No one wants the 20%, and "VIEWS" really does carry some hype.

Old Accounts 

Old accounts get views purely by lottery. Many old account holders reported that their client can only find their proposal on a newly created job was hidden behind the "other..." button. 

The psychological effect of getting a job is what motivates anyone to stay and think it is best to stay. This is similar psychological technique used in loot boxes on microtransactions in video games. Players spend more in the hopes that they will get what they want. I'm not saying that this is entirely the scenario but to some extent only.

So, it's safe to say that freelancers who earned before will always be here to stay or come back soon, when looking for work. There is no shortage of work and the market is just getting saturated... Upwork is a business and it also has to stay afloat by making the most number of people happy or atleast convinced that this is a place to earn money. It's like having a carrot on a stick, just that many old accounts have longer sticks than newer ones or a few that are favored.

Anyway, this is just purely speculation and I really don't know the exact reason behind this phenomenon among old users.

[#19]

It makes sense if your only motivation is to get easy money, but it does not serve the hardworking talent nor the client.

[#20]

Because most of the job postings you apply for are fake. Upwork itself prepares most of them. Boost as much as you want, it won't work. In summary: all you do is keep paying upwork

[#21]

I started also to favor that "conspiration theory" 🙂 because it is really too voracious, and too greedy to steal money (Connects) from people through each proposal, while you will anyway take a percentage from them when the job is done.

Most of the job platforms don't even make money on workers but on clients.
Upwork penalizes workers, and it penalizes them double 😞

[#22]

How do you consider it a "penalty" to pay for services you have chosen to purchase?

[#23]

When Elon Musk stated that only terminally ill monkeys were used for Neuralink experiments, an employee (or former employee) refuted the statement as absurd, the following day. It's hard to cover-up things in the democratic world.

But I'll believe it if Upwork simply "put those things into lower priority", "ignoring it", as the "bad clients" problem (whether intentional scammers or just unserious buyers) are not really a problem for them now, where they can get more revenue from connects than the project fee on most (small) jobs.

Most of the job platforms don't even make money on workers but on clients.

I think you haven't read discussions about Upwork never made a profit.

They tried the 'high quality marketplace' approach, that didn't work. They're trying something else now.

[#24]

Don't you think that if Upwork were creating fake job postings to get people to spend connects, they would invest at least a tiny bit of effort in making those postings at least a tiny bit appealing to freelancers?

[#25]

Proposals are not getting views like they used to.

Previously, my proposals received a good number of views (20-40%) and led to interviews (10-15%). However, in the last 2-3 months, I haven't been getting any views, even though I am sending customized cover letters and including a highly relevant work portfolio tailored to each job post.

I contacted the Upwork support team and implemented all their advice, but unfortunately, there has been no improvement. Does anyone know why such significant changes have occurred in the last 2-3 months and how I can improve my situation to regain my previous success? Please help me improve it.

[#26]

Read the advise given for the solution.

Also make sure that you keep current with in-demand Skills.