Jul 31, 2020 12:50:56 PM Edited Jul 31, 2020 01:11:50 PM by Bitania S
For you freelancers with excellent ratings out there, would you care to share a few tips on the following:
I'm in college and I know the most important thing for me to focus on is quality but with only 3 years of experience content writing, and with freelancing, of course none.
I have much to learn in order to become an excellent entrepernuer and "sell" services, while doing it with excellence.
Trust is more important at this stage, so any shared strategies would be appreciated.
Jul 31, 2020 03:16:10 PM by Andrea G
Hi Bitania,
Have you checked out our Resource Corner? You can find some great topics there on how to be successful on Upwork:
How to Write Proposals: Proven Advice From Freelancers on Upwork
17 Tips for Boosting Your Success on Upwork
Ways to show your professionalism
Freelancing Tips from the Pros
Jul 31, 2020 06:36:51 PM by Robin H
My suggestion is for you to get some real-world experience before you venture out into freelance...
There's a lot to learn from working and managing different personalities that will help you.
Jul 31, 2020 08:14:18 PM by Sarah B
Managing yourself and your projects and accepting there's no real "employment" or "employer" seems to be a big struggle for new freelancers, so that's something to think about.
As a longtime freelancer, this is some of the most valuable advice I've heard and practiced:
1. Underpromise, overdeliver.
2. You can pick two: cheap, good, and fast. Can't have all three.
Aug 1, 2020 06:02:38 AM by Mark F
- Being professional
I very much like that you put this first. First off it is important to realize that Upwork is not the end of be all of freelancing. You are a business person who owns a business and Upwork is one channel you work through to gain leads for your business.
Being professional is mostly about consistently taking steps that move your business forward. From an Upwork perspective the single most important thing to do is always do your best to feel out a client before you take a contract with them. You want to do your best to avoid a bad client experience and you do so by being very careful about the projects you propose on and accept.
The cooresponding advice I would give with that is if you end up with a bad client experience you want to end it as quickly as possible and try to make it as gently as possible. If you have to error to one side or the other it is better to end it quickly and save you the stress.
- Being unique
- Proposal Structure
I put these two things together because really it is all about not saying the same thing that others are saying. I am a huge advocate on a proposal and your profile to just dive in and say what you believe the client needs to hear. You don't have to introduce yourself, you don't need to tell them how many years of blah you have, read their problem and then speak to their problem. Doing that will set you apart from 90+% of the responses most clients will get. Unique after that is what do you know about the clients problem that you are willing to tell them and will help them understand how you can help them.
- Maintaining client satisfaction
This is easy, deliver great results when solving your clients problems. You need to maintain consistent communication with a client and be very clear about what you are doing. If you don't understand, ask. If you have a problem, explain. So many people are afraid to talk to their clients but building a relationship with a client is VITAL. They want to trust you and you want to trust them so build to that.
- Project Turnover
I am not sure what your concern is here
- Finding your "niche" as a new freelancer
I think this is something that is better when it happens more naturally than deliberately.
I think probably more important than a "niche" is to figure out what your ideal customer is like and that will simply take time.
It is a particularly tough time to be doing this but don't let that stop you. Most people who succeed at anything do so more out of persistance than anything else.