How can I get my first client?

[Sze Lam C]

Hi,

I am new to being a freelance in Upwork. I have sent 10 proposals but still not any feedback. How you guy get your first job here? Or how do you choose a freelancer to work for you?

I just want to get my first experience first no matter what salary it is. Any suggestion for applying for a job? What kind of job would be accepted easier? 

Regards,
Cathryn

[Patricia M]

Hey, Cathryn.

There is not a formula to get your first client, just try to improove your cover letter; and be patiente.

[Md K]

Write a good cover letter, and inform clinent what  you understand, write main point, not long.

[Danny C]

Hey Cathryn,

First of all, don't be discouraged. You only sent 10 proposals. It takes time to attract clients. What I would do is go back to those 10 proposals and look them over.

Did you really sell yourself to the client?

Did you really express how you are qualified for job?

Do you have really good examples that match their project?

Also....You've only been a member for 7 hours.

Slow down.

Take your time.

It will happen.

Don't blow all your credits. (I'm learning that too so I'm telling to you pick and choose carefully and learn to make better proposals.)

[Amir A]

Thanks for your good advice

I'll try to follow all these 

hope that helps

[Vladimir G]

Hi Cathryn, welcome to Upwork!

Please review the information and valuable advice shared in the freelancer resources in order to start winning jobs on Upwork. Follow up in the Community afterwards if you have any questions.

[Karlo V]

Actually this is not as easy as some people think that is. But you said that you have send 10 proposals. In my personal case, I was sending proposals for 6 months before getting first job. Some people are more lucky some are less. Just keep sending those and eventually you will get it.

[Jan D]

so how many proposals do you send out daily?

[David D · Accepted solution]

Welcome to Upwork! 

As others have said- try not to get discouraged. You're new and sometimes it takes time. You're also a graphic designer and there are a LOT of those on here so you've got some competition. 

A few ideas:

A LOT of clients never even look at your propsals. They'll look over a few, find someone that stands out, and ignore the rest. Even if they DO read yours, do not expect to hear back from all of them. It would be nice if clients reached out to everyone and said "hey, we're going in a different direction but thanks for applying" but it's just not going to happen so don't expect it.

You SHOULD expect that you'll be turned down more often then you're accepted. That's just the way it is. It's a numbers game.

What is it you're best at? Logo design? Business cards? You've got a lot of things listed in your profile and that's good. Focus on those and look for those jobs. Don't just apply for anyone looking for graphic design. Do a few of those jobs to get familiar and then you can branch out to other areas. But start small and focused.

Write a good cover letter when you apply. This may take some time before you find one that works best for you. Keep them short and to the point. Avoid takling about a lot of personal things. Focus on why you want this job, what you can do, and why they should choose you. 

Remember, your connects run out so don't blow them all in the first couple of days. Look through job listings and focus on the ones that seem promising. Take some extra time to read the listing, make sure you understand it, and apply.

It's tough getting started, but just keep at it and eventually good things will happen. 

Good luck! 

[Sze Lam C]

Thank you  I was a kind of nervous to use the systems in Upwork. It is my first time to find the customer on the internet. Every time I send a proposal I have put a lot of effort to analyze the job and give my suggestions to the client. I get no one reply from it so I was a kind of discouraged by this. But I've found quite a lot of freelancer they are/were facing the same problem and I think I need to send more proposal to reach my first client. Thank you for your advice!  

Best wishes to you too!