Marketplace Updates: Boosted Proposals and Connects

[#1]

Two new Marketplace updates: 

1. Introduced a fourth slot in Boosted Proposals, increasing your chances of being noticed, while continuing to let clients see who is most interested in their job post.
2. Adjusted the range for the cost of Connects per job to better match the demand for jobs in the Marketplace.

Check out the product release for Marketplace Updates: Boosted Proposals and Connects and let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

[#2]

we should oppose the new connect policy system please more freelance to come and do raise voice against this 

[#3]

Hi Waqar, 

We announced more about it here. I have moved your post to the discussion thread where you can share your feedback about the adjusted cost of Connects per job.

[#4]

A client does not hire even one freelancer and you know it happens many times, than Upwork should return connects to everyone who applied for the specific job.

[#5]

Hi Miss,

For the freelancers reading this post, the net result of increasing the minimum connect bidding to 8 will be:

- Fewer freelancers bidding on jobs that truly are not a good match.

- Fewer freelancer submissions for client review which speeds the client decision making process.

- Increased revenues for stockholders. Upwork NEEDS to become profitable. Hopefully by  2024.

Increasing the minimum bid should make the professional freelancers, clients and Upwork shareholders happier.

It is highly likely that the bid system will need to continue to increase to the 12 to 18 minimum range to met the above goals. The data scientists and the economist at Upwork can optimize for the best outcome once the new data starts coming in. My best guess is that 8 connects will be very inelastic and bidding will need to go higher to have the desired outcome for all involved.

[#6]

That would be an "INSANE" decision to make.!!

How could you want to CONSUME your freelancers like this and expect them to keep using this platform and paying most of their profits to buy connects just to have the chance to send a job proposal .!!

You can LIMIT the job proposal "NUMBERS" instead of making it much more costive for freelancers, it delivers the same concept. 

Why would someone pay 14$ for 85 connects to just send only 8 job proposals.!! You are killing your own freelancers' ambitions and chances.

Increasing the bids helping only FREELANCERS with high budgets, NOT THE PROFFESIONALS! at the end it would be a CLOSED community on a short group of RICH freelancers.

 GUESS its INSANE decision! OMG !!

[#7]

Abd,

There are 4,000,000 active freelancers to 800,000 active clients on this site per quarter. Therefore, all else being equal, the average freelancer only has a 20% of receiving ONE JOB per quarter.

To keep the professional freelancers, clients, and shareholders happy, Upwork needs to reduce the freelancer to client ratio. Professional freelancers ONLY bid on exacting jobs which is not what is currently occurring today on the site.

Actually it's the opposite of helping rich freelancers. It helps the PROFESSIONAL freelancers that know when and how much to bid. Increasing the bidding itself doesn't help poor, intermediate or rich freelancers, but instead the professional freelancer which needs to be visible to clients.

[#8]

This system will help only FREELANCERS WITH BIG BUDGET and will leave no chance for newcomers at this site.

Maybe the newcomer is MORE PROFESSIONAL than the one who has made a lot of income or has a bigger budget, MONEY is not a STANDARD for determining who is professional and who is amateur.

Activating a system like what you described will KILL any chance for newcomers or low-budget freelancers to find a job here, you are just making MONEY is the main STANDARD of determining who is professional.!!!

If you aren't willing to PAY a lot then find another platform "THATS THE MESSAGE".!!

Maybe you won't feel the case ever as you already made a great profile and increasing connects for bidding wont affect you and is better for you, this will devestate most of the other freelancers. You will never get the point!!

And as i said before "at the end it would be a CLOSED community on a short group of RICH freelancers." not PROFESSIONALS!!

[#9]

Abd,

If a freelancer properly bids and is a great match for the client, the freelancer gets the job; that has nothing to do with their economic status, but instead their professional abilities.

Every freelancer on this site was a newcomer at one time. Please click the Academy link at the top of this page for success TIPS which helped all newcomers become professional freelancers.

If you have any questions about how to improve your odds of obtaining client jobs, let me know and I will post here.

[#10]

>>If a freelancer properly bids and is a great match for the client, the freelancer gets the job

If most proposals aren't opened, because the firehose is too damaging to the process, then this "great match" isn't even something the prospective client gets a chance to be aware of.

It's just how many garbage proposals they can stomach reading and which garbage is cheapest.

[#11]

Yes, the whole idea behind increasing the bids is to reduce improper bidding. Freelancers need to do a better job before applying versus applying for every and any job.

I am $200 per hour with clients in 30 different countries, therefore clients are not seeking cheap garbage, but instead want VALUE.

[#12]

William, you seem to have a completely different definition of what is improper bidding to most of the people on this thread. So, to make sure we're on the same page let me clarify the following:

1) Do you consider the definition of improper bidding to be people sending proposals to jobs they know they are not qualified for?

2) Do you think that the above is done as a majority by people who do not boost their proposals or by people who do boost their proposals?

[#13]

You do not want even to give newcomers a chance to make a proposal !!

Each month you get a FREE 10 connects, that was something helping newcomers with sending like 4 or 5 proposals, now they are worth nothing as you can use them in 2 proposals or 3 at maximum even if they provide good work and are professionals, it won't help at the end.

So the advantage of this system will always lean in favor of the freelancers with the bigger budgets, not the professionals. You have to PAY in order to get the chance to compete with the guys with the big budgets! Hope you get the point.

About the things, you said at the beginning it won't be a LOGIC and fair unless you create a new system like :
Divide the site into 3 segments: "Entry level, Intermediate Level, and Expert level",  for Entry level as a sample ( All jobs provided by clients allocated under the "entry-level" item go directly to the newcomers and maybe profiles under 1000$ income) to send proposals with maximum of 6-8 connects for bidding.

and the Intermediate level goes directly to the profiles with maybe 1000$-5000$ to send their proposals maximum of 12-14 connects for bidding.

And the Expert Level goes directly to the profiles which achieved more than 5000$ or more than 10000$ for a maximum of 18-20 connects for bidding. "AS YOU WANT"

This system will be "fairer" as the "client" is the one who determines the degree of efficiency of the freelancer who will carry out his work and the proper amount of connects for each level.

[#14]

Adb,

The goal needs to be for ALL freelancers to reduce the number of job submission because there are too many.

Did you know that if 50+ freelancer proposals are submitted and 50% of the client job postings are not filled then there is only a 1% chance on AVERAGE of getting hired. Unless there are fewer freelancer submissions, the average freelancer needs to submit to 100 jobs to get hired. Nobody wins, not the freelancer, and not the clients.

Making the bids higher causes all freelancers to think twice about randomly submitting to every job.

[#15]

An UNFAIR system is asking from the guys with weak PROFILES the same amount which is asked from the big PROFILES.

The newcomers cant pay the same connects as the freelancers who already have the ability to pay it.

Yes "Making the bids higher causes all freelancers to think twice about randomly submitting to every job." but it gives the freelancers with high budgets the advantage always to send more proposals. 

NOT FAIR.!! and looks like you dont get the point yet.

[#16]

Weak profiles shouldn't be applying as much because the clients don't hire weak profiles.

Clients want to hire professionals.

[#17]

I didn't mean by WEAK profiles "HOW BAD THEY ARE", but I mean newcomers.

And i understand why you are defending on these increasings in bid connects as it benefits you not as a PROFESSIONAL but a freelancer who already made a lot of jobs with a based budget to help him more than anyone else like newcomers.

We say "The one whose hand is in fire is not like the one whose hand is in water." , you wont get the point ever as you are seeking your own interest only.

Its not about professionals anymore, its all now about money and who could PAY for his proposals.

[#18]

Why upwork is not doing anything to attract serious clients and screen clients? Upwork does a good job of removing old jobs but still, there is room for improvement. 

[#19]

Help me I’ve been trying for so long not a single order for me I have
watched thousands of videos but no benefits gained till now I am a website
developer and expert plz help me getting a project

[#20]

Clint,

For the freelancers reading this post, the net result of increasing the minimum connect bidding to 8 will be:

- Fewer freelancers bidding on jobs that truly are not a good match.

- Fewer freelancer submissions for client review which speeds the client decision making process.

- Increased revenues for stockholders. Upwork NEEDS to become profitable. Hopefully by  2024.

Increasing the minimum bid should make the professional freelancers, clients and Upwork shareholders happier.

It is highly likely that the bid system will need to continue to increase to the 12 to 18 minimum range to met the above goals. The data scientists and the economist at Upwork can optimize for the best outcome once the new data starts coming in. My best guess is that 8 connects will be very inelastic and bidding will need to go higher to have the desired outcome for all involved.

[#21]

I wish I could agree with such optimism.

A job was posted just two hours ago, requirements 8 connects. I already see 50+ proposals and frankly, I don't see any points applying and wouldn't dare to outbid the freelancer in the 1st place.

Minimum 18 connects??
"Pass"

[#22]

I'm Shocked!! 😲
268 connects 😱?? That's over $40 😰
🤢

[#23]

he would get charged the lowest among the top 3 boosted and the rest would be refunded.

[#24]

This is just ridiculous. What should we do now to get jobs on Upwork?

[#25]

You know that picture made quite an impression on me. So, I sat there and thought about it. Now let me ask everyone on this thread. Did the guy in first place bid 268 connects?

NO!

He bid 26. Because he scared everyone away and when the bidding stops he will be refunded all of the connects all the way to 4th place. Which is 26 connects. So, he'll get 242 of them back so he can do it all over again. He's not paying $40 just to bid for a job. He's just pulling a monumental bluff!

Shannon L, if you see this message, the change the system needs is, Connects Bid is Connects Spend. Cut out the bluffers!

[#26]

Hi everybody..

I strongly believe that bidding should be removed, and the selection criteria for clients should be based solely on the skills and capabilities of the freelancer, not by how many connects he/she can afford to gamble with, taking away any chance for capable and skilled freeleancers for getting any job at all, especially new ones who are trying to prove their prersence and skills.

The reasons given in the threads below in favor of the bidding, and in favor of raising the required connects per proposal, are not convincing. If a client posts a job, it's his/her duty and for their own sake to review most if not all proposals and carefully choose the right candidate for thei job. After all it's their money, and they better make sure it's well spent on the right freelancer.

But with the bidding process, only a freelancer with high number of connects gets to be highlighted with much higher chance of being recruited, and in many if not most of the cases it's a good way for mediocre freelancers to get hired just because they have connects, at the expense of better, more skilled freelancers who are eager to get a job. So a "not-so-good" freelancer can hide behind the high number of connects being bid. This is an unfair system in my opinion.

With all due respect to the "data scientists" and "economists" at Upwork, but there must be other ways to improve the work environment and profitability. From my experience, those guys look at pure, dry data, which is not wrong by itself, but business decisions should also have the other dimensions taken into account, so that desired results can be reached, and not fixing one dimension and ruin others along the way. It's a cycle where Upwork, clients, and freelancers have to be carefully balanced. 

Bidding and high connects requirements will only narrow the freelancer base into the :lucky few", and filter out a wide freelancer base, who will generate revenue for Upwork if they have a fair chance of winning contracts...

Just saying... 🙂

Wishing success to all....