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]

I would like to propose that the connect boosting system be discontinued, as it may not be affordable for many freelancers on the platform. With the current exchange rates, 150 connects can cost up to $24, which is a significant amount in some countries. Additionally, it is observed that a vast majority of job postings boosted over 100 connects to 700, making it difficult for freelancers who cannot afford to do so. The recent increase in connect prices to 8 connects further exacerbates the issue, as jobs under $100 now require 6 connects, which may not be fair to freelancers who cannot afford to boost their proposals. In the interest of promoting fair competition and considering the needs of all freelancers, I suggest that the connect boosting system be discontinued. This will ensure that the right talent is considered for job postings, regardless of their ability to afford connect boosting.

[#3]

I understand that Upwork is introducing two updates to address the issue of competition on the platform. While I appreciate the idea of increasing the number of Boosted Freelancers to four, which can benefit more freelancers and clients alike, I am concerned about the increase in the number of Connects required per job.

In my opinion, this move seems to make the service more expensive for freelancers, which may discourage new and low-budget users from joining the platform. I believe that attracting more talent to Upwork requires not only a fair and transparent system but also affordable and accessible opportunities.

While profitability is an important goal for any business, I think it should not come at the expense of the freelancers who contribute their skills and time to the platform. Instead, Upwork could explore other ways to increase its revenue, such as expanding its user base or improving its services and features.

One potential solution could be to introduce a more transparent system that shows clients how much money freelancers spend to submit proposals. This could unexpectedly increase profitability since it can influence clients to pay more for their projects. I have personally experienced a situation where a client multiplied the budget of their project by 20 simply after I shared this information with them. Such transparency could also reduce the number of fake or low-budget job postings that waste freelancers' time and undermine their productivity.

This is just one idea among many others. However, instead of taking the easy way out by increasing the cost of submitting proposals, I believe that Upwork should carefully consider the impact of its decisions on all parties involved. If the platform prioritizes short-term profits over the long-term sustainability and fairness of its marketplace, it may face dire consequences in the future.

Overall, I sincerely hope Upwork will carefully consider the impact of these updates on its freelancers and clients and strive to maintain a balanced and supportive marketplace.

[#4]

Well, it seems Upwork has decided to play a bad game in which he will lose not only some of the freelancers but also CLIENTS.
The increase in connects does not have a fair gradation. It closes the way for young freelancers (for completely new ones, I think it’s generally deadly) to become top-rated.
Yes, there are different vacancies with different budgets. There are types of work with a budget of up to $ 49 and spending 4 connets on them instead of 2 does not seem fair as before. I mean work for 5-10-20-30 dollars. Accordingly, after a while, clients will stop receiving feedback on such work, because it is inappropriate for a freelancer to spend a huge number of connects on a $5-20 job. So over time, you will lose such customers.
It is worth reviewing the system for submitting connects and leaving at least 2 connections for submitting vacancies up to $49.

It has also long been noticeable that the conditions for freelancers are getting worse (upwork calls this the best demand and cleanliness among professionals), but does not care about cleanliness on the part of clients at all.
Clients take the liberty of not hiring for their job, interviewing but not hiring anyone, writing vague job descriptions, or not verifying payment at all. The spent connects for such manifestations are often not returned to freelancers. All this does not look good, Upwork.

If the Upwork doesn't hear the freelancers and reconsider their views on all this, I think, as a freelancer, I should spend my energy on another place to work where the conditions are not so terrible and they don't try to take extra money from me.

[#5]

Hello,

I applied for a job and realized that instead of 6 Connects I had to spend 8 Connects. (?) Did Connects price rise?

[#6]

Yes, even I did see the same.

[#7]

Why didn't they announce it? Can some moderator let us know what's going on, please?

[#8]

They did announce it and it was already commented multiple times on the Forum since yesterday

Marketplace Updates: Boosted Proposals and Co... - Upwork Community

[#9]

Yes, but it was removed from the trending. Previously such big announcements were there. Anyway, thanks for the link. 

[#10]

It might depend on which device you use because I can still see it as : Marketplace Updates: Boosted Proposals and Connect

[#11]

Hey,

Yes they did a 6 to 8 very soon it is very disappointing for us

[#12]

8-12/16 i saw today 3/6/2023
is it glitch or upwok raised connects again per job?

[#13]

There have been many many jobs that do not justify 8 connects. To apply for a potential job, 6 connects were more than enough as freelancers are already paying a lot. I think this needs to be revised.

[#14]

Why 8 connects to apply for a $100 job or less? Indigestible!
 It was better if they had introduced it for only >= $500 jobs, it could have made more sense.

[#15]

Exactly. If you're going to ask me to spend 8 connects, the job should have a minimum. 

[#16]

I wouldn't mind the boosting proposal system that much if Upwork added the following. A "relevance" score where the result of Upwork's ranking algorithm would be displayed next to the name of each freelancer to send a proposal.

That would be a great indicator of whether a freelancer is a good match for a job or is just using financial resources to do the equivalent of shouting louder than everyone else.

[#17]

Konstantinos,

It's already a feature - it called Best Match.

[#18]

So the client can already see the score of the ranking algorithm next to every freelancer's name? Not just one dubbed "Best Match"?

[#19]

Have you used this function? Anyone who has knows it doesn't do a great job of matching.

[#20]

Not every freelancer at UW wants to work for an agency. I want to be a freelancer. I am 66 and semi-retired. I wanted something I could do for as long as I desired - hopefully into my 70s. But I haven't had a new job this year. I had two that crossed into 2023, but since then, zilch. 

I keep hearing that Upwork needs to be profitable by 2024. How about this: I need to be profitable in 2023!  

Is something going to be down about the horrendous flood of "agencies" that are lowballing us, telling us a job that should be priced at $4K can be ours if we're willing to do it for $100 or less?  $400-$500 jobs are being "offered" for $25-$50, and the condescending line included is "Yes, this is below normal wage, but it's steady work." It's a farce.

A few months ago, I was turning away work because I couldn't do it all. Then last fall, it crashed, and I have had two smaller jobs since then. It's good that I don't have to live on what I make through UW.

1. COMPLETELY do away with the boosting fiasco.

2. VET the clients. There are so many scams on here that it's not even humorous anymore. Has anyone else in the writing world seen this one: "I'm just starting out, so I don't have a big budget. I know professional editors get paid a lot. I just hope I can find someone to do one round of editing of my 20K word romance for $50." Give me a break. I see dozens of that exact ad every single day. By the way, I figure editing at 1¢ a word a quarter of a penny a word. 20K words = $200, not $50. And that's still below my hourly rate of $35/hour. 

3. VET the freelancers. It's not for everyone. Bad freelancers give us all a bad name. 

4. Somehow, REDUCE the percentage that Upwork takes. If they TRULY  care for the people that bring them money, they wouldn't force us to work for next to nothing. My $35 an hour after UW's 20% is $28 - taxes, etc., and it's under $20. If  I have to buy $20 worth of connects for a job, I'm losing money in the first hour I work. More happy workers and happy clients mean a bigger pot of money. UW would rather take 20% of a little pot than 15% of a huge pot. 

I used to invite clients from the outside to come to UW. No more. If it's this bad for the workers, I can only imagine how bad it is for the clients. 

If I'm not here in six months, you know why. 

[#21]

They have set my profile visibility to private (on some ground) maybe just after I raised my voice about insincere job posts. That's disgusting.

However, I kept it visible only to up workers before.

[#22]

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Kazi Q wrote:

They have set my profile visibility to private (on some ground) maybe just after I raised my voice about insincere job posts. That's disgusting.

However, I kept it visible only to up workers before.

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Hi Kazi,

Your posts in the Community have no effect on your profile visibility.

Profiles of freelancers with a history of earnings on the platform will remain public unless they have not earned in more than two years, while profiles of new freelancers who haven’t earned on Upwork will be set to private after 90 days. You can check out this help article to learn more and request for your profile to be set to public. You can also consider subscribing to Freelancer Plus membership to ensure that your profile visibility is never set to private.

[#23]

Valeria

I knew there are some conditions but it's hard to believe that this is a coincidence that I raised my voice about the insincere job post issues and I got my profile quarantined if I am not utterly wrong. That's not a problem for me but that's not decent.

I would like to reiterate that "the problem is when we see job posts from clients with less than 50% hire rate or even lower and where total client spend is not much or not mentionable and they demand 8 or 6 connects that becomes expensive for the newbies. Moreover, a good number of those clients are observed not to respond to even a few applicants for interviews let alone hiring anyone for months. Hope you understood my viewpoint about insincere job posts that are costing freelancers time and connects for no fruitful reasons."

[#24]

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Kazi A wrote:

I knew there are some conditions but it's hard to believe that this is a coincidence that I raised my voice about the insincere job post issues and I got my profile quarantined if I am not utterly wrong. That's not a problem for me but that's not decent.

---

All you have to do is read the help article that Valeria linked to and contact Upwork to reset your profile back to public. Nobody is punishing you for making comments.

[#25]

 I saw a lot of '8 connects projects' in the news feed.
Is this something new? 6 was the maximum before. Does this mean that we will spend more USD for new projects?

Thanks

[#26]

I just noticed this today, too. I didn't see any notice about it. Is Upwork trying to make more money, or are they trying to reduce the number of proposals to a job?