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 see that too..

[#3]

Surender,

There was an announcement regarding the increase for Connects.

Other Upwork Product Release Notes/Updates are here.

[#4]

Yes, the new adjusted range will be anywhere from 2 to 8, depending on the value of the job. 

You can see all updates here, Platform>> "Product Release Notes" 

[#5]

Maybe the next step will be 1 connect - 0.2$  to ''reduce the number of proposals on the projects''.

[#6]

For those who didn't realize it yet, it's not just that the maximum is now 8. In a subtle way, Upwork doubled the price of applying for jobs. 

1 connect jobs became 2 connects = 100% increase
2 connects jobs became 4 connects = 100% increase
4 connects jobs became 6 connects = 50% increase
6 connects jobs became 8 connects = 33% increase

[#7]

Im seeing MOST jobs now require 12! connects? What is going on? 

[#8]

This viral step was needed to take to save the upwork! Love it! let's see how much can it effect on the faoul freelancerS!

[#9]

Hi Freelancers,

I recently joined and most of the proposals I was getting ranged from 1 to 6 connects. However recently all the proposal I am getting are 4 connects and above. 

This increase happened over the past 2 weeks.

[#10]

If a job was posted 2 days ago and there are already people who have boosted their bids, is there really any point to my boosting my bid today? (I don’t look for new jobs every day when I already have enough work.) Haven’t the clients already seen those previous bids? If I outbid them today am I not just wasting those connects?

[#11]

Pat,

Clients will typically log into their account many different times before hiring as well as Upwork's system sends out email reminders at various points about the Boosted and Best Match freelancers. Therefore, it can still make sense to outbid other freelancers. Thanks!

[#12]

I never apply to jobs posted more than 6 hours ago or those that have 50+ proposals already. Not worth spending the connects.

[#13]

hi all,

i just noticed few jobs requiring 8 connects to post proposal? is it due to some issue or new policy regarding selected jobs? but its is not right smaller jobs requiring 8 connects..why cant be connects requirement as per the scope and budget of job.

[#14]

Almost all of the jobs in my feed require 8 connects as a minimum now. Apparently it's an Upwork's way to reduce a number of unwanted proposals, but I don't see any number reduced, there's always/still a huge amount of proposals, plus the boosted ones.

[#15]

It's a new policy. There was an announcement about it, but Upwork really ought to send out emails to freelancers when they make a change like this; lots of people are asking about it. https://community.upwork.com/t5/Product-Release-Notes/Marketplace-Updates-Boosted-Proposals-and-Conn...

[#16]

For a couple of days, I have seen that Upwork has increased the number of connects to apply for the job. As a beginner in Upwork, It's become hard for me to use 4 or more connects for all jobs even for small jobs like $5. Are you facing a similar problem or its just me? If it's just me then what do I have to do to make it right?

[#17]

Here is the announcement

 https://community.upwork.com/t5/Product-Release-Notes/Marketplace-Updates-Boosted-Proposals-and-Conn...

[#18]

Yes, you are right, switching to somewhere else is definitely an option. Here we are sharing with the Upwork management what is happening. What impact do their decisions are doing on us (the freelancers)? After all, we are all interlinked together.

[#19]

Dear Upwork so talented product managers

• Do you really think that freelancers are coming with deep pockets? 
• You simply raised applying cost to range of 33% to 100% hike. Like 6 to 8 is 33% and 1 to 2 is 100%.
• Why making fools to freelancers only, introduce some gimmick for clients as well. 
• Even if I consider you are making the playground even for all, can you make one more change please.
• Start charging client 5$ per job which you can settle later once he hire someone as your contact fees. Why am I asking this because if you really have balls to make playground even for both, this idea will remove all the spammers and fake job postets.
• Penalty on spammers malware creators should be high like $50 per violation.
• Earn from that model as well then only freelancers will have good ground to play on equality. 

Hope someone who has big ears can listen in Upwork as most of them are non freelancers centric and operate without empathy.

God Bless You!  Hoping none of your siblings are doing freelancing, their prayers will be bad for you only, for God sake understand pain of freelancers! 

[#20]

I see many jobs get closed with many proposals submitted, and yet no one is hired. I suggest that in these situations, the Connects are refunded to those freelancers. There are certainly clients on this platform who actually have no intention to hire a freelancer, not just the scammers. This would go a long way toward building good faith with freelancers, especially with this change and the fee structure change.

[#21]

Exactly! It's the same cycle over and over again...I spend 8 connects to apply, take the time to google the client's website from the job post, write a custom cover letter and add multiple relevant samples from my portfolio, that's more than half an hour's worth of effort and then keep checking back, no one gets hired. And this has been happening over and over again since the start of this month since I've been active again after a looong break. Blew through 150 or more connects on 14 jobs. I was a great fit for all of them, have 4400 logged hours and 87k in earnings with perfect 5star feedback but since I was inactive for a few years I don't have JSS or any of the new parameters... so here I am wondering what happened to this place!

  Secondly, a client friend of mine showed me their end of the picture, and it turns out upWork makes multiple suggestions to clients at every step of the hiring process so it's highly likely that the clients will trust the system and prefer those freelancers that are suggested by upWork rather than people like us who are spending money on connects and boosting etc to apply to jobs. 
   Even turning the available now badge on didn't get me a single profile view. 
     Now I'm wondering if I need to add money to my account and buy the freelancer plus version, any suggestions if that is going to make a difference?!

[#22]

Think something different now other than UW use multiple options.

[#23]

I have also found another pattern in the jobs posted. I feel I must say this here. 

I found 5 star rated clients with 80% percent hire rate, spent more 5k on upwork with so much good reviews posting a job with 8 connects, seems like legit right? But even after a week, they did not hire, not even an interview. But these things happen right? What I felt weird was, the client has offered jobs in the software field python this, python that till the previous week, all of a sudden the client requires a children's book illustrators....

This is a pattern I found with nearly 10-15 job postings... I haven't applied since I felt weird. I just wanted to know if anyone has observed this sudden shift from one field to another field. 

[#24]

I'm not sure whether this message reaches the top decision-makers.

In addition to my comments in a msg below, now when UW is committed on its way to get as many connects spent by the freelancers, (thus benefitting only the UW), I'ld just suggest UW to consider:

1- increasing the free connects from 10 to 20 per month,

2- incresing the membershiop connects from 80 to 100 or more;

3- reimbursing the used connects to freelancers, on a project which is PROVED as fake/scam, and penalising only the so-called "client" by permanently blocking his email and contact No. (if UW makes it mandatory for clients to mention their email and mobile no. before posting a job, and then client's email and mobile both are banned on proof of scam, the result would be good both for UW as well as us freelancers... there would be less spam!

Thankyou

[#25]

Increasing free connects does not make sense at all since it's just the tip of the iceberg compared to 100/200/1000 connects which take the top 3-4 boosted slots. 
Removing the boosting feature is the best option.  This feature gives benefits to only the freelancers who have big long-term contracts. So riches get richer and poorer get poorer.  

[#26]

This is the worst system ever introduce to upwork, if you want to limit the number of proposal then there are multiple way to do that. By raising the cost of the connect per job and giving more boost feature is a death trap for new freelancer. 
you could have simply introduce the more filter. if UPWORK can't get an idea then let me suggest few of the suggestion.

1. limit the number of proposal one can submit per day ( based on agency / individual ) 
2. there are people who is willing to give jobs only to individual instead of the agency or vice-versa so that can be a must fullfill criteria as well while appling the job.

3. there are open jobs that are not closing for months : give a job expiry option while posting the job 
4. there can't be more then a limit open jobs for a client, he must close the existing jobs first to post more jobs based on his profile activity 

on upwork for a simiple job people are boosting with 60 connects , if you purchase the connect then it will cost you around $9 for 60 connects so only people who has already earned around big amount and have amazing profile can only afford. for a newbie to show the skills and portfolio nothing is left because after 4 places boost there are very few clients will be scrolling and interviewing the other talents. 
😞