How to Get a Client on Upwork 

During my early days, this was the question that always ran through my mind, “how to get a client on Upwork”. It took me months to find out the best possible way to land your first job on this platform that most beginners are not doing.

The most exciting part is that you don’t have to spend any single money to make this successful and start making money from your freelancing gigs.

Customize your profile

It all starts with you. 

You have to create a compelling profile to get your first client on Upwork. Start optimizing it so that clients will be attracted to it and start hiring you.

You can do the following to create a customized Upwork profile that will make you outstanding.

Add a keyword to your profile

First, ask yourself. “What service can I offer to the clients?”. Once you are done with this step, add the keyword to your headline.

If you are a writer, you can say “Professional SEO Content Writer”. Make it more creative instead of putting a boring headline of “Writer”.

Professional Description

Your headline is done. Time to write the hook of your profile by putting a professional description.

In creating a headline, you have to be creative, but this time, it is the opposite of the description.

This time, you have to lessen being creative but make sure to use powerful and emotional words that can hook the client’s attention. These are the words like “massive, compelling, skyrocket, etc.”

Focus on writing your skills that might be helpful to your clients. Remember, it’s not all about you but about the clients.

Personalized portfolio

In the world of freelancing, one of the best things that you can do is to create a personalized and enticing portfolio that will help you to get a client.

Make sure that this is in line with the service that you are providing.

You can also put your sample works into your portfolio, making sure that it is the best. This will be the overview of your potential  client if you are worth hiring on their team.

In this case, when the client searches for an SEO Content Writer, you might be on the top searches if you keep optimizing your profile based on your expertise.

Submit compelling proposals

Your proposals and cover letters have a high contribution for your application to be accepted. This is why you always need to write and send compelling proposals. 

But the problem here is that people always exaggerate their proposals and use jargon that makes your client turn you down and get rid you from the list.

In writing a proposal, the best way to do it is to keep it short and simple. Just mention what you can do to help the client and what will be their benefits by hiring you. No more no less.

💡 Make sure to make it friendly and casual but make it sound professional.

Furthermore, you have to be sure that you are applying for a job that suits your skills. Never submit a proposal just because of a higher rate. The job and a team that you are applying for should be in-line with your skills and interest to avoid conflicts soon.

By submitting more proposals, you are having exposure to the clients and increasing the stats that might help you to get a badge on your profile. However, you don’t have to waste your connects to get profile views. Apply for a job that you are interested in.

Avoid large companies and agencies

You must always aim for high opportunities, but always keep it balanced.

If you are a beginner in freelancing, you don’t want to hurt your profile. Thus, applying to large companies is kind of risky unless they are generous enough.

But why?

You see, if you are a beginner, there’s a huge potential that you will have errors and conflicts during your first job (trust me, I experienced it). And when you do this to large agencies and they don’t like it, they might give you low ratings for your profile.

Imagine your first job receiving a 1-star review from a huge agency. Do you think you will still get hired in the future? Might be yes if they will trust you.

So, as long as you don’t have enough good feedback and start to lie low and work by crawling slower and smaller until you build enough feedback.

Nevertheless, you can take the risk of applying to big companies if you are confident enough with your skills. It might be your turning point as a freelancer.

Present a compelling portfolio

Providing your best sample works with presentation is one of the best strategies to get a client on Upwork. 

If you are a beginner and don’t have any experience, you can start writing free works for yourself and publish them on free platforms such as Medium, Hive, Tumblr, etc.

Also read: 3 Medium Alternatives That Pay You Money for FREE

Or, you can use free Google products such as Google Docs and Google Drive.

But if you have an extra budget and you want to build your online presence while finding a client, you can start building your website by buying a hosting plan and domain name that will serve as your portfolio.

I do love using Hostinger for providing cheaper hosting plans and domain names than other hosting providers. I saved more than 70% by using Hostinger as my hosting provider.

After creating samples, make your friends or family read them. Then ask for their testimonials that you can add to your portfolio. Positive feedback may influence your potential client’s decision which will give you a higher chance of getting hired.

Don’t ask for higher rates

You are a beginner.  That’s the fact. This is kind of frustrating and some people might disagree but never ask for high rates if you never had an experience.

Start at a beginner’s rate. Then gradually increase your rate when you’ve got experience.

Here’s the thing, always base your rate on your experience and skills. The more valuable you are, the higher the rate you can ask. 

Always know your worth, it is just that most clients will not possibly hire you without experience with a higher rate unless they trust you or you have a good work history.

Conclusion

Having your first client is one of the toughest things when you are starting your freelancing journey.

But you won’t need to suffer if you avoid the mistakes that you might make while finding clients. The key is to create a strong foundation like your portfolio because it can be your ace during the process.

Furthermore, remember that it’s not all about you, but your potential clients.