MAKE $100 OR MORE ON UPWORK.

“People who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those who are doing it.” – George Bernard Shaw On July 20th, 2014, I celebrated my 2-year anniversary working as a freelance copywriter on Upwork. The date also marked the close of a 12-month period in which I’d earned $100,000. Yes, all from Upwork. My one year earnings on Upwork (formerly Elance)People said it couldn’t be done. I’ve had this said to me personally, and I’ve seen countless posts on forums from freelancers who say it’s impossible to make a full time living on sites like Upwork. Here’s one little gem in particular: A freelancer complaining about the lack of opportunities for making money on Upwork (formerly Elance)But posts like this totally miss the point. This one in particular is full of red herrings. Because being a successful freelancer isn’t about journalism, newspapers or ad agencies. It’s about solving people’s problems and providing value to their business. If you can do that, and be/become very good at your craft, then your background will be totally irrelevant. And if you can’t, then you can have ad agency experience like Don Draper, and you’ll still starve. All of this misinformation wouldn’t bother me much except for I know how easy it can be to believe it when you’re just starting out. Or after you’ve hit a brick wall in your earnings. It’s like being saddled with “freelancer kryptonite.” Consider this post the antidote. Because as you’re going to see, if I can do it, just about anyone can. So if you’re trying to figure out how to make money on Upwork, this one’s for you. *** Author’s note: I originally wrote this post about Elance, which has since rebranded into Upwork. While the post remains as relevant as ever, I’ve made some minor cosmetic updates to reflect the change Think you need previous experience to make money on Upwork? It’s a fair question. It would be perfectly natural to wonder whether or not I’d ever worked for an agency, whether I’d had any articles or books published, or whether I’d studied writing or journalism in college. Not only did I not do any of those things, but I think you’ll agree that I had just about everything working against me. This was my situation at ground zero of my Upwork career: No copywriting experience No college degree No agency experience No freelancing experience No other income source In other words, I literally did roll out of bed one morning and decide to call myself a copywriter. And I think it’s safe to say that regardless of who you are or what you’re going through, there’s a good chance you too can make a full time living (or two) on Upwork. It isn’t 1983 anymore, and you certainly don’t need anyone’s permission or approval to do it. The power of focus For years now, freelancing forums and blogs have been bombarded with posts by freelancers complaining that there aren’t enough good clients on Upwork to make a decent living. But I’ve never bought into this argument. I saw — and continue to see — plenty of good clients on Upwork with my own eyes. I was even fortunate enough to land a couple of them pretty early on (they paid well, were easy to work with, and several of these Upwork clients are still giving me regular repeat business to this day). It isn’t like Upwork allots you a certain number of premium clients and then cuts off your supply. You’re free to find as many as you can. I knew if I could find 2, then I could probably find 5, 10, 20, and beyond. So I decided to go against the status quo and focus all of my efforts exclusively on Upwork. Instead of wasting time on the endless marketing tactics freelancers get lured into, I built my freelancing career with: NO blogging NO networking NO cold contacting NO social media NO newsletters or follow up emails NO accounts on other freelancing sites Essentially, I outsourced all of my marketing to Upwork. And the plan worked like gangbusters. I won lots of jobs. I had enough time to devote to doing them right. I got plenty of repeat business and great feedback. And I built up an awesome Upwork profile that quickly stood out to top quality clients. Every single day, tons of qualified clients flock to Upwork for the express purpose of hiring freelancers. To me, trying to generate leads on my own instead of leveraging all of their marketing power would have been like going buffalo hunting because I was in the mood for a bison burger. Hitting up the meat counter at Whole Foods works so much better. Do Upwork clients pay less? Anyone who really believes that the rates on Upwork are somehow inherently low is living in a self-imposed prison. Let’s look at a real life example. The client in the screenshot below hired me to write some blog posts for her company’s website. Do you think her budget magically shrank just because she hired me on Upwork? Screenshot of a blog writing job I won on Upwork Most people think you can’t make much money writing blog posts on Upwork — but they’re wrong! If you think that question is ridiculous, that’s how nutty this entire superstition really is. Sure, some clients come to Upwork looking for a good deal. Guess what? Some people walk into a Mercedes dealership looking for a good deal too. They can drive off in a brand new Benz for less than the price of a Camry. This doesn’t change the fact that there are plenty of others who are happy to spend 2-10x that. And by the way, whether it’s Upwork or the car dealership, both of these types of clients offer value (more on that in a minute). “But don’t the low bidders drive down prices?” Upwork isn’t an economics classroom, and freelancing services don’t trade like commodities on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. At least not if you’re willing to put some work into your game. Offer the right service to the right clients, packaged in the right way, and your market value goes way up. One of the ways I know this is because, when I’m awarded a job, I’m usually the highest bidder. Jobs I won on Upwork even though I was the highest bidder I was the highest bidder on all of the above jobs, and many more (…by the way, all of the above jobs turned into repeat business.) Unlike the complainers, I pay no attention to the percentage of Upwork jobs posted by higher paying clients. Of course there are going to be fewer of those, the same way online dating sites aren’t fully populated by potential mates who are all rich, smart and beautiful. The more attractive something is, the heavier competition will be for it, and the harder it’s going to be to get it. That’s life. There’s a reason we call this site Freelance To Win. But the best clients think in terms of value, not price. They’re not interested in the cheapest freelancer any more than they are in the cheapest restaurant, the cheapest office chair, or the cheapest laptop. If you can provide value (i.e. solve their problems), you can find more of these good clients than you know what to do with. Below are some more examples… Excellent freelance clients I've found on Upwork (formerly Elance) More great clients I’ve found on Upwork By the way, all of the above clients became repeat customers as well. Two of them even confessed that they’d been “looking for someone like me for years.” Freelancers may be ubiquitous, but problem solvers are hard to find. How to make money on Upwork – the truth Upwork is an ecosystem. All of the clients and freelancers serve a purpose. Clients who pay $15 per hour are much more valuable than the whiners would have you believe. These good folks help beginning freelancers break into the game and cut their teeth. (My first Upwork client was one such person, and I am extremely grateful to him–and judging by the feedback he left me, the feeling was mutual.) New freelancers in turn help these clients build their businesses on a lean budget that more experienced freelancers would never consider. Win-win. It gets better: freelancers who do well get repeat business. Pretty soon they become busy enough that they can raise their rates, and start turning down business at the old rate. This opens up new job opportunities for less experienced freelancers, who can then follow in their footsteps. Some of those freelancers will do well…and get repeat business of their own…and the virtuous cycle continues. Meanwhile, some of those $15/hr clients will grow their businesses, too. As they do, their needs and budget expand, creating new opportunities for more experienced freelancers with advanced skills. So the idea that there is this fixed “pie” of clients and money on Upwork, and that we’re all competing for little slivers of it, is totally flawed. In reality, the pie is actually growing all the time. The only question left is: How big of a piece do you want? Now go get it. Make Mone

FREELANCING TIPS.

Tutorials, Web Design, Web Development 1. Be amazing at something Most masters think that it takes at least 10,000 hours or more to be an expert at something, and even longer to be the BEST. I believe this depends on the learning skills and the abilities one has, as well as some other factors. It also depends on the fact that each person is different. It may be possible to master something within a few years if you have the abilities, but the most persistent people will keep going for 10 years and will always try to be the best. Don’t try to attain perfection or be the “best”, but try to learn to excel or master your craft, and success will come on its own. You are still learning, to this day, and you will still be learning for the rest of your life. 2. Take some risks What’s keeping you from freelancing success? Sometimes, lack of opportunity isn’t the culprit. The sabotages aren’t the only ways that freelancers hold themselves back. There’s another big problem that keeps many freelancers from succeeding. In fact, this problem is so common it deserves at least one post dedicated just to it. That big problem is FEAR. We’re afraid to succeed. We’re afraid of failure. We’re afraid of taking chances. We’re afraid of rejection. We’re afraid of over committing. The list goes on and on. So, we stay where we are. Not learning new things. Not taking chances. Playing it safe. Certainly not growing our freelancing business. Paralyzed by fear. Is fear something you struggle with? If it is, this post is for you. You can start to overcome your fear of risk-taking today. 3. Have your own website/portfolio Your website serves as a canvas for your best work. Literally speaking, a website is what showcases your experience and skills in your niche. Don’t let potential customers wait to see samples of your work. Direct them to your website and let it do the talking. Showcase all the services you have to offer and include glowing testimonials from happy clients. These act as a guarantee of the quality of your services. There isn’t anything more valuable in digital marketing than credibility. The higher your trust factor, the more options you have to expand your business and make money. Having a website can do wonders for business growth because every action you take on your website will strengthen your online presence. This will help you earn the trust of customers, giving potential clients more confidence in hiring you. 4. Write a blog There are so many business benefits to blogging that it only makes sense for most web designers and other freelancers to take part. The benefits of blogging far outweigh the disadvantages. Yet, it seems like every so often someone influential makes the statement that they think blogging is dead. They claim blogging is no longer a good idea for small businesses. It’s a waste of time, they say. Social media is all the exposure you need, they go on to say. Few benefits you’ll have from writing a blog: Relatively Low Cost. Yes, blogging costs a little money and takes a little time. However, it’s still a relatively low-cost way to promote your design business–especially when you compare it to paying for advertisements. Controlled by you. It’s true that social media is a free way to promote your business. But don’t rely too heavily on social media. You don’t own the social media sites. Builds authority. You can use your freelance blog to show off your knowledge in your area. To do this, create and share high-quality content that is relevant to your specialty. Grows relationships. The best, most authoritative, blogs tend to have communities that grow up around them. These communities consist of regular commentators who interact frequently with the blog’s authors and readers. Provides fresh content for search engines. It’s well-known that the search engines tend to favor sites that frequently publish new content. What better way to add new content than with a well-written blog post? A source of work samples for writers and web designers. Your blog can serve as a sample of your work. What better way to show them what you can do than with your own blog? Shows off your skills. Your skills aren’t always evident in your portfolio, which only shows the end result. In your blog, you can connect the dots and tell prospects how you worked behind the scene to make that project a success. A place for your unique voice. No one approaches the design business quite like you. No matter who you are, you have a unique slant on the industry. With your blog, that uniqueness gets a voice. Freelancer tips 5. Keep learning Whether you’re a full-time freelancer or just looking to boost your side hustle, you might shy away from learning on your own. Perhaps you don’t have the fondest memories of school or don’t consider yourself a great student. Or you can’t see spending time learning when you could be working billable hours. Don’t let those thoughts take over. Think of learning as another regular part of building a business, right up there with delivering client work, that will give you a competitive advantage in a crowded field of freelancers jockeying for projects. To connect with educational content that will equip you with real-world skills you can apply to your work right away, you’ll want to compare online learning platforms and find your fit. 6. Take advantage of pre-designed templates and plugins Web templates are easy to use, easy to set-up; they have low prices. You can choose from thousands. Themes have built-in functionalities and reliable updates. They might be perfect for your web design freelance business. 7. Develop your brand Good branding makes any business memorable. Talented freelancers can benefit from being remembered, more than most. There are many skilled designers, photographers, and writers who call themselves freelancers these days, so you will need to brand yourself in a unique way, in order to stand out from the pack. Whether you’re just getting started on the road to building a freelance career, or you’re a seasoned pro, here are some actionable steps to taking the guesswork out of what makes a memorable personal brand, and how you can start putting them into practice today. Your personality is your brand. The first step in the process is defining the unique personality of your brand. This goes for all businesses, but when you’re a freelancer, guess who’s personality you get to use? That’s right, it’s one of those rare occasions when your business can be unabashedly all about YOU. After all, you are the brand, so to present a false front to the world would be unnatural, and ultimately very difficult to keep going. 8. Nurture clients relationship First things first, you should understand why it is essential to build amazing relationships with your clients. Unless you, at your core, know and hold true that this is essential, reading this article (and a thousand other ones) won’t serve any purpose. If you build great client relationships, your projects will flow smoothly. Your mental load will be incredibly reduced and you will actually be excited to get work done. You won’t dread client meetings; on the contrary, you will be excited to meet them and show them your work. And if they don’t like it, you won’t be mad and the relationship won’t be damaged – you’ll be prepared to work around any issues and actually enjoy the process. If you build great relationships, your clients will return to you when they have new projects. If their friends need to hire someone, they will be happy to reference you because it was such a great experience. They trust you and they believe in your work and if you need something, you’ll be able to count on them too. You won’t dread reference check calls anymore. If you build great relationships with your clients, you won’t tweet that being a freelancer is actually pure suffering and modern day slavery, because if you really dedicate yourself to it, being a freelancer is an amazing journey. 9. Have a dedicated workspace So, whether you choose to rent a cubicle, share workspace or create a space at home that’s all your own, here’s what we recommend you invest in: A room you can control. Whether it’s music you need or total silence, you have to be able to create that ideal environment to be at your most productive. Having a place where you can shut the door and shut out the world is often the key to controlling your focus at work. If you don’t have a room at your disposal, consider converting a walk-in closet or part of a garage. Get innovative with what you have to create the space you need. Proper lighting. For most of us, at least the tiniest bit of a window and some natural sunlight would be a bonus, but more important than that is lighting that will not contribute to headaches and eye strain. The lighting needs of a graphic designer, working with colors and photographs, may be different than the lighting needs of a writer who is typing black words on a white background all day. Know what you need and light your space appropriately. An organized work area. Cluttered doesn’t function as well as clean. It just doesn’t. Those with cluttered and messy desks may spend an average of an hour and a half a day just looking for things. It adds up. Stay organized so you can enjoy your space. 10. Invoice Faster Invoice faster to get paid faster. The faster you send an invoice for the work you’ve done, the faster you will get payment. That’s why you shouldn’t postpone sending an invoice.

STEPS TO STARTING DIGITAL MARKETING FREELANCING

If you think selling people’s product by making it sound fancy is your calling then the best way to start your career in it is by freelancing for various projects. Why? Because it makes you understand your niche industry like lifestyle, industrial products or services. I am going to share with you 10 steps on how you can start it off:

1. Get your marketing brain cells working: Pick up 2 random projects that you see over Facebook or around you and start thinking 10 ideas on how you can market them better than what the company is already doing. Discuss them with some marketing peers and if not then just shoot the concerned people a mail and see if they reply you with “We are happy to hear these ideas. How can you implement”. This activity will help you understand how good your thought process is in this field.

2. Work Plan: Once you get a reply from any of these companies, design a work plan for them. Create a generic one before so that you can easily edit it as when need arises. The Work Plan should include what all you can do for them like the number of social media posts, ideas on how their product can be sold through various elements like blogs or collaborations and strategies on how you can increase the customer engagement.

3. Sample your work: This is where you have to sell yourself. In this part you need to convince them about the quality of the work you can provide. Design atleast 4-5 sample social media posts and 10 blog topics that will help in promotion of their product. The creatives should cover different elements by which their idea can be marketed. For example, show how their product can be used for corporate gifting, various tips and tricks of that industry (like fitness tips, etc) and general product awareness posts. And Before this get familiar with Photoshop and Canva.

4. Price Quote: If you are just starting out, quote very minimal as possible as you have to build your own portfolio first to be able charge as per your whim. And as you see that your work is getting a lot of appreciation raise the bar you set before.

5. Contract it out: This is one of the most important things you should concentrate on. The clients can be very tricky in the future and demand more work than what was agreed for. We need to make them comprehend the fact that freelancing work does not mean free work. So set out your deliverables previously on a proper mail with them so that when time comes you have a proof of the work that you were supposed to do and this way nobody feels cheated.

6. Do the talk: Get acquainted with what your client wants and how he/she wants to portray their product. It is very important to apprehend the constraints that they want in terms of their target market. Sometimes they want to focus on a specific Target Group to get a monopoly in that segment and then may be spread out. Discuss all the strategies with them on how you can help winning that TG.

7. Advertisement Budget: Ask them how much they are ready to spend on Facebook/Twitter/Instagram advertisement. A budget will help you design ads for them before time. And they will be happy to see how eager you are to spread their ideas across.

8. Final Work Plan: Once you are familiar with what needs to be done start writing all the To Do’s for a month. Set out what has to be done including the objective of doing it, so that your client has a clear picture on what he is spending his money on. Once you have his confidence, in a few months you won’t need so many authorizations.

9. It’s a war out there: It is really necessary to keep a tab on the client’s competitors and keep him updated about it. Doing it weekly is a good idea. Make sure you eye on everything they are upto so that if need arises you can alter your strategies in time. And this keeps the client more than happy.

10. Not just digital: I agree these days marketing is all about digital Marketing as it is more cost-effective but suggest your client on what can be done offline too or ways they can get more visibility as this all adds upto your value addition to the project.

The rest depends on how well you execute all the planning. I hope these insights help you to start it off like a boss.

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