How to Start Freelancing with Upwork in 2024? Tips from Expert
Tried and tested tips from Gabriel I. Simion on How to Start with Upwork in 2024?
Hello guys, if you want to try your hand on freelancing then there is no better place than Upwork, but not many people can find clients and earn decent income on these platform, because they don’ do much.
Just creating a profile is not enough, you need to have a strategy and understanding of what is working on Upwork to found success, but don’t worry, in this article, I will tell you the right way to start with Upwork in 2024.
If you have a profile already, dust it off and start earning big with the secrets we uncovered in this article. If you are yet to try Upwork, this information will significantly speed up your success!
For about a year, Upwork — the largest freelancing platform in the world — has significantly increased the number of connects freelancers need to pay to apply for jobs. They’ve also introduced several paid features aimed at extracting as much value from freelancers as possible.
Many complain about these changes, but here’s the thing: you shouldn’t. Your mindset can be your competitive advantage on the platform. Use it to win clients (not just projects) worth thousands or even tens of thousands in recurring services.
We spoke with Gabriel I. Simion, an expert on the subject and author of Winning on Upwork — The Best Profile Optimization Guide for Upwork Freelancers, to learn how you, as a developer, can create a new income stream on Upwork.
Gabriel has been working on Upwork for about two years. Starting from scratch, he has managed to consistently rank at the top for highly competitive keywords like ‘consultant’ or ‘advisor’, before millions of other freelancers.
Many freelancers don’t take it seriously and lack the ambition to keep their profiles in top shape.
Lately, it’s become more expensive to apply for jobs, which he sees as an opportunity. When he apply for projects, he no longer compete with 50+ others, but just 5–10 people. Because his profile is extremely well optimized, if the client sees it, the job is almost secured.”
Lesson here for you is to Know that we know how important it is to have a well-maintained profile, and you can copy Gabrie’s framework which he has shared in his best-selling book Winning on Upwork — The Best Profile Optimization Guide for Upwork Freelancers
Now, let’s hear from Upwork themselves about which are the high volume and trending niches in 2024, so that you can better position in the marketplace.
According to a report launched in March this year, Data Science & Analytics is one of the fastest-growing work categories as generative AI modeling and machine learning produce strong demand from businesses.
Niches making the largest volumes in 2024:
Gabriel I. Simion compiled a list of quick actions for new freelancers like yourself to increase visibility and attract inbound leads, not just through job applications and spending connects.
“It’s best to start by understanding the bigger picture. As freelancers, we are small parts of a vast ecosystem. We need to figure out what actions will make us more useful within this ecosystem. Essentially, we need to incentivize the platform to favor us.
First, log in and take actions on Upwork daily. Consistently use the marketplace to maintain your indicators. It seems that as soon as you take a break, everything drops — from inbound invites to profile views. This is my observation, though I haven’t done quantitative research on it.
While researching the topic on ResearchGate, I discovered over 30 scientific articles on Upwork and the gig economy (find the results here), yet none specifically tackled the search algorithm or provided new insights beyond my own experiences.
Identify a niche with high demand in which to position yourself. Compile a long list of skills from Upwork’s suggestions that are most relevant and valuable within your chosen niche. Categorize these skills into high-ticket and commoditized groups. Focus on skills that pay higher average prices. Exclude low-paying skills, such as copywriting, particularly those susceptible to automation with ChatGPT. Always use for your profile all 15 skill slots available.
Next, ensure you have a great profile. Look at other freelancers in your niche, find the most successful ones, and see what they do to stand out. Replicate their actions, but add your own spin.
Setting up your profile for success is a lot of work. It’s an iterative process: start today and go through all fields in a week. Then, start over and figure out how to improve those features even more. This time, you’ll refine fields rather than make substantial changes, but it will still take twice as much time.
After 3–4 iterations, your profile should be among the top 1% on the platform because most people don’t take such good care of it. Many view Upwork as an alternative income stream and dedicate only a small fraction of their time to it, resulting in poor outcomes and complaints about marketplace competition.
As you start gaining traction and clients come in, you’ll need to split your time between servicing clients, doing outreach (applying for jobs), and maintaining a clean, polished profile. This is where most freelancers get stuck in scaling. They are unwilling or unable to put in the necessary time and effort.
One of the biggest mistakes is hiring a VA to handle strategic tasks. Get a VA for repetitive tasks, not for optimizations that require expert knowledge and creativity.
For easier and faster job applications, I use Proposals Generator, a Chrome extension ($4.9 per month) that makes highly personalized cover letters. Although you can’t use bold text on Upwork, this extension creates emojis that resemble bold letters, making my cover letters stand out even more.
To identify ideal jobs and avoid spam postings that drain my connects budget, I use the free Chrome extension Upwork Job Scorer and Spam Detector. These tools give me a competitive edge since only a small fraction of freelancers use them. Proposals Generator is used by only 2,000 freelancers, while Upwork Job Scorer and Spam Detector by just 3,000 people — a mere 5,000 users from millions of Upwork freelancers. More importantly, they save me a lot of time.
You should also apply to at least one job every day. Spend connects to show the platform you are still active and have bandwidth for more jobs. Never take profits off the platform. Saving 10% (Upwork’s fee) might seem like a win, but it’s a significant loss because you don’t incentivize Upwork to promote you organically. Feed the platform and live in symbiosis with it.
The Job Success Score is crucial. If it drops below 90%, you’ll need to significantly lower your rates to attract new jobs. If it falls below 80%, you’ll have to work almost for free to get new clients. Clients prefer service providers with high success rates.
Consider yourself a high-quality service provider doing B2B work. Envision your client’s journey and constantly think about optimizing every point. High-quality work involves both objective effort and subjective attributes that add value for your client.
For example, the speed of your replies, your communication style, how you present yourself on camera, how you ask for and implement feedback, how you meet deadlines, and when you ask for payment and positive feedback all matter.
Personally, I invested in the best 4k camera for clearer video quality, which I believe increased my hourly rate by 10% and improved my closing rate during initial calls by 20%. Investing in yourself and your service business is better than investing in crypto or stocks with your $250.
Another way to invest in your career is to pay for mentorship. Why spend a year struggling when you could buy an hour of someone’s time who has already succeeded and gain valuable knowledge? This shortcut has been useful for me on Upwork.
Think of yourself as a business that needs to offer high-quality services and a great customer experience. Although there are no shortcuts and the journey will be challenging, at least you know you’re heading in the right direction while many others are spinning in circles.”
Did you find this useful? Let us know in the comments. We kept it brief this time, but there’s potential for more articles on this topic, if you show interest. Open Upwork, dust off your profile, and learn from the best. Check out Gabriel’s profile to see what he’s doing right and try to apply his strategies to your own profile.
Gabriel has also compiled all his tips and tricks in a Gumroad guide — this is how we met — and he’s offering a 20% discount to our entire community with the code “Javarevisited”. Check it out here: Winning on Upwork — The Best Profile Optimization Guide for Upwork Freelancers.
All the best with your freelancing journey !!
