My First Month on Upwork - Some Reflections
My connects reset today which means it's been exactly a month - nice convenient time to reflect. So here's a blog vaguely based on where I am with my freelancing and where you should aim to be, I guess.
I'd say the most important part of month one is building an application which works for you - check out an example of mine in this blog about applying for jobs. Whilst pinging out the same application for everything you apply for won't get you anywhere, there is a general theme and structure to get to grips with. Find out what works for you.
Secondly, in the beginning it's all about building up a bit of feedback. Asking clients if they mind closing and reopening a contract so that you can build up 5* feedback is a good shout - once you've got a few under your belt it's much easier to land more jobs.
In this initial stage of building up some feedback, you'll probably find yourself working for a bit less than you'd ideally want to get paid. Unlucky! But it happens to the best of us. By the end of this month I've managed to land my first job paid at $20/hr which for me equates to about £11/hr with UpWork fees and conversion rates. More than I got paid working in a bar. From now on that's what I'll be aiming to quote my clients.
This implies you should have a feel for how much you need to charge to make it worth your time, be it by hour or by word. Obviously this varies between freelancers, but it's important to have a clear idea.
When it comes to building up a portfolio of work, I've mentioned the tactic Danny Margulies uses in this article - writing a short 200-300 words on a related subject. Ultimately if you can write something engaging, informative and stylish, not having a portfolio shouldn't be a problem. It's worth checking out other blogs to explore writing styles.
A quick Google shows all kind of unrealistic UpWork success stories in the first month. Whilst I'm by no means getting absolutely minted over here, it's all groundwork. As anyone who's working whilst they travel will appreciate, a few hundred quid goes a lot further towards your living costs in a cheap country. I haven't exactly been working every day, so as the amount of clients grow exponentially I'm confident I can turn it into a decent income, hopefully pretty soon.
I'd say the most important part of month one is building an application which works for you - check out an example of mine in this blog about applying for jobs. Whilst pinging out the same application for everything you apply for won't get you anywhere, there is a general theme and structure to get to grips with. Find out what works for you.
Secondly, in the beginning it's all about building up a bit of feedback. Asking clients if they mind closing and reopening a contract so that you can build up 5* feedback is a good shout - once you've got a few under your belt it's much easier to land more jobs.
In this initial stage of building up some feedback, you'll probably find yourself working for a bit less than you'd ideally want to get paid. Unlucky! But it happens to the best of us. By the end of this month I've managed to land my first job paid at $20/hr which for me equates to about £11/hr with UpWork fees and conversion rates. More than I got paid working in a bar. From now on that's what I'll be aiming to quote my clients.
This implies you should have a feel for how much you need to charge to make it worth your time, be it by hour or by word. Obviously this varies between freelancers, but it's important to have a clear idea.
When it comes to building up a portfolio of work, I've mentioned the tactic Danny Margulies uses in this article - writing a short 200-300 words on a related subject. Ultimately if you can write something engaging, informative and stylish, not having a portfolio shouldn't be a problem. It's worth checking out other blogs to explore writing styles.
A quick Google shows all kind of unrealistic UpWork success stories in the first month. Whilst I'm by no means getting absolutely minted over here, it's all groundwork. As anyone who's working whilst they travel will appreciate, a few hundred quid goes a lot further towards your living costs in a cheap country. I haven't exactly been working every day, so as the amount of clients grow exponentially I'm confident I can turn it into a decent income, hopefully pretty soon.
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