For all their blubbering and sniveling…
There IS one thing Upwork haters get right.
It’s getting way more competitive.
I mentioned this before, but freelancing is exploding. 36% of the U.S. population already freelances. In the next 10 years, that will jump to over 50%.
Plus, tech is also on the rise.
Hitting its highest workforce rate since the dotcom bubble.
So, all those freelancers ain’t gonna be walking dogs.
They’ll be developers and designers just like you.
That’s, in part, why Upwork decided to begin “curating” its freelancers and not just letting any swinging… ahem… in the front door.
So, now, you have “apply” and get accepted.
All this DOES make it more work.
But, I’m reminded of the Pareto principle.
80% of the revenue often goes to 20% of the freelancers.
The freelancers who DO get in on Upwork, who figure out how it works and how to get steady job invites, who learn how to deliver and make clients happy…
Those who put in the work.
They tend to get all the reward.
While everyone else fights for the scraps.
So, the question becomes… how do YOU get into that 20%? Well, in this kind of hyper-competitive environment, every little advantage counts.
Stacking those advantages is how you win.
So, imagine for a second if you had insight on exactly how Upwork’s algorithms for matching and listing freelancers worked… and, all your competitors didn’t.
If a little advantage, can give you a leg up…
What will a big advantage give you?
How much easier could you get work?
How much more could you charge?
Anyway, that’s why I always try to illustrate to Upwork freelancers how important understanding their algorithms is. It’s crucial to winning consistently there.
To getting into that 20%.
I happened to stumbled on the keys to those algorithms…
By pure dumb luck…
Back before they became a closely-guarded secret.
And, it changed everything for me.
I went from “crickets” on Upwork to my first 2K job in a matter of days. And, eventually, more job invites than I could handle.
I’ve seen the same happen to students of mine…
Who learn this.
In fact, I just got this comment from one this morning:
“This is Julia again. I have made changes you suggested on my upwork profile and I am glad to say I received my FIRST invitation this morning (11am eastern time). It definitely put a smile on my face, I accepted the invitation and been going back and forth in regards to the job description.”
I’m still always amazed at how quickly this happens.
I get these “sudden change” messages all the time.
And, that’s the big thing I’m trying to hammer home.
You change your behavior, you change your results. Hell, that’s with anything, but especially on Upwork. And, I’ve seen it happen time after time after time.
Anyway, if you want to learn what I learned…
And, what I’ve taught all this people.
It’s in my Freelancing on Upwork course on SkillShare.
Link to learn more and get started is here: https://skl.sh/2OIxQrO
Later,
John
