The one thing your Upwork profile overview MUST have

There’s actually three… and an exact order to put them in. But, THIS is definitely the most important. It’s the one thing you can change about your Upwork profile overview, in a matter of minutes, that will have the most impact. So, let me show you.

(Quick side note: In this article, I’m talking about the “traditional” method of getting work on Upwork and what you’ll, ultimately, want to do long-term. But, if you’re brand new, I have a non-traditional method that’s been working very well for my students. I wrote up an article on that HERE that I recommend you read after this one.)

The thing is, most clients on Upwork aren’t looking at just YOUR proposal or profile. I mean, you’ve seen this. There’s often 20, 30 or even more proposals on any good job on Upwork. So, they’re sifting through dozens of freelancers.

And, it’s silly to think they’re doing some kind of in-depth technical analysis. People don’t make decisions that way. They skim through things rapidly and try to “get a feel”. Or, look for something that JUMPS out at them.

And, if they click through to your profile, the first thing they’ll see and likely read is your profile overview. Of course, you have about 3 seconds to grab their attention otherwise they’ll move on. So, you have hit them hard in those first few seconds.

But, you also have to remember that this is a marketplace. They are there to buy. So, a lot of the typical marketing advice doesn’t apply. Telling a story and all that. They’re past that.

So, what do you hit them with?

PROOF

But, as soon as I say that a lot of freelancers immediately think of their portfolio (BTW, mega-article on building a persuasive portfolio HERE). Or, aren’t sure how to put proof into an overview. So, let me give you an example:

“Hi, I’m John. You might know me from my work on Tim Ferriss’ 4-Hour Body website, or the site I built for Inc. Magazine, maybe my work on Michael Hyatt’s Platform University or the membership sites I’ve built for Lewis Howes.”

Now, that opening may or may not hit YOU. But, I know my market. These people are legends in my market. I’ve literally had clients say to me:

“I saw you worked with XYZ person. If they trust you, I trust you.”​​​​​​​

That Tim Ferris 4-Hour Body line grabs them by the eyeballs…

And, makes them read.

But, also establishes credibility, authority and, ultimately, TRUST (more on that HERE). So, NOW, they’ll actually believe what you say in the rest of profile overview. They’ll rush to your portfolio to SEE what you built for these people.

And, you’re 90% of the way to getting hired because you made them STOP and pay attention to you. THAT is how you cut through the 30 other proposals (I lay out all the things you need to do to get hired HERE).

Now, the big objection I get here is:

“I don’t have those past clients. I can’t do that.”

Mmmmm… I don’t know. You don’t need huge names like that. You don’t need even need past clients, per se. You just need proof that you know what you’re doing. So, “11 years at a web design shop” can work.

Hell, even “Top of my class at college” is better than nothing.

Point is…

Talk about what you’ve DONE. Anything of note. Even if you don’t think it’s that big of a deal. And, if you literally have nothing OR you want to build up what you can put there, get out and do things.

Work on projects. Work with clients… for free if you have to. That’s the thing about that Tim Ferriss project. I didn’t get paid for it. In the end, they moved away from WordPress and the site I built got replaced. But, I still built a site for Tim Ferriss.

Put it in there.

Anyway, like I said, this is 1 of the 3 things you need to include your profile overview. Once you have their attention and established credibility, now you need to lead them by the hand to hiring you. And, that’s what the next two parts do.

I teach those in my Freelancing on Upwork course. You can get access to it for nothing over on SkillShare. All the details on that are here.

Later,

John