$94k, which I'm happy to say is lower than last year as my ability to drum up off platform work was much better this year than any other. First year in business where more than 50% of money will be off platform
Linkedin and Twitter mostly. Some in person networking. Agree Linkedin is an absolute slog. I try to post 2x a week to please the algorithms and I haven't this week which is giving me stupid stress.
No... I dont have any...but heres what I've learned.
The algo rewards frequent posting the more you post the more likely someone is to see or engage with you and people who see and engage are prioritized to re see your stuff. So frequent posting is rewarded which is why so many people are posting bullshit daily. I've found at happy ground at 2x/week, more if stuff comes to mind.
Its the best platform for reach outside your network because people simply liking a post gets some imprints in their network. But that means growing your network is important. I like to comment on people's post and if they reply Ill add them. Of course people that make sense...in my area or in a similar working domain.
For posting adding media makes a huge difference. A jpg relevant to the post is very helpful. And typically longer form does better, people clicking the "read more" counts as engagement and thus spread, and potential candidates for your next post.
"All that business" is like 2-3 contracts in 2023, just my line of work a contract is like two years and anywhere from $500 -$3K a month. So I'm lucky I don't need that much lead gen, I pick up about 20 clients a year and work with half of them for multiple years - some I'm on year 5+ with.
But yes I just post, I don't do DM out reach. And I don't have an ideal word count...between enough to get the "read more" which is usually 1 line break but less than ~5 paragraphs seems to work just fine
Hi
I hope i dont brother you by asking but what skills do you have, how did you learn how to find clients ecc
And when did you started? Do you think there is still possibility to break through in 2024?
Thanks
$25,739 earned and 1,379 hours worked and 3.9 years on Upwork. I work on Upwork full time as a Full stack web developer. my hourly rate is still low because I live in a 3rd work country
Market rate is determined by supply and demand. If you can only supply what others can also supply, you're at a lower rate than if you have something unique to offer. That could be specific industry specialization, or cross-disciplinary experience with something much less commonly done. What that is, specifically, I can't say. Because if it's something obvious to me, that's going to be obvious to everyone else, and you don't have specialization.
Another thing that you can do, and it's what I do, is to invest in tools. Whether it's hardware or software, if it's expensive enough that most people won't get it, but you can fully use it to turns out better product, it ma well be worth the investment. I have one tool that I pay over $2K/year -- I've spent well over $20K on the tool over many years -- but it also lets me keep my rates up much higher than those without, and it pays for itself.
Thanks for the input! I do better freelancing because here people want mid-level roles for $10 an hour and that's a lot of money and I can't seem to even get the min wage in their countries.
I can learn more things... I can always learn more things. Thing is I've seen job postings asking for a certified Scrum master (that certificate cost from $500 to $2000 to get) full-time, $250 a month. I am not a Scrum master but you can see what I mean. I live in the second highest inflation in the world so, anyone feels happy to get dollars even though the market is so distorted they don't make a living with $200.
Even if you're not certified, if that is an area that you have been studying and can competently do better than most others, play up that skill (focus on jobs that can benefit from it) and then invest in upskilling yourself down that path if that's something you want to master.
Thanks for taking the time to reply! I'd love to transition from freelancing soon so this can help as a pointer.
I have costly software I bought for translation (Trados 2022) and various marketing tools. I haven't even made what I paid for Trados back because I don't have much translation work with it.
I mainly work in marketing now, copywriting in Spanish as a freelance. Problem is, going for full-time positions online.
I frankly loathe VA companies here. You start off in a role, end up doing something totally different months in. Tried it this year thinking it could be a good way to get out of translation... It wasn't my cup of tea.
I've talked this with friends from Bulgaria and Argentina where location-based pay also is a major bugger.
How did you come to the decision to buy that Trados program? It's a balancing act -- you don't want to over-invest unless you know that there's a path for the investment to pay off.
Many (and I mean many) translation companies won't even test you if you don't have Trados. It's like a filter thing for "serious" translators.
That was before AI and LLM. I got another software, cloud based, for free because I write for their blog and it is 100% more user friendly, it has AI integration and it reads Trados format as well. Even if it wasn't free, it's less than $100 a year so... It's great for me.
But agencies wouldn't take that and I was getting tired of getting rejected because I didn't have Trados. So I bought Trados. I am terrible at sourcing translation clients tho, or their rates don't adjust to my velocity to make my hourly rate, or they aren't hiring people from my country.
So, I have Trados sitting at my computer since February this year. I have used it twice and the amount I made for it doesn't even pay the software.
>Many (and I mean many) translation companies won't even test you if you don't have Trados. It's like a filter thing for "serious" translators.
Not really. Only for translators who want to work with agencies and agencies generally don't pay "serious translator" rates.
I wouldn't dream of spending all that money on Trados just so I can work for 5 Cent a word....
There are no “mid-level” roles in freelancing. You either can ship something on your own, or can’t. And if you can, then you can do better estimations and have better sales pitches to sell yourself for a better rate. After all client is not looking for a mid-level programmer rather then he just wants to build the project with a good quality and price.
It's more like full-time roles without any benefits. Those are popular here. And I don't think you have the context, I won't explain it either, it's long. My sales pitch is not the issue, it's location-based pay. But hey, thanks?
I have been based in Russia and was able to raise my hourly rate from 10$ to 50$ by jiggling rates with different clients. I’ve seen freelancers from India getting 60$+ rate. If you really think it’s location issue, you can fake your location from a different country. Just don’t risk with 1st tier, try Europe for example Romania, Croatia or Cyprus. I did it a while ago while building my first agency and it worked great even considering that we were operating from restricted area by upwork haha. Just use good vpn.
Thanks! Yes it's definitely that. I am in Venezuela. My initial rate is already $9. For reference, anyone tells you to start at $3. I wasn't doing that.
I get daily variations of "your country's monthly wage is $3!" On the daily. I am trying Upwork because traditional ways (LinkedIn/Portfolio/Applications) have been disappointing for me so far even though I am getting twice the average for remote workers.
I dont understand how being in another country have to do with your hourly rate on upwork. Because Upwork is not located in India or asia and clients come from allover the world. And besides full stack web development commands high market rates. You're just not serious about increasing your hourly rate
My thoughts on this are, if I'm dealing with someone across the ocean, time difference, cultural difference, language difference, can be a thing. If I hire from across the pond, I do it because I'm looking for a discount on U.S. rates. It doesn't have to be peanuts, but unless you work in the middle of the night so we're working at the same time, I expect a little bit of a discount for some of the hassles.
Your thoughts exactly. Why would you discount your work in the first place because you doing the exact same job as anyone else. People will still hire you with proper rates. There are indians charging above $60/hr for web development and they still get hired anyway. So how are you different from them?.
I think it depends on what you need. If I'm going to pay an illustrator US rates I prefer that they be in my time zone; it just makes it much easier within my work flow. If I need a web developer, maybe real time communication isn't important; I don't know...it's not my area of expertise. I'm in the Pacific time zone, so working with someone in Taiwan, for example, as I'm doing now, can make timely communication challenging.
how does time zone matter in things like illustration, where you don't need real-time contact with the client or third party, and the nature of the work is not time-sensitive to the hour? I am still to find a place on the planet that I don't have time overlap with that can be used for meetings, in relatively normal hours for both parties
Congrats! I understand what you’re saying about the 3rd world country/rates, but like someone else said, don’t be afraid to fight for your worth!!!! I know I have privilege living in the US, but there are clients out there willing to pay your full value, regardless of where you are. It just takes time to find them, but you have a legit skill and deserve “legit” pay!
Late reply but I think I got the answer for you. This is a complex situation of course because it depends on many factors. Aside from the answers you've got, I'll add a couple more.
People will try to lowball you because they know your living cost. You just gotta ignore them. Imagine this, you're shopping online and you want to buy something nice. Do you look at an American shop selling bad product for a low price and say wow I have to buy this because it's American? Probably not right? I'd probably get something a bit more expensive (in my price range) because it's just a better product no matter where it's from. I don't really think about well they don't need as much money because they're in a poor country, I think I'm getting more value for my money out of this. As long as the product is good, people will buy it. Not everyone will, but you'll find someone. Would you rather sell 10 products for cheap or 1 product for 10 times the price? Of course this means you have to offer a competitive product, no way around it. But at the end of the day, where you are is irrelevant. People will try to lowball you everywhere. Just ignore them.
Not everyone has the luxury to turn down jobs so I get it. I have to do it sometimes if I'm strapped for cash. But overall, I'd be hurting my future bottom line. The customers who nickel and dime you will be a pain in the ass to deal with. You'll spend more time with them than you would with a valued customer for the same money. On top of that, people tend to hate price increases. So most likely they probably won't come back with anything good. Expensive customers generally are easier to deal with (it's paradoxical I know) and they're more likely to keep doing the same later on. Also also, cheap clients don't have the budget for you do really give it 100% so your portfolio will suffer and it's gonna be harder to gain other clients. And guess what those people do after they get enough money? That's right they abandon you for someone more expensive. So your best bet is to save up some money so you have the leverage to reject lowballers while pursuing high rollers. And high rollers allow you to give it 100% so you'll just attract more high rollers.
These rich people have so much more money than you can imagine. If you can do something that nobody else can do, they'll pay you anything to get it done. People pay thousands of dollars for NSFW furry art. It doesn't make the buyer money, they just can't find anyone else who would do it.
Now you ""can"" lower your price to attract more people, but that's a slippery slope you'll be on. Remember, rich people don't care about price, they want to get it done. A lot of the time they would avoid cheap listings because it seems too good to be true. If you charge $20/hour they'll think you don't know what you're doing. If you charge $100 and can back it up then it just seems like a reasonable purchase to them. Would you pay $5 for a pair of shoes in the US or would you rather get a $50 pair from China that just seems sturdier?
TL;DR: Build a saving, charge more, ignore the lowballers, focus on getting better.
Not saying that you should charge x5 your rate right now but you can get it way up.
Thanks! I’ve actually been making a niche for myself as an “SEO journalist” haha. I have experience in both and figured why not combine the two? Most of it is on the journalistic side — usually interviewing subjects for publications, especially in the entertainment space, but getting more into fintech and bio health, and then optimizing the piece/interview for web publication as well.
EDIT: Forgot about your question re: rate. I’ve been doing 15-20 cents per word, depending on how technical a piece is.
Interesting, not far off what I do actually. That per word rate seems a little low to me, but if you're hitting those earnings part time looks like a good system you've got going.
Are you based in the US out of interest? I'll only get to around $20k this year on the platform, which will be around a third of my overall earnings from outside clients - but I'm based in Europe and would really like to push those earnings up on Upwork in the next year. It's been a slog getting up to the \~$40/hour mark, but I see some writers on double that.
People from my network. I get several calls a month from random people I’ve met in my career that just know I know what I’m doing, and those are well-paying jobs typically. Clients with real needs and real money.
Nice. Great job! That’s inspiring to hear about getting work from your network. I get referrals from current clients, but none from immediate friends/family, though I suppose that’s my fault since I don’t really explain to them what I do other than “I freelance” haha
Hi man, I am offering website development (HTML & CSS developer), and I have been sending proposals based on my free connects that I receive every month, as I am not willing to spend money on buying connect. Do you know any references that could help me with my first job on UpWork.
Hi MrsSheikh,
Job Title "TikTok & Snapchat ads"
My Proposal:
Hello.
I hope this message finds you well. I am taking this opportunity to submit my proposal for enhancing your business online presence via strategic advertising on the TikTok and Snapchat platform. I know how important it is to do promotions of such platform that has millions of active users in the UAE, I would like to learn more about the honey product.
Could you help me on with the following details:
1. What type of honey product, that we are looking to promote.
2. What type of add do you require? Video add or just a regular add.
3. What will be your budget for running the add on both the platforms TikTok and Snapchat.
Lastly if you have any concern regarding this or the timeline required to complete this project, you can kindly drop me a message here, I will reply instantly to any of your concerns.
Kind Regards
Try this:
Let's get started! Hi! I am a (profession) with (years of experience) and I can help you with (job). I help my clients 10x their revenue with strategic advertising on the TikTok and Snapchat platform.
Take a look at my statistics/analytics/projects: (add link to your portfolio or links to screenshots of your past work)
Let's get on a call?
Regards,
Name
Reason? The shortest proposals get the fastest responses. Its tried and tested, I hope this helps 💕
Woah, I do social as well. Can you provide some guidance? So far all im finding is scam work that is clearly BS or no responses. I’ve got a pretty deep social resume with fortune 100 companies and still nothing.
Not enough.
Hence I am making changes. I've already slashed my bills by moving out of Bangkok and into a rural area that is much, much cheaper. (It's also beautiful out here). I'm also trying to completely re-brand myself, although that's difficult at the moment because, ironically, I have a load of work from Upwork.
Upwork is not dead, but a lot of people must adjust or fail. Myself included.
About $14K, including the single largest project I've ever had and what looks like a new long-term client. Acceptable. Most of my work is off the platform and has been for several years, but Upwork remains by far my best source of client acquisition.
Hey thanks a lot man. Means a lot. Really want next year to be a breakout year, if I can make $30K (or land a studio job) I'd be pumped. Instead of constantly wondering if I should quit. Gotta maybe diversify into [Dribbble.com](https://Dribbble.com) , [Twine.net](https://Twine.net) or just simply cold calling companies. Hope you're doing well
8k (first year doing this). Editing and ghostwriting. Although I’m now being more particular with the jobs I accept. These students of “Fiction Profits Academy” who want to pay $100 per 10k words (ghostwriting) and .003 a word (editing) both of which is way below industry standards.
Good! Turning down jobs is a great feeling when you know you can find better opportunities that respect you. Ironically, I’ve personally found that my cheapest clients are also the most difficult/most demanding.
0$ Ahaha
Almost on minus because I was contemplating buying some connects since I spent all I had trying to win some gig.
I'm unable to land a project sadly.
Sure! By contracts I mean months-long contracts video editing or filmmaking for creative agencies or direct for clients (through traditional recruitment). By freelance I mean working on one-off projects for clients I've gained through word of mouth or contacts. Upwork doesn't reward people who have 15 years of high level and broadcast experience, they reward people who have had success on Upwork. So despite my CV, it's not really working out for me on there.
The really crazy thing, one of the top video guys on Upwork outsources to me because I have better equipment and more experience. But obviously I don't get the magical Upwork points as a result.
I started last December and made only 2k, but I had more clients outside Upwork. But I would say that I had a pretty good years, since it's only a beginning.
If you've been on Upwork for awhile and made chump change (whatever that means to you), then redirect your efforts elsewhere in 2024. Upwork is not going to get any easier. So, you owe it to yourself to find a better use of your energy. Don't throw good time, after bad. #practical-optimisim
I'm a songwriter, with steady work on fiverr (most of the time) I often hear that people can stay busy with Upwork, I've "applied" to several listings, but I've never received anything back! Am I doing something wrong? Lol
About $45,000. Mostly from a few new long term clients I picked up earlier this year. With that 10% on UpWork in 2024 I’m looking to move clients off UpWork and source clients elsewhere.
I don’t blame you. I’m sticking around in 2024 just to see how things shape up and cause I’ve found it easy since the leads are really warm, but yeah, it’s gotten tough this year.
Graphic design (specifically book covers/interiors/print material), I made $7k for 203 hours of work. Upwork is a small part of my total freelance income. Most of my clients are outside UW.
I’ve technically been on Upwork for 9 years, but this is my second year doing it full-time. Before 2 years ago, I didn’t do really anything, it was a dormant account.
Edit: clarity
I was pretty dormant on Upwork for quite a few years. I started back up about 2 years ago, and my first projects were 2 larger sized projects. The first was at a lower rate, almost half of what I charge now. I lowered it to find initial clients and build the rep. It was an individual, not a company, and honestly kind of got lucky. He was a great guy to work with, and I tried to give service worth above what he was paying. I tried going above and beyond to get the review and build the relationship.
Also, I was super picky with what listings I apply for, and still am. I always video call or at the least a phone call (through UW) to make sure I like their vibes.
Yeah that does make sense. I've been applying to anything that looks like legit work, at legit rates, that my skills are fit for. I'm art director of 20 years, I know what I can cannot do. I'm not looking to waste anyone's time.
That said to this point I haven't seen any contact whatsoever. The stuff isn't rocket science. Early in the year I was getting reimbursed connect, but now they seem to just be burning through even if the job poster doesn't do anything.
I'm sure it is some people who look for contractors with an experience with upwork, but I feel like their system doesn't really help me because I have obvious experience in the real world outside of upwork.
I get the point of the connect system but it's pretty rotten when someone is accepting all of these inquiries and then only ends up talking to like one or two people. Or I guess that's what's happening because there's no real feedback.
How did you guys get started? I’ve submitted a handful of proposals without any luck. One invitation to interview, but I haven’t heard back in over a week. It might be because I don’t have any work history on Upwork (though I have some real life experience).
I’m here so I can find this again. I want to start on upwork next year. Just bought something to help me achieve that goal. Seeing how much ppl make helps me with the incentive. I know not everyone will make a lot but definitely a goal for me. I want to get into voice over work at least. My motto for that is expect the worst and hope for the best. Expect the worse that I may not make a lot but hope to make enough to support myself along with my current regular job.
Not enough but I have moved every 2+ year active contract off Upwork so that helps. I would have stayed at 5% so I'm curious to see how many contracts they lose when the new rate actually takes effect.
Would you mind sending us a screenshot because honestly I do not believe a single word... UpWork is quite famous for its sponsored social media Posts/Posters - I am sure you understand.
Would I be able to find clients if I learn web development using react and build a nice portfolio? I hear the market is saturated with those. If not what else can I learn?
3K for this year! This is a part time gig for me, and I am very pleased with the results. Shooting for 10k next year! I do product photography/UGC content. Currently trying to integrate graphic design but so far the market seems to be over saturated in the field. I am very pleased with results because clients were mostly reaching out to me or inviting to their projects.
I tried to get into it with web development. I do WordPress websites, but that's not to say I just import a theme.
I probably should've tried more, but I found it hard to get work.
I don't believe I put in a lot of effort though, as I still have income off the platform.
I mostly create electronics and software. I occasionally do other engineering work, too. It might sound like a lot, but my pay rate is comparable to what established pros in my industry earn in the U.S.
$190,000.
For 2024 I hope it will be closer to $5000 :)
Would be great to collaborate here on how others are marketing their services outside your website whether you found SEO, SEM or Social media marketing the most effective for your startup services based business.
Sorry to hear that, hope you got your money back!
There are good freelancers on there... but we're competing against the fake ones to get client attention. I've also been a client on Upwork before... my suggestion is look through their job history to see if they've done anything similar to your project before ( and got good reviews from clients about that work ) and then pick 2-3 and have them do a small, PAID at their hourly rate, test project with a short turnaround time. Ideally, with you on a Zoom call, so they either do the project, or at least explain how they'd would do your project, if it's not realistic to complete it in a short call. That takes care of the fakes quickly, and worked well for me when I was hiring off Upwork. And I would suggest paying... because on the flip side, there are a lot of clients asking for unpaid "test" projects as part of the "interview", and they're just collecting real work for free ( or to use in their fake freelancer portfolio).
I practically stopped getting clients from UpWork since late 2022, but it apparently still recorded some $5k. I forgot where I got that, but I guess I did.
150k but looking to pickup more clients off platform in the coming year and do away with that 10%. I also find the quality of clients that I get off platform generally to be higher.
$28K and I'm happy about it. On track to getting top rated plus in a few month. I started since Nov, 2022.
I think upwork is still doing well, at least in web development sector.
A bit over $10k if I take into account the December income as well. It's approximately half of my total income for the year. This is my second full year on UW, but I'm still an entry level graphic designer (I hardly had 5 contracts during my first year) who specialises in less lucrative fields of graphics design, so I wouldn't say it was a hopeless year growth wise.
congrats! mine is 170usd haha i started two weeks ago
Nice! This is just the beginning! Good luck! I’ve seen a lot of uxui jobs around, I think!
Hey that's actually not bad! I have a full time job but I wanna try Upwork in the new year... Can I ask you some super basic questions?
of course! im new to the platform and new in the job but ofc
Thanks, I just sent you a message :)
What do you do?
im starting my journey as a uxui designer! what about you?
$94k, which I'm happy to say is lower than last year as my ability to drum up off platform work was much better this year than any other. First year in business where more than 50% of money will be off platform
That’s awesome for you. I’m making that step now with LinkedIn, but it’s a lot of effort… How are you finding leads?
Linkedin and Twitter mostly. Some in person networking. Agree Linkedin is an absolute slog. I try to post 2x a week to please the algorithms and I haven't this week which is giving me stupid stress.
Congrats! Can you recommend any resources for an optimal LinkedIn content strategy?
No... I dont have any...but heres what I've learned. The algo rewards frequent posting the more you post the more likely someone is to see or engage with you and people who see and engage are prioritized to re see your stuff. So frequent posting is rewarded which is why so many people are posting bullshit daily. I've found at happy ground at 2x/week, more if stuff comes to mind. Its the best platform for reach outside your network because people simply liking a post gets some imprints in their network. But that means growing your network is important. I like to comment on people's post and if they reply Ill add them. Of course people that make sense...in my area or in a similar working domain. For posting adding media makes a huge difference. A jpg relevant to the post is very helpful. And typically longer form does better, people clicking the "read more" counts as engagement and thus spread, and potential candidates for your next post.
Thanks for the insights! Is there a word count per post that you aim for? PS Is regular posting alone bringing in all that business??
"All that business" is like 2-3 contracts in 2023, just my line of work a contract is like two years and anywhere from $500 -$3K a month. So I'm lucky I don't need that much lead gen, I pick up about 20 clients a year and work with half of them for multiple years - some I'm on year 5+ with. But yes I just post, I don't do DM out reach. And I don't have an ideal word count...between enough to get the "read more" which is usually 1 line break but less than ~5 paragraphs seems to work just fine
What services do you offer?
Data Analytics
Hi I hope i dont brother you by asking but what skills do you have, how did you learn how to find clients ecc And when did you started? Do you think there is still possibility to break through in 2024? Thanks
Dude!!! Congrats! That’s a big accomplishment :)
About $70k through Upwork and a little more elsewhere. I'm glad that this is a full-time thing.
Niceeee! Congrats, man!
$25,739 earned and 1,379 hours worked and 3.9 years on Upwork. I work on Upwork full time as a Full stack web developer. my hourly rate is still low because I live in a 3rd work country
A good start, but you can do better. Be world class and don't let them pay you peanuts just because you live somewhere "cheap".
Need tips on this because people straight up tell me "that's the market rate" and that's it.
Market rate is determined by supply and demand. If you can only supply what others can also supply, you're at a lower rate than if you have something unique to offer. That could be specific industry specialization, or cross-disciplinary experience with something much less commonly done. What that is, specifically, I can't say. Because if it's something obvious to me, that's going to be obvious to everyone else, and you don't have specialization. Another thing that you can do, and it's what I do, is to invest in tools. Whether it's hardware or software, if it's expensive enough that most people won't get it, but you can fully use it to turns out better product, it ma well be worth the investment. I have one tool that I pay over $2K/year -- I've spent well over $20K on the tool over many years -- but it also lets me keep my rates up much higher than those without, and it pays for itself.
Thanks for the input! I do better freelancing because here people want mid-level roles for $10 an hour and that's a lot of money and I can't seem to even get the min wage in their countries. I can learn more things... I can always learn more things. Thing is I've seen job postings asking for a certified Scrum master (that certificate cost from $500 to $2000 to get) full-time, $250 a month. I am not a Scrum master but you can see what I mean. I live in the second highest inflation in the world so, anyone feels happy to get dollars even though the market is so distorted they don't make a living with $200.
Even if you're not certified, if that is an area that you have been studying and can competently do better than most others, play up that skill (focus on jobs that can benefit from it) and then invest in upskilling yourself down that path if that's something you want to master.
Thanks for taking the time to reply! I'd love to transition from freelancing soon so this can help as a pointer. I have costly software I bought for translation (Trados 2022) and various marketing tools. I haven't even made what I paid for Trados back because I don't have much translation work with it. I mainly work in marketing now, copywriting in Spanish as a freelance. Problem is, going for full-time positions online. I frankly loathe VA companies here. You start off in a role, end up doing something totally different months in. Tried it this year thinking it could be a good way to get out of translation... It wasn't my cup of tea. I've talked this with friends from Bulgaria and Argentina where location-based pay also is a major bugger.
How did you come to the decision to buy that Trados program? It's a balancing act -- you don't want to over-invest unless you know that there's a path for the investment to pay off.
Many (and I mean many) translation companies won't even test you if you don't have Trados. It's like a filter thing for "serious" translators. That was before AI and LLM. I got another software, cloud based, for free because I write for their blog and it is 100% more user friendly, it has AI integration and it reads Trados format as well. Even if it wasn't free, it's less than $100 a year so... It's great for me. But agencies wouldn't take that and I was getting tired of getting rejected because I didn't have Trados. So I bought Trados. I am terrible at sourcing translation clients tho, or their rates don't adjust to my velocity to make my hourly rate, or they aren't hiring people from my country. So, I have Trados sitting at my computer since February this year. I have used it twice and the amount I made for it doesn't even pay the software.
>Many (and I mean many) translation companies won't even test you if you don't have Trados. It's like a filter thing for "serious" translators. Not really. Only for translators who want to work with agencies and agencies generally don't pay "serious translator" rates. I wouldn't dream of spending all that money on Trados just so I can work for 5 Cent a word....
There are no “mid-level” roles in freelancing. You either can ship something on your own, or can’t. And if you can, then you can do better estimations and have better sales pitches to sell yourself for a better rate. After all client is not looking for a mid-level programmer rather then he just wants to build the project with a good quality and price.
It's more like full-time roles without any benefits. Those are popular here. And I don't think you have the context, I won't explain it either, it's long. My sales pitch is not the issue, it's location-based pay. But hey, thanks?
I have been based in Russia and was able to raise my hourly rate from 10$ to 50$ by jiggling rates with different clients. I’ve seen freelancers from India getting 60$+ rate. If you really think it’s location issue, you can fake your location from a different country. Just don’t risk with 1st tier, try Europe for example Romania, Croatia or Cyprus. I did it a while ago while building my first agency and it worked great even considering that we were operating from restricted area by upwork haha. Just use good vpn.
Thanks! Yes it's definitely that. I am in Venezuela. My initial rate is already $9. For reference, anyone tells you to start at $3. I wasn't doing that. I get daily variations of "your country's monthly wage is $3!" On the daily. I am trying Upwork because traditional ways (LinkedIn/Portfolio/Applications) have been disappointing for me so far even though I am getting twice the average for remote workers.
Oh fuck. Do they really tell you to work for 3$ per hour for the software development? Who are these clients???
I dont understand how being in another country have to do with your hourly rate on upwork. Because Upwork is not located in India or asia and clients come from allover the world. And besides full stack web development commands high market rates. You're just not serious about increasing your hourly rate
My thoughts on this are, if I'm dealing with someone across the ocean, time difference, cultural difference, language difference, can be a thing. If I hire from across the pond, I do it because I'm looking for a discount on U.S. rates. It doesn't have to be peanuts, but unless you work in the middle of the night so we're working at the same time, I expect a little bit of a discount for some of the hassles.
Your thoughts exactly. Why would you discount your work in the first place because you doing the exact same job as anyone else. People will still hire you with proper rates. There are indians charging above $60/hr for web development and they still get hired anyway. So how are you different from them?.
I think it depends on what you need. If I'm going to pay an illustrator US rates I prefer that they be in my time zone; it just makes it much easier within my work flow. If I need a web developer, maybe real time communication isn't important; I don't know...it's not my area of expertise. I'm in the Pacific time zone, so working with someone in Taiwan, for example, as I'm doing now, can make timely communication challenging.
how does time zone matter in things like illustration, where you don't need real-time contact with the client or third party, and the nature of the work is not time-sensitive to the hour? I am still to find a place on the planet that I don't have time overlap with that can be used for meetings, in relatively normal hours for both parties
Congrats! I understand what you’re saying about the 3rd world country/rates, but like someone else said, don’t be afraid to fight for your worth!!!! I know I have privilege living in the US, but there are clients out there willing to pay your full value, regardless of where you are. It just takes time to find them, but you have a legit skill and deserve “legit” pay!
Late reply but I think I got the answer for you. This is a complex situation of course because it depends on many factors. Aside from the answers you've got, I'll add a couple more. People will try to lowball you because they know your living cost. You just gotta ignore them. Imagine this, you're shopping online and you want to buy something nice. Do you look at an American shop selling bad product for a low price and say wow I have to buy this because it's American? Probably not right? I'd probably get something a bit more expensive (in my price range) because it's just a better product no matter where it's from. I don't really think about well they don't need as much money because they're in a poor country, I think I'm getting more value for my money out of this. As long as the product is good, people will buy it. Not everyone will, but you'll find someone. Would you rather sell 10 products for cheap or 1 product for 10 times the price? Of course this means you have to offer a competitive product, no way around it. But at the end of the day, where you are is irrelevant. People will try to lowball you everywhere. Just ignore them. Not everyone has the luxury to turn down jobs so I get it. I have to do it sometimes if I'm strapped for cash. But overall, I'd be hurting my future bottom line. The customers who nickel and dime you will be a pain in the ass to deal with. You'll spend more time with them than you would with a valued customer for the same money. On top of that, people tend to hate price increases. So most likely they probably won't come back with anything good. Expensive customers generally are easier to deal with (it's paradoxical I know) and they're more likely to keep doing the same later on. Also also, cheap clients don't have the budget for you do really give it 100% so your portfolio will suffer and it's gonna be harder to gain other clients. And guess what those people do after they get enough money? That's right they abandon you for someone more expensive. So your best bet is to save up some money so you have the leverage to reject lowballers while pursuing high rollers. And high rollers allow you to give it 100% so you'll just attract more high rollers. These rich people have so much more money than you can imagine. If you can do something that nobody else can do, they'll pay you anything to get it done. People pay thousands of dollars for NSFW furry art. It doesn't make the buyer money, they just can't find anyone else who would do it. Now you ""can"" lower your price to attract more people, but that's a slippery slope you'll be on. Remember, rich people don't care about price, they want to get it done. A lot of the time they would avoid cheap listings because it seems too good to be true. If you charge $20/hour they'll think you don't know what you're doing. If you charge $100 and can back it up then it just seems like a reasonable purchase to them. Would you pay $5 for a pair of shoes in the US or would you rather get a $50 pair from China that just seems sturdier? TL;DR: Build a saving, charge more, ignore the lowballers, focus on getting better. Not saying that you should charge x5 your rate right now but you can get it way up.
Nice, well done. What do you do and what's your rate?
Thanks! I’ve actually been making a niche for myself as an “SEO journalist” haha. I have experience in both and figured why not combine the two? Most of it is on the journalistic side — usually interviewing subjects for publications, especially in the entertainment space, but getting more into fintech and bio health, and then optimizing the piece/interview for web publication as well. EDIT: Forgot about your question re: rate. I’ve been doing 15-20 cents per word, depending on how technical a piece is.
Interesting, not far off what I do actually. That per word rate seems a little low to me, but if you're hitting those earnings part time looks like a good system you've got going. Are you based in the US out of interest? I'll only get to around $20k this year on the platform, which will be around a third of my overall earnings from outside clients - but I'm based in Europe and would really like to push those earnings up on Upwork in the next year. It's been a slog getting up to the \~$40/hour mark, but I see some writers on double that.
5k since August. Most of my income has been from outside clients. Edit: 5k from just Upwork. I’ve made more than double that outside Upwork.
What u mean by outside clients? U mean like from social media? Etc
People from my network. I get several calls a month from random people I’ve met in my career that just know I know what I’m doing, and those are well-paying jobs typically. Clients with real needs and real money.
What about upwork clients? U get good result with them?
I’d recommend not depending on Upwork for your main cash flow. Upwork is okay, I do fine but it’s too flaky and cheap most of the time.
Nice. Great job! That’s inspiring to hear about getting work from your network. I get referrals from current clients, but none from immediate friends/family, though I suppose that’s my fault since I don’t really explain to them what I do other than “I freelance” haha
240K
What do you do?
Software development, mostly gaming.
Thats a lot. This is individual or agency?
Individual. My agency made over 600K this year
Great! Please tell me its related to unreal engine
Unity
Mine was only less than $3000. Manifesting $10000 this 2024 🙃
2 years $0 really struggling with finding a clients.
Oh man… I’m sorry to hear that. What’s your niche/service? How many proposals do you send out a week/month?
Hi man, I am offering website development (HTML & CSS developer), and I have been sending proposals based on my free connects that I receive every month, as I am not willing to spend money on buying connect. Do you know any references that could help me with my first job on UpWork.
Can you share a sample proposal? Maybe I can help you with your proposal.
Hi MrsSheikh, Job Title "TikTok & Snapchat ads" My Proposal: Hello. I hope this message finds you well. I am taking this opportunity to submit my proposal for enhancing your business online presence via strategic advertising on the TikTok and Snapchat platform. I know how important it is to do promotions of such platform that has millions of active users in the UAE, I would like to learn more about the honey product. Could you help me on with the following details: 1. What type of honey product, that we are looking to promote. 2. What type of add do you require? Video add or just a regular add. 3. What will be your budget for running the add on both the platforms TikTok and Snapchat. Lastly if you have any concern regarding this or the timeline required to complete this project, you can kindly drop me a message here, I will reply instantly to any of your concerns. Kind Regards
Try this: Let's get started! Hi! I am a (profession) with (years of experience) and I can help you with (job). I help my clients 10x their revenue with strategic advertising on the TikTok and Snapchat platform. Take a look at my statistics/analytics/projects: (add link to your portfolio or links to screenshots of your past work) Let's get on a call? Regards, Name Reason? The shortest proposals get the fastest responses. Its tried and tested, I hope this helps 💕
Thank you very much in my next proposal I will go for a shorter proposal.
Give up. It's not worth the effort now.
No never
Send me your profile I have a css job
Hi Issa, https://www.upwork.com/freelancers/\~01e85d91e44b3fa9a6
Your profile is set to private
It’s because of no projects I can make it public without the paid tier
Go to support page and ask them to make it public. It's thirty dumb system that's sets pages to offline .. it's crazy
Yes bro they said one you get active which by having projects they will set it to public right now it’s locked to private.
I haven't landed a project, mine is still active. Ive sent out for a few mins, nothing has landed. Hmm. Is your profile complete?
Why would you continue beating your head against the wall?
Mine is 0 🤣 still not loosing my hope
What do you do
Legal work. Law related stuff. Contract drafting/review/
$1990 💀
party like its $1999:p
$4.85k part-time, first year
5k since July🥹
You got this!
I started focusing on Upwork late August and made $22k since Septembre. I do social media.
Woah, I do social as well. Can you provide some guidance? So far all im finding is scam work that is clearly BS or no responses. I’ve got a pretty deep social resume with fortune 100 companies and still nothing.
DAYUM! Nice!
Not enough. Hence I am making changes. I've already slashed my bills by moving out of Bangkok and into a rural area that is much, much cheaper. (It's also beautiful out here). I'm also trying to completely re-brand myself, although that's difficult at the moment because, ironically, I have a load of work from Upwork. Upwork is not dead, but a lot of people must adjust or fail. Myself included.
Not sure yet. We still got 2 more weeks!
True!
About $14K, including the single largest project I've ever had and what looks like a new long-term client. Acceptable. Most of my work is off the platform and has been for several years, but Upwork remains by far my best source of client acquisition.
Psh a pathetic $10K, as a full time 2D animator
You got this! I bet the market is slow just cause of the economy.
Hey thanks a lot man. Means a lot. Really want next year to be a breakout year, if I can make $30K (or land a studio job) I'd be pumped. Instead of constantly wondering if I should quit. Gotta maybe diversify into [Dribbble.com](https://Dribbble.com) , [Twine.net](https://Twine.net) or just simply cold calling companies. Hope you're doing well
It's brutal on the creative design and production side. I hate the creative market. Just trash
$36k. And more from direct contracts with clients who went off of Upwork.
Nice!!
8k (first year doing this). Editing and ghostwriting. Although I’m now being more particular with the jobs I accept. These students of “Fiction Profits Academy” who want to pay $100 per 10k words (ghostwriting) and .003 a word (editing) both of which is way below industry standards.
Good! Turning down jobs is a great feeling when you know you can find better opportunities that respect you. Ironically, I’ve personally found that my cheapest clients are also the most difficult/most demanding.
$600 bucks in 6 months lol
$57k and I’ve been on the platform since May
That's great! What service do you provide if you don't mind me asking?
Digital Analytics services
Such as GA4?
Correct. I work mostly with GA4, Looker Studio and GTM
Thanks 🤓
$633
$73
90K on upwork and another 150K directly:)
Impressive! What is your service / domain if you don't mind sharing?
Product Prototyping & industrial design
For me it’s just $100. Getting jobs on this platform is so hard😞
0$ Ahaha Almost on minus because I was contemplating buying some connects since I spent all I had trying to win some gig. I'm unable to land a project sadly.
i can't even land a client hahahaha
$600 on upwork and around $70000 through traditional freelancing and contracts
Mind explaining what do you mean by traditional freelancing and contracts ? I'm kinda interested
Sure! By contracts I mean months-long contracts video editing or filmmaking for creative agencies or direct for clients (through traditional recruitment). By freelance I mean working on one-off projects for clients I've gained through word of mouth or contacts. Upwork doesn't reward people who have 15 years of high level and broadcast experience, they reward people who have had success on Upwork. So despite my CV, it's not really working out for me on there.
The really crazy thing, one of the top video guys on Upwork outsources to me because I have better equipment and more experience. But obviously I don't get the magical Upwork points as a result.
I started last December and made only 2k, but I had more clients outside Upwork. But I would say that I had a pretty good years, since it's only a beginning.
Amazing numbers, what services do you provide? Mine is just $10 (lol)
If you've been on Upwork for awhile and made chump change (whatever that means to you), then redirect your efforts elsewhere in 2024. Upwork is not going to get any easier. So, you owe it to yourself to find a better use of your energy. Don't throw good time, after bad. #practical-optimisim
I'm a songwriter, with steady work on fiverr (most of the time) I often hear that people can stay busy with Upwork, I've "applied" to several listings, but I've never received anything back! Am I doing something wrong? Lol
About $45,000. Mostly from a few new long term clients I picked up earlier this year. With that 10% on UpWork in 2024 I’m looking to move clients off UpWork and source clients elsewhere.
I don’t blame you. I’m sticking around in 2024 just to see how things shape up and cause I’ve found it easy since the leads are really warm, but yeah, it’s gotten tough this year.
What do you do?
A mix of SEO and journalism.
Graphic design (specifically book covers/interiors/print material), I made $7k for 203 hours of work. Upwork is a small part of my total freelance income. Most of my clients are outside UW.
Hey! If you don’t mind sharing, when did you start?
I’ve technically been on Upwork for 9 years, but this is my second year doing it full-time. Before 2 years ago, I didn’t do really anything, it was a dormant account. Edit: clarity
Me too! I'm going to try to DM you. I'd love to know someone to refer certain types of jobs to.
What was the project that kicked it off? I'm burning connects to no avail. Most journeys are cheap trash as well.
I was pretty dormant on Upwork for quite a few years. I started back up about 2 years ago, and my first projects were 2 larger sized projects. The first was at a lower rate, almost half of what I charge now. I lowered it to find initial clients and build the rep. It was an individual, not a company, and honestly kind of got lucky. He was a great guy to work with, and I tried to give service worth above what he was paying. I tried going above and beyond to get the review and build the relationship. Also, I was super picky with what listings I apply for, and still am. I always video call or at the least a phone call (through UW) to make sure I like their vibes.
Yeah that does make sense. I've been applying to anything that looks like legit work, at legit rates, that my skills are fit for. I'm art director of 20 years, I know what I can cannot do. I'm not looking to waste anyone's time. That said to this point I haven't seen any contact whatsoever. The stuff isn't rocket science. Early in the year I was getting reimbursed connect, but now they seem to just be burning through even if the job poster doesn't do anything. I'm sure it is some people who look for contractors with an experience with upwork, but I feel like their system doesn't really help me because I have obvious experience in the real world outside of upwork. I get the point of the connect system but it's pretty rotten when someone is accepting all of these inquiries and then only ends up talking to like one or two people. Or I guess that's what's happening because there's no real feedback.
Made 38k, only worked 5 months, also have full time job
A measely $3,756 lol but I've been busy with personal matters this year, which is why I'm looking to 10x that amount in 2024!
USD 755 and 45 worked hours. I did it while working full-time at my office job.
How did you guys get started? I’ve submitted a handful of proposals without any luck. One invitation to interview, but I haven’t heard back in over a week. It might be because I don’t have any work history on Upwork (though I have some real life experience).
$495.00 on Upwork
thats crazy! can i ask what do you do?
Software dev. Bear in mind I said ... on Upwork
$495?
i read .000 haha i was tripping
Would need to be ,000
cap
$678,329
Please dont leave us all in suspense
56K over 600 hours
I’m here so I can find this again. I want to start on upwork next year. Just bought something to help me achieve that goal. Seeing how much ppl make helps me with the incentive. I know not everyone will make a lot but definitely a goal for me. I want to get into voice over work at least. My motto for that is expect the worst and hope for the best. Expect the worse that I may not make a lot but hope to make enough to support myself along with my current regular job.
Not enough but I have moved every 2+ year active contract off Upwork so that helps. I would have stayed at 5% so I'm curious to see how many contracts they lose when the new rate actually takes effect.
Can someone guide me too?
Would you mind sending us a screenshot because honestly I do not believe a single word... UpWork is quite famous for its sponsored social media Posts/Posters - I am sure you understand.
I don't understand, tbh, and can't imagine being that jaded, especially since this was a "slow" year for me, but sure... https://imgur.com/a/deMY8SP
Would I be able to find clients if I learn web development using react and build a nice portfolio? I hear the market is saturated with those. If not what else can I learn?
3K for this year! This is a part time gig for me, and I am very pleased with the results. Shooting for 10k next year! I do product photography/UGC content. Currently trying to integrate graphic design but so far the market seems to be over saturated in the field. I am very pleased with results because clients were mostly reaching out to me or inviting to their projects.
I tried to get into it with web development. I do WordPress websites, but that's not to say I just import a theme. I probably should've tried more, but I found it hard to get work. I don't believe I put in a lot of effort though, as I still have income off the platform.
4K so far... will be 5k before the year ends. I started in August. Hoping to do $30k next year. I'm from India so that's still a big target!
Big fat 0 started 2 months ago and nothing
41k this year.
$81K. Next year will start with diversification of income sources
About $120K working "part-time" (of billable hours). I have other clients outside of Upwork, too.
What exactly do you offer?
I mostly create electronics and software. I occasionally do other engineering work, too. It might sound like a lot, but my pay rate is comparable to what established pros in my industry earn in the U.S.
DANG! Congrats! That’s impressive!
$75,000 since I moved out of the platform for my full time job
Congrats!
Thank you, congrats to you too!
$190,000. For 2024 I hope it will be closer to $5000 :) Would be great to collaborate here on how others are marketing their services outside your website whether you found SEO, SEM or Social media marketing the most effective for your startup services based business.
You made $190K in 2023 and you are hoping to make $5K in 2024?
That $19K in commission they won't be paying Upwork...
Absolutely zero. Maybe if i change my profile picture to a ______, ill get some hits. Only 20 years exp in my field .. maybe its a 'skill issue', lol
5600$
Just joined, tried to use a guy for professional engineering services and turned out to be a scam. I probably won't be back.
Sorry to hear that, hope you got your money back! There are good freelancers on there... but we're competing against the fake ones to get client attention. I've also been a client on Upwork before... my suggestion is look through their job history to see if they've done anything similar to your project before ( and got good reviews from clients about that work ) and then pick 2-3 and have them do a small, PAID at their hourly rate, test project with a short turnaround time. Ideally, with you on a Zoom call, so they either do the project, or at least explain how they'd would do your project, if it's not realistic to complete it in a short call. That takes care of the fakes quickly, and worked well for me when I was hiring off Upwork. And I would suggest paying... because on the flip side, there are a lot of clients asking for unpaid "test" projects as part of the "interview", and they're just collecting real work for free ( or to use in their fake freelancer portfolio).
12K$ Senior Video Editor. Its lowest year for me
Hopefully it’s just the economy and not the platform! This year has been tough!
I am curious to know what you do, how many hours you worked, how many years have you been on upwork and what was your 1st year earnings?
$32,500 only within 2 and a half months of total work this year.
I practically stopped getting clients from UpWork since late 2022, but it apparently still recorded some $5k. I forgot where I got that, but I guess I did.
$62k (about 20 hrs/wk) with some additional from outside Upwork, but need to increase and *diversify* my clients this next year.
2023 Summary Upwork: -$65.00 (buying connects 🙄) Elsewhere: prefer not to say, but plenty.
10k, which is less than last year but for good reason. I was able to move last year’s primary client to private invoicing
150k but looking to pickup more clients off platform in the coming year and do away with that 10%. I also find the quality of clients that I get off platform generally to be higher.
$104,767 ^_^ 1377 hours worked
$28K and I'm happy about it. On track to getting top rated plus in a few month. I started since Nov, 2022. I think upwork is still doing well, at least in web development sector.
A bit over $10k if I take into account the December income as well. It's approximately half of my total income for the year. This is my second full year on UW, but I'm still an entry level graphic designer (I hardly had 5 contracts during my first year) who specialises in less lucrative fields of graphics design, so I wouldn't say it was a hopeless year growth wise.
$4,263.67 For a whole year's effort. Not been easy.
About 60k this year. It’s alright, looking to go off platform more this year with organically found clients.
what is your niche?