10 Upwork Tips For Beginners: How To Get Clients In 2024

The best Upwork tips for beginners are essential for new freelancers to avoid making mistakes when looking for high-value clients.

Upwork has lots of great opportunities for new freelancers, but standing out from the crowd is crucial if you're going to compete for new jobs successfully.

In this guide, we've broken down everything from uploading a professional profile photo to researching clients to help launch a successful career.

10 Upwork Tips For Beginners: How To Get Your First Clients In 2023

Whether you're an expert in content writing or just starting a freelance career as a social media manager, Upwork has thousands of jobs listed for you.

This article explores the best Upwork tips you need to know to land your first paying gig and develop strong relationships with your clients.

So, with that said, here's our list of the best Upwork tips for beginners to help get your first clients in 2023:

10. Complete Your Profile (In Full)

The first thing any prospective client will check after you've applied for your first job will be your profile, so this needs to stand out from the crowd.

This means completing all the relevant information about your skills and experience, covering any niche interests and areas of expertise.

It also means uploading a professional-looking profile picture without a distracting background, using a close-cropped image to match the site's parameters.

Check out the best Upwork profile examples   before you build your own to see what works best when attracting new clients.

This will help you to orientate your own profile description to the highest possible standards and present your services in a professional manner.

It's also worthwhile to consider adding an introductory video if you have access to a good-quality camera.

Introductory videos are a great way to showcase your communication skills and unique personality quickly and shouldn't last longer than one minute.

9. Start With Low Paying Jobs

Whether you're looking for freelance writing jobs or offering services in another field of expertise, you won't have any reviews when you first start.

This means you'll have to consider beginning with low-paying jobs to establish a presence and build up your reputation over time.

Plenty of easy Upwork jobs for beginners are listed on the platform, so you shouldn't have trouble finding potential clients to get you started.

While you may be put off from doing so, particularly if you have experience off the platform, it's necessary to prove your capabilities in the early days.

This will help you become established in the Upwork feedback system, gaining great feedback from your first few jobs so you can increase your rates.

One way to do this is to apply for as many jobs as possible with a low pay rate to build your presence and quickly improve your job success score.

Upwork lists thousands of short-term jobs on the platform, so fire out applications for those relevant to your skills and ensure they're completed on time.

8. Research Potential Clients Before Applying

With thousands of job posts from clients on Upwork, weeding out the good from the bad can feel like a minefield for beginner freelancers.

This means you'll need to take the time to perform some research before responding to a job post to make sure they have a solid reputation.

Perhaps the most important information about a prospective client to consider is the quality of feedback they've given to other freelancers.

Positive feedback is a great way to get more Connects on Upwork, so you should be focusing on clients who leave this from day one.

You should also be mindful of the announced budget given for a job since some clients will list a high fixed price while only paying a low amount for the job.

Fortunately, you can view the client's history and see how much they pay for similar services and the freelancer rates awarded for jobs.

You can also check out the client's reviews from these freelancers to gain additional insights into what working for them may be like.

7. Initiate Conversations With Clients

With artificial intelligence continuing to impact freelancers significantly, it's crucial that you future-proof your career and offer an authentic service.

One way to do this is to initiate conversations with clients that showcase your style and demonstrate personality and a distinctive voice.

With the Upwork system, this means writing a compelling cover letter tailored specifically to the potential client and the job listing.

As such, you should avoid, wherever possible, using a one-size-fits-all template that you copy and paste for each Upwork job you apply for.

Research the client first so you can address them by name in the cover letter and cover the specific experience you have that's relevant to the role.

You can also enhance this initial point of contact by recording a Loom video telling the client who you are and how you propose to solve their problem.

By taking a proactive stance and demonstrating you've done the legwork before applying, your chances of landing that first job increase exponentially.

6. Build Your Portfolio

If you're learning how to become a freelancer, a strong portfolio should be a top priority since this is the first thing clients will check after viewing a profile.

New freelancers who don't have a long history working in their particular field should prioritize completing their portfolio as soon as possible.

This could mean working for free or setting up a blog where they can showcase their writing style and experience on a given topic.

If you don't already have a blog, you can use a blog website builder to set one up in a few hours and share unique content with prospective clients.

Ideally, your portfolio should include five or six strong examples of your work, with published articles for past clients' optimal content to share.

Once you've completed a few jobs, you can consider updating your portfolio to ensure it reflects the highest standard of work you're capable of.

You can also write up bespoke work samples tailored to your potential clients, which can help sell yourself early on and lead to your first job.

5. Tailor Each Proposal You Send

We've touched briefly on the importance of being proactive and contacting clients to initiate conversations, which carry through to proposals.

Each proposal you send should be fine-tuned for the client in question, covering a detailed plan of action regarding how you intend to tackle the project.

For example, if you're a freelance writer, you can start by providing a complete breakdown of the article and how you intend to structure it.

The use of headers, bullet points, internal and external links, and other factors in your job proposal will demonstrate your expertise and experience.

While the client may desire something else, this proves that you're a serious professional with an understanding of the process.

Whenever possible, research the company beforehand and see what content they already have online so you can further fine-tune your job proposal.

Customizing a proposal in a way that shows an understanding of their brand is a surefire way to impress them and find jobs with ease.

4. Deliver Upwork Jobs On Time

Punctuality and high-quality work are essential in order to make a successful freelance career on Upwork, fostering a reputation for repeat work.

One of the biggest stumbling blocks for new freelancers on Upwork can come if they get a bad review in the early days, and should be avoided at all costs.

By delivering projects on time from the get-go, you'll likely pick up more of the best freelance jobs for beginners from reputable clients.

If the client comes back to you with revisions, you should address these in a timely manner and to their satisfaction.

You can also consider delivering multiple choices for your clients, giving them more varied material to work with and deciding which is best for their needs.

While delivering work on time improves your chances of landing future jobs, it pays to try and go above and beyond the client's expectations.

This means approaching each project from the client's perspective and researching the topic at hand so you can make constructive suggestions to improve the work.

3. Foster Long-Term Relationships With Clients

The optimal outcome for any freelancers on the Upwork service is to find clients with whom they can foster strong, long-term relationships.

By doing so, they're effectively guaranteed ongoing work with clear expectations while also paying a great hourly rate into their bank account.

Once you've found one or more good clients, you should engage with them regularly throughout the duration of a project to ensure your content is on point.

The more you do this, the closer the relationship will become, and you'll progress from working on small jobs to ones with long-term prospects.

Finding regular work with great clients is also an excellent way to consistently increase your job success score and find more jobs in your given field.

Such clients are also more likely to write attractive written testimonials in support of your services, further enhancing your overall reputation.

Ultimately, other clients want to work with freelancers with an established presence, so if you find a client who feels like family, dedicate time to building relationships.

2. Consider Upgrading To Freelancer Plus

While you may have started picking up work as a side hustle to pay off debt, you may eventually want to take your freelance career to the next level.

If this is the case for you, consider upgrading to the Freelancer Plus subscription package to access perks unavailable through the basic plan.

The first major advantage to a Freelancer Plus account is gaining 70 additional Connects each month, significantly expanding the number of jobs you can apply for.

While basic plan members may find their profile hidden due to inactivity, with the upgraded account, it will always remain visible.

The subscription also allows you to view all competitor bids for any job post, making it easier to price your rates accordingly.

There's also the option to customize your profile's URL, as well as access extended reports and other functionality such as grouping and sorting.

While a Freelancer Plus subscription may be pricey for people just starting their Upwork career, it's nevertheless worth considering for its many advantages.

1. Watch Out For Red Flags

There are many benefits to using Upwork for freelance work, with plenty of high-paying clients available for a wide range of skills and experience.

With that said, there are a few red flags you need to be aware of when approaching prospective clients and sending out proposals for projects.

One of the main issues to be aware of is recognizing clients who don't pay and how to avoid these or, at least, take control of an unfair situation.

You can check out the reviews from other freelancers to see if they've left any negative feedback that might be pertinent to your situation.

If you see an excessively long job description or a client who gives you the impression they'll be micro-managing the job, these should also be avoided.

Likewise, clients who are visibly complaining about other freelancers should also be avoided, as they are more likely to give lower ratings.

Finally, avoid clients who request free work samples since this is against Upwork's Terms of Service, and all work you do should be properly paid for.

Summary

So there you have it, our top 10 guide to Upwork tips for beginners, from the importance of a compelling cover letter to finding the best job postings for your skills.

Whether you're a freelance writer or working in web development, these tips will help you develop your freelance business and find the best independent clients.

By making a great first impression, it's easier to find more clients who offer great pay and maximize your income from the platform.