Discover six pros and six cons of using Upwork for freelancing!
My use of Upwork has changed over the last ten years. When I first started my freelance business, Upwork represented over 80% of the leads coming into my company. But I quickly realized how dangerous that was because if Upwork went out of business or banded me, I would quickly lose my business.
So I flipped the course of my focus in my freelance business over to LinkedIn, retainer clients, and cold pitching. This was instrumental in helping me get more of a balance to ensure that no one thing takes my business to zero.
Today you’ll discover how I still use Upwork to generate revenue and how it continues to serve my income. You’ll hear the pros and cons of Upwork and whether it is worth your time.
Here are some things we covered in this episode:
- How to use Upwork strategically as one of your marketing methods
- Clients post in Upwork first, before other platforms
- Upwork is an opportunity to get your feet wet in freelancing
- Upwork is a place to build your reputation
- Over time, Upwork is less marketing work for you
- Clients are pre-sold when they are seeking freelancers on Upwork
- Why you do not need a website as a beginning freelancer
- How to make Upwork do the work for you when pitching
- How to compete with other freelancers
- Why it is really hard to break into Upwork and stand apart from other freelancers
- The challenges of customer service on Upwork
- The cost of using the platform
- When you shouldn’t use Upwork
- What happens when you cancel a job
- What to expect with your job success score
- Grab my Upwork Pitching Masterclass here: https://laurapennington.teachable.com/p/upwork-pitching-masterclass
After listening to this episode, share your action steps and take-aways with our group:
Mastering Your Freelance Life With Laura
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Meet Laura:
Laura Briggs is empowering the freelance generation. Through her public speaking, coaching, and writing, she helps freelancers build the business of their dreams without sacrificing all their time, family, or sanity. Laura burned out as an inner-city middle school teacher before becoming an accidental freelancer with a Google search for “how to become a freelance writer.” Since then, she’s become a contributor to Entrepreneur, Business Insider, and Writer’s Weekly. She worked for more than 300 clients around the world including Microsoft, Truecar, and the Mobile Marketing Association. She’s delivered two TEDx talks on the power of the freelance economy for enabling freedom and flexibility and how it’s being used to address the technical skills gap in the U.S. Laura is the host of the Advanced Freelancing podcast, a sought-after public speaker on the gig and digital freelance economy, and a freelance coach focused on aspiring six-figure freelancers. Laura’s books, courses, and coaching have reached over 10,000 people.
As a military spouse, Laura is passionate about serving her community and founded Operation Freelance, a nonprofit organization that teaches veterans and military spouses how to become freelancers and start their own business.https://oembed.libsyn.com/embed?item_id=19656152