Blog - Freelancing with Chris

How to get clients for digital marketing (incl. non-spammy scripts)

Let’s look at how to get clients for digital marketing services. One time I pitched an Australian business on Upwork. He was ready to start and promised to hire me right away… Only to never be heard from again. Another time I worked with a company that got sanctioned and…

How Upwork works: a client & freelancers’ perspective

After working at several outsourcing companies and trying my luck freelancing on different websites, it’s time to show you how Upwork works from both the client’s and freelancer’s perspectives. I’ll show you step by step how I posted a project as a client, evaluated the proposals and ultimately who I…

Upwork reviews: are they fake? What freelancers and clients REALLY say

Look at all these angry Upwork reviews I found in the wild… Example 2 What do you notice? I don’t doubt they are true in terms of the experience they’ve had but notice how emotional these Upwork reviews are. We never see anyone weighing the pros and cons against each other.…

3 legit Upwork jobs for beginners (& how to beat established freelancers)

When we look for Upwork jobs for beginners, many of us feel inadequate when we look at other Upwork freelancers with more experience, better testimonials, case studies and more confidence. It makes us question why a client would ever hire someone like us… and the most popular answer? It is…

The April challenge: land your first freelance client

About this time a year ago — in the middle of the pandemic — I challenged myself to reach out to businesses in order to land freelance clients. Once I got the hang of it, the results were terrific. In fact, they have been better than expected particularly in the…

Create a professional overview for Upwork in an hour (with template script)

In many ways, writing a professional overview for Upwork is similar to writing a cover letter for a traditional full-time job. We try our best to tell our story on a single page and explain why we are a good fit for the job. The Upwork overview is the same.…

The best cover letter for Upwork (data-backed experiment)

In the search for the best cover letter for Upwork, allow me to share an example where I got a 100% response rate on my own proposals. The last few weeks I’ve been comparing different styles of Upwork proposals, sending them out in the wild so you and I can…

Which part of this project do you think will take the most time? (Upwork)

This article is a part of the Upwork proposal series where we dive deeper into how to write proposals that win clients. Today, we’ll look at the question “which part of this project do you think will take the most time?” and how to answer it effectively. This question can…

What questions do you have about the project? (Upwork proposal series)

In this Upwork proposal series, we’ll be looking at the question “what questions do you have about the project?” and how to best answer it. How other freelancers are answering “what questions do you have about the project?” Before we dive into the answer with a word-for-word example script and…

Upwork proposal tips: When freelance projects fall down from the sky

Before we dive into the four Upwork proposal tips, I’d like to show you something first. I normally don’t check emails in bed. But this one morning I forgot to turn off the notifications and in came this… I had to pinch myself to make sure I wasn’t dreaming. Having…

Which of the required job skills do you feel you are strongest at? (Upwork)

In this part of the Upwork proposal series, let’s dive into the question “which of the required job skills do you feel you are strongest at?” Depending on the client, this tends to be more of an exploratory question compared to the other proposal questions we often see. We’ll look…

How to use Upwork: a craftsman’s approach to landing clients on Upwork

Do you know who this is? This man is in his 90s and still works around the clock doing what he loves… and it shows. He is widely regarded as the best sushi chef in the world. His restaurant was the first to receive the famous Michelin star and it…

What challenging part of this job are you most experienced in? (Upwork)

This is another entry in the Upwork proposal-series, where you and I will dive into how to answer often asked questions, so we can land more clients. Today, we’ll look at the question “what challenging part of this job are you most experienced in?” and how to answer it. Similar…

Review of Transferwise for freelancers: is it worth it?

This article is about Transferwise for freelancers: I know many of us freelancers are complaining about the fees on our work from third party companies like: Upwork project feesFess for more Upwork connectsPaypal’s transfer fees The exchange rates between currencies (Paypal I’m looking at you)Bank wire feesAnd so on… There are…

Tired of sending Upwork proposals and not hearing back? This is for you

Look at all this contradictory advice on why someone’s Upwork proposals aren’t landing clients. The first response points out that we should not work for free. Next, someone says to do pro bono work. One answer is saying “don’t do any free work” and the next is saying “do pro…

What past project or job have you had that is most like this one and why?

This article is a part of the series on writing Upwork proposals that win clients. In this article, we’ll look at how to answer the cover letter question “what past project or job have you had that is most like this one and why?” We’ll look at how to answer…

So, you want to create winning cover letters on Upwork? Read this

Are you dreaming of landing freelance clients remotely and get the control to quit your job? The first step is writing a cover letter on Upwork that wins a client over to your side. In this guide, you and I will dive deeper into what good and bad proposals look…

How to get approved on Upwork (even if it has been denied before)

One of the most frustrating things with Upwork is when you’ve finally decided to give it a shot and created an account… Only to be denied access without knowing exactly why. Despite the fact that they are advertising for new freelancers to join. In this article, we’ll look at how…

How much can you make on Upwork? $1,000? A living? $100K?

When I first began freelancing, I dreamt of earning $2,000 per month to cover my living cost. Even though there are many freelance projects displayed on Upwork, it can still feel confusion whether it is really possible to earn real money. In this article, I’ll show you how much you…

Kickass Upwork questions and answers that win clients

As part of the Upwork-series, let’s look at Upwork questions and answers that often come up in proposals. Throughout this short guide for ambitious freelancers, you and I will dive into two techniques you can use to answer the questions. We’ll also look at specific word-for-word example scripts for each…

Is digital marketing a good career? Yes, if you want THIS

I’ve been working with digital marketing for the past 5-10 years by now. When I began, I also asked myself the question “is digital marketing a good career choice?” Contrary to what you might have read elsewhere, the answer isn’t simply a resounding YES. The industry has evolved since I…

How to start freelancing with no experience, network or portfolio

Over at Entrepreneur On Fire, John ends his interviews by asking the guest what they would do if they got sent to another planet. On this planet, everything is the same, they have all the same knowledge, food and shelter is taken care of but they only have $500 and…

Is THIS weirdo digital marketing career path for you?

I love this quote from The Office’s Dwight “I signed up for Second Life about a year ago. Back then, my life was so great that I literally wanted a second one. Absolutely everything was the same… except I could fly.” At some point, I discovered a game called life…

The best freelance website for beginners (& a sneaky tactic to land clients)

When I began freelancing, I looked for the best freelance website for beginners, too. Without thinking much of it, I picked Freelancer.com and jumped right in not knowing any better. After working there for a while, it turns out that it isn’t the platform with the most clients and projects…

Valentine’s day marketing campaigns hand-picked by an ad nerd

I am what we might refer to as an ad fan-boy. I love old ads and crazy marketing campaigns and I love special holidays and events because, often, the big brands create some amazing and hilarious marketing campaigns such as for the Superbowl. In this fun article, we’ll look at…

How to make money on Upwork with the Hollywood Superhero-technique

In this article, you and I will look at how to make money on Upwork, so you can earn your first $1,000 even if your profile is new and you feel as if you have no experience. I still remember my first few clients and how nerve-wracking it was on…

What to do if you hate working in an office (& how I escaped)

Many of us hate working in an office often because of the fixed 9-5 timetable and the office politics we have to deal with.. But it goes deeper. I see office jobs as the new, advanced, factory jobs with all the cubicles lined up like workers at an old Ford…

What the client REALLY wants (& how to disagree without burning bridges)

Recently, I was talking to a reader about what the client wants and how that is often not obvious, and an interesting question came up: “What do you do if a client wants results by going in a direction you know won’t work? Should you make them happy or use…

3 Freelance resume examples you can copy to win more clients

When I first began freelancing I had no clue what it took to land a client, so I tried all the popular advice I could find out there. My theory was that the more often it was said the more likely it must be true. Boy, was I wrong. It…

Create a professional Upwork profile overview with this example collection

When I first began freelancing on Upwork I spend SO many hours tweaking Upwork profile overview to be professional. I tweaked and I tweaked and I tweaked… I wanted it to be perfect. Then I waited for the clients to look at it. Nothing ever happened. They never did! A…

Why do you think you are a good fit for this particular project? (Upwork)

In this series, you and I are diving into answering Upwork questions that come up when writing proposals. Today we’ll look at another question: “Why do you think you are a good fit for this particular project?” With the other questions in the series, we have talked about how to…

Invoice for freelance work in 5 minutes with this template and email script

There is nothing like the experience of getting that notification for the very first paid invoice for freelance work. I remember the first time I charged $1000 for an article. I didn’t believe that the client was really going to pay. Of course things were delayed but one day I…

Upwork tips: the good, the bad, and the ugly (& the ONE tip for success)

The best Upwork tips I’ve ever gotten was when my friend gave me specific feedback on my proposals. At the time, I was getting projects randomly here and there, and his advice helped me to be able to land projects week in and week out, month after month. It allowed…

How to become a freelance marketing consultant (and is it worth it?)

Are you thinking about becoming a freelance marketing consultant? Working as one for years, I’ve been responsible for everything from simply managing a particular marketing project with specialists implementing each task to specializing in something as specific as building audiences to target for Facebook advertisers. There are a number of…

4 Freelance writing niches (& how to find your winning niche)

I’ve experimented with different freelance ideas over the years and through that experience, I found some “hidden” profitable freelance writing niches. Looking back, they are not a secret and they are not really hidden either but rather there is a little tweak that I found made all the difference between…

The most profitable skills to learn (based on data) & the single best one

Many of us look for the most profitable skills to learn but it is easy to mistake one that someone is profiting from as a generally profitable skill. Think about those that are paid to buy alcohol for teenagers that aren’t old enough to buy it on their own. And…

Freelancing for beginners & the trap of overnight success

Many of the overnight success stories out there seem too good to be true and when we look up advice on freelancing for beginners, it can be hard to judge who’s the real deal. Today, I want to show you an unusual story about an overnight success experience I had…

The fastest way to a location independent business

A location independent business is awesome! One reader said that it offered him this: Freedom for going to an office and answering to managersFreedom of having your own routine where I don’t answer to a lot of peopleFreedom to take a holiday whenever you want toFreedom to work from cafes,…

Do you have suggestions to make this project run successfully?

As I was looking for common Upwork questions, the question “Do you have suggestions to make this project run successfully?” came up. Some freelancers argue that it’s a good way to know which projects to avoid, as it is a template question that clients can add with a single click.…

Is Upwork worth it? — I tested it by earning $8,988 and collected opinions

Before we jump into discussing if Upwork is worth it, I have to say that I’ve been able to do some awesome things with the money I earned there. My earnings covered my living cost for a few months and even allowed me to save up. To be transparent, I…

Real sample freelance proposal letters that won projects

Freelance proposal letters are a bit like internship applications. At one point I was stuck with a dead-end internship in Portugal. I wanted a change and so I sent out 100 cover letters to cool looking advertising agencies with the hope that I could land a better one. My goal…

Freelancing project management: How I increased my rate by 50%

I didn’t start out freelancing with project management. In fact, I began my freelancing experience with random ad hoc jobs like WordPress setup for clients I found on freelance platforms. Not exactly a glamorous career choice but perfect as a starting point. Fast forward six years or so, and I…

The best freelance skills: the one skill to rule them all

Since I began freelancing, I’ve experimented with different ideas to find the best freelance skills for myself. I’ve tried skills like WordPress setup, running ads and copywriting. From time to time, I’d get lucky and land some work but it wasn’t until I learned to look at the skills from…

How to run Facebook ads for clients and earn money on the side

One of my first serious freelance projects was to run Facebook ads for a client. It turned out to be a great client and a nice little project earning me about $1,200. They wanted more customers and had tried running ads but they were too expensive. Before we dive into…

Digital marketing project manager: pick the best path for you

When I first started out in my digital marketing career six years ago, I began as a specialist. As I’ve gained more experience and moved up the ladder my work has become more and more related to that of a digital marketing project manager. There are lots of titles similar…

How to write a pitch: the result of sending 303 pitches online

Years ago, as a last-minute attempt to improve a pitch before the deadline, I was searching online for how to write a pitch. Back then, my pitches would always end with someone saying “I can tell you know a lot about the subject… we’ll get back to you” followed by…

How to become a digital marketing manager: thoughts after 6 years

The term “digital marketing manager” can feel misleading nowadays as it is used broadly for someone working with digital marketing. In reality, we often see them working as sort of a project manager specializing in digital marketing or as a specialist for a marketing channel like search engines, email, or…

How to get international clients for your freelance business

Many of us are wondering how to get international clients for our freelance business and whether they are better than local clients in our neighborhood. Especially, with the recent COVID-19 outbreak where most of us have been forced to work from home and are unable to go get new clients…

Are you thinking: How much should I charge for a blog post? Read this.

If I were to ask you “how much should I charge for a blog post?”, what would you answer? I asked myself that very question as I was researching for this article. Don’t worry, I‘m not going to leave you hanging with an “it depends”-answer even though it does. The…

Upwork success stories: a case study and what really works

People like to share random recommendations for how to win with freelancing and become Upwork success stories. Like: “Fill in all the details on your Upwork profile”“Complete Upwork tests” Or my personal favorite “find your why”. Most of the advice is technically correct but doesn’t really help you. You don’t…

“What part of this project most appeals to you?” An Upwork trick question?

When we send proposals on Upwork, clients will sometimes ask the question “what part of this project most appeals to you?” Often, freelancers answer the question with a generic copy-paste answer. If you’ve been following the blog, you know that ain’t gonna fly. Often the client will see answers like…

How to get more clients on Upwork (even you can’t specialize more)

If you’ve been searching around for how to get more clients on Upwork, you’ve probably noticed other articles saying: “Keep a good job success score”“Get good reviews”“Go niche” But you already know that. So, why aren’t you getting more clients? Maybe there is something more at play here… something behind…

Sending a resignation letter to freelance clients without burning any bridges

From time to time, we’ll need to send a resignation letter to freelance clients. Sometimes it is because we have discovered certain benefits like being able to take on new clients that are either a better fit, pay us more with bigger projects. And sometimes.. *gasp*, it’s because the client…

Freelancer GDPR: Get compliant in 20 mins (incl. template for freelancers)

I hated writing this article and you’ll hate reading it but at least we can make this a little fun, huh? To make you feel better, check out the pic above of a fun-looking rollercoaster. GDPR is one of those annoying things in the back of everyone’s mind, that no…

How to get Facebook ad clients as a freelancer (get the right clients!)

Today, we’ll talk about how to get Facebook ad clients if you are a freelancer. I’ve been running ads with my own projects and for clients for years. I know that it can feel intimidating to start out getting Facebook ads clients because you might see other freelancers being crazy…

Freelance guides to help you kick ass (the best guides online)

Perhaps the biggest challenge I had in my early freelancing efforts was figuring out how to find anyone in need of my specific services – and, of course, that tiny detail of why any of them should ever pay me a single dime for it. I burned through a lot…

How to set your first freelance digital marketing hourly rate

Today, we’ll talk about how to pick your first freelance digital marketing hourly rate. Getting your rates right can be a distraction and cause anxiety if you are new to freelancing. There is plenty of contradicting advice out there, so it can feel difficult to figure out who to listen…

Freelance passive income: what does it take? (The unspoken truth)

Congrats if you Googled “freelance passive income” and ended up here 😉 We all LOVE the idea passive income — “gotta get that passive income going”, we’ll say. It’s hella sexy to be able to do whatever we want while earning money. Not to mention be able to tell our…

Write an about me freelance-page and get clients (incl. template)

Soooo.. you are thinking about creating an about me freelance-page? Often, we’ll write our life story and all our interests. Look at these examples of real about me-pages: Example 1 Example 2 Example 3 What do you notice here? I noticed that they are focused on the writer and what…

Is freelancing worth it? Most of us forget its purpose

Is freelancing worth it? No. There you have it! I’ll pad myself on the back for a job well done! Let’s wrap this up and get back to watching TV. Do you remember when you were a kid and earned your very first few bucks? I’m not talking about your…

Create virtual assistant packages that sell like hotcakes

You know that feeling of walking past a bakery and it just smells AMAZING? That smell of freshly baked goods… there’s just something irresistible about it! What if you could do the same with our virtual assistant packages? What if you KNEW they would sell like hotcakes before you began…

Strategy calls: win more freelance business and avoid crazy clients

A strategy call is a smart way of saying “let’s talk about your business and what you’d like done”. It goes by many names such as “clarity call” or “discovery call” but you don’t have to name it at all. It’s been a part of doing business for so long…

Marketing for freelancers: the easiest marketing strategy

Marketing for freelancers is the art of attracting clients to do business with you. For new freelancers it is the step before pitching a freelance project where the client discovers that you exist and the two of you explore ideas and opportunities together. Most advice about marketing for freelancers suggests…

What skills do you offer clients on Upwork? See competition for your skill

With everything from writing to design and accounting, what skills do you offer clients on Upwork? There are a few techniques depending on whether your goal is to earn money or learn a new skill and earn some money in the process. I’ve found that we’ll get better results by…

Upwork hourly rate: see the average rate for your service

Updated Sep 2021 When we look at the Upwork hourly rates, it’s easy to assume that the average rate is low and impossible to compete with. But is it true? I often see some variation of the question “As a freelancer on Upwork, how can I compete with others who…

Fiverr, Upwork, or Freelancer: which is the best to earn your first $1,000?

When we are looking to earn money from freelancing projects, Fiverr, Upwork, or Freelancer might be worth considering to find your first few clients. While they might not be the best places to land freelance projects long term, that can be a great way to get started if you have…

Upwork profile title examples: how to write a title that gets attention

During my research for this article, I was looking for the dumbest, most ridiculous, Upwork profile title examples to give you a quick laugh… But after looking through a bunch and only finding this: I realized that Upwork freelancers take their Upwork profile title seriously. I noticed three different types…

Upwork proposal sample: secrets to rapidly winning clients

Updated Sep, 2021 Why do some Upwork freelancers land client after client while others are stuck sending just as many proposals with nothing to show for it? In this article, we’ll look at winning Upwork proposal samples but first I have to point out something else. Through an experiment, I…

An effective marketing strategy for language schools

We all want to know that we’re putting in the effort where it’s worth our time and where the payoffs are the biggest. The challenge is figuring out exactly where that is and while it does take some effort, it doesn’t have to be a herculean task. To prove that,…

Marketing language courses: will ads, search or email drive results?

This guide shows how you can replicate my successful marketing projects for your own language courses (or app). In a moment, we’ll dive into three examples of specific digital marketing channels you can use to drive more customers to learn a new language. Before we do, there is a major…

Freelance digital marketing: earn your first (or next) $1,000

I sunk into the train chair, finally able to relax. An email ticked in. “Splendid work, as we old folks say! We’ll see where we can use your skills. They were impressed!” I was over the moon. The long hours of freelance digital marketing work had finally paid off. For someone…

Upwork case study: this reader earned $30,000 in his first year freelancing

A note about this Upwork case study: this is a guest post from a reader sharing his experience during his first year freelancing. In early 2018, I decided to quit my job at a well-known market research firm. I was living and working abroad, with an average salary, but low…

A Mastermind – The Most Powerful Strategy For Learning How To Freelance?

I recently finished reading an excellent book called “Mindset” by Carol Dweck that explores a growth mindset and a fixed mindset (we all have one mindset towards some topics and the other towards other topics). With so much research on the topic, we are joining the freelancing ‘movement’ at the…

Freelance ideas: pick the perfect one and earn your first $1,000 remotely

As I was finishing my contract I felt excited to jump back into freelancing. In the past, I had dabbled with different freelance ideas, but this time I wasn’t sure exactly what I wanted to work with. I landed on Facebook ads and to my good fortune landed my first…

Level up your freelance-game by building powerful connections through traveling (don’t try this at home!)

When I started this whole freelancing journey, my biggest dream was to work while traveling the world. You know the romantic picture-perfect image of a sandy beach and a couple in love. I thought that it is already difficult to find someone you really connect with, so giving that up…

Is freelancing on the side the best path to quitting your job?

In this article, I’m discussing if freelancing on the side is the best approach to earning money while at your day job, so you can eventually quit if you want. If you are looking for a guide on how to do it, go here instead. Over the past years, I’ve…

Case study: How I earned $500/article freelancing with a non-spammy email pitch (exact emails revealed!)

I was casually searching Google for Upwork content using the ‘site:upwork.com’-feature and I saw this project to write 10 articles about digital marketing. The description sounded great and at the time I didn’t realize that the client wanted it done for $1000. As I logged in to my Upwork account,…

How to get freelancing projects (and avoid the circle of hell)

Updated July 2020 As I went to ask for ideas on how to get freelancing projects, a friend told me to pick one approach and stick to it. I said yes, ignored his advice like an idiot, and went on to try a whole bunch of things. I asked other…

Productivity advice for new freelancers (hint: you don’t need to become a robot)

Updated June, 2020 *BEEP!* … *BEEP!* .. I looked at my phone. Half an hour to go. Damn that Android alarm tone. I got up and into a quick shower to freshen up. While I was in there I went over the questions again. Client calls can sometimes be a…

Does Freelancing Scare You, Too? (How I turned the fear into a life-changing project)

After having freelanced for a while a friend sent me a referral. I was doing well on Upwork but for some reason, I was procrastinating on this project even though he told me they were eagerly awaiting my proposal. I wasn’t sure why but after some soul searching, I discovered…