Blog

This is the fourth update in the April 2021 challenge to find new clients. Recap of the challenge The challenge is intended to help you find clients whether on Upwork or via emailing businesses. As a part […]

This is the third update in the April 2021 challenge to find new clients. Recap of the challenge The challenge is intended to help you find clients whether on Upwork or via emailing businesses. As a part […]

This is the second update in the April 2021 challenge to find new clients. Recap of the challenge The challenge is intended to help you find clients whether on Upwork or via emailing businesses. As a part […]

This is the first update in the April 2021 challenge to find new clients. A quick recap of the challenge The challenge is intended to help you find clients whether on Upwork or via emailing businesses. As […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 a project fall […]

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 […]

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. […]

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 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 fees Fess for more Upwork connects Paypal’s transfer fees  […]

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 […]

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 […]

Are you dreaming of landing freelance clients remotely and get the control to quit your job? The first step is writing cover letters on Upwork that wins clients over to your side. In this guide you and […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 him again. Another time I worked with a company that […]

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 […]

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, […]

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, […]

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… […]

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 […]

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 […]

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. […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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?” […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

A location independent business is awesome! One reader said that it offered him this: Freedom for going to an office and answering to managers Freedom of having your own routine where I don’t answer to a lot […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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”.  […]

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, […]

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 […]

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, […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

Updated December 2020 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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

Updated Jan, 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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

Updated December, 2020 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 […]

A note from Chris 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 the well-known […]

As I entered the bar I noticed the small banner reading “happy birthday”. I was late and people were already tipsy it seemed. I managed to track down the birthday boy. I didn’t know him well at […]

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 […]

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. […]

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 […]

Updated, June 2020 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 […]

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 […]

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, […]

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 […]

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 […]