How to get first client on Upwork ?

onlinemarketer12

Elite Member
Jr. VIP
Joined
Nov 22, 2019
Messages
6,960
Reaction score
1,681
Any tips on how to get first client on Upwork ?
 
Trust me; there isn't any formula to get the first customer. Focus on sending a good cover letter and be patient. And when you send the proposal, don't make it too long as no one likes reading a too long cover letter.
 
Trust me; there isn't any formula to get the first customer. Focus on sending a good cover letter and be patient. And when you send the proposal, don't make it too long as no one likes reading a too long cover letter.
How many words do you consider too long for an Upwork proposal ? Is 100 words enough or 300 or 500 ?
 
For first few sales/Positive reviews go with friends buying your service.
 
The Mrs' got accepted a few days ago and got a job a few hours later.

All she did was:
  • Offer less than the advertised fee
  • Have a full profile relevant to jobs you apply for (seems obvious but..)
  • Clear and concise proposal (Grammarly chrome extension is free)
  • Keep sending proposals
 
There's no magic formula here.
  • Make sure your profile is professional-looking. Have a decent profile picture.
  • Apply to jobs that pay little/are looking for beginners. Don't bid for jobs that ask for expert freelancers. They won't hire you no how good your profile or bid is.
  • Keep your bids short and to the point. Use the guy's name instead of just "Dear Client". Look at the employer's feedback history to find their name.
  • Keep bidding until you land a client.
Be ready to get underpaid. My first client was a guy offering $5 for 2000 words. I took that, and only a few days later, I landed $2 for 100 words, and it took off from there.

Another thing you can is go to the hire a freelancer section and buy some Upwork reviews — 2 to 3 reviews will do. That'll build the social proof.
 
When I was working on Upwork, the best thing to focus on was an exceptional cover letter. Really try and understand the client's needs, and a little tip - try and find their name from previous reviews, and include it in the initial letter. This always seemed to play well in my favour, as it showed that I did extensive research!
 
What I'd say is if you're buying reviews, make them seem credible.

So if you are advertising yourself as a web dev and wanting to charge $75 an hour, don't pick up 5 reviews for $5 as these stand out as fake.

Even on there it's easy to spot farmed and connected accounts.
 
It's really hard to get your first project without any reviews. But one has to keep bidding on projects and never give up.
 
I paid someone to be my first client.
Now the question is how to get the second one?
 
Making yourself stand apart from the rest. Broski, if I can give one advice, it's to act different from the rest. When I hire people from freelance sites, I disregard the people who use the same pattern to their cover letters which is "4 years experience in HTML, CSS, Java, PHP, I can do your work sir"

I read the ones who know exactly what I want. The worst thing for a buyer is to explain over and over what I need doing so when someone defines what I want, and knows from the get go, it makes it easier to hire them, regardless of their experience on the site, and the level of reviews.
 
I think it's hard to get the first client on Upwork. It's better to apply for any job with a beautiful presentation. If you submit your beautiful presentation properly, Than you will get the job.
 
I think it's hard to get the first client on Upwork. It's better to apply for any job with a beautiful presentation. If you submit your beautiful presentation properly, Than you will get the job.
All the applicants are already doing this.
 
Back
Top