If you know my story, you already know that I 10X’ed my rates on Upwork years ago. I did several things right from the start:
- I chose a niche that I could realistically become to dominate
- I quickly learned how to write Upwork proposals
- I polished my value proposition and applied value-based pricing
- I raised my rates after each job
- I pivoted my niche when I reached the max my previous clients could pay me
- I never did a small gig unless it paid hundreds of dollars per hour
- I was extremely selective even when I was bombarded with invitations (yes, quite counter-intuitively I rejected most of them!)
In this short article, I just demonstrate how easy it is to succeed on Upwork! Easy in terms of effort when you know how to do it.
Not so easy in terms of learning time and the calendar time required to build up a great track record… but hey, nothing great comes easy! Many of my coachees have succeeded beyond their dreams but only because they put in the hours to learn everything necessary and all the hours to do all the work!
Go check out the stories of Keenan and Rafael before digging in deeper.
How to write Upwork proposals: My $299/h job
It may not make sense to you yet, but actually, the highest-paying job in terms of hourly rates was one of the easiest ones to get!
Crazy, right? You might be wondering why some get paid ridiculous amounts without spending much effort whereas most are racing to the bottom.
The logic is fairly simple. Strangely enough, it has nothing to do with your proposal! Well, almost nothing. In fact, I barely proposed anything at all as my sales process worked for me through the platform way before I even knew about the existence of my client. That’s the beauty of Upwork! It sells your stuff even while you sleep (literally).
The best-paying job I’ve gotten (so far!) on Upwork in terms of hourly rates.
Here’s how it went.
There was a client organization that joined Upwork on Oct. 2. They were looking for someone who could guide their young team of startup founders to turn their NFTs (non-fungible tokens) into a massive VR (virtual reality) environment.
As this happened before the NFT crash of 2022 they had no issue with conducting their business and growing it to a sizeable amount in just a couple of months. A fast-track startup!
On Oct. 4, they were browsing through potential freelancers they could hire and it was obvious to them that it would need to be someone senior, someone with a long history in VR.
That’s when my profile came up. I got invited!
When you get invitations like this, you don’t actually need to do much. Just highlight and summarize the important part that the client is interested in and fill in some of your background that demonstrates your expertise.
This works, because they’ve already sold in a sense. In their mind, before they even saw my proposal, they thought “We got to get this guy!” as my profile tends to stand out from the crowd.
My short proposal for winning a $299/h job.
Here, all I needed to do really was mention that:
- The project idea sounds interesting to me
- I’ve recently completed a project that had “large scale VR” bits that they were asking in it and I demonstrate it with a number (1,000)
- I’m in a certain time zone and available for a call soon
- We can use Upwork’s scheduling function to setting up the call which is very convenient
- I hold a degree the client could only dream of which I demonstrate in my signature (and which does not appear in my name)
As you might have guessed, before sending anything, I went through the link they provided and knew exactly what kinds of art cities they were building and how many were already sold at OpenSea. I looked at the prices they were pulling which lead me to guess what kind of budgets they had.
And because of the type of the business, it was not difficult to guess that it was a startup and probably run by a couple of young guys even without googling the client’s name.
So, in this case, I didn’t have any need to write more than those 5 little things and keep it short.
The client profile was new so there was no information on their previous hires on Upwork or the rates they had paid to others. This was not a big issue for me as many of my clients are in fact startups with fresh new profiles.
(Please note that if you are a newbie, you might want to avoid jobs from new clients. It’s dangerous to have newbies on both sides of the table. The chance of getting mixed up is high or it could even be a straight-out scam!)
I must highlight here again that when you get invited to a job, the requirements for writing your proposal are much more relaxed. Part of the selling is already done by the system: your profile, your track record, your rates, and everything else the client has already seen.
The interview
I got a reply in one hour which was a great indicator of the client’s enthusiasm. As we set up a call, it turned out exactly as I expected regarding the client type.
I talked with one of the young brilliant founders who were starting the discussion with utmost enthusiasm. Because of the obvious age gap, my history in VR technologies starting from the year 2004 was something amazing so the guy probably felt like “being in good hands” as they say.
We spent only about 20 minutes covering the job scope and specifics and it wasn’t difficult to promise even more than they were asking as not everything was mentioned in their original job scope. So, on top of the advisor role, I could start with a little hands-on stuff too which again fed into credibility in the eyes of the client.
On Oct. 12, I started the job.
Easy-peasy!
How can you get jobs like this?
“Hey Mike, I’m a fresh graduate with no skills, I want to freelance and earn the same as you – tomorrow!”
Nope, that’s not how it works. To be worth hundreds of bucks per hour and keep it going on that level for years on the most competitive freelance platform out there in 2023, you actually need to know some serious stuff that is worth all that money.
Nobody will pay you just because you need the money. Understand their need and you’re one step closer to it.
And you need to know exactly what kinds of clients would be able and happy to pay those sweet high rates. That comes down to the value chain. Otherwise, it’s a No-Go for you.
Build up serious expertise in your domain, make it visible in your profile, and provide proof of your background and achievements. On top of that, there should be obvious benefits of working with you rather than with someone else and the experience should be pleasant too once the client engages with you.
So many things, right?
But that’s how it is. Everything about your service needs to come together in a perfect way. If you got nothing special to offer, you get nothing decent. Scammers, shoppers, and other bad client types only.
You’d do well to focus on delivering business-defining stuff like in this case taking an entire business of the client and turning it into a completely new and trendy medium such as VR! Or at least guiding through the process as an advisor if not doing all the footwork.
Transformation of your client’s business is good business for you. Because they can’t do it without you! So, high expertise that delivers great business impact is a no-brainer for your client to pay for.
Please note that I’m not saying you cannot freelance as a fresh graduate. You most definitely can! And many of my coachees have proven that. But:
- You do need to be good at something that produces results that others could buy (which could be derived from a hobby you’re super-passionate about, for instance)
- You probably cannot expect high pay as long as the expertise is low (but fortunately, if you go “all in”, you can grow that expertise rapidly!)
For experienced professionals, the process is much easier as most of the business ideas come directly from their previous experiences and background.
Errr… but how to get there?
Most people know the theory. It’s out there and in here on this site! But it is not so easy to figure out everything by yourself. And many times, it takes a lot of trial and error which is why people spend years in a non-satisfying freelancing limbo:
- You know you can do better
- You can’t find better clients to get a chance to do better
That’s where structured learning and coaching help. An external perspective from someone who is already there might give you that little boost you need. Usually, it isn’t even that many hours of support you will need because the transformation from “OK” to “Great” happens in your own head when you realize what you need to change in your business process. Then, the action follows quite naturally.
Like how it happened with these guys.
Ready to take on the challenge and reach higher? Consider joining my Upwork Level-Up Course which is a structured, methodological approach to finding better clients. It covers all the major topics:
- Value-based pricing
- Niche building
- Raising your rates
- Pivoting
Or go for personal business coaching in case your situation is somewhat unique. We can discuss that and find a good way forward together.
I’m here to help you level up!
