You’re probably wondering why you should read this article. Here are some reasons:
- You want to get top-rated on Upwork
- You want to make more money as an online freelancer
- You don’t have time to waste on mediocre jobs that don’t pay well or take too long to complete, and you want a high rate of return on your time invested in each project
In short, this guide will help you find and land only the best projects. Since I started using these techniques myself (and learned them from other freelancers), I’ve doubled my income over the past year and landed all of my clients with ease.
| Takeaways |
|---|
| 1. Focus on building a strong profile with relevant skills, experience, and portfolio. |
| 2. Provide exceptional work quality and meet client expectations to earn positive reviews. |
| 3. Customize your proposals to showcase your understanding of client needs and how you can add value. |
| 4. Communicate effectively and promptly with clients to establish trust and maintain good relationships. |
| 5. Stay proactive and continuously improve your skills to stay competitive in the Upwork marketplace. |
| 6. Seek feedback and learn from constructive criticism to enhance your freelancing career. |
| 7. Price your services competitively based on your expertise and market rates. |
| 8. Emphasize professionalism, reliability, and timely delivery in your client interactions. |
| 9. Participate in Upwork’s tests and certifications to showcase your skills and stand out from the competition. |
| 10. Network and engage with the Upwork community to learn from other freelancers and discover new opportunities. |
1. Be A Great Communicator
Being a great communicator is the first step to getting top-rated on Upwork. This means being responsive, polite, and efficient.
Responsiveness is how quickly you respond to messages from your clients. If you wait too long to respond to messages or take several days or weeks before getting back to them, your client will be annoyed.
It’s also important that you answer questions as they come up and don’t let things pile up so that eventually it feels like there are dozens of unanswered emails in the inbox of your client!
Politeness goes hand-in-hand with responsiveness: if someone takes the time out of their day (and pays for it) just to send an email asking about something simple like whether or not they should include additional information before submitting a proposal then it’s only polite that we spend some time reading through their message rather than just replying with “okay.”
In addition, politeness helps build trust between us and our clients because it shows us taking things seriously enough not just saying “okay” when we really mean “no,”.
But actually reading through all relevant information until we’re confident enough about where things stand before making any decisions about what needs changing based on those new pieces of information provided by our Upwork partners (which brings me right back around again…”
Achieving top-rated status on Upwork requires a strategic approach. Our comprehensive guide on how to become a top rated freelancer on Upwork provides you with step-by-step instructions to enhance your profile and increase your chances of success.
2. Deliver On Time
You’ve probably heard this one before, but it bears repeating: deliver when you say you will, and deliver early.
If you are going to be late, let the client know as soon as possible. Not only is a delay in communication unprofessional but it also makes them worry about whether or not their project will be completed at all!
If there is unexpected work that needs to be done, don’t hesitate to ask for an extension (if necessary). It is always better to let your client know that there could be a delay than have them wonder what happened with their project.
3. Go Above And Beyond
You’re already doing a great job by delivering high-quality work on time and within budget. But you can go the extra mile to make your client feel like he or she is getting more than what was asked for.
Give the client some suggestions on how to improve his/her project (if applicable).
If a client asks for revisions and edits, suggest alternative ways of doing it that maybe he/she hadn’t thought about before and explain why it will be better.
If a client doesn’t provide enough information, ask questions to clarify everything: Who is this for? What are their goals? What do they want from this project specifically?
Before you consider canceling your Upwork account, take a moment to explore the reasons why you should reconsider. Our article on 13 reasons you shouldn’t cancel your Upwork account today sheds light on the benefits and opportunities that Upwork offers to freelancers like you.
4. Ask For A Contract Extension If The Client Wants To Keep Working With You
When a client asks for a contract extension, simply ask them what the reason is. They’re usually happy to extend your work relationship and it’s an easy way to build a long-term business. Many clients want to keep working with you because they like what they see and they want more of it!
If your client has a budget that is hard to spend, then let them know this is something that could be done as part of another contract or project (if there are funds left over from previous work).
5. Work On Long-Term Engagements With Clients Who Leave Lots Of Feedback
As you work with more clients, you’ll notice that some leave more feedback than others. These are your Top Rated clients, and they come with their own set of perks:
Client feedback is a powerful tool for freelancers to attract new opportunities. The more a client like working with you, the more likely they are to recommend you to others in need of your services.
Top Rated clients tend to work on longer engagements (think months or years) instead of one-time projects. This makes sense because these relationships are built over time as the trust grows between both parties. It also means that there will be an ongoing stream of work coming from this client if he likes it enough!
Clients who leave lots of feedback tend to stick around longer than those who don’t which means less competition while finding new gigs!
Getting your first freelance job on Upwork can be challenging, but with the right strategies, you can increase your chances of success. Explore our article on Upwork tips and tricks to find your first freelance job to discover valuable insights and practical advice to kick-start your freelancing journey.
6. Make Sure Your Profile Is Complete With A Good Number Of Portfolio Samples
Most Upwork users will do a quick Google search and look at the freelancer’s profile before deciding whether to hire them. If you want to make sure that your profile is one of the ones they see, you need to make sure it’s as complete as possible. You should have a good number of portfolio samples, a great title and an attention-grabbing overview, and a relevant skills section in your profile.
To give yourself an edge over others, make sure all your information such as location and availability are accurate on Upwork too.
7. Build Your Presence On Upwork
To get Top-Rated status, you need to be active on the platform. Always be working on your profile by adding skills, comments, and shares.
Add new skills to your profile by clicking “Add Skills” in the top-right corner of the page and selecting “New Skill” from the dropdown menu. You can add as many relevant skills as you want; just make sure that each one is unique (don’t have two different skill sets both named “Computer Programming”).
If a skill is not relevant to you but would help boost your rating (e.g., Writing & Translation), find jobs with this tag in General Category jobs that you’re not necessarily suited for but could help get Top-Rated status anyway (e.g., Writing & Translation).
Commenting helps create engagement within Upwork communities and it also counts towards getting Top-Rated status! To comment on someone else’s feed, click “Comment” under their post or share and type out what needs saying before hitting submit!
If someone posts publicly about an issue they’re having through a Direct Message thread with them directly like hiring them for something you’ll even earn points for helping out! This can include offering suggestions about how they might proceed or sharing resources related to their question/issue at hand.”
Maintaining a good standing on Upwork is crucial for freelancers who want to build a successful career. Our guide on how to avoid getting suspended on Upwork provides essential tips and best practices to ensure compliance with Upwork’s policies and maintain a positive reputation.
8. Send Proposals Only To Job Posts That Are Relevant To Your Skill Set And Experience Level
It is important to send proposals only to job posts that are relevant to your skillset and experience level.
Avoid getting into low-quality engagements.
Do not take on a job for which you have no relevant skills, or one that does not align with the requirements of your chosen skillset (for example, if you’re an experienced developer with Java experience but the job requires Python).
If you do this consistently, it will help build up your JSS as well as eventually help you get top-rated status on Upwork
Breaking into the field of freelance translation requires more than just language skills. Our article on 15 secrets to becoming a successful freelance translator reveals valuable insights and practical advice to help you thrive in the competitive world of translation services.
Conclusion
With this guide, you’re well on your way to a Top-Rated status for your Upwork profile. You can also get top-rated by showing your expertise, communicating effectively, and delivering on time.
If you have any questions about this article or anything else related to Upwork or if you want to share some tips of your own feel free to reach out through the comments below!
Further Reading
Here are some additional resources that you may find helpful for further exploration:
The $100k Upwork Guide: This guide provides valuable insights and strategies to help freelancers maximize their earning potential on Upwork.
Getting Started on Upwork: The Beginner’s Guide: If you’re new to Upwork, this beginner’s guide offers practical tips and advice to help you navigate the platform and kick-start your freelancing career.
UpWork Freelancing: Your Guide to Finding Remote Freelance Jobs: This Skillshare class provides a comprehensive guide to finding remote freelance jobs on Upwork, equipping you with the knowledge and skills to succeed in the freelancing world.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Is The Top Rated Badge?
The Top-Rated badge is a special reward for freelancers who have completed many successful jobs on Upwork. If you want to be counted among this elite group, here’s what you need to know.
How Can I Get The Top Rated Badge?
The only way to get the Top Rated badge is by fulfilling all of these requirements:
You must have a JSS (Job Success Score) of 100% or higher after completing 100+ jobs as an Upwork Freelancer. The higher your JSS (Job Success Score), the more likely you are to receive this accolade!
How Do I Know If I’m Close To Getting Top Rated?
You can see your progress towards getting Top Rated by checking out the JSS score on your profile. The closer you are to 100%, the more likely it is that you’ll be awarded a badge when we calculate your score at the end of each month.
If you’re new to Upwork and have no past experience, it may take some time before it’s possible for us to evaluate your qualifications and award a badge based on them. It may also take some time after being awarded a badge before we evaluate again, so don’t worry if it doesn’t seem like progress is happening fast enough!
The metrics used for calculating Top-Rated status include:
Quality Score (QS) (rated by freelancers). This measures how well their work has been received by clients. The higher this number is within each category (Design/Development/Copywriting), the better chance there will be of receiving top marks from clients in future reviews!
Time spent working with clients as reported through case studies submitted along with proposals.
- Time spent working with clients compared to other freelancers in their area of expertise.
- Time spent working with current client vs total contracted hours expected over course of the project lifetime.
- Amounts charged per hour worked.
- Total earnings over the last 30 days vs average earnings per month over the last 6 months.
- Total number of projects completed over last 30 days vs average number completed per month over last 6 months
How Long Does It Take To Get Top-Rated?
It depends on how many jobs you win. The more jobs you win, the sooner you’ll be able to achieve Top Rated status but if you’re just starting out and working on building your portfolio, it might take a while.
How Many Jobs Do I Need To Win In Order To Get Top-Rated?
When it comes down to money and time invested, we recommend that you take between 10 and 15 hours of job bids per week.
You’re also likely going to have some rejections, but this will teach you valuable lessons about what not to do next time if someone else rejects your work bid. Be sure that all of your bids are personalized it’s important! If all else fails and no one responds, try putting up another one!
The more personalized they are (and relevant), the better chance there is that someone will respond favorably when they see it again later on down their own feed when looking through potential new hires with whom they may want to hire their own employees at some point in future weeks/months/years ahead.
Costantine Edward is a digital marketing expert, freelance writer, and entrepreneur who helps people attain financial freedom. I’ve been working in marketing since I was 18 years old and have managed to build a successful career doing what I love.