If you’re a freelancer on Upwork and want to get more clients, it can feel like an uphill battle. You might think that Upwork profiles are completely unimportant or that they don’t matter at all. In reality, however, everything from your profile headline to the details section is essential for getting noticed by potential employers.
All of these factors combine to create a powerful first impression so that customers know exactly who they are dealing with before making any decision about hiring you. Also, If you’re reading this, then we can assume that you’re ready to take your freelancing game to the next level. We’ve got good news: an impressive Upwork profile can do just that it’s the first step towards getting more clients and higher-paying jobs.
And with just a few simple steps, your profile won’t just be good; it will be great. In this article, we’ll walk through how to create an Upwork profile that gets you clients.
| Takeaways |
|---|
| 1. Treat freelancing as a business and approach your Upwork profile accordingly. |
| 2. Craft a compelling overview that highlights your skills, expertise, and what you can offer to clients. |
| 3. Use relevant keywords throughout your profile to optimize visibility and attract potential clients. |
| 4. Showcase your portfolio with your best samples that align with the services you provide. |
| 5. Aim to maintain a high job success score by delivering quality work and earning positive client feedback. |
| 6. Continuously update and improve your profile to stay competitive in the Upwork marketplace. |
| 7. Network and engage with the Upwork community to expand your opportunities and connections. |
| 8. Develop effective communication skills to establish rapport and build trust with clients. |
| 9. Be proactive in searching for and applying to relevant job postings that align with your skills and interests. |
| 10. Leverage Upwork’s features and tools, such as skill tests and certifications, to enhance your profile’s credibility. |
Choose A Profile Picture That Proves You’re A Real Person
Your first impression with a client is made with your profile picture. This photo should be a close-up of your face, showing off a smile and friendly eyes. Avoid being too serious in the shot; it’s important to show that you’re someone who can be trusted and fun to work with.
Don’t use photos of logos or group shots these are better suited for social media accounts like LinkedIn, not Upwork profiles. It’s also best not to use pictures of pets or significant others as these can sometimes seem impersonal and make clients uncomfortable.
Treating freelancing as a business is crucial for long-term success. Learn why it’s important and how to do it in our comprehensive guide on Is Freelancing a Business? and discover the strategies that will help you thrive in the freelance world.
Don’t Overuse Resume Jargon
It’s true that you should use professional, concise language in your profile. However, it should still be easy to understand and engaging.
That said, it’s imperative that you don’t overdo it with resume jargon. If you are going to use a word like “synergy” or “innovative solutions,” be sure that your cover letter or other writing samples can back up these claims.
You also want to avoid cliches at all costs especially on a freelancer profile where there is no room for error! In fact, the best way to describe yourself might be through stories about how you’ve previously demonstrated the specific skills and traits listed in your skills section (see below). For example: “I’m able to communicate effectively with clients because of my ability to build rapport quickly and adapt my style based on their needs.”
Use The Headline Field To Showcase Your Skills
The headline is an important part of your profile, because it’s the first thing potential employers see. You want to make sure that you’re showcasing your skills in a way that clearly shows what you can do for them.
Provide a clear description of the skills you offer. Don’t just list them; explain how they apply to the job (e.g., “I am proficient with MS Office and Google Drive”).
List only the skills relevant to this job posting, or those that clearly demonstrate your qualifications (e.g., “Data Entry Specialist”). If there aren’t any relevant keywords or phrases in your job title, this section may be unnecessary!
Make sure your headline doesn’t exceed 25 characters so it doesn’t get cut off when viewed on mobile devices or other platforms like Indeed Jobs Inc’s website.* Use keywords that are relevant to your skills
Write In Second Person Unless You Are A Writer Or Copywriter
Avoid using “I” and “my.” Instead, use the second person (you). You’ll find that this will make your profile more personal, which is exactly what you want when trying to stand out from other freelancers. Unless you’re a writer or copywriter like me, avoid using the first person (“I”) and my in your Upwork profile.
I know it’s tempting to put yourself out there as an expert on every subject under the sun especially if you’re brand new at this whole thing but resist! Your goal should be to make potential clients feel comfortable with hiring someone they don’t know much about yet. Remember: Upwork clients aren’t choosing between two identical apples; they’re picking one because it feels better for them personally than any other option does.*
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Use Your About Me Section To Build Rapport
Your about me section is the perfect place to build rapport with clients. In this section, you should be focused on the reader. Here’s an example:
I am a full-time freelance writer and editor with over 5 years of experience in online marketing. I’ve worked as an intern at [insert company name] where I learned valuable skills that helped me land my dream job as a content creator for [company name].
Since then, I’ve written case studies detailing my work on behalf of [company’s name], including “5 Tips for Writing Great Product Descriptions” and “How To Use Facebook Ads To Sell More Books On Amazon.” If that sounds like something that interests you or even if it doesn’t please get in touch!
Use Bullets And Lists To Make Your Profile Scannable
The internet is a fast-paced medium. Most people don’t read every word on a webpage, so if you want to make your profile scannable, use bullets and lists to highlight key points. This will make it easier for potential clients to scan your profile and find what they need quickly. You can do this with any section of your profile by using bold keywords at the beginning of each paragraph (see above).
The same principles apply when it comes to listing jobs you’ve done in the past instead of writing long paragraphs describing each project and client, use short bullet points. This makes it easy for someone scrolling through profiles to see whether or not you’ve worked with them before or if they’re interested in hiring someone who has experience working on similar projects as theirs.
Take The Time To Find The Right Pre-Set Skills
When it comes to creating your Upwork profile, you need to do more than fill in the blanks. To get clients, you’ll need to work on getting the right skills listed on your profile and not just any skills will do. The first step is browsing through the list of available skills and finding ones that are relevant to your profile as well as potential clients’ needs.
You also want to make sure not to list too many or too few skills. If they see that there’s nothing at all under “Skills,” they won’t feel confident hiring you (and who wants that?). Find a happy medium between being too vague and having way too much information; this is where our next tip comes into play:
Write A Professional Title That Optimizes For Seo
A professional title is your first sentence, and it should be optimized for search engine optimization (SEO). This means that it should be clear, concise, and descriptive of who you are.
The most common mistake here is using a lot of jargon: “I am a UX design ninja,” or “I’m a unicorn.” These aren’t bad titles it’s just that they’re not very specific or informative to anyone who hasn’t read them before.
Instead, think about what your job is specifically and how you can convey that in one sentence: “My goal is to redesign websites so they’re accessible for all users” or “I make sure existing sites are mobile-friendly.”
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Select Your Industries Carefully
Once you’ve decided what skills you want to promote, carefully choose the industries that best describe your expertise. You can select up to three categories for yourself, but each one must be relevant for the client’s project.
You’ll also have the option of choosing “Virtual Assistant” or “Freelance Writer” as a category both are helpful if you work with clients remotely or have multiple skillsets. If none of these options apply to your business and skillset, however, select “Other” from this dropdown menu so that customers who search in it won’t see results that don’t match their needs (this is especially important if you’re just starting out).
If no industry matches what you do exactly and there isn’t a good fit in any other category either, go ahead and add “Other” as well! Just make sure it doesn’t necessarily mean anything negative about what kind of work they can expect from hiring someone like yourself; it’s only negative if people associate those words with something bad happening instead!
Link To Your Portfolio Site (But Don’t Overdo It)
Finally, it’s important to link to your portfolio site from your Upwork profile. This is especially true if you’re a designer or developer most clients will want a look at your previous work before deciding whether they want to hire you or not.
The most important thing you can do here is make sure that all of the links are active, so that potential clients can actually see what you’ve done and how it turned out. If a link doesn’t take the user anywhere and just goes back to their browser, that looks unprofessional and makes them less likely to hire you (or pay attention when they do).
It’s also essential that each portfolio site URL be descriptive in some way: “designer” isn’t really good enough; “experienced designer with over 10 years’ experience under my belt” gives more context about who the designer is and what their strengths are.
It also helps highlight which service areas (e.g., graphic design) might interest particular clients on Upwork by showing off those skills in action which may get them excited about working together down the line since both parties have already seen each other as professionals rather than just job applicants!
List Your Experience In Order Of Relevance (Or Reverse Chronological Order)
List your experience in reverse chronological order. If you’re new to a field or just graduated, it can be helpful to list your most relevant experience first. For example, if you want to work as a social media manager while also applying for jobs as an SEO specialist and content writer, put those under the “Additional Skills” section of your profile because they are less important than social media management at this time.
This will push down all of your other skills and make them harder for potential employers to see unless they click on “See All Skills & Certifications.” This is especially true for recent graduates who have limited work experience but do have significant knowledge of their field and/or industry (which is something clients will want).
Share Testimonials When Possible And Relevant
Testimonials are a great way to show potential clients what others have to say about your work. Testimonials let potential clients know that others are satisfied with your services and that they can trust you to provide quality results.
When including testimonials on your profile, be sure to include the name of the person who wrote the testimonial, their title and logo of their company if appropriate. You should also add an image of the person who wrote the testimonial so potential clients will feel more comfortable engaging with your profile.
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Fill Out Every Field On Your Upwork Public Profile
Part of what makes a good Upwork profile is that it’s complete. You can only get clients on Upwork if you fill out every field on your public profile. This includes the skills section, which is where most people leave off. If you want to be found by clients, make sure you list all of your relevant skills and add any others that are relevant but not listed in the drop-down menu.
Set Clear Expectations In Your Job Preferences Section
The first step of the process is to set clear expectations in your Job Preferences section. This is where you’ll be able to decide what kind of work you want, how much money you want to make, and when you can do it. Here are a few tips:
Choose the right job types: If you only want to take on one type of project at a time (i.e., graphic design), make sure that option is selected here so that clients don’t send more than one kind of job at a time.
Choose the right job roles: Make sure all of your roles are listed here so that clients know exactly who they’re hiring and don’t think they need to hire someone else because they don’t see any specific position mentioned in their description! (For instance, if someone asks for an accountant but doesn’t list his/her CPA status on Upwork.)
Choose the right categories: This section should include anything relevant or applicable that would help potential employers find good matches for themselves or their businesses—not just obvious choices like “Web Development” or “Graphic Design.” For instance, if this person’s website needs SEO done along with some other work as well (such as content creation), then put both under “SEO & Digital Marketing.”
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Final Thoughts
It may take a little effort on your part, but an optimized Upwork public profile will make your search for clients much simpler.
Optimizing your Upwork profile is a lot of work, but it will make your search for clients much simpler. There are many benefits to having an optimized public profile: it will help you stand out from the crowd, show potential clients that you’re serious about your business and are capable of producing quality work, and attract clients who are looking for freelancers with specific skill sets.
I hope these tips have been helpful to you and that they will help get your profile noticed. Upwork is a great site for freelancers, but it can be hard to break through and find clients if you don’t put in the effort. I’d love to hear how your profile turns out. If you learned something from this article or want to share some of your favorite tips, let me know in the comments down below.
Further Reading
Here are some additional resources to further enhance your knowledge on creating an effective Upwork profile:
How to Create an Upwork Profile: A Comprehensive Guide: This comprehensive guide provides detailed steps and tips for creating a standout Upwork profile that attracts potential clients.
How to Create an Upwork Profile That Actually Attracts New Clients: Learn effective strategies for creating an Upwork profile that catches the attention of potential clients and increases your chances of landing quality projects.
Create an Upwork Profile That Stands Out: Discover key elements and best practices to make your Upwork profile stand out among the competition and attract the clients you desire.
People Also Ask
What Is Upwork?
Upwork is the world’s largest freelancing website, where businesses and independent professionals connect and collaborate remotely. Millions of people use Upwork to find work, while thousands of companies use our platform to find the right talent. Whether you’re looking for an extra source of income or trying to scale your business with outsourcing, we can connect you with great freelancers worldwide.
Is Upwork Worth It?
If you need help building your profile or finding clients, definitely! But if all you want is a new resume that’ll get attention from recruiters at companies like Google, Microsoft and Facebook–forget it. Those job seekers don’t use this site (and neither should you).
How Do I Get More Clients On Upwork?
This is a common question we hear from freelancers who are starting out. The answer is simple: you have to be visible to receive jobs, so make sure that your profile is written well and includes all of the information you think they might want to know. You also need to follow up with clients who have reached out to you in order to make sure they don’t forget about you and keep them engaged so they will refer others to work with you as well.
How Do I Write A Good Job Posting On Upwork?
Writing a great job posting means having clear expectations for what would be required in terms of time investment and skill level. This way, potential candidates can assess whether or not their skills match up with what’s required for this project before applying for it and hopefully save everyone some time by not applying when it’s clear there won’t be any chemistry between client and freelancer! If this seems like too much work (it definitely can be), try using an assistant service like Zirtual
How Do I Get My First Job On Upwork?
To land a job, you’ll need to look for jobs that are hiring and create a proposal. You can find out what kinds of jobs employers are seeking by looking at the title and description of their listing.
What Is The Best Way To Use The Headline Field?
You should use your headline to summarize what you’re offering for example, “Data Entry Specialist” or “Marketing Manager.” If it’s not clear from your headline what kind of work you do, be sure to explain further in your profile summary or portfolio section (which we’ll talk about later).
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.