How To Set Up Upwork Account
When you employ Upwork's work marketplace for your freelance business, yous plant your concern in an environment that's purpose-built to connect you with potential long-term clients.
In other words, we're committed to helping you succeed! We've designed Upwork and then information technology'southward easier for you to promote your well-nigh in-demand services, showcase your best piece of work, embrace new client relationships with confidence, and sentry your consistent efforts pay off.
How can you leverage all of this to your reward? In this article, we'll share all-time practices and resources to give you a solid foundation.
We've as well turned to two experienced business owners to become their insights for contained professionals that are just starting out:
- Morgan Overholt, a freelance graphic designer who is the owner of Morgan Media LLC, a freelance coach, and the co-founder of TheSmokies.com.
- Peggy P., an editor and proofreader who had more than two decades of experience running her ain business to draw on when she joined Upwork in 2022.
Ready to learn more most getting started on Upwork? Let's brainstorm by walking through each step of the sign-upward process.
1. Go to Upwork.com and click on "Sign Upwardly"
Kickoff on Upwork by clicking on the "Sign Upward" button in the elevation right corner.
ii. Sign up using your work email accost, Apple or your Google Account
You take a few options for your free account:
- If you continue with Google or Apple, you'll use your existing account to login to the site. This means one less username and password to recall, and it extends any notifications you lot've turned on—like suspicious event detection—to your Upwork business relationship.
- You can also utilize your preferred e-mail address to create a unique login that isn't straight connected to other services.
three. Add together your personal information
Finish this commencement part of setting upwards your account by adding a few more details:
- Your commencement and last name
- A password for your account
- Your location
Betoken that you desire to "Work as a freelancer," decide whether yous want to subscribe to our top tips, then hit the appropriate checkbox once y'all've reviewed the Upwork Terms of Service—including the User Agreement, and Privacy Policy.
We know: This information tin be a lot to process. Just it'south also critically important to your business concern and your success on Upwork. Become to know some of the highlights here.
In one case you're ready, click on "Create My Account" to motility on to the next function: Creating your Upwork contour.
In that location are two ways to connect with clients on Upwork:
- They find you through your contour or in Project Catalog (a marketplace for projects you lot've predefined)
- Yous arroyo them by submitting a proposal for their job posting
In either state of affairs, you lot demand to have a freelancer profile that introduces your business, highlights your expertise, and captures their attention. Nosotros'll dig deeper into your profile later—yous can ever come back to edit and refine it.
For now, let'due south review the bones information you'll desire to include.
4. Get-go your Upwork profile by telling us near the work you do
Before you tin can outset applying for job posts on Upwork, yous demand to consummate at least 60% of your profile:
- A photo of yourself
- Your championship
- Your overview
- Work history
- At to the lowest degree one skill tag
Of grade, we recommend completing 100% of your profile! Just you don't need to do information technology all today. In fact, you'll probably refine it on a regular ground.
"I've redone my contour probably 75 times," Peggy said. "Within your ain specialty, you need to position yourself according to what your marketplace wants and cares about. That'southward why I go on editing my profile, even if I but alter a sentence—it needs to be relevant to my prospective clients."
The first ii sections prompt you for information near the services you offer:
- Your overall category of work
- The particular skills y'all specialize in
- The level of experience you have
You tin can choose up to four piece of work categories. We propose picking the strongest, almost specialized, and/or most in-demand. While the categories you select will bear upon how clients detect your profile, you tin apply to job postings in any category.
Highlight as many as x skills from Upwork'south extensive list. Equally you start to type in a skill, Upwork will offer suggestions from a standardized list. These skills volition prove up on your profile—you can elevate-and-drib them into the gild you want—and help prospects sympathize whether yous have the skillset their projection needs.
On the next screen, click on the pick that almost accurately describes your level of expertise: Entry level, intermediate, or expert.
[Larn how to create a compelling freelancer profile]
v. Highlight your educational background
This section summarizes your formal educational activity. If y'all choose to add entries here, all the details are optional except the institution.
We advise including:
- The caste earned, even if yous haven't completed it
- The area of study
- Boosted details, such every bit awards or recognitions received, or extracurricular activities (i.e. teams, clubs) you were involved in.
vi. Highlight your past work experience
Your past work feel tin help build credibility with a potential customer—especially when you're new to Upwork. It tin can emphasize not just your level of expertise just industries or subjects areas you lot may already be familiar with.
You lot may want to include:
- Companies yous've worked with in the past
- Projects completed earlier joining Upwork
- Projects you can share from other freelancing sites
seven. Add together your language proficiency
Upwork operates in English and y'all're required to bespeak your English proficiency in your profile. Simply businesses on Upwork come up from all over the world and often practise business organisation in other languages, then be sure to indicate any other languages you might speak.
While language skills are self-assessed, try to be as accurate every bit possible so you gear up the right expectation with potential clients.
viii. Gear up your hourly rate
If the question most setting your rates sparks anxiety, keep these two things in mind:
- You tin can adjust your overall rate at any fourth dimension
- You can customize your rate every time you submit a proposal
One mutual mistake new freelancers on Upwork oft brand is to base their charge per unit on their bacon as an employee. While that may exist a starting signal, information technology doesn't account for costs you lot're now responsible for, such as equipment yous rely on, your home office setup, taxes and professional fees, or ongoing skills training.
You lot may observe it helpful to start at one charge per unit then accommodate information technology every bit you build your reputation through completed projects and client feedback, improve your agreement of the value you offer to long-term clients, and get a better sense of the effort each client project requires.
Acquire more well-nigh mistakes independent talent make when setting their rates—and ideas to fix them.
9. Bespeak your championship and overview
A great championship and overview tin make a difference to the responses you get from clients since they're amidst the start things they volition run across. Let'south commencement by thinking about what clients volition see in search results: It's basically an ad for your services.
What can you practise to help entice potential clients to click through and await at your full freelancer profile? Here are a few ideas:
- Keep your title brusque. Get the most important information across as chop-chop as possible. Keep in mind that, on mobile search results, your championship volition trail off with a "..." after 35 characters or so.
- Be specific and include keywords that potential clients may search for.
- Make your first sentence count. Your whole bio can be a critical tool to convert new clients, but the very offset volition be the virtually visible.
In fact, while your overview can be upward to 5000 characters, Overholt suggested keeping it to a few brusk paragraphs: "If the 'read more' pick pops upward, y'all've got too much," she said.
Overholt has extensive experience not simply equally a freelancer but as a client who's engaged other freelancers to bring her ideas to life. "I've hired freelancers with zero experience on the platform just because I was impressed by their portfolio and their bio," she explained.
"Your overview should be one or two short paragraphs: This is my profession, this is how much experience I accept, these are the kinds of projects I want to take on, this is what I can do for y'all. Curt, sweet, and washed."
ten. Add together contour photo
Businesses desire to work with professionals they can trust with critical work. Does your profile photo inspire confidence?
Upwork's Terms of Use include a few requirements for profile photos. For example:
- It tin can't exist bare
- Your face must be conspicuously visible
- You tin't use a logo or extravaganza
Your photo doesn't need to be professionally taken. Merely how can you ensure you accept a high-quality image? Bank check out our how-to guide for your perfect contour moving-picture show for professional tips and examples.
11. Add your contact details
You shared your location before in the sign-upwards process simply now we need a bit more item to help verify your identity, including your address and phone number.
And if you're travelling or are otherwise not currently at home? Enter the address you lot utilise for revenue enhancement purposes.
12. Preview your contour earlier submitting
You're just about finished! Review your freelancer profile information 1 more time before submitting it.
A very important notation: You won't be able to start submitting proposals right away.
Trust is essential on Upwork and it's of import that people are who they say they are. Earlier yous tin apply to any projects, you'll need to verify your identity using:
- Valid government-issued ID
- An online visual verification
In near cases, this process takes nearly x minutes—simply follow the prompts in your account. Click here to learn more than well-nigh the verification procedure.
13: Go a freelancer on Upwork
Ta-da! With your Upwork account prepare up, you're ready to kickoff working toward your showtime projection.
In the side by side section, nosotros'll share best practices to help you make a outset impression that wins new projects.
Tiptop tips when getting started as a freelancer on Upwork
Right now, your focus is getting your offset task on Upwork—so allow'due south start there. In the adjacent few sections, we'll consider profiles, proposals, and interview preparation.
Then we'll have a quick expect at the long view: How to keep your skills precipitous every bit your business grows.
Create a profile that stands out
As mentioned before, at least sixty% of your profile needs to exist completed earlier you can showtime submitting proposals for job posts on Upwork.
Not simply does a fully-completed profile help clients get a full picture of your experience, it also helps Upwork lucifer you with more relevant projects.
And a completed contour is required if you want to achieve Rising Talent status or become a Pinnacle Rated freelancer—both of which can help you build a stronger reputation on Upwork.
From the piece of work category you lot choose to the overview section y'all write, utilize every part to emphasize your skills and position yourself as a professional. And don't overlook the importance of your online portfolio.
I of the first things Overholt said she looks at is a portfolio, particularly when information technology comes to creative skills, such as writing and design. Also often, she said, freelancer portfolios include just a couple of work samples—and it isn't enough.
"I think I have something like 30 to twoscore different examples bachelor in my portfolio," she said. This variety serves two purposes:
- Clients want to see if y'all have feel in their industry or accept worked on projects that are similar to theirs. More than examples means more opportunities for them to see this overlap.
- Information technology gives clients a better understanding of the variety of work you do. You may understand that logos and brochures accept the same skill set—but a potential client may not.
"We all start somewhere, and you may need to fake information technology until yous make information technology," she said. " I started with no portfolio: I did piece of work for family unit and friends, I did work for myself. Those are the projects I used until I became a more seasoned freelancer."
Desire to acquire more?
- Get more ideas on how to create a more successful freelancer portfolio
- Push your profile to the adjacent level with an intro video—sixty seconds (or less) to show prospects who yous are and what you do.
- Find more in-depth suggestions about creating a freelancer contour that stands out.
Create winning proposals
Getting new clients starts with your proposal and cover alphabetic character—and that ways figuring out what it takes for you to get their attention.
"When I post a new projection as a customer, I can get anywhere from ten to 50 submissions," said Overholt. "Clients don't take time to read through every proposal, they fly through them. You're trying to quickly stand up out in a pool of 50 other professionals and that can be intimidating!"
Exist cursory. Freelance writer Andreea-Lucia Mihalache found that she got the best results when she kept her proposal to the point.
In How to Create a Proposal That Wins Jobs, Mihalache explained how she created a short proposal template and why she customizes it every time. "You have just a few seconds to win your client's attention," she said.
Focus on the client. Peggy said information technology's important to keep your focus on the client rather than on you. "One piece of advice I took to heart is to employ the word 'you' more than the word 'I', and remembering that stops me," she said. "In a cover letter of the alphabet, I'll tell a prospective client that 'your job caught my eye,' rather than 'I am this and I am that'."
Be strategic with your efforts. Danny Margulies, a freelance copywriter and client on Upwork, recommends taking what he calls the "upside-downwards proposal" arroyo.
This refers to the proposal process on Upwork: If a customer asks boosted questions equally function of their job post, your responses will actually be shown at the acme of your submission.
"Answer the boosted questions [starting time], put a lot of good, juicy nuggets in there, demonstrate your knowledge, demonstrate your caring to clients in those additional questions, and and then motion on to your cover letter," he suggested in Ability Proposal Tips to Aid Y'all Become Noticed.
Exist careful not to overpromise. To help protect your reputation on Upwork, Peggy said, information technology'southward important to set up the right expectations.
"You might read a proposal and think, 'I can probably do that.' Then you lot oversell yourself to the client to get the project," she said. "If you lot tin't deliver, you could end up in a mess with a negative rating."
Get prepared for interviews
To ace your next customer interview, there are a few key suggestions to think virtually:
- Be as professional as you lot would be in person, such as showing upwards on time and dressing appropriately
- Written report the job mail and exist prepared to ask thoughtful questions
- Learn as much as possible about the client ahead of time
Researching the client can be tricky if they haven't provided any information in their job post—but don't give up besides hands:
- Look at feedback from other freelancers they've worked with. Do they include names or mention anything about the business?
- Does the job post mention the customer's manufacture or customer? Even if yous don't know who the client is, getting more context almost the project can be an reward.
The reality is, if you get your proposal, profile, and online portfolio correct—or if you offer a packaged service on Projection Catalog—you may not do an interview.
"My speciality is somewhat unique and I've been hired many more times than I've been interviewed," Peggy said. "From my feel, if a customer has reached the point of sending me a message, I often become the task."
Stay patient when trying to country your start client
When you lot're new to Upwork, one of the most important things you can exercise is become to know the rules of Upwork—so you don't inadvertently break them—and to figure out how the work market tin can work for y'all.
"When I first joined Upwork, I had a few people contact me with what was likely a scam—those are the kinds of things y'all avoid by following the rules and agreement why they're in place," Peggy said.
"It'southward tempting to just jump in," she added. "But even with my previous feel, I had to build my business on Upwork brick by brick. If you're new to Upwork and new to having your own business, there's a whole world of information to learn, from marketing yourself to getting paid to paying taxes."
And there are a lot of resource bachelor through Upwork:
- The Talent Resource Eye, where you'll find articles, videos, ebooks, and more to provide you lot with insights, information, and inspiration.
- Upwork Help, where you'll notice hundreds of how-to articles so you tin can navigate different features and functionalities.
- The Upwork Community, where you tin can connect directly with other freelancers.
"The thing that I did correct when I first started? I paid attending to people who'd been in my shoes and succeeded, not the ones who tried and failed," said Overholt.
"I found top rated freelancers who'd earned $100k or $200k on Upwork and read their blogs and followed their advice," she said. "There are so many people succeeding who are happy to share what they know. You lot simply need to talk to us!"
Detect more tips to assist you grow your business organisation in How to Get More than Jobs on Upwork in 2022.
Continue updating and improving your skills
One affair y'all'll quickly learn about running a business concern is that being proactive pays off, whether that's thinking near your adjacent project, following trends in your industry, or keeping your expertise abrupt.
Independent talent may enjoy an border over employees when information technology comes to up-to-date skills: They're nearly twice as likely to have completed skills grooming in the last six months.
So, every bit you start to carve out your new routine as a business organization owner, consider including time for regular research and learning. Cheque out top tools independent talent can utilise to continue their skills fresh for ideas.
Next Steps
That's a lot of information to take in! We hope it brings you more confidence equally you get started freelancing on Upwork and your new contained life. If y'all're non notwithstanding a freelancer on Upwork, sign upward for an account today.
How To Set Up Upwork Account,
Source: https://www.upwork.com/resources/how-to-get-started-on-upwork-as-a-freelancer
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