How to Land Premium Jobs on Upwork

Apply these proven and up to date tips to land premium jobs on Upwork fast.

Upwork has now become a major marketplace for freelancers as a result of attracting buyers from the United States. This has made many people move away from traditional ways of finding jobs online and land employment offers on this site to make more money than they would have ever imagined. This amazing opportunity had people think of some tips to land premium jobs on Upwork that they can follow.

For anyone who is struggling financially in life or wants to land a job offer on Upwork, I advise you to follow these tips to land premium jobs on Upwork.

Use a Professional and Confident Upwork Profile

The number one thing you can do to get premium jobs on Upwork is use a professional profile that accurately represents your skills and experience.

To ensure this, avoid including personal information like age, marital status or religion in the profile. It might be tempting to emphasize how young you are as an indication of how much time you have for work but it’s counter-productive when looking at the big picture. Focus instead on conveying your skills.

A good profile headline should inform a potential client about what type of services you offer – so rather than ‘Web Developer’, use something more specific like ‘WordPress Developer’ or ‘Content Writer’. This will help clients find exactly what they need.

Also make sure you have a professional looking headshot in your profile image that conveys your personality and reflects the type of work you do.

Build an Upwork Portfolio of Work Samples

Another great way to convey exactly what you are capable of is to provide clients with samples of previous projects or work. This should show your skills, level of expertise and style so it’s important to choose projects that reflect how talented – and employable – you really are!

One good way to find quality examples to showcase in your portfolio is by reaching out to past clients for feedback on their experience working with you, as this will give them an opportunity to highlight what they found most valuable about working with you.

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Don’t Forget the Basics of Client Relations

Even if you use tips one through six here to land great clients on Upwork, there is still a chance your reputation could suffer. The main reason for this is that no matter what site you are using, some people are simply going to be bad clients or they will become difficult as soon as problems pop up. In these situations it’s important to remember the basics of client relations – which include the following four points:

1. Be firm but polite in your communications and don’t allow yourself to get talked into anything unreasonable;
2. Don’t let things fester without addressing them head-on (in many cases just sending an email outlining what went wrong can actually solve a lot of issues);
3. If you get a bad client, don’t just take their money and make them disappear – early termination fees can hurt and it’s always good to build up your reputation over time;
4. And remember that patience is often rewarded in the long run!

Stay Topical and Stay Active With Gigs for Clients

The general rule for any kind of work is that there are going to be peaks and troughs – but when it comes online freelancing, these are amplified because there is always another person ready to take over whenever work dries up. So the key is to stay on top of things and make sure you are always working.

If you have a good reputation, then the volume of work will certainly increase over time – but it is also important to get new clients through Upwork by posting new jobs and regularly updating your status with feedback replies, direct messages or project details to show potential clients that you are active.

Use Earners in Your Network to Refer Business to You

One great way for freelancers new to Upwork to build up their client base is by using ‘earners’ or ‘power users’ who use the site regularly and have actually hired people on Upwork before. Make friends with them! But don’t ask them directly for money – you will be surprised at how many of these users are also new to freelancing and simply looking for good freelancers to hire. 

Don’t resort to spamming your fellow Upworkers with messages, but just naturally build a relationship with them that is more than just ‘ten bucks here’ or ‘five bucks there’. You’ll notice these people are using the site every day and it’s likely they want quality work – so if you can give them what they want, then you have a perfect opportunity to earn referrals from other clients in the future!

Be Proactive With Direct Messages & Emails

Another way to get your name out there as a solid choice for potential clients is by sending direct messages through Upwork. There is a lot of demand for skilled freelancers on the site, since the pool of available talent in any given niche is pretty small. So if there are jobs posted that match your skillset and you think you might be able to help, send a direct message to let them know.

You can also reply directly to new client emails from Upwork with similar messaging – but don’t overdo it or inundate people with constant messages (a good rule of thumb here is that you should only contact someone about work once every two weeks).   Simply sprinkle these communications throughout your day so they become part of your routine – after all, you want potential clients to have an easy time remembering who you are!

Land Premium Jobs on Upwork by Getting Referrals and Recommendations from Clients

Upwork has a great feature that allows clients to leave public reviews for freelancers after projects are completed, which can be viewed by other potential clients interested in hiring you. It’s important to ask for 5-star reviews and go out of your way to earn them – show genuine appreciation for your client at the end of the project in order to ensure they have a positive experience working with you and then follow up afterward to give thanks one last time or even offer an additional service or piece of work if it is within your scope. 

Best of all is if you get a comment that mentions something particularly positive about working with you, maybe that they were especially impressed by one of your skills, then make sure you showcase it on your profile in order to attract the attention of similar clients in the future!

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In the end, Upwork isn’t so much about quick kills as lasting relationships. That might sound like an old-fashioned idea (and maybe it is), but freelancing has evolved into a business model where building real connections with people means more than quick payouts or making sales leads.   When you use these tips to land jobs on Upwork, you will see that they are tailored for people who want to earn a living doing what they love while also earning trust and respect from fellow Upworkers.

Upwork is a great place to find interesting work and get paid in the process – just don’t be afraid to make connections with your fellow freelancers along the way. For sure you’ll land premium jobs on Upwork in no time.