Everything Tess

Have you been wondering if it’s possible to make money on Upwork as a new freelancer? Me too. This article is to show my journey of how I made my first $100 on Upwork as a new freelancer in 2020: the year of the pandemic. You will learn how I landed my first contract and my exact Upwork proposal that helped me do so.

Disclaimer: this is an article about my personal journey; this is not a how to. I do not promise to teach you how to write the perfect proposal, but rather, show that it is possible to make money as a new freelancer with a small portfolio. I loved reading blogs about others’ first contracts and I’m here to share my story.

Joining Upwork

When I joined Upwork in 2018, I had full intentions on becoming a writer. I was in my second year of college and had quite a few of my creative writing courses done. And then…I didn’t apply to anything. Instead, I became a long time lurker on Upwork and watched what kind of jobs were available, what hours they were, and what rates were being pushed. I didn’t apply for projects, but I was there…watching.

Then 2020 happened. I was in lockdown for two-three months and even though we are technically no longer on lockdown, I still act as if I am. I read multiple blogs about Upwork proposals, downloaded free e-books, and I even bought one on Amazon Kindle for a few dollars. This last one was more because I liked her blog, her story, and wanted to support her. However, I read that e-book from cover to cover, multiple times. I worked up enough courage to try applying and I just did it.

I found a listing to redirect Pinterest links from someone’s old website to her new website. I had experience linking pins to Pinterest when I was blogging in 2017 and I knew this was a job that I could fulfill. I decided to apply and spent quite a few hours working on my proposal.

The Proposal

“How do you write a winning proposal?”

I asked myself that same question. I had no idea how to write proposals. I had no idea how to market myself. Yet, somehow, I managed to land a $100 contract. Let’s review it:

She messaged me back! She said that since I had experience with Pinterest backlinking, she decided to hire me right away. She also stated that she prefers to work with consultants that have more experience, but knows that everyone has to start somewhere and was more than glad to help my grow my portfolio.

Would I recommend every new freelancer to state that they’re building their portfolio? No. Some jobs just aren’t the place for that.

Would I recommend copying my proposal word for word? Please don’t. Your proposal needs to be unique to you, your skills, and plan of action.

3 Tips for an Upwork Proposal

• State HOW you can bring value to the job and demonstrate it by listing deliverables.
• Give a little background on who you are. You’re still a person even though you’re a freelancer.
• Don’t overthink it. See what the problem is that needs your help and evaluate if you can actually help solve that problem. If it’s a yes, then great! Remember to be confident in why you can help.

Did you find my story helpful? This is just the beginning; make sure to follow this blog to get updates on my Upwork journey.