“This is yet another example of the late neoclassic Baroque period. And, as I always say, ‘If it’s not Baroque, don’t fix it!'”
— Cogsworth, Beauty and the Beast
A few weeks back, I was interviewed about freelancing on Upwork.
Nick Tubis, the guy who interviewed me, said something along the lines of, “Most successful freelancers get invited to jobs. What would you do if you’re not getting invited?”
To which I told him the truth:
Yes, I regularly get invited to Upwork jobs.
And I also regularly scroll through listed jobs, and apply to any for which I might be a good match. It worked for me at the start of my time on Upwork, and it’s working for me still. In the words of Cogsworth: If it’s not Baroque, don’t fix it!
Let me give you an example:
Earlier this year, I landed a daily email writing gig this way.
It paid $150/hr.
I didn’t get invited to this job. I found it and applied.
If I hadn’t searched for jobs that day, and I hadn’t applied, I wouldn’t have gotten this contract, which netted me about $6k before the client decided to take the work in-house.
The fact is, many potential clients who might be a perfect match for you will never find your profile.
They won’t invite you to their job.
They will pass like a ship in the night.
So my strategy now is the same as my strategy when I started on Upwork.
Each day, I take a bit of time, and go through the newest job listings.
And then, if I find something good, I send in a very brief and yet very effective job application.
It usually takes me about 2 minutes to write.
And yet, it routinely wins me 4-figure contracts, just like that daily email writing job.
I’ll lay out how I write this typical job application in my upcoming book about freelance copywriting on Upwork.
This book won’t teach you how to write copy.
Just how to win jobs, deal with clients, and get paid better and better rates on Upwork.
If that’s something you’re interested in, and you want to get notified when I finish up this book, you can sign up here: