Don’t Wanna Slave Away for $5 per Article on Upwork? You Don’t Have to

A little over a week ago, I decided to give Upwork a proper try.

Yeah, that’s right. I looked this hellish dungeon of writing for scraps directly in the eye and I said, “Not today, a strange man from the other side of the world who thinks I’d love nothing else than write your whole book for 10 dollars. Not today.”

Because today, I’m choosing myself. Upwork is there to offer me opportunities — and I will only take those that are worth my attention.

It’s safe to say my first week on Upwork has been quite a success, actually. No, I haven’t found a wealthy client who throws his money at me like it’s skittles. No, I still can’t afford my rent without dipping into my savings.

But out of 6 proposals, I got 1 job. And it’s a job that actually pays really well for what it is. Plus, it’s fun! Yes, that’s right, I actually enjoy what I write for my client!

Mind-blowing.

“Wow,” I thought when I got hired my second day on Upwork. “This might not be so hard in the end!”

Well, I haven’t been hired for another job since that happy day on 29th July 2021, but I’ll keep trying. I’ll keep searching.

I think I’ve kind of figured it out.

If you don’t know your worth, you won’t succeed

This actually isn’t my first time on Upwork.

The very first time was in April 2021 when I decided I would proofread and edit someone’s work for 25 dollars. It took me at least 10 hours to do it all. Upwork took $5 in processing fees and $1 for the actual withdrawal of my nice little salary.

I walked away with a total of $19 for 10 hours of work. It wasn’t the best. It gave me my first 5-star review though, so now I can actually have some credibility on the platform because someone took a chance on me.

If there’s something I know for sure, though, it’s that I’ll never work for 10 hours just to get $19 again. Not on Upwork, anyway, because my first review is in the bag now.

After your first review, the immediate course of action is to figure out what you’re worth.

The freelance dream sounds wonderful — no boss, no 9–5, typing away on a beach in Bali while drinking cocktails. And the best thing about this dream is that it actually comes true for many of those who work for it.

But if you’re not careful, you can fall into the pit of writing for scraps, thinking that’s the only way.

Well, I’m here to tell you it’s not. If everyone wrote for so little, nobody would end up being successful at this whole freelance thing. You could write 10 thousand words a day, but it still wouldn’t matter if you worked for a client who pays you only a hundred bucks for a full day of work.

Hard work matters. But smart work matters more.

After having learned my lesson on Upwork, I raised the bar. I don’t work for $6 per hour anymore, no, that won’t do. I’m being bold and putting $30 per hour down.

That’s still considered very little by some writers.

I also don’t apply to jobs that sound cheap, confusing, or like they’d bore me to death. There are more of these kinds of jobs than there are the good ones, but sifting through them and looking for what you know you want can actually have a great pay-off in the end.

It lets you put all your effort into drafting a few proposals per day instead of twenty. No cold pitches. These are proposals that are targeted at the job specifically, proposals that show the client you’re a great fit for the job, proposals that mention what has been said in the job advert.

If you don’t put the effort into your proposal, how can the client know you’ll try hard when it comes to the actual job?

I genuinely think a big part of getting hired was due to the fact I spent at least an hour writing my proposal. The client wanted me to write specific samples of work. I loved the money and the project, so I did.

I put effort into what I wanted and I got it.

Know what you want and look for that thing. Raise the fixed price of projects over 500 in your feed filter, and suddenly, you’ll see completely different types of work.

These are the gigs worth doing.

At the end of the day, Upwork is full of ridiculous gigs that pay horrendously low wages, but it’s also buzzing with freelance opportunities that are actually really good.

It’s up to you how you make your way on the platform. Will you slave away for $5 because these jobs seem to pop up everywhere, or will you take your time and target well-paid jobs that often also offer long-term collaboration?

It’s up to you. You definitely need to take these questions into consideration:

- How much do I value my time?

- How much do I want to write for? $30 per hour? $50 per hour? What’s the rate I think I deserve based on my experience and reasonable expectations?

- Does the job sound like something I will enjoy at least a little bit?

- If I had to do this every day for the next year, would it make me happy and satisfied? Would it earn me the income I need?

- How badly do I need the money?

A wise woman once said:

“You shall not write for scraps on Upwork. You shall work smart and receive bountiful earnings. You shall persist in the face of hardships.”

Oh wait, nope, that’s just me.

Upwork is what you make of it.