Upwork Anecdote

Ever since I finally “named it and claimed it”–“it” being that Upwork has earned the pejorative nickname “Upchuck”–I have been raking in the bucks on the platform.

 

When I got this new computer (new to me–thank you again to Chris Bailey!), I put my usual sites in the tab bar across the top, for ease of access. I named Upwork “Upchuck”.

 

Ever since, I’ve landed more projects… at the rate of 2-3 every week.

 

Before I did this, I felt really annoyed and disheartened every time I clicked on “Upwork” to look for writing and editing projects. But by naming it “Upchuck”, my reticence to click on it has lessened: I know and  acknowledge upfront (by clicking on “Upchuck”) that it’s going to be a slog, a time-suck, an amazingly frustrating “trek” (definition: arduous journey) rifling through the scores of projects that don’t interest me and the hundreds of clients who don’t want to pay what professional writing services are worth.

 

The word “work” in Upwork has lost its sting.  It no longer exists. I get to “erase” from the platform’s name the utterly ridiculous amount of “work” that is required to find the projects and the sufficiently-paying clients that I like on the platform.

 

Instead, when I click on the link, I’m priming myself to look for the “Chuck” — for the person and for the “prime cut of meat”/project that is going to be both exciting to tackle and worth the inordinate amount of time I spend on the platform slogging though the sh*t to find the strawberries! I feel less like upchucking than I did when I’m on Upwork, as a result!

 

It’s hard to visit Upchuck as a creative because 98% of the people who are hiring there want something for next to nothing. They want great work at sweatshop prices.

 

I counteract that mindset in several ways. My profile page documents my value as a professional copywriter. It educates visitors about how to separate the wheat from the chaff. There’s a video link on it where I’m educating a Rotary Club about the value of a professional copywriter.

 

I also attach several documents to each proposal I send: “Kudos from Clients” (scores of testimonials from deliriously-happy clients); links to live websites and video scripts I’ve written; Professional Copy writing Rates in 2018 in the U.S.; an explanation of the long-term value of evergreen copy and content; and a document called “What a Professional Copywriter Knows” (that English Majors and English teachers would slap us silly for doing) with an appended article I wrote called “How to Find a Great Copywriter.” I also let the prospective client know that most professional copywriters charge one to three dollars per word and UP and that I charge $100/hour (or by the project) and usually write upward of  350 engaging/riveting words per hour. If they can’t see the enormous value in all that, I don’t want them as clients. It’s really as simple as that! (I don’t berate them–I educate them!)

 

To be sure, I still lose the folks who want something for nothing. But my proposal and attachments convinced one fellow to pay me $300 to tweak his existing copy even though his budget for the project was $100. And he gave me a 5-star (highest) rating and a short testimonial that is to die for. WIN-WIN!   This fellow will recoup the cost of the improved copy with one (count ’em one!) conversion, since his service is worth thousands to him for every conversion. I got paid what I’m worth and he has much better, more relational and convincing evergreen copy that can convert for him until he retires as an old codger in 45 years. (He’s about 25.)

 

So it pays to stand up for (and to document) what great evergreen copy is worth.

 

And it pays to face your demons (Upwork), name them (Upchuck), and then accept the challenge to climb the mountain and claim the prize.

Try it! Maybe it will work for you! Name it and claim it!