10 Things Abdullahi Said About Upwork Copywriting

Hey reader good in this interview session, we going to talking about Upwork copywriting with Abdullahi who’s a copywriter at Upwork.

I hope you find this interview session informative and insightful at the end, feel free to ask your question and contact our guest if you need further clarification.

10 Things Abdullahi Said About Upwork Copywriting

Question 1: Please can you start by telling our readers about your journey as a freelance copywriter

Answer: My name is Abdullahi Oluwatobi and I am a Marketing Catalyst, I started copywriting in 2020, that’s three years ago though I started off with affiliate marketing when I bought Expertnaire but then, I wasn’t making so much sales so I believed, you know it’s not just about venturing into marketing, you need to know how to sell.

And in order for me to know how to sell and persuade people, I started learning copywriting and copywriting has sales and marketing incorporated in it so I decided to go ahead and learn. I started my Upwork Journey in 2021 I opened an Upwork account in 2020 but I wasn’t making much progress, however, I put in my best and that’s what helped.

Question 2: What exactly is Upwork Copywriting and how does it defer from traditional copywriting?

Answer: There is nothing like Upwork Copywriting because Upwork is simply a platform where anyone can post any job from around the world and anyone from around the world can also apply for jobs.

But you can present yourself as a copywriter on upwork, beside business owners go to Upwork to post adverts that they need copywriters, and you as a registered copywriter on Upwork can apply for these jobs. If they deem it fit that you are up to the task, they will hire you for their project and pay you. Copywriting is traditional, Upwork has no definition for Copywriters.

If you are starting on Upwork:

1. You should know that there are at least 23 million copywriters in the world currently.

2. Half of these copywriters are on Upwork which may translate to 11 million copywriters which are your competitors.

NB: A client has no problem but a freelancer will have to do their best (put in a lot of effort) to bid for jobs because there is competition. For a client, they need to have an idea of who they wish to hire so their resources won’t be wasted.

3. Be good at what you do so you can create good portfolios, write proposals, and boost your profile to get you hired. Any type of copywriter you are whether an email copywriter or whatever, just be good and you will bag a client.

Question 3: what are the key benefits of using Upwork for copywriting projects both for clients and freelancers?

Answer: I am currently working with a guy in Singapore using direct contracts where you can tell your clients to pay you directly through Upwork instead of sometimes going through the stress of PayPal and other Dollar accounts.

Upwork removes 3% as Taxes then you can withdraw the rest directly to your local account. In my opinion, Upwork is a safe platform for clients and freelancers because you get to be paid and your client gets their project.

The benefit of Upwork for Clients is that they can post a job and get a lot of options ranging from twenty or more freelancers that will bid for the project. For freelancers, as a starter in copywriting or any niche, if you want to open an Upwork account, it will help you gain clients easily if you know how to use it.

Question 5:  Many freelancers don’t get jobs as much on Upwork, can you share some tips on getting noticed as a copywriter?

Answer: Yeah, it’s basically what I’ve said before.

1. Be good at what you do. Make sure you complete and fill out every detail on your profile because every detail matters on Upwork. Things like your testimonial and certification page.  Include 4-6 sets of portfolios on every skill set you have.

2. Don’t use AI to write your application but if you must, you should adjust it or profile it in the way it will be authentic.

3. Send more proposals and always track them and evaluate yourself by yourself.

4. Be consistent because, without it, you may not succeed. Consistency brings you gigs.

NB: For any job you do on Upwork, make sure you are pitching your clients for advanced jobs instead of always bidding for jobs on the platform this way you can have recurring clients that can always hit you up when they need your services.

Question 6: Communication is crucial on Upwork, how do you establish good communication with clients and what role does it play in your success as a copywriter?

Answer: As a copywriter, your client is in charge, you must however be able to suggest or render advice to your clients on what will work better and this in turn breeds communication and trustworthiness during interviews or when you are working on the job so they can grasp that you are well knowledgeable and valuable in your field.

Don’t answer your clients like you are needy or desperate like using ‘Sir’ or ‘Ma’, instead say ‘Hey’ or call them by their first names. Don’t be rude because if you are, your clients may neglect you and hire someone else.

Question 7: Upwork has a diverse pool of Clients, how do you identify the right project to bid on and what criteria do you use to filter clients?

Answer: Filtering clients is good but you need to know that your skill on Upwork is incorporated with what you actually do so that your client can come to your dashboard. It’s the skill you choose that Upwork will direct clients to view so you need to make sure you choose the skill related to you.

How to identify clients?

There are a lot of scammers on Upwork now and some may not be scammers but they may want to steal your portfolio so you need to check their previous testimonials to see the kind of jobs or projects they have done and reviews and the clients’ payment verification icon on their profile.

You can also go to the filter button and filter the jobs/clients you want as a freelancer. You can also filter by payment verification, location, pricing, or budget of the client. Upwork is easy to navigate.

Question 8: Payment on Upwork can be a concern for freelancers, can you walk us through the payment process as well as setting rates, handling payment, and managing the fee?

Answer: You are not the one handling payment or managing the fee, that’s why Upwork is there, it is the platform that connects you and the client together so Upwork will manage it for you. If you are new to Upwork, you shouldn’t make your rates so high or so low, let there be moderation, nobody really cares about your rate on Upwork because each client that comes has their own budget.

 The clients won’t even check your rates but they need to know your budget and how good you are for the job.

Whenever you and your client start the project, make sure the client includes some money in milestones (there’s a part of Upwork for milestones, it simply means the client has paid Upwork so Upwork can pay you but the milestone is for the purpose of the client’s absence, once you submit money and request for the milestone, if the client is not there to approve the money, Upwork will release the money to you after 14 days, Milestones is more like a deposit from the client paid to Upwork for the freelancer handling the client’s project).

But most clients may not wish to pay the milestones because they intend to take your work and go.

When you work with a client, make sure that Upwork notifies you that money has been paid into the milestone, if they have not and you have started the project, ask them to load up the milestones 100% payment or 50% to be guaranteed you have something to fall back to.

Once they deposit money into the milestone, you can go ahead and work on their jobs. When you are done, click on submit work even in the absence of the client, Upwork can pay you for the milestone.

Just to reiterate, the handling and management of the payment is up to Upwork. Once Upwork pays you the money after collecting tax, for instance, if the money paid was $200, Upwork will take $10 and you will be left with $190, all you have to do is attach your GP or Payoneer, collect your bank details and put it on Upwork platform and withdraw directly with bank rate to your main account.

Question 9: How do you handle revision and client feedback in a way that will enhance and maintains clients’ and freelancers’ relationship?

Answer: You need to know what you are doing so you can earn a good rapport with your client and also get your five stars. When you’re good with your clients they can always hit you up when they want to work again because of your relationship.

You can even send them messages anytime you feel like it and they may be gracious enough to reply this way, you have established a relationship with them.

Question 10: The Upwork market is competitive, what are some strategies you use to stand out as a copywriter on the platform?

Answer:

1. I learned how to bid properly. I have a book on how to bid on Upwork so I advise you to learn to bid first before bidding because you may feel you know how to go about it. Better yet, get a course even if it’s $2 so you can get someone to show you how to go about it to save you from the whole stress.

2. For Any skills you are offering, make sure you have an additional skill set (stacking-up skills), I am saying don’t just be an email copywriter, also be an email Marketer, don’t just be a sales letter copywriter, be a sales funnel builder, don’t just be an email copywriter, be specialized in an area. Have various skills so that when you communicate with your client, you can let them know how vast you are about helping them achieve their goals.

3. Make sure you have a specialized niche such as a health niche copywriter, relationship niche copywriter, and so on so you can have access to people who need you and you can be seen as unique.

4. Always show up on Upwork- don’t send a proposal today and be absent for a while. You need to appear every day so Upwork can give you profile views because the algorithm knows that you have stayed long on the platform and helps to push your account.

Those are just the few things that stand out on Upwork.

I hope you got value from this, thank you…

Abdullahi is a copywriter on Upwork and his works precedes him you can connect with him on Linkedin for more advice that can help you build your copywriting on Upwork.

And want to discover how to become a ghostwriter so can get started at Upwork click here. Above all I wish you all the best.