Freelancer Profile Writing 101 showed you how to grasp the basics of profile writing and create yourself a compelling title with the right keywords and the message. Now, let’s dig deeper into the topic.
My Freelancer Profile Writing 102 is not like the official profile writing guides that Upwork produces. They only tell you how it is technically done, what sections must be filled, and so on. What they don’t tell you is how you create a profile that attracts your clients!
Here, I describe 15 very typical mistakes freelancers make in writing their Upwork profile descriptions.
Then, I list a couple of things on how to write Upwork profile description in a way that tells something essential about you and your services. After all, it is your brand that needs to transfer from your head onto the profile page and further into your dream client’s head.
It’s not as easy as it sounds, and it definitely takes more in-depth knowledge than what the official guides have to offer.
15 typical mistakes in Upwork profiles
Let’s start by going through fifteen typical mistakes that so many new freelancers and Upwork freelancer wannabes make. My description here is non-exhaustive, as there are probably a hundred mistakes that can make your freelancer profile repel, not attract, potential clients.
Mistake No. 1: Long lists
There is no other way to put it than this: Drop the lists. This is probably one of the most annoying types of profiles that piss me off every single time I see one.
I suppose people think of Upwork’s Talent Search function as being Google: If you include all possible keywords in the profile description, you would be more visible on the platform.
Unfortunately, even if the lists would make your profile be viewed by someone, it would be closed very quickly.
See what I mean?
“Still not convinced”… about what? That the list should be even longer, maybe? The only bullet missing in the list is the one called “design” as just about everything else is already listed.
What long lists do in real is:
- They make you look like a “jack of all trades, master of none” because your specialty isn’t specific and focused enough.
- They pollute the webpage on the client’s screen and make it too long to scroll through.
- They look exactly like everything on Fiverr, the competing freelance site where a lot of things can be done for $5.
- They take away the focus of the client from other content (in case there was any).
Mistake No. 2: Begging
Another big mistake too many people make is to start begging for an opportunity… usually a chance to prove one’s skills. This approach never works because it indicates a big risk to the one hiring.
What begging does, is obvious. Instead of getting a good and decent client to work for, it only attracts Shoppers, Scammers, Delegators, and other folks you don’t want to get in contact with – not speaking of having a contract with!
No begging on freelance sites. You’re there to do real work, not to ask favors from others!
Mistake No. 3: Not showing any level of confidence
Some people, typically fresh grads, seem to think that freelancing is their thing. However, they appear to adults (i.e. people who have done some jobs before) as kids who need some experience before getting experience.
Many times the lack of understanding of just about everything is evident from the first 1-2 sentences of the profile text.
Clients come to Upwork to get stuff done. Those who don’t portray any level of confidence will get to stay at $0 earnings. It is almost tragicomical how many people don’t seem to realize that at least some part of their prior work should be visible to others to convince a total stranger to even talk to the person.
Now, suddenly, I am also hoping this student doesn’t let anyone down. 😐
Mistake No. 4: Not demonstrating any related skills
If you’re a branding expert, but your profile looks like **it, will you get a job?
If you’re a “native English copywriter,” but your profile text is full of typos and grammatical errors, who are you trying to fool?
One of the worst mistakes, thus, is to lack the obvious skills a person with the advertised specialty should have. Fortunately, this is a very easy thing to fix… if you actually have true skills!
It is usually the pretenders who suffer from these kinds of issues.
Let’s hope this guy gets a chance with that “frofile”. He must have done his own proofreading here. 🙂
Mistake No. 5: Not having any useful information
The point in the profile text is to invite clients to read more about you once your profile title and photo have done their job, i.e. attract the client to click the full profile open.
Now, if your profile description doesn’t tell anything more than a nice hello, how thrilled you are about Upwork, how you will always do your best, how honest you are, how you describe yourself as being a great guy, etc., you can kiss your freelancer ambitions goodbye.
None of those things will make a good impression on any client. It is better to think of some real content, something that describes you as a professional being capable of doing great things for your clients.
This profile hasn’t got anything else in it other than the keywords. Just badly written politeness.
Mistake No. 6: Not actually saying anything
Profiles that don’t say anything at all are a similar issue. If you have nothing to tell about yourself, why even write the profile description in the first place? This guy would probably need a bit more than two sentences.
If your profile doesn’t tell anything about you, it’s not a profile, is it?
Mistake No. 7: Only mentioning years of experience
One of my favorite mistakes (if you can call it that) is to highlight your years of experience – only!
Clients don’t care about how many years you’ve been working on something. They care about your ability to do the work they need… right now! It is better to list some achievements rather than just putting a number on the client’s face. That way, there is at least something worth reading that tells about your abilities that can give hints about your suitability for the job the client is planning to outsource.
Years of experience don’t sell especially when they still can be counted with one-hand fingers. Going for months is even more hilarious. 🙂
Strangely enough, I don’t remember ever seeing someone advertising “days of experience”… so far! If you see something this funny, please let me know via LinkedIn! We can laugh together. 😀
Mistake No. 8: Willing to learn more
Yet another funny and perhaps intuitive claim many seem to make is to mention that you are willing to learn more. Of course, learning new things is good, right!?! But it is not something you want to mention in your freelancer profile.
However, think it like this. Your plumbing failed, and you need someone to fix it ASAP. Are you going to consider a guy who says he is willing to learn more about plumbing or would you simply ask a plumber with a good reputation who can save the day even if it costs more?
You can learn a lot when freelancing. There’s always more to learn, of course! But that’s not the thing that compels clients to buy from you. You can demonstrate your learning capabilities later on once you’re executing a contract.
Experts get hired, amateurs not so much. “Students of life” shouldn’t probably even freelance yet. (See more about the role of expertise here: Freelancing – It’s an Expert’s Game.)
People who claim to be willing to learn more sound like not knowing very much yet. This profile looks exactly like that. So… maybe hire later? 😉
Another way to highlight skills you do not yet have that are irrelevant to clients is to mention you are studying certain things. Clients don’t care what you plan to do or will be able to do in the future, they care if you can get a job done – now!
The fact that you are studying something will not convince people to buy from you. The skills you already have might.
Mistake No. 9: Keywords only
As the purpose of the profile text is to attract your potential clients enough to start a dialogue with you, one of the classic mistakes is to completely underdo it in terms of the message. Typically, a profile of this type is just a list of keywords.
It is important to have the right keywords, but if that is all you’ve got, you can expect not to be hired on Upwork. It gets particularly funny when the title is a mere keyword list, the description is a mere keyword list, and after that comes the list of skills with most of those keywords right there once more.
Keywords, keywords, and keywords once more. OK, we got the point. 🙂
Mistake No. 10: Highlighting irrelevant background
Sometimes, it can be a big advantage to highlight your academic achievements. I, for one, am making the most of it! 😀
However, it only works when the academic background is related to the services in a way that is obvious to all.
My Ph.D. in VR training simulators does look like an asset when offering – yep, design and development of VR training simulators! Anyone can get that. So, I can use it as an advantage!
But when the degree relates to something completely different from what your service is, you’re making a wrong impression.
Here, someone with a Master’s degree in social sciences is attempting to convince you that he is a great front-end developer. That combination doesn’t work!
An irrelevant academic background looks confusing. Leaving it out would improve the profile.
The other way to do the same is writing the profile description for one thing and having a portfolio of past work showing completely unrelated things. Here, one can wonder what illustration would this translator make for whom.
An illustration as the only item in this translator’s portfolio has not brought her any jobs yet. Wonder why!
Mistake No. 11: Looking too cliché
Some profiles have been written like bad adverts in a cheap magazine. The list of overly cliché expressions includes (but is not limited to):
- “100% satisfaction guaranteed!”
- “Order now!”
- “What are you waiting for?”
- “Highly professional”
- “I always do my best”
- “Buy now!”
- “… is my passion”
- “Why me?”
- “Very fast delivery”
- “Best service”
- “Just waiting to give you the best service”
- “…passionate about…”
- “Unlimited revisions”
- “… then you are in the right place”
- “Very diligent”
- “Negotiable price”
- “I work very hard”
- “Good communication skills”
These kinds of sales pitches should go where they belong: ads pages of those cheap magazines. How would you be able to differentiate your services with claims that everyone else makes?
Profiles that look like ads are probably the worst clichés you could ever find on Upwork.
Mistake No. 12: Nothing but boasting
Some people seem to think that they are the best! Because they are the best, you must buy… buy now! “What are you waiting for?!?!” 🙂
If the profile is only about how great you are without any sign of proof, your profile will not be kept on for more than a few seconds. Eject now! If people think you are full of yourself, they probably suspect your service skills. Freelancing is a service industry.
This guy is the best… because he says so!
(PS. I love that little smiley face at the end. It totally crowns the description!)
Mistake No. 13: Violating the ToS
The Terms of Service (ToS) on Upwork change every year or so. It is not so easy to follow all changes, but some things are constant.
A basic idea of a freelance site, any of them, is that the site matches freelancers with clients who pay them for getting jobs done. Then, the platform charges some kind of a fee or a commission for making that match. Sounds fair, right?
Now, if you go and advertise that you should be contacted via email directly, what are you telling the platform? Only one thing: you’re not keen on paying the platform’s fees/commissions.
And on top of that, some freelancers specifically advise clients to contact via email, WhatsApp, Skype, or some other means. At this point, it doesn’t matter if you say it is for getting samples only. The platform won’t see it that way, for sure.
Sharing contact information looks like you try to avoid paying the platform’s fees. Prepare to be banned!
Most likely you will get a warning from the platform and upon a failure to comply get banned from Upwork for life. Why risk it? No point.
Mistake No. 14: Horrible formatting
One might think formatting text in a way that doesn’t look horrible is something people would learn in high school, but clearly, it is not true. This should be the easiest thing to do as indeed you can view your own profile right after writing it.
Looking at some of the worst profiles can cause temporary blindness or even brain damage. Close this profile page immediately!
Mistake No. 15: Not naming the clientele
The last of the mistakes I listed here is perhaps one of the most fundamental ones: the profile is all about you! It shouldn’t be. There are far too many examples of this on Upwork… perhaps more than half of all profiles.
A good profile would name your clientele so that the people reading it recognize themselves from it. This does magic, psychologically!
Most people don’t know about this. Nor do they know who they are targeting on Upwork. Therefore, the profile ends up being a list of things you claim about yourself without any kind of proof, any kind of attractive sales claims, or anything worth mentioning in general.
Bonus mistakes
In some cases, it is clear that not only does the person know nothing about the job yet, but it also comes out wrong in every possible way. Here is an example that made me drop my coconut when I first saw it!
Hmm, “attractive” you say… Now I really want to hire him! 😀
Don’t believe this? See it for yourself!
You don’t think most freelancers could be so clueless in marketing themselves on Upwork that those fifteen examples wouldn’t be so common?
See it for yourself. I mean it literally. Go to Upwork.com, pick Talent in the search bar’s dropdown menu, pick a category you might want to use to describe yourself with, and set filters on the left to:
- Talent type: Freelancers
- Hourly rate: $10 and below
- Job success: Any job success
- Earned amount: No earnings yet
Now, what you are looking at is all those other freelancers in your field who probably never manage to challenge you one bit. They haven’t got any jobs yet, and most likely never will. It is these profiles that you can take as the worst examples of how not to do it. Make sure yours is better!
By avoiding those fifteen common mistakes, your profile would already be in the Top 50% in terms of marketing effectiveness.
How to write Upwork profile description
Now, let’s go through how to do it right. How to nail it and make a profile far better than the worst 50%. Here we go to Top 1% and below.
The thing is that when you talk to your dream clients through your profile text in the way they understand you and see that you can solve the problem they currently have, the match becomes obvious. So obvious, that the client stops looking for alternatives – because you’re the one!
Write that search-stopping profile for your clients and you can get paid incredible amounts even if freelance sites are by default cost-driven marketplaces. There’s no limit when you get it right!
A good example profile
When I started advertising my services for “crazy ventures” run by “millionaire-backed startups,” guess what kinds of clients I started getting?
Yes, startup founders with millions of dollars as their funding for incredibly brave projects that sound too insane to be real. No joke. I got exactly what I asked for!
When your profile looks perfect to your dream clients, they want you and nobody else. No matter the price! Here, $299 per hour wasn’t even discussed. My availability was the only uncertainty.
How to write an Upwork profile that sells: The formula
There is a formula for writing a good profile. It’s not rocket science. It’s about solving an important problem of a specific group of people.
Upwork’s own guides won’t help you much. Critical things such as “make your profile about your clients” and “how can you help them?” are mentioned in the last section of bullet points listed as “Additional tips to make your profile stand out.” 🙂
Getting the technicalities is not complicated. Anyone can do it. But few seem to be able to write a profile text that captures the dream client’s attention immediately.
Your profile needs to address these points:
1) Name the people you are targeting
2) Specify the problems of those people you can solve efficiently
3) Highlight only the part of your background that is relevant to the solution
4) Tell about how those people can work with you
Here is my example of how to apply that formula in practice.
My Upwork profile structured and color-coded by content types.
I have one short paragraph that describes the people I’m after: funded startups backed by millions (1) building world-changing Augmented Reality, Mixed Reality, or Virtual Reality products (2).
Other kinds of people I will decline as others will tend to them better than me. It is only those guys who will appreciate my unique background most!
I then have two paragraphs that highlight the relevant background (3): science, patenting, CTO experience. I also hint about awards without trying to list all of them (no point going into details and explaining all dozen of them here).
I add a couple of more specifics about the clients to demonstrate I know where things that I’m interested in are happening such as Sydney and Silicon Valley.
Then comes a detailed description of what roles (4) my clients could see me in when working together on a project. Either I do the heavy lifting as a CTO, or I help in a strategic consultant role.
I end the profile with an invitation to turn the page to the Solutions Architecture profile which is structured slightly differently. That version contains six specific ways in which I can help my startup clients… written in a way a startup founder would definitely recognize.
How do I write a good Upwork profile? The first lines
Should you start with a quote from a past client? If it only says “great work,” then no. If it summarizes what you do, it might work. In my case, I use a quote to start strong in every profile version (general and two specialized ones) only because each of those quotes describes what I did for a previous client.
My profiles start with quotations only because each of them describes the major contribution I made to my client’s project.
My All Work (i.e. generic) profile tells that my client appreciated my ability to make his idea come to life – very fast!
My AR/VR Development profile mentions a VR training simulator project… that goes nicely hand in hand with the education section that mentions “Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Informatics: Virtual reality-based training” from Kyoto University. It’s a package demonstrating a very high specialization.
My Solutions Architecture profile that I use for miscellaneous consulting work highlights the appreciation of my client on my ability to understand not only the technology but the business aspects of technology-driven startups.
And those compliments (in blue) are a nice bonus.
Quotes that only mention some nice qualities are probably not those that attract clients because in a list of proposals, for instance, the client will only see the first couple of lines! A quote needs to summarize the content or impact of your work.
If you do not have a quote or it is not summarizing your work adequately, go for this: Describe your dream clients and in the same sentence, very shortly, tell what you do for them. That will be an opening that has a chance of catching the attention of the clients simply because they recognize themselves from your Upwork description.
This way you will look much more attractive than if having a title for Upwork profile examples that you can find online. Going for a sample Upwork profile for beginners or such would be an even worse idea. 🙂
Professional overview Upwork template tips
Some might say my profiles are too long. They might be right. But the length in my case is intentional!
I do not wish to be considered for all kinds of little off-the-shelf kinds of projects that many others could do. I, therefore, force my potential clients to go through a bit of an obstacle before considering me.
If going through my profile is not worth their time, doing their project will probably not be worth mine. Simple logic. 😉
When writing the first version of your Upwork profile and when you don’t yet have many things to show as achievements, you can try to keep it simple in terms of length. But never risk explaining the above-listed parts (clientele, problem, your unique solution, how to work with you) if it takes many words to make the point.
Having a very short profile text looks like you’re only selling simple things. Simple things are sold for a simple price. It’s not the path to big victories on Upwork (even though their Fiverr-like Project Catalog allows it these days).
Conclusion: It’s not about you… and it is
A good profile is something that tells about you and your clients at the same time. Your profile is a description of your business. That business solves a problem that the clients have. Other people are not of any concern here.
The only thing freelance sites do for your business is to match you and your potential clients. The more accurate your profile is, the better chance of finding dream clients is in the most effective way possible.
Good freelance sites like Upwork are phenomenal in making that match! But it only works if your profile is nearly perfect. Once your profile is perfect, your stats look strong, and your clientele and your specialization are crystal clear, the platform starts to feed you clients without you doing anything at all.
From that point on, it is nearly impossible to make your sales process more efficient anymore. The next challenge then is to screen your clients properly. Read more about client screening here: How to Get Clients on Upwork With Proven Screening Methods.
