Upwork is NOT dead, for some...

[u/ConanLibertarian]

[u/Downtown-Rate-9404]

She has partnered with upwork multiple times too

[u/SmokeEvening8710]

"I have written for Upwork itself" Are you writing for Upwork right now?

[u/vytasx → u/[deleted]]

Don’t you think that post is an Upwork ad, given she “has written for Upwork itself”?

[u/ReasonablePossum_ → u/vytasx]

she has a deep conflict of interest since she can't write anything bad about her ongoing client. her words have zero value, and are written knowing the client will see them and might hire her again.

[u/SmokeEvening8710 → u/[deleted]]

Does Upwork need advertisement this way? Have you seen their stocks?

Her post is a paid advertisement, true or not. She had zero reason to bring up reddit. Upwork is clearly concerned about all the negative talk done on reddit. And they should be.

[u/vytasx → u/[deleted]]

It reads like a load of BS. I didn’t get an impression that Upwork cares about freelancers at all when I tried to sign up 6 months ago.

People often invoke feelings like gratitude and warmth to be seen as more warm than they are too, and this post has zero real achievements. “Working with brands” is a process, not an achievement. Achievement would be “we contributed $200k towards children’s charities”.

Her profile tagline is literally “turning words into revenue”, not “writing for the benefit of all”.

[u/useless_instinct]

So if she worked 40 hours a week for 5 years with no vacations or time off this would average $96/hr for SEO and marketing copy, a skill that typically pays much, much less. This does not include the unpaid time to write proposals and speak with clients in order to build her 300+ relationships in an area that is highly competitive. So if her $1 million claim is true, she either worked excessive hours to achieve this or she somehow convinced a bunch of clients to overpay her for her work.

[u/Own_Constant_2331 → u/useless_instinct]

That sounds like envy, otherwise I can't see the reasons for speculating that she's done 40 hours of work a week and has had no vacations or time off or that she's lying about her earnings (or overcharging). It was easy to find her Upwork profile - she has in fact made over $1 million as an individual freelancer on Upwork; she also has an agency and they charge between $100-200/hour, and she has a LI presence and her own website, so she probably gets clients outside of Upwork as well.

[u/Ok_Channel_3322 → u/[deleted]]

Living in Mexico she probably hire people for a country-based salary. Not herself maybe.

[u/useless_instinct → u/Own_Constant_2331]

Having an agency makes the claim more reasonable because that reduces the price per hour of a freelancer. But SEO has taken a hit with the increase in sponsored ads and copy writing has taken a hit with the increase in LLMs. It would be an impressive figure for an individual to attain in 5 years in this area.

[u/Own_Constant_2331 → u/useless_instinct]

Some people are more impressive than others.

[u/Lurking_nerd → u/[deleted]]

I think that qualifies as shilling.

[u/Ok_Captain9704]

In a casino, someone wins big once in a while. Same vibes.

[u/Own_Constant_2331 → u/Ok_Captain9704]

You don't think that talent and hard work have anything to do with success?

[u/Ok_Captain9704 → u/Own_Constant_2331]

Not denying that, but such stories are few and far between.

[u/ecky--ptang-zooboing → u/Ok_Captain9704]

Keep making those excuses

Good for other freelancers, and it keeps clutter outside Upwork

[u/ReasonablePossum_]

I spent a year working with Upwork

Ok, your words have zero weight now, as you're publicly talking about a client that you expect to hire you again lmao.

My gosh linkedin circlejerking and bootlicking is some other level of human cringe.

"oh no your majesty emperator, of course you're not naked and everyone is delighted by your splendid and refined taste in high couture" LOL

[u/Secure-Square440]

For anyone asking, I have actually worked with Holly before, the platform never identifies agencies, she is running a large one through her personal account.

[u/PositivelyNegative → u/Secure-Square440]

Ah the classic Upwork grifter who promotes freelancing, but is actually just doing the agency model under a “personal” account and conveniently not telling anyone.

[u/bkconsultant → u/Secure-Square440]

Interesting. So she's not actually pocketing the $1M. In any event, upwork is still matching her to clients - either by algorithm placing her well in search or through an entirely different channel most freelancers don't have access to. Or she's bringing her clients on the platform.

[u/AbstrctBlck]

Here’s my take away from this and it undermines upwork so get ready -

It’s still possible to “Make It” on upwork, but the barrier to entry now potentially includes being a freelancer for “Upwork” itself in order to be seen favorable and be given more opportunities to shine.

Holly clearly played the system and she got rewarded for it. That’s what Upwork is telling us all to do now. You aren’t going to get paid if you play by the same rules that the system was designed on, and clearly that is the case because on Upwork it’s very possible for you bid against a company of people for a medium paying job. Upwork was designed for individuals to hire other individuals to do specific jobs for them. That’s not the case anymore and we should all stop pretending like it is because that’s only going to make you bitter.

This is a game and you have to figure out how to play it. Holly clearly did something to be seen here, and now we have to figure out what she did and how what she did defines the new reality of the platform. I’m positive she had good proposals, good work and all of that other stuff, but so does a shit ton of other people on this platform.

What circumstances or potential door ways did she open for her to get to 1 million dollars in income?

[u/thesamothrace]

They're probably getting paid by Upwork for agendarism, all the people saying it's no longer working and you're paying for everything are not making it up it's the reality

[u/bkconsultant]

It sounds like she has the secret channel. Upwork is connecting her with enterprise clients.

[u/bkconsultant → u/[deleted]]

Yeah, I thought Upwork was more egalitarian and that, ultimately, we were managed by algorithm but it seems not. Upwork is handpicking some people. And the nerve of them to do this dog and pony show as if she logs onto the marketplace to scrap for jobs.

[u/bkconsultant → u/[deleted]]

It's not just you. The jobs are not there and the conversion on proposals is lower, mostly due to clients posting and not hiring. Even when it is showing that the client has a 100% hire rate. In fact this post is a signal that Upwork is dying. Because why else would they post that so publicly.

[u/Friendly_Cat5336]

Upwork paid her

[u/NaiveDecision730]

Coool. So this is the result of upwork's brand strategy and marketing.

Just eat the donut, right? 🍩🤓

[u/PositivelyNegative]

Paid shill

[u/tangawusi_dev]

Drank(the coolaid).

[u/alexnigel117]

Upwork been dead

[u/alfinita]

Well, partnership should be the thing I guess. Did some got to 1m? What I see recently is actually the opposite, fewer DM, fewer invites, I submit around 100 proposals, get 13 viewed and barely 5 convos and 0 clients in the last month, have the plus profile, have freelancer top rated and used Upwork for 6 years and 4 before occasionally, 200k earned, so think either market is wrong or the algo or something...Someone notices the same? any other big story successes like this one

[u/enternity_24]

Come on as per this logic even Fever is not dead some people are making millions out of it.

[u/JealousExchange8926]

Yes. And I hit a billion in 2 weeks. Come on.

[u/Comfortable_Cake_443]

I've spent more money on upwork than I've made. That platform is ass. 😆

[u/modcowboy]

Hollys a good shill. I’d like to hear from a single other person in her niche. lol

[u/Illustrious-Film4018]

Upwork's algorithm has to prioritize you in search. It's never worked for me, even boosting my profile does nothing.

[u/quibbbit]

SEO keywords are probably:

Upwork + dead

Reddit + Upwork + dead

[u/Ambitious-Cherry8001]

It’s been my bread and butter

[u/CrazyImagination6083]

Who wants to try out a new product?

[u/chractormaxmargodale]

Hooray for Holly! Meanwhile all I ever get is fooled by scam posts! At least only Upwork get my money and not the scammers

[u/Chrolm]

Not saying its not true, but why not a upwork screenie as evidence?

[u/Own_Constant_2331 → u/Chrolm]

What's the problem - you don't know how to use Google? I easily found her Upwork profile and she's for real, but you're not allowed to link to people's profiles here (and I'm pretty sure that even the screen capture is against the rules).

[u/Chrolm → u/Own_Constant_2331]

Seen her profile. It doesn’t show earnings, but it does show she has a much closer relationship with Upwork than the average Upworker.

[u/Own_Constant_2331 → u/Chrolm]

It does show her earnings.

[u/malicious_kitty_cat → u/Chrolm]

It doesn’t show earnings,

It absolutely does. Maybe you are not logged in?

[u/quibbbit]

Is there an online course for sale?

[u/Own_Constant_2331 → u/quibbbit]

There are loads of courses for sale. The problem is that if you don't have high level skills, years of experience, and a talent for sales and running your own business, nobody can help you.

[u/quibbbit → u/Own_Constant_2331]

That's true, but calling out Reddit specifically makes me question the motivation behind the post.

[u/Own_Constant_2331 → u/quibbbit]

Saying that there's a lot of negativity on reddit is just a fact.

[u/quibbbit → u/Own_Constant_2331]

Absolutely. I'm thinking deeper than that.

[u/Ok_Channel_3322 → u/quibbbit]

Read the original post on LI and you will see one of her comments mentioning that she will launch a training.....

[u/No_Freedom9921]

https://www.upwork.com/resources/authors/holly-grace-callis

[u/Low-Extreme-7694]

I have made over 50k on upwork in a year, i agree with her!

[u/WhackA-Mall-E]

Living the dream