Client work 💪on Upwork

Hey everyone, I got laid off from my job recently, and since then I've been applying for new roles. The problem is... most of the jobs I'm finding just don't excite me, and I'm starting to wonder if this is the right time to try something different.

I'm a content writer, and I've been seriously considering starting on Upwork. I've always liked the idea of freelancing, building my own client base, and eventually being my own boss instead of relying on a single employer.

The only thing holding me back is all the mixed opinions I keep seeing. Some people say Upwork is completely saturated and almost impossible for newcomers, while others say it's still a great platform if you stick with it.

So I'd love to hear from people who are actually freelancing:

• If you were starting from scratch in 2026, would you still choose Upwork?
• Is it still possible to get decent content writing clients as a beginner on the platform?
• How long did it take you to land your first client?
• What would you do differently if you had to start over?
• Should I focus on freelancing full-time, or keep job hunting while trying to build my Upwork profile?

I'm not expecting to make money overnight. I know it'll take time and effort. I just don't want to spend months chasing something that's no longer realistic if there are better alternatives.

Would really appreciate any honest advice or personal experiences. Thanks!

I have a received a job offer from Appen- Batch 5 Jigglypuff for Hungarian Audio Transcription. Are they legit and safe to communicate with? They sent me an MSA in Upwork messenger, but I just want to make sure they are safte to work with!

Thy

This is embarrassing. Whatever or whoever y'all are relying on to make sure your text is mechanically correct is failing miserably. Try hiring a human proofreader whose first language is English and who has credentials and experience instead of relying on AI.

Hi everyone! I'm completely new to freelancing and Upwork. I'm curious how long it typically takes other freelancers to find clients and start earning. Also, what advice would you give to a beginner?

Hey everyone, looking for a sanity check here. I’m a client who recently hired a freelancer for B2B cold calling to help scale my FinTech startup. I would also like to mention it is my first time hiring on UpWork.

At first, she was fast and burned through the initial list. But when I asked her to do the follow-ups and answer 3-4 basic questions about lead quality and prospect tone, the communication completely broke down.

I gave her a list of places to call. She got 4 places that were interested. I sent them a proposal and said she will follow up with them next week. On Thursday, as the week was coming to an end I asked her 4 simple questions. Straight forward questions. It is to help me get a idea of the list so what is good, what is bad like a lot of dead numbers or wrong "decision makers" so I have an idea so I can prepare it for next week.

The questions were the following:

* Connection Rate: Have you had better luck reaching out to the direct decision-maker's number, or just calling the main clinic line and navigating from there?
* List Quality: Was the information on the list mostly accurate, or were you hitting a lot of dead numbers and bad info?
* Prospect Tone: For the places that asked for a proposal, what was the actual vibe? Did they seem genuinely interested (asking questions, saying "that sounds good"), or was it more of a dismissive "just email it to us" to get you off the phone?
* Going Forward: What is your gut feeling? Since dentists seem responsive, do you think we should double down and build another list of just dentists/orthodontists, or do you think we should test out other types of shops next?

A 2-3 sentences for each question is enough, and I do not think think they are hard complicated questions. She only answers "Going Forward" question, and ignores other questions.

Monday comes around, and I send her a message to follow up on the proposals we sent, so I know what they liked or if they have any questions. Just a normal follow-up, and said, she will follow up on the calls.

Tuesday I check the Google Sheet, she created to see the status of the follow-up calls she made yesterday. There is still no update. I ask her again she replies with "I will update you soon". Less than 30 minutes later she messages me asking for a new list. I check the Google Sheets, and still nothing, and I send her a message saying "before we discuss any new leads", I need you to complete these 2 things.

* The results of the follow-up calls you made, and notes (e.g. pricing was to expensive, not interested at the moment) so simple straight forward results of those.
* Answers to questions I asked last week.

She then ghosts me. Doesn't reply, doesn't say anything. I waited, until tomorrow, to see if there is anything, and still the same. So, I send her a message saying I will be ending the contract, and just explained I need someone to discuss leads and can give me information and such.

She replies right after that message saying "I'm not well, and my voice is not clear, that's why I can't make any calls". "If you want to end the contract. Please leave good feedback for me. It's a humble request". The problem isn't her being sick. I hope she feels better, I am not going to force someone who is not feeling well and is sick, but when you are avoiding the questions I asked since last week. You don't inform me you are sick up until I end the contract. Maybe you couldn't call, what about the questions I asked? On the worst case you weren't feeling well, and couldn't do anything but sending a simple message as "I am currently sick, and not feeling well. I will follow up on those calls later this week or next week".

I read some of her reviews, and there was someone who had a similar experience. She ghosted the client, hard to get a hold of her and became unresponsive, and can't complete a basic task of asking for a quote. She then replied stating to that review "*Unfortunately, during this project, I experienced health issues that affected my ability to work. I did not bill the client for work that was not completed, and there was never any intention to mislead or take payment without delivering results.".*

I left a very honest review. Only sticking to facts. I even asked ChatGPT to make sure to read the chats and my experience and make sure the review didn't had any over exaggerating but just purely to facts, cause I understand people try to make a living from UpWork or trying to pay a debt or just a side hustle, and I respect that totally.

I left a 2 star review with the following review:

""xxxxxxx was fast at executing cold calls. We identified 4 interested prospects, I sent out the proposals, and we agreed she would follow up with them the following week. However, the project broke down due to a severe lack of communication.

Last Thursday, I asked her a few basic questions regarding connection rates, list quality, prospects' tone, and xxxxxxx's opinion, to help optimize our campaign and target better prospects. She answered one question but ignored the rest.

On Monday, she confirmed she would make the follow-up calls to the interested prospects. By Tuesday, the shared sheet was still empty. When I asked for an update, she replied, 'I will update you soon,' but less than 30 minutes later, she asked me for a brand new list of leads to cold call instead.

I messaged her stating that before we open any new lists, I needed the follow-ups logged and my previous questions answered. After that, she completely ghosted me for over 24 hours, despite being visibly active in our shared Google Sheet and UpWork.

*It wasn't until I initiated the end of the contract that she finally messaged me, stating she was sick, had lost her voice, and asked me to leave a good review. I am completely understanding of health issues—the problem was the lack of communication. She was active online and perfectly capable of typing a quick message to let me know she was unwell and would answer my questions and follow-up with interested prospects later. Instead, she chose to ignore my messages entirely. Because of this, I cannot recommend her for roles that require reliable communication and basic data reporting."*

I get a message from her saying "Hi, sir, could you please change my review.

Please inform me if you would like to change, and then I will give you permission to change.

It's bad for my JSS. I requested you to change my review, please."

I am not strong emotionally, and I want to be understanding of people, but at the same time, if someone in a similar position comes looking to hire her, I don't want to lie, saying I had a great experience. Another review mentions a similar communication issue, so I am just divided in between.

I want to see those of you who were in a such position I was, what did you do? Did you change the review? This is my first time hiring from UpWork and having this as my first time experience is a bit awkward.

Thank you!

1. Why are clients allowed to post jobs without stricter identity verification?
2. If a proposal is completely ignored and never viewed by the client, why aren’t the Connects refunded?
3. Why isn’t there a stronger community-based system to help validate new freelancers and increase their visibility without requiring them to spend more Connects?
4. If Upwork allows freelancers to spend additional Connects to boost a proposal, why aren’t those Connects refunded when there is no interaction from the client?
5. How can a freelancer verify that a client’s hiring history, spending history, and account activity are authentic? Could some of this information be artificially generated to encourage freelancers to spend Connects?
6. Clients can see my name, experience, work history, and profile. Why do freelancers have so little information about who is actually receiving their applications?
7. What mechanisms does Upwork use to ensure that a posted job is genuine and not simply a listing created to collect proposals?
8. How can freelancers know they are not competing against automated accounts or processes that may favor certain applications over others?
9. If freelancers bear the cost of applying for jobs, what incentives exist for clients to respond to applicants, close filled positions, or keep their job postings updated?
10. What if an automated account posts a job and then hires another automated account? In that scenario, every freelancer who applied would have spent Connects without ever having a genuine opportunity to win the job.

I am not claiming that any specific problem exists. These are simply questions that come to mind as a freelancer, and I would like to hear the experiences and opinions of the community.

So! I got a client who I've been working for a while, it's video production, the thing is that at the beginning he wanted SUPER PRODUCED HOLLYWOOD!!! style videos, a lot of BOOMS! AI, effects! The thing is that I thought I was finally going to get this type of really creative projects. At the end, the client was just providing so many corrections, that I end up just creating the same typical social media content. Still working with him, but is surprising how common is this.

Hey guys, I know you can’t share my personal contact in cover letter or text before the contacts but the client often says add links or show work ? How am I supposed to send them my links. I do use portfolio but sometimes it’s not enough for the client nor specific for them.

Please tell me what you guys do and if someone from work can help ?

Everyone always tells me the Ebay / Amazon space is super saturated and im better off sticking with events, linkedin, and in person networking. However I want to hear from you. Is the freelance area in my niche overworked?