You’ve been applying to dozens of jobs on freelance marketplaces.
Sending proposals for all kinds of gigs.
But you’re still not getting any freelance work.
Sounds familiar?
If you’re going through this same phase, don’t feel bad. Every freelancer has to go through this phase.
Some admit defeat during this time and go look for a normal job. And a handful of others choose it as an opportunity to learn and fix their mistakes.
Let’s face it, if you’re not getting any work on freelance platforms, you’re probably doing something wrong. Let’s find out what it is.
In this post, I talk about some of the most common reasons for not getting any work on freelance sites and getting rejected by clients. See if you’re making any of these mistakes.
1. Incomplete Profile
Sadly, most freelancers don’t even have five minutes to complete this step.
Solution: Complete your profile with a solid bio and a front-facing picture with a smile (no selfies). Show that you’re a professional.
2. Waiting For Work To Magically Appear
So you’ve uploaded a cool profile photo, wrote an awesome bio, and completed your profile on the freelance site. All you have to do now is wait for clients to contact you, right?
Wrong. Unless you’re Seth Godin, no one’s going to contact you to offer their projects on a silver platter.
Solution: Explore the freelance platform for appropriate jobs. Apply as many projects as you can, which are suitable for your skill set. And try sending a personal message to potential clients to tell them about your services.
3. Too Much Competition
Sites like UpWork and Freelancer.com are infested with cheap freelancers who compete for low rates. Trying to win on those sites will eventually force you to fall to their level as well.
Solution: Find a freelancing site with low competition and stick with it to build your reputation. And then slowly start working with clients outside those sites.
4. Trying To Do All Kinds Of Work
You’ll find plenty of multi-talented freelancers on sites like UpWork and you’ll also notice that they have a very low success rate, even though they excel at many fields.
Solution: Don’t try to be a Jack of all trades and master of none. Master a specific skill and stick to it.
6. Not Showing Genuine Interest
This is a common mistake that part-time freelancers make. They don’t take their freelance work seriously enough since they have a “real” job. So, they apply to projects like they’re trying to do a favor for the client.
Solution: Take your freelance career more seriously. Do what you’re passionate and excited about. Otherwise, get out of this business because you won’t be a successful freelancer.
7. Bad Communication Skills
Good communication is key to building long-term relationships with your clients. Copy pasting the same message to all your emails and pitches will never work.
Solution: You should never address your clients the same way you talk to your friends. Be respectful and friendly. And always double check your messages for typos and grammatical mistakes.
8. Bad Profile Description
Here’s a horrible profile description that I’ve read on a popular freelance platform with just one sale (name replaced) – “A former HR professional, [John Doe] is a certified PMP, freelance writer, and entrepreneur offering writing and graphic designing services to small and large businesses thereby helping them achieve their marketing and communication goals.”
Don’t you just hate it when people refer to themselves in the third person? Only egomaniacs do that.
Solution: Write your profile bio in first-person. Personalize your description to fit the freelance site and try not to brag too much. Instead, focus on telling others how you intend to help them.
9. Not Showcasing Your Work
Your potential clients will often ask to see your previous work to confirm your claims about your experience and skills. Do you have a portfolio to showcase your work for those situations?
Solution: Keep a list of links and files of your best work ready at all times to show to your clients. If your freelance site allows to showcase your work, fill out that section as well. If you don’t have any work to showcase, start working on that right away.
10. Promising Beyond What You Can Deliver
Sometimes, when you’re super excited about a job, you might oversell your abilities and skills in a desperate attempt to win the project. Clients are highly suspicious of those guys who offer to do way more than they request.
Solution: Know your limits and understand your client’s needs. Don’t try to oversell your experience or to convince clients of your skills. If they see your potential they will offer you the project. If not, it’s their loss.
11. Too Late to Reply To Client Emails
You’re not the only one applying for a project posted on UpWork. Dozens, and sometimes hundreds, of other freelancers are desperately competing to win that job.
To find the right person for the job, clients often send messages with questions to many of those applicants to see who’s capable of handling their project. And then give the project to whoever replies first. Yes, it’s a true story.
Solution: UpWork has a cool feature that allows you to enable desktop notifications. Enable that to stay updated. Also enable email notifications on your phone and be ready to reply instantly to your client emails.
12. Applying For The Wrong Jobs
An eBook writer should never take a job for writing product descriptions. Those jobs require two different sets of skills that most writers don’t even understand. Applying for this type of jobs will waste both your and your client’s time.
Solution: Apply only for jobs that you would feel comfortable with. See if your skills set matches the requirements first. This will help you write a better pitch for the project.
13. Trying Too Hard To Make Money
Desperate times call for desperate measures. There will come a time when you have zero cash in your pocket and you feel like applying for any kind of job that appear on your job feed.
It happened to me more than once. Don’t let that happen to you.
Solution: Plan ahead. Even if you have a ton of clients right now, you’ll never know when they might disappear. Always keep a small “rainy day” fund to cover your expenses during those occasions.
14. Trying To Fool Your Clients
“So, you’re 20-years-old and you already have 10-years of experience as a web designer? That is incredible. Here, please accept our project.” Said no client ever!!
Solution: Clients have experience dealing with freelancers. You can’t fool them. Be realistic and be honest about your experience and skills.