As a freelancer, you know the importance of getting clients beyond Upwork in order to grow your business. But, how do you do it? In this article, we will discuss how to get clients beyond Upwork and the steps you can take to make it happen. With the right strategy, you can take your business to the next level by expanding your client base beyond Upwork.
While Upwork is one of the most famous freelancing platforms, other platforms like PeoplePerHour, Fiverr, and freelancer.com can help you find work as well.
Services like TopTal also match freelancers with clients for more specialized skills, such as project management.
One reason you might want to or need to look outside of Upwork might be because you’re not finding enough job opportunities on Upwork or because you find that they’re taking too big of a cut to make it worth it for you.
The great thing about the wide array of platforms is that you can choose which model works best for you (and which one charges lower service fees).
For example, do you prefer clients to contact you with their projects or do you prefer only bidding on projects you’re interested in? You have a lot of choices when it comes to selling your services, so don’t be afraid to try different platforms to see which one you prefer most.
Freelance job boards have job postings from potential clients and can be one stop shops to finding your first gig.
You can choose which projects to bid for or have clients contact you based on your hourly rate — each freelancing platform structures its job listings and processes a bit differently, so you should take some time to research which method (and which platform) works best for you.
For example, on Upwork, jobs are listed daily in categories for you to browse and apply for (curated based on your main job category, specializations, and skills), while on Fiverr, you define and list your services for potential clients to find.
When it comes to fees, Upwork charges commission depending on your total client billing (the more you earn, the smaller the commission percentage), whereas Fiverr charges a flat 20 percent service fee.
For designers, 99designs has a contest option where clients provide design briefs and designers compete for the job by submitting their ideas whereas on Dribbble, designers can sell their designs directly on the Dribbble marketplace or look at the Dribbble Freelance Projects job board to look for specific gigs that interest them.
What are some top freelance platforms You should check out?
- Upwork(of course!)
If you’re a designer, web developer, writer, blogger, or digital marketer, you can find clients on Upwork, which has job postings in fields like accounting, legal work, HR, and engineering as well.
If you’re multi-talented and want to find a job, Upwork is a good bet.
Fiverr is good for web developers and designers, as well as copywriters who are starting out. While freelance projects used to be offered for only $5 on Fiverr, now you can charge more than $5 but still benefit from a less competitive system than Upwork.
99designs is a platform that’s mainly for designers. Per Webflow, the upside to 99designs is that as a designer, “you can choose the design styles and industries that interest you.”
Dribbble is another good freelance marketplace for designers. On Dribbble’s freelance job board, you can find jobs for UX and UI design, logo designs, graphic design, and even brand design.
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