Cole explains why calling yourself a freelance writer on Upwork and Fiverr tanks your rates and keeps you competing on price. Instead, position yourself by specialty and reach out to clients directly for better pay and control over your work.
Upwork and Fiverr are a race to the bottom. If you're using these platforms to land freelance writing clients, you're making a huge mistake. Actually, three big mistakes. And they're keeping you from charging higher rates, landing higher quality clients, and being able to create efficiencies for yourself so you can actually enjoy your life instead of churning out blog posts to pay your rent. How do I know? Hi, I'm Cole, and I'm a recovering Upwork addiction. No, it's okay. It's okay. I can talk about it. For years, you know, I was hooked on charging $10 an article, $5 an article, anything I could do to get a job. Couldn't afford socks, walked barefoot everywhere. My dog hated me. But, you know, today is a special day. I'm. Yeah, thank you. I'm celebrating. Eight years sober. Yep. Haven't been on Upwork since 2016, and I've never been happier. So thanks, everyone. You think I'm joking, but I'm actually being serious. If you've been thinking about getting into freelance writing to make a little extra money, or if you've been freelancing for a while but your earnings are stuck, then we need to talk about the three big mistakes that hold 99% of freelance writers back and what to do to solve each one so that by the end of this video, you know how to avoid that dark and dismal fate of being just another freelancer on Upworker, Fiverr, and trying to differentiate yourself by charging less than the next person. There's a better way. Mistake number one, using the wrong language to describe what you do. So what's the difference between a cashier and a concierge? It's essentially the same job, but in a small business, maybe an ice cream parlor or something, you're called a cashier, but in a luxury hotel, you're called a concierge. People like to believe that words don't matter, but they do. And so, in the same way that words can either attract or repel you from buying a certain product, words can also attract or repel other people from wanting to work with you. So when you call yourself a freelance writer, in a metaphor, you're essentially calling yourself a cheap I only work here for the summer cashier. Instead of calling yourself something different, that implies you're a dedicated, attentive master of hospitality concierge. What you call yourself matters. Mistake number two, waiting for clients to come to you. The reason platforms like Upwork and Fiverr are so popular is because they promise to remove, essentially, the Hardest part of working for yourself, which is finding clients. So what writers do is they create a profile, they write their bio, maybe they upload their portfolio, and then they wait. And they wait and they wait because they think the platform is going to take care of the rest. The problem is, when you're waiting for someone else to come to you, you have no pricing power, you have no leverage. The other person is the one setting the terms, and you have no choice but to say yes or no. So this is the big con of these types of job opportunity platforms. Sure, they bring you clients, but those clients have all the power, which is why the entire Upwork and Fiverr ecosystem is a million freelance writers all responding and reacting and trying to compete against each other for who can charge the least. So here's a good rule of thumb. When the client pitches you, they win. When you pitch the client, you win. The only way to break out of this power dynamic is to leave these race to the bottom ecosystems and be the one to to the client directly. Mistake number three, working with an employee mindset. This is so subtle, but it's the thing that ends up holding writers back the most. When you land a client on Upwork or Fiverr, think about what's actually happening. They create a job posting. You apply for that job, AKA you compete, sort of like a linguistic bodybuilder in a tiny pair of swim trunks, saying, pick me, pick me. And then if you get hired, the entire dynamic of your relationship with that client is based in the following context. I work for you. You are a lowly contractor. You are a cheap vendor. You are an employee. And because freelance writers on some level know this, that's how they treat the entire project. I'm an employee. Tell me what to do and I'll do it. Here's a little secret. No business owner wants employees. They want the opposite of an employee. They don't want to tell you what to do. That's time consuming. That puts the burden on them. Now they have to think. Instead, what a business owner actually wants is someone to consult them, someone to educate them, Someone who works with them, like a co collaborator, not some intern waiting for instructions. Now, every time I walk writers through these mistakes, I always hear the same objections back. Well, sometimes you just have to take what you can get. Yeah, but I'm a beginner, so I have to start somewhere. I don't have a personal brand. I can't get clients anywhere else. No, no, no. These are not real. They are faulty beliefs. You can either start your writing journey on upworker Fiverr and start moving in the direction of low wages, long hours and endless competition. Or you can start in a different direction. You can educate yourself, take control of your destiny, and reach out to clients directly. And that's what this channel is dedicated to helping you do. There has never been a better time in history to be a writer or to monetize your writing. So hit subscribe, Let me know what questions you have in the comments and I'll see you in the next video.
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