Can't Get Approved For Upwork As Copywriter? Try this:

[jon.M]

Have you been trying to get on Upwork as a copywriter, but you never seem to get your profile accepted - even though you've tweaked everything for weeks?

I had the same problem, and I solved it. However, I didn't think much about it.

But today I had a conversation with @lazaralex, who experienced the same problem and was still trying out profile configurations daily.

I gave him the same, simple tip and he got accepted instantly.

Here it goes:

1. Delete your existing account
2. Start a completely new account
3. Choose a less saturated area than copywriting (lots of people on Upwork say they're copywriters, even though they've never even done 1 gig. I doubt new copywriters even get accepted now). I chose customer support.
4. Create a complete profile, with a job title and overview that relates to the category. I think @SinisterLex has some great videos on making a decent, 100% complete profile.
5. Submit it for evaluation. Wait for it, hopefully you'll get accepted.
6. In that case you can switch over to copywriting, or whatever else you'd like to do.

My guess?
Upwork probably uses some kind of algorithm to evaluate all profiles, and if someone has submitted theirs multiple times, they're much more likely to get rejected again. Hence, I tried to start a whole new one to start on a blank page, in a non-saturated category.

I don't know how close it is to the truth, but nonetheless it seems to work.

Have you been trying to get approved multiple times now? Then you've maybe noticed it takes longer and longer for Upwork to send you that rejection. Sometimes up to half an hour.

But when both us tried this, it seriously took 10 second for Upwork to approve.

 

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[lazaralex]

Have you been trying to get on Upwork as a copywriter, but you never seem to get your profile accepted - even though you've tweaked everything for weeks?

I had the same problem, and I solved it. However, I didn't think much about it.

But today I had a conversation with @lazaralex, who experienced the same problem and was still trying out profile configurations daily.

I gave him the same, simple tip and he got accepted instantly.

Here it goes:

1. Delete your existing account
2. Start a completely new account
3. Choose a less saturated area than copywriting (lots of people on Upwork say they're copywriters, even though they've never even done 1 gig. I doubt new copywriters even get accepted now). I chose customer support.
4. Create a complete profile, with a job title and overview that relates to the category. I think @SinisterLex has some great videos on making a decent, 100% complete profile.
5. Submit it for evaluation. Wait for it, hopefully you'll get accepted.
6. In that case you can switch over to copywriting, or whatever else you'd like to do.

My guess?
Upwork probably uses some kind of algorithm to evaluate all profiles, and if someone has submitted theirs multiple times, they're much more likely to get rejected again. Hence, I tried to start a whole new one to start on a blank page, in a non-saturated category.

I don't know how close it is to the truth, but nonetheless it seems to work.

Have you been trying to get approved multiple times now? Then you've maybe noticed it takes longer and longer for Upwork to send you that rejection. Sometimes up to half an hour.

But when both us tried this, it seriously took 10 second for Upwork to approve.

I don’t know how or why, but it works.

I tried getting in multiple times as a copywriter. I got rejected every time.

And yes, the time it took for them to reject me got increasingly longer. In fact, the last rejection took more than 12 hours to get to me.

I applied Cavallie’s tip and got accepted instantly. It took less than ten seconds to for them to send me the email.

I think it should work for anything, not only for copywriters.

If you are struggling to get accepted in UpWork, definitely try it.

 

[Lex DeVille]

It's happening because Upwork is putting a lot of filters in place to keep crap freelancers out. Now that they're the big dog they get to pick and choose who they let inside. Since every writer wants to be a "high pay copywriter" (read easy money) they've all listed that as their skill, and it makes it hard for clients to find good copywriters who can actually help them.

Now Upwork is making a lot of refinements. It starts by filtering people at the door. Once you get inside, if you can't make money in 30 days, then your profile goes private and you've been filtered out once again. Then your only options are to pay Upwork $10 a month to set your profile to public again, or get hired through proposals that didn't work in the first place.

With more and more Enterprise clients coming on board, Upwork can't afford to have anything other than freelancers who want to be there, deliver value, and secure high-end gigs. They'll still take the small stuff, of course, but they're making it harder for new guys to get in contact with established clients.

Mainly it's to keep them safe as they continue toward "global staffing agency" status. Now that people know their name, they have an endless worldwide talent pool, so the focus shifts to securing bigger clients, and keeping them happy so they don't go anywhere else. Same principle as a localized staffing agency, just at scale.

 

[jon.M]

Mainly it's to keep them safe as they continue toward "global staffing agency" status. Now that people know their name, they have an endless worldwide talent pool, so the focus shifts to securing bigger clients, and keeping them happy so they don't go anywhere else. Same principle as a localized staffing agency, just at scale.

So it's shifting from freelance to work a job from home.

Which is why I don't have long term plans for staying on the platform.

 

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[Lex DeVille]

So it's shifting from freelance to work a job from home.

Which is why I don't have long term plans for staying on the platform.

Ya, that's what I gathered from their latest webinars, emails, and changes. It's the best way for them to attract big money. Instead of small fries with $100 to spend, Pro clients have a minimum budget of $5,000 per freelancer. Enterprise clients are even bigger and spend more. I'm starting to see Enterprise clients bringing employees in from outside of Upwork too. You'll see those freelancers have like $100k+ earned on the platform and they get the "Enterprise" badge on their profile.

 

[Guest92dX]

I have another way to get approved.

1. Completely fill out your profile down to the picture and everything
2. Add skills besides copywriting.

How to do 2 consistently:

1) search for platforms people use like zapier. Say you do Zapier integrations.
2) search for skills you don't think people want to do like data entry. Add that.
3) max out every option.

When I was approved. I took it as they want people who are capable of being one than 1 specialized thing. They want holistic people.

Also, thanks for the information that they turn your profile private if you don't make money in 30 days. I didn't even see how to apply for jobs on Upwork so I just sat on my approval while learning for a while.

@SinisterLex

It would be cool if you could do a tutorial on finding jobs you can apply for.

 

[theresgot2bemore]

I have another way to get approved.

1. Completely fill out your profile down to the picture and everything
2. Add skills besides copywriting.

How to do 2 consistently:

1) search for platforms people use like zapier. Say you do Zapier integrations.
2) search for skills you don't think people want to do like data entry. Add that.
3) max out every option.

When I was approved. I took it as they want people who are capable of being one than 1 specialized thing. They want holistic people.

Also, thanks for the information that they turn your profile private if you don't make money in 30 days. I didn't even see how to apply for jobs on Upwork so I just sat on my approval while learning for a while.

@SinisterLex

It would be cool if you could do a tutorial on finding jobs you can apply for.

I did this for my second attempt to see if it would work. I added skills that were not copy and qualified for some tests related to those skills and gave it a go since I had errands to do. I came back and got approved BUT I had to wait the full 24hrs the second time.

 

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[Zhukovic]

Interesting, thanks for the tips. I've wanted to get onto Upwork for a while now but figured it was impossible because they weren't taking more people.

I deleted my account recently and gave it a shot, first making a customer support profile, and when that was rejected, made a E-mail marketing one,following @SinisterLex advice from his YouTube video. That was rejected as well.

It bother's me that the only way to get on Upwork now if your a writer/copywriter seems to be to make up a history for some in-demand skill, such as Swift or programming, and hope that goes through and then changing your profile later - aka outright deception.

We'll see how it goes.

 

[Lex DeVille]

Interesting, thanks for the tips. I've wanted to get onto Upwork for a while now but figured it was impossible because they weren't taking more people.

I deleted my account recently and gave it a shot, first making a customer support profile, and when that was rejected, made a E-mail marketing one,following @SinisterLex advice from his YouTube video. That was rejected as well.

It bother's me that the only way to get on Upwork now if your a writer/copywriter seems to be to make up a history for some in-demand skill, such as Swift or programming, and hope that goes through and then changing your profile later - aka outright deception.

We'll see how it goes.

Neither of the things you mentioned is likely the reason you got rejected. It's not about too many writers, or that they're not taking more people. I thought that was the case at first, but it seems very unlikely now. Especially after I just got an account approved in a saturated skill on the first try (a US account).

Upwork isn't taking *certain* people -- mainly those who aren't from the U.S., U.K., or Canada (and maybe Australia).

The reason they're rejecting people who aren't from those countries has to do with where they're heading as a business. There's a stigma in the freelance world that freelancers are shitty workers who provide poor quality for low pay. Upwork has to move away from that as they distinguish theirself as a global staffing agency, or large enterprise clients won't trust them.

I don't know where you're from. Guessing not the US. But notice the words you chose. "The only way to get on Upwork seems to be to make up a history." That's exactly the kind of mindset they're attempting to filter through by tightening their requirements. They don't want people who'd try to cheat the system. They just want quality workers who solve problems with legitimate solutions so their clients don't have a shitty experience, because that's how Upwork stays in business.

You need to list a skill you can actually do. I never said lie.

Do list a skill you can do. Do try the things we mentioned in this thread. But if you get rejected, don't hate Upwork. Just acknowledge that they're making business decisions. There's other platforms you can make money on like PeoplePerHour and Freelancer.com.

 

[go giver]

can I do freelancing from India on upwork?

 

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[Fastlane Liam]

can I do freelancing from India on upwork?

yes