Most of you think of Upwork as an outbound lead generation channel, often forgetting its true power: inbound. And it works very well! 🎯

Upwork is a long-term game, asset, and investment. To succeed there, both in outbound and inbound, you have to spend a lot of time.

However, many people give up in the very beginning due to a lack of knowledge or understanding. 😔

At GigRadar, we spend all our working time (and overtime) crafting the best approach for lead generation on freelancer marketplaces like Upwork.

Therefore, this LeadsBrew NOT-newsletter focuses on inbound lead generation strategies on Upwork. 📈

How Does Inbound Work on Upwork?

Firstly, and very commonly, a client posts a job. Instead of reviewing incoming proposals, the client invites a bunch of freelancers. 💌

Why they're on a top? The answer lies in the GIF:

  • Relevant skills 👩‍💻
  • Relevant work history 📚
  • Relevant profile descriptions and titles 🏷️

Pretty straightforward, right? 🤷‍♀️

However, understand that Upwork generates a list of freelancers to invite based on activity.

🚫 Inactive profiles won't be suggested, and that makes sense.

So, What is Activity on Upwork? 🧐

  1. Constant improvement of your profile 🔄
  2. Active proposal sending 📬
  3. Fast acceptance of invitations 💌
  4. Closing contracts 📝
  5. "Available Now" badge (last one in the list) 🏷️

If four points are quite understandable, what's with the first one? How does improving your profile help, and how does it impact activity?

Upwork literally adores when you make changes to your profile!

When you add new skills, new portfolio items, keep your description up-to-date, etc.

It's logical because if you work there, you earn money and grow as a specialist. And Upwork requires each of us to reflect RELEVANT experience. 💡

Passive closing of contracts on Upwork without activity - less impacts your ranking, than constant activity on your content...Which results in increased power of inbound channels > Upwork Invitations. 🚀

We have a great article that describes what an invitation is. Just to heat up, look at how we increased the number of invitations for one of our agencies we've worked with just by tweaking skills and profile content.

 

Aside from accepting ALL invitations, how can we increase their number?

📌 I'd like you to start reading this with a small practical task:

  • Log in to Upwork as a client.
  • Go to Upwork Bench.
  • Try to find your profile on the first page using your category + profile's title.

I bet that fewer users will be able to locate themselves on the top page :(

What's the benefit of this top page?

A LOOOT of invitations! 💌

Yes, they could be sometimes irrelevant, but at least it's a free lead. You don't need to spend connects on sending proposals to the jobs you've been invited to.

📌 Now, a second task:

Calculate how much $$$ in terms of connects you will spend applying for 300 jobs on Upwork?

Answer: approx. $450 without boost.

Recently - that's during the last 30 days. Now check it out:

"Recently": that's during the last 30 days. 🗓️

Yes, they're getting free jobs that land in their inboxes, no hidden connects needed :)

Grow Your Upwork Sales with Automation

Discover how GigRadar helps you send better proposals, get more replies, and win clients faster — no manual work needed.

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How to Pop Up on the Top of Upwork Searches?

The answer is as described above:

  • Work on your profile's content 📝
  • Keep skills up-to-date 🛠️
  • Accept all invitations 💌

But there's one main rule: KEEP IT CONSISTENT

It's hard; it's sometimes time-consuming, but it's worth it! 💪

Therefore, we've come up with a sort of babysitting for those who want to get to the top of Upwork searches but clearly don't know what is needed:

Together with Tamara Levit, our leading expert in Upwork growth hacking strategies, we've prepared a 21-day intensive course to help you boost your visibility and help you appear at the top of searches on Upwork. 🎓

🌈 What to Expect:

  • Hands-on exercises to optimize your profile for maximum visibility. 👨‍🏫
  • Strategies to increase your inbound requests and response rates for bids 📈
  • A supportive community of like-minded freelancers. 👨‍👩‍👦

📅 Course Timeline:

The course will kick off on October 16 and run for three weeks. Each week will focus on a different aspect of Upwork success, from profile optimization to bidding strategies. 👏

🎒 Class Presence:

There is no class presence required. All lectures are posted as videos, and assignments are available to complete at your available time. 🕒

📝 Homework:

Yes, there will be homework! But don't worry, it's all designed to help you apply what you've learned and see immediate results.

👍 We know that a lot of GigRadar active users are reading this newsletter. So for you, the cost of this course is only $49. Please contact us for the promo code before purchase. 💲

ENROLL NOW:

Hack the true potential of Upwork by shifting your focus to inbound lead generation. It's not just about reaching out; it's about making yourself so visible and appealing that clients can't help but reach out to you.

Put in the consistent work on your profile, stay active, and the invites will follow.

Trust us, it's worth the effort. Make the switch to inbound today and let the quality job invites roll in. 🚀

Grow Your Upwork Sales with Automation

Discover how GigRadar helps you send better proposals, get more replies, and win clients faster — no manual work needed.

Book a Demo

Ready for your Upwork success story? Book a demo with GigRadar below!
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What makes GigRadar better than a human lead generator?

Manual lead generation is often expensive, inconsistent, and slow. Typically, hiring a human lead generator costs over $500 per month, allowing you to send only 150-250 proposals without prioritizing speed. With GigRadar, you can send over 400 proposals within the first 10-15 minutes after a job is posted, at a lower cost per proposal than traditional methods. This combination of affordability, speed, and scalability makes GigRadar a powerful solution for automated lead generation.

Are there any risks associated with using GigRadar?

GigRadar serves over 500 Upwork agencies worldwide and generates over $20 million in annual revenue for Upwork through connects. No client using GigRadar has ever experienced account bans or suspensions, ensuring a risk-free solution for automating Upwork bidding.

Does GigRadar offer a free trial?

When we onboard a new client, we cover several technical costs out of pocket, making it financially unfeasible to offer free trials. Additionally, a free trial wouldn’t provide much value, as achieving peak results takes time to optimize your setup, cover letter copy, and profiles. GigRadar isn’t a magic solution, but when used correctly, it can greatly enhance your Upwork lead generation efforts.

Can clients detect AI usage when reading GigRadar-generated cover letters?

With most AI tools for Upwork, clients can detect the use of AI. But, if freelancers are using GigRadar, then the answer is no. This is because our proprietary solution uses both the freelancers profile and the clients job description as contextual information to generate cover letter copy. By doing such research behind the scenes, the cover letter copy looks as if the freelancer has really taken the time to investigate the project, extract pain points, expectations, and ask questions that showcase expertise. In fact, after analyzing over 1 million proposals, we have even seen that AI generated cover letters receive higher reply rates than human-written ones!

Can GigRadar help me with Upwork profile optimization?

Yes, GigRadar includes a feature called "Insights," which lets you identify the most popular and in-demand skills in your specific niche. By incorporating these keywords into your title, description, and skill set on your general or specialized profile, you can enhance your Upwork SEO. This optimization helps your profile rank higher in Upwork's talent search, leading to more inbound client invitations.

Can I use GigRadar from my freelancer profile?

Technically speaking, no, you are required to have an agency profile to use GigRadar. However, many of our users are solo freelancers who set up agency profiles to automate their lead generation effectively. If you’re an individual freelancer interested in automation, GigRadar can still work for you just as efficiently, but you will still need to setup an agency profile to use GigRadar

Can GigRadar help me even if I’m brand new to Upwork?

Yes, we have helped numerous freelancers grow their Upwork businesses from scratch, including Alejandro Rodriguez and Gavin Hewitson. Both started with zero earnings and reached over $10k in just a few months! GigRadar is especially beneficial for new users because, when starting on Upwork, you need to bid in high volumes to win jobs and build credibility. This process becomes much more manageable with Upwork automation.