Background
With over seven years of experience on Upwork, this growth and lifecycle marketing professional built a solid career working with mobile app, AdTech, and e-commerce companies. Originally freelancing part-time, Omari Allen transitioned to full-time work five years ago, relying primarily on referrals, direct invites, and freelance collectives like Right Side Up to find clients.
Although Omari registered an agency profile to use GigRadar, he continues to operate independently, managing all aspects of his Upwork presence personally.
I’ve been on Upwork, I think actually for about seven years… but I’ve been doing that full time for about five years. I do primarily growth and life cycle marketing for mobile ads, tech companies and e-commerce.
Challenges Before Using GigRadar
As Upwork became more competitive, the manual processes Omari relied on began to break down. The time it took to search for jobs and customize proposals meant missed opportunities and inefficient workflows. Writing each proposal manually, even with a high-level template, consumed hours each week.
Honestly, taking way too long to write custom proposals. Like, of course, I had, like, a high-level template where I could swap out a line or two… but even then, it's still really tedious. It's really hard to reply quickly.
Even though Omari had established a good reputation, the lack of scalable lead generation was holding him back—especially when returning to Upwork after long-term projects.
Every time I come back, it’s kind of like starting from the same baseline, kind of having to relearn the platform and how it’s changed… we can’t keep up with that as freelancers.
Exploring GigRadar: From Skepticism to Action
His search for a better way began while researching proposal templates and Upwork strategies. Omari discovered GigRadar through a LinkedIn post from another freelancer. Curious but unsure, Omari booked a call with the team. Though the initial presentation felt too salesy and the pricing seemed high, the call helped clarify how the system works—even for solo operators.
The homepage felt like you were just really trying to push this high-ticket, complicated platform… I didn’t think it was for me. I thought it was only for agencies. I wasn’t really clear until I actually got on the call.
To ease his concerns, GigRadar offered a one-month free trial, followed by two paid months. That flexibility gave him the confidence to try it out, especially as Omari felt the manual process was no longer sustainable.
The Setup and Early Results
The first week with GigRadar involved deep work: configuring the AI, refining the scanner, and customizing prompts to align with his voice and service niche. Omari approached it seriously, spending hours on setup before letting the system run.
I remember the first week, like, spending hours in GigRadar every day just kind of like going in and tweaking the AI, tweaking the prompts and the scanners…
That investment paid off quickly. Within the first month, he had closed three to four smaller projects, generating around $1,500. By the end of two months, his total earnings reached $91,000, and his lead reply rate (LRR) climbed to nearly 20%, a dramatic improvement over his previous outreach results.
I think the read rate is close to, like, 20% right now, which is much higher than what I was getting before.
Omari also started raising his rates more aggressively, thanks to the faster deal flow.
I’m seeing more success… I can kind of creep [my rate] up over the course of a couple weeks, as opposed to waiting six months to raise my rate.
Features That Delivered the Most Value
Several GigRadar features stood out during his experience:
- Auto-Bidder: Saved time by automating routine proposal sending
- Keyword Research Tool: Helped align job matches with his niche
- AI Prompt Library: Made proposal generation faster and more client-centric
- Opportunity Notifications: Allowed Omari to explore other service categories without risk
- Community Support & Webinars: Offered insight on best practices for Upwork success
- Responsive Customer Support: Consistently quick and helpful replies
Clients compliment how thoughtful my proposals are—even though I didn’t write them myself. After reviewing that support page, it’s been very helpful.
Another major benefit was the ability to continue generating leads even while away from work. After taking a short holiday, Omari returned to multiple messages from potential clients—something that hadn’t happened before.
It’s been nice to come back yesterday and I had messages from 10 different potential clients… Had I not been using GigRadar, they wouldn’t have even known I exist.
Fast ROI and Long-Term Benefits
The return on investment came quickly. Within the first month, his GigRadar subscription had already paid for itself. By the second month, he’d closed enough business to position himself for even bigger projects in the pipeline. And all this while maintaining a lean workflow with minimal manual input.
I think in terms of projects booked, about a month… I have earned $91K in total with GigRadar, and I have been using GigRadar for two months so far.
Final Thoughts: A Smart Tool for a Competitive Platform
GigRadar helped him adapt to the modern Upwork landscape—one where timing, targeting, and automation play a decisive role. What once felt like a daily grind became a streamlined system, giving him time to focus on clients, rates, and growth.
His advice to others?
Just give it a shot. It’s not the type of tool where you can just sign up and it automatically works. You have to put in a lot of work to literally make it work for you. Once you do… it becomes something you can rely on.
Want to achieve similar results? Book a free demo with GigRadar and see how our automated lead generation can help your agency win better clients faster.
