In the last article, I had you complete your Title on Upwork.
That means you should now have the following sections complete:
— Expertise
— Expertise Level
— Education
— Employment
— Languages
— Hourly Rate
— Title
Let’s move on and finish this section.
7.2) Overview
Here’s what you’re going to see:
Let’s get something straight…
The Overview section on Upwork is the most important part of your profile. It’s the section potential employers will likely look through first.
So it’s important to get this right.
Now, the biggest mistake people make when filling out this section is thinking that it’s like a resume. They’ll list all of their skills and accomplishments and make it all about them. “I did this, I did that. Me me me.” This is not how you win the attention of potential clients.
Instead, what you need to do here is make it all about them… and you do this by presenting the problems your potential clients might be going through
You want your Overview section to work somewhat like a mirror so when potential clients read it, they think to themselves “That sounds exactly like me. This person really gets what I’m going through.”
After you’ve done that, then you can say some stuff about yourself and what you’re able to do. But first, you have to show potential clients you understand their situation and would be able to fill their needs.
Let me show you a few examples of this done right. You’ll notice all of these examples are from “Copywriters”… and that’s because Copywriters inherently write this way for a living, so you’ll get to see what I’m talking about in action.
Example 1
Notice how well this profile makes it all about the potential client. Notice how many times this profile says the word “You.” Notice how many problems this profile calls out that directly relates to the problems of the client.
This is exactly what you should be aiming for.
If someone was looking for this type of service and they stumbled on this particular profile, do you think they’d feel confident that this freelancer could help them with their project? Of course they would. In fact, they’d likely send them a request for an interview right away and not consider anyone else.
The fact is, the more you can tap into the most pressing problems of your potential client and reflect those problems in your Overview, the more chances you’ll have at separating yourself from the competition.
Here’s another example:
Example 2
Again, notice how well the potential client is reflected in the Overview.
It’s not all about you… it’s all about them.
You want potential clients to shake their heads saying “Yes, that’s me!” while reading through your Overview. Remember that.
Also, your Overview is another great place to add those ‘keywords’ we’ve been talking about. For instance, do you see all the keywords listed under “My services include” in the profile above? That’s an easy way to do it.
Here’s one more example.
Example 3
All 3 of these examples are from profiles of Top-Rated, in-demand freelancers. Study them. Emulate them. And do your best to do what they’re doing.
They work — and they work because they speak directly to the client. They don’t boast about themselves or their own skills and accomplishments.
They demonstrate that they understand the needs and the problems potential clients have, and in doing so, make potential clients eager to work with them.
If you’re having trouble, try searching for some freelancers on Upwork that share the same skills as you to see what others are doing.
Look for profiles that demonstrate everything we talked about above. You’ll notice that many of the top, in-demand freelancers inherently do this on their profiles, and they do it because it works.
Good luck and we’ll pick up where we left off in the next one.
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And when you’re ready 👇👇