Caleb Ulku argues that freelancers on Upwork should never pay extra connects to boost proposal visibility, as doing so can cost over $2,000/month. Instead, he explains that Upwork's connect system was designed to reduce spam and actually benefits quality freelancers by reducing total proposal volume. He outlines two free strategies to get clients to view your proposal without bidding: optimizing your photo, profile title, and cover letter opening, and applying to jobs within minutes of posting by setting up job alert notifications.
Caleb's core strategy advising freelancers to avoid spending extra Connects on the bid system, instead relying on profile optimization and speed of application.
View concept page →A virtual currency on Upwork costing 15 cents each, required to submit proposals to clients, introduced to reduce spam and improve client experience on the platform.
View concept page →The strategy of applying to a job posting within minutes of it going live, increasing the likelihood the client is still active and will respond quickly.
View concept page →The practice of focusing improvement efforts on the three elements clients see before clicking a proposal β profile photo, profile title, and the opening characters of the cover letter.
View concept page →A feature on Upwork that allows freelancers to spend extra Connects to have their proposal featured at the top of the client's list, with refunds if the proposal goes unviewed.
View concept page →The goal and proven outcome Caleb promotes β building an agency generating seven figures in revenue using Upwork as the primary client acquisition channel.
View concept page →Setting up fee-based automatic alerts on Upwork to receive instant notifications whenever a job matching specific criteria is posted, enabling fast proposal submission.
View concept page →The primary guest and SEO expert featured in the video, founder of an AI SEO agency that developed the Core 30 local SEO methodology and scaled to 97 plumber clients using AI-driven content and local link-building strategies.
View concept page →A recent Upwork platform change restricting clients to inviting only four or five freelancers per job posting unless they pay an additional $30 fee, reducing the number of invites sent overall.
View concept page →A coaching guideline recommending that freelancers send at least five proposals every day for the first 90 days on Upwork to build a successful agency.
View concept page →The original rationale behind Upwork's Connects system β charging freelancers per proposal to deter mass, low-quality submissions and improve the client experience.
View concept page →Upwork introduced connects to combat spam on the platform. Before connects, clients would post a job and receive up to 100 garbage, spammy proposals because freelancers were sending proposals to every single job posted. This made it impossible for clients to find quality freelancers since they didn't have time to sort through the low-quality proposals. Connects were introduced to reduce spam and improve the client experience.
Each connect costs 15 cents. Sending a proposal costs between 2 and 16 connects, which translates to a range of 30 cents to $2.40 per proposal. The number of connects required depends on the scope of work and duration of the job. If a client closes a job without hiring anyone, the connects used to apply are refunded to you.
Upwork's bid system allows you to send a proposal and then bid extra connects to have your proposal appear at the top of the client's list. If the client doesn't click on your proposal, the extra connects you bid are refunded. While this guarantees the client will at least see your proposal, the challenge is that only the top bids are featured, and many jobs have top bids of over 100 connects. At 15 cents per connect, bidding 100 connects per proposal across 5 proposals per day would cost over $2,000 per month β which is not recommended. The advice given is to avoid bidding extra connects entirely.
There are two key strategies to get clients to view your proposal without spending extra connects on bids: (1) Optimize the three things clients see before clicking β your profile photo, your profile title, and the first few hundred characters of your cover letter. These are what determine whether a client clicks on your proposal. (2) Apply to jobs very quickly β within minutes of them being posted. When you apply within two minutes of a job being posted, the client is likely still logged in, and a compelling cover letter as one of the first submissions will often generate a quick reply, moving you into the interview stage.
According to the advice given, you should send at least five proposals every day to be successful on Upwork within 90 days. This consistent daily outreach is a key part of building a five, six, or seven-figure agency on the platform.
Historically, clients on Upwork could invite as many freelancers as they wanted to their job posts for free. Now, clients can only invite four or five freelancers unless they pay an additional $30 one-time fee to invite more. Since very few clients pay that extra fee, the number of invitations sent to freelancers has dropped significantly. For example, the speaker used to receive three or four invitations per day but now receives only a couple per week. This is actually good news for freelancers who actively send proposals, because fewer invitations means clients rely more on proposals, increasing the chances that a proactively submitted proposal will land the job.
The three most important elements that get clients to click on your Upwork proposal are: (1) Your profile photo, (2) Your profile title, and (3) The first few hundred characters of your cover letter. These are the only things a client sees before deciding whether to click and read your full proposal, so optimizing these three elements is far more valuable than spending money on boosted connects.
You can set up a feed to receive automatic notifications whenever a job is posted that meets your exact requirements on Upwork. This allows you to apply within minutes of a job being posted, which significantly increases your chances of getting a response since the client is likely still logged in at that point. The video references a linked tutorial that breaks down exactly how to set up these notifications.
Applying to a job within minutes of it being posted is important for two reasons: (1) The client is likely still logged into Upwork when you submit, meaning they'll see your proposal almost immediately. (2) Being one of the first (or the only) compelling proposal the client sees dramatically increases the chance of a quick reply, which moves you into the interview stage. Early applications face less competition and are more likely to stand out, eliminating the need to pay extra connects to boost your proposal to the top.
Connects are beneficial for freelancers because they greatly improve the client experience on the platform by reducing the overall number of proposals a client receives. This means clients are more likely to actually view your proposal when you submit one. Before connects, clients were overwhelmed with hundreds of spammy proposals and couldn't find quality freelancers. With connects in place, there's less noise, and a well-crafted proposal from a qualified freelancer has a much better chance of being seen and acted upon.
One of the biggest mistakes freelancers make is spending weeks trying to perfect their profile while ignoring the things that will actually get them more clients β specifically their photo, profile title, and the opening of their cover letter. Another major mistake is paying extra connects to boost proposals instead of focusing on applying quickly after jobs are posted and optimizing the key visible elements of their profile and proposals.
If you follow the recommendation of sending at least 5 proposals per day and bid 100 extra connects on each proposal at 15 cents per connect, that's $15 per proposal x 5 proposals per day = $75 per day, which adds up to over $2,000 per month just in connect fees. This is why the strategy of applying quickly and optimizing your visible profile elements is recommended instead of relying on paid boosts.
If a client closes a job without hiring anyone, the connects you used to apply to that job are refunded to you. Similarly, with the boosted bid system, if a client doesn't click on your proposal, the extra connects you bid are also refunded.
The overall strategy involves two main focuses: (1) Optimize the elements that get clients to click on your proposal β your profile photo, profile title, and the opening of your cover letter. Don't waste time perfecting your full profile while neglecting these high-impact elements. (2) Apply to jobs very quickly after they are posted by setting up automatic notifications for jobs matching your criteria. Applying within minutes puts you in front of clients while they're still active and reduces competition. By combining these two tactics, you can save thousands of dollars in connect fees while still consistently landing clients and building a five, six, or seven-figure agency.