Upwork is denying new freelance copywriters access to their platform recently. As a result? New freelancers have been having a hard time finding clients. If you’re a new freelancer who wants to find clients but don’t know where to go…

You came to the right place.

In this article, you’ll learn the X alternatives you can use and do to find clients without using upwork.

Good News First

Want to hear good news? It’s this… Upwork is NOT essential for getting started as a freelance copywriter. A lot of people keep mentioning it for 1 simple reason: It’s simply just how most people started.

You don’t need Upwork to start earning $100 a day. Heck, you don’t even need it to earn $300 a day.

You simply have to work smart and find clients from other sources. Don’t worry, we’ll be talking about that in a bit. You’ll know exactly what you have to do next after reading this article.

Why Upwork Is “Rejecting” You

If you want to know why most people can’t join Upwork, it’s because Upwork is too crowded of freelancers and there’s not enough projects for all of them.

Their database is so full of freelancers that they can’t keep accepting new ones – especially those whose skills are highly similar to the thousands already inside.

Upwork isn’t necessarily rejecting someone because they’re a new freelancer.

It’s just that most people joining Upwork doesn’t necessarily have a unique skillset. If you joined Upwork in 2015, this would’ve been fine since their onboarding process honestly sucks back then, but now?

It’s not.

Upwork reviews new freelancer registrations and if they find that the marketplace does not have opportunities for them (based on their combination of skills and experience), their registration to Upwork will not be accepted “initially”.

So what are you gonna do about it?

For starters, there’s other freelancing sites you could try:

https://www.freelancer.com/

Freelancer is one of the best alternatives for Upwork. It’s another huge platform with millions of projects and users that offers almost all of the benefits Upwork gives – without most of Upwork’s negative ones.

However, there’s something freelancer is known to be really bad with: User satisfaction for both freelancers and employers.

Once you register and become a member on their site, they try to make you pay for everything – literally.

https://www.writeraccess.com/

Writer access is said to be the fastest-growing platform for writers – made specifically for writers..

Writers access is similar to any other freelancing site with a little more specification for writers.

What you need to know is basically just the membership fee for the platform, and that they price content per word or content type, which includes everything a writer usually works on.

If you’re a writer and you’re just starting out, you should definitely try this one out.

https://freeeup.com/

Freeeup started as a site exclusively or eCommerce support back in 2015. It then immediately expanded into a freelancing site that finds broad range of available skills from freelancers all over the world.

The hard part? They only let in the “top 1%” of freelancers who apply. Quality is the major pain point Freeeup is trying to solve so there’s heavy screening if you want to join this one.

However, quality does not only go for freelancers… it goes for the projects being shown there as well.

This means if you get the chance to join freeeup, you get to work with quality, long-term and possibly high-paying clients as well.

Other Things You Can Do Besides Joining Freelancing Sites

You don’t need to go the freelance website route at all if you don’t want to.

You can apply for jobs on copywriting job boards, find clients with cold email or simply join groups, forums of your niche and connect with people and etc.

Cult Of Copy Job Board

The cult of copy job board is probably the most popular way of getting clients without the help of freelancing sites. You won’t only find people looking to hire copywriters, you’ll also learn what other copywriters do.

You’ll learn how they write, how they connect with clients and how they pitch their services to others! It’s basically a free-for-all but before doing anything in the group, make sure you read the rules and regulations.

Reaching Out – DMs, Comments, Tweets, Etc.

Facebook, Twitter, Instagram – all social media platforms can be used to find and connect with possible clients.

You see someone running a store? Think you can improve their ad copy, product descriptions, email marketing or something else you think would benefit them? Then send them a message!

You don’t necessarily have to go to LinkedIn or Upwork or whatever to find clients. You just need to be confident, be able to provide value and talk to them.

Most people don’t do that because they’re “shy”, they’re afraid of failure, they don’t think they can do it, etc. People find reasons not to do something.

Don’t be like other people. Be confident and go for it. Close a lead!

Reaching Out – Locally

You could also reach out to local businesses. Write an ad selling yourself and your services to them – and that’s it.

There are businesses everywhere, don’t miss the chance to get a client just because they’re not “online”. Heck, that’s even a good thing.

A lot of local businesses have the chance to grow but don’t because they’re not leveraging the power of the internet. You can change that.

You can help them see the world differently. Teach them how they can increase their overall revenue by creating ads for them online. Just make sure you act professional and know what you’re talking about.

Other Things You Can Do

There are a lot of things you can do as a freelancer. You don’t necessarily need Upwork or any other freelancing sites.

Maybe there’s a small online business you’re a customer of, or maybe you’re on their email list, and you’re in their target market.

Reach out to them, let them know you’re a fan of what they’re doing.

Tell them you’re a direct-response copywriter or whatever it is you do and try to get on a call with them.

As you can see, you’ve got a ton of options. If Upwork isn’t accepting you, don’t let that stop you. Be unique. Got out there and try things that may seem “unconventional”. If it’s making you money, keep it up.

You’ll eventually reach your goals and get to where you want to be.

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