Don’t Give Up on Freelancing Just Yet: My Story and Why You Should Hang On

You’re a freelancer, but you’re not getting any clients. Don’t give up just yet. Let me tell you my story.

When I first started freelancing, Upwork was still called Odesk. I was working in a call center with HSBC in Alabang, juggling shifts, but the idea of working from home felt like a golden opportunity I couldn’t pass up. I thought, “This is going to be great—set up a profile, and the clients will start flooding in.” Spoiler alert: They didn’t.

I waited. And waited. Crickets.

The Reality Check

I was listing my skills like a resume, hoping someone would take a chance on me. Customer service, virtual assistance, data entry—I thought I was covering all the bases. But nothing happened. No bites. It wasn’t until I stumbled upon YouTube tutorials that I realized my big mistake. I had no idea what profile optimization meant. I was just throwing everything at the wall, hoping something would stick.

I learned the hard way that your freelancing profile isn’t just a resume—it’s a pitch. You’re writing for two audiences: the algorithm (Upwork is a search engine, after all) and the client. If you don’t use the right keywords, nobody’s finding you. But if you write like a robot, nobody’s hiring you either.

Shifting the Mindset

Once I figured that out, I rewrote my profile. I went from a generic list of skills to positioning myself as a content writer, a role I’d almost forgotten I had experience in. Back in the '90s, I used to write essays and articles for classmates. It hit me—why not tap into that skill?

But even then, I had another hurdle. I was approaching clients like a job hunter, eager to please and ready to say “yes” to anything. I realized that clients don’t want an order-taker. They want a consultant—someone who’s confident, knows their stuff, and can guide them through the process. So I started asking better questions, like: What’s your target word count? How many blogs are we writing? Are you providing the keywords? What’s the main goal of this content—traffic, engagement, or conversions?

Low Rates and Self-Doubt

In the beginning, I charged $5 for a thousand words. Yeah, you heard that right—$5. I thought lowering my rates would make me irresistible, but it didn’t. Clients still hesitated, and I realized it wasn’t about the price. They could sense my insecurity. I wasn’t presenting myself as an expert, and it showed.

Building Trust with a Public Portfolio

I knew I needed to prove my legitimacy, so I started a blog on WordPress. It wasn’t fancy. Honestly, the grammar wasn’t great, and I knew nothing about SEO back then. But it was a start. I kept writing and sharing my posts on Facebook. This wasn’t just about showing off my work; it was about letting clients see that I was a real person, a writer who published regularly and didn’t hide behind closed doors.

That transparency paid off. Potential clients could see my consistency, and it built trust. They weren’t just hiring a freelancer; they were hiring someone they felt they already knew.

The ChatGPT Experiment

Fast forward to the launch of ChatGPT 3.5. A lot of my clients decided to test the waters with AI-generated content, thinking they’d save money. And they did—for a while. But soon, they started coming back. The content was flat, lifeless, and missed the mark. They realized what I’ve known for a while: AI can generate words, but it can’t replicate the human touch, the personality, and the connection that real writing brings.

From Pitching to Referrals

These days, I don’t send out proposals anymore. I’m loaded with work. It’s a complete 180 from scraping the bottom for clients. Now, they’re finding me. I get referrals and direct invitations because my reputation speaks for itself. But it wasn’t always like this. I sent out hundreds of proposals in the early days, hustling hard for every gig.

Looking Ahead: Scaling the Right Way

I’ve thought about hiring help, but if I do, it’s going to be through an agency model. It’s about ethics. Clients who hire me expect my writing, my voice. Handing off work without transparency feels like a betrayal. If I’m going to scale, it’s going to be the right way, by training and mentoring someone who I can vouch for.

Don’t Give Up Just Yet

Listen, I know it’s hard. I know what it’s like to feel like you’re shouting into the void, waiting for someone to give you a chance. But if you stick it out, keep refining your approach, and show up consistently, things can change. It took me years, but I’m living proof that persistence pays off.

The next client could be just an email away.