The proven, step-by-step formula I used to personally earn 6 figures in just 12 months freelancing online. Yes, you can earn $50,000 – $100,000 doing what you love on Upwork I know because I’ve been doing it for the past 4+ years.
Module 1: Your Business
Lesson 1 – Your big picture game plan
You can’t earn $50k-$100k on Upwork just by doing a lot. You need a proven plan. See how my 3-point big picture strategy earns me (and my students) more money in less time. Learn why “getting more clients” should not be your goal. Discover the invisible game the Old Pros don’t want you to know about. And more.
Lesson 2 – The psychology of attracting high-quality clients
It’s no fluke that lots of Upworkers just do okay, while an elite few have more high paying work than they know what to do with. Learn the key business principles these winners have successfully borrowed from companies like Apple and Starbucks, and applied to freelancing. Find out the truth about why some freelancers are always stuck with lukewarm clients, no matter how hard they work. See why even the best clients are willing to pay certain freelancers very well, but not others. And more.
Lesson 3 – Designing a high-end freelancing business
Average freelancers set up shop on Upwork, then wonder why great clients don’t beat a path to their door. But the best clients don’t show up by accident. Find out what they’re really looking for (hint: it’s not “competitive pricing” or years of experience)-and how you can give it to them, even if it’s your first day freelancing. Learn how I strategically decide which jobs and clients to target, how I charge more than 99.9% of freelancers, why I get better results by offering fewer services, and more.
Lesson 4 – Eliminating competition: The art of strategic positioning
Most freelancers drive down their own value by appearing just like one another (usually while blaming clients or “the global marketplace” for their failure). Learn how you can position yourself to stand out from the pack, and appeal strongly to the best clients-without having to compete on price. See how I charge more than all of my competitors on Upwork, without being especially talented or having credentials. Find out why I want some clients to choose my competition over me, why clients don’t want to hear about how good you are, and more.
Module 2: Your Leads
Lesson 1 – The psychology of the Hidden Upwork Economy
I’ve been getting Premium Upwork (formerly Elance) clients to come to me for years-with little to no competition. Find out why some of the top clients don’t post public jobs, how to get found by them when they search for freelancers, and how to make your profile irresistible to them so they invite you to their job. I’ll show you the 7 ways most freelancers mess this up (even the Old Pros who should know better, but don’t). And I’ll give you a successful, proven framework you can use to make your profile “sticky” (even if you’re brand new).
Lesson 2 – Commanding attention in the crowded marketplace
You have literally 3 seconds to stand out from the crowd and get noticed by clients on Upwork. Find out what most freelancers don’t know about the psychology of capturing attention, and how clients decide which freelancers to focus on. Get the inside scoop on how your competitors’ unconscious assumptions keep them stuck being “invisible.” Learn the 6 cardinal sins made by even experienced professionals, and what you should do instead.
Lesson 3 – The science of winning first impressions
Human beings are wired for snap judgments. The latest research shows that clients size you up in 1/100th of a second-and this is before they even interact with you personally. Learn the surprising science of how to win clients’ trust instantaneously, without any effort whatsoever. See why this impacts how many jobs you get, how much you’re able to charge, and even how happy clients are with your work.
Lesson 4 – Profile Teardowns
Do you know why top performing athletes pay millions of dollars to have coaches looking over their shoulder? It’s to point out the subtle mistakes that creep into their work – mistakes which are impossible to pinpoint when you’re the one making them. In this video, you’ll get to watch me do detailed critiques of real Upwork profiles written by SSFU students so you can learn exactly which pitfalls to avoid – and how to avoid them – when writing your own profile.
Module 3: Your Proposals
Lesson 1 – The psychology of Upwork proposals
Why do my proposals snatch jobs from under the noses of freelancers who charge less than half what I do? Because I take a scientific approach that’s designed to win. See the “retail store” trick I use to turn the tables and get clients to want to do business with me. Get the skinny on the “trigger words” that cause your competitors to make the same predictable mistakes over and over again-and learn how to avoid them. Find out how I leverage psychological “Influence Activators” to outshine freelancers who have 10x my qualifications. See why the best clients aren’t impressed with “years of experience” – and what to give them instead. Get the “billionaire” hack I’ve been using to outperform so-called “experts” for years. And more.
Lesson 2 – Endless clients: The art of persuasive proposals
Time to take the guessing out of proposal writing. Learn my proven, 4-step framework for writing proposals that WORK. This approach flies in the face of conventional wisdom, yet I’ve successfully used and taught my method to hundreds of students, including many of the most successful freelancers on Upwork. See examples of tactics from real winning proposals, along with breakdowns of why they’re effective. Learn my “1-Sentence Rule” for breaking through the noise and getting clients interested in you from the word Go. See how I’ve consistently won jobs with over 70 applicants! Get proven tactics for influencing clients to hire you in just about any situation, without ever sounding “salesy.” Learn my “Pepperoni Pizza Approach” for getting clients excited about working with you. Use my simple system for determining what to keep in your proposal, and what to delete. And more.
Lesson 3 – Handling screening questions like a pro
Screening questions can either be a frustrating hurdle, or an opportunity for you to shine. Shed light on the automatic behavior (learned in childhood) that causes most freelancers to answer screening questions totally wrong. See why clients use screening questions in the first place, and what they’re really looking for when they ask them. Learn about the predictable (and underwhelming) answers the majority of freelancers use for the most common questions, and how they backfire-as well as what you should do instead. See actual examples of winning tactics, and more.
Lesson 4 – Proposal teardowns
In this second teardown lesson, you’ll hear my candid thoughts on actual proposals sent out by SSFU students. We’ll go over real Cover Letters as well as answers to Screening Questions, giving you an insider’s perspective few freelancers ever get access to. These “over the shoulder,” line-by-line teardowns will show you the psychology of winning proposals in action – not just in theory! This lesson alone has helped hundreds of SSFU students supercharge their proposal writing abilities and outshine even their most experienced competitors.
Module 4: Your Results
Lesson 1 – Unlimited ROI: How to leverage one-off jobs into clients for life
Would you rather spend half your time hunting and pecking for new clients-or get emails from half of your previous clients asking you to do more work for them? Get the formula I’ve used for turning over 50% of my clients into repeat customers who keep me busy month after month, so I can make more money, without having to spend my valuable time looking for new work. Freelancers who complain about the “feast or famine” lifestyle don’t understand the psychology of repeat business. They think you need to find new client after new client in order to make money at freelancing – I call this “Revolving Door Freelancing”, and it’s a totally backwards approach. Learn how to avoid this, how to get great reviews from your Upwork clients, and more.
Lesson 2 – Negotiating with confidence and power
Imagine being able to command more money, without doing more work. That’s the power of negotiation. In this video, I’ll walk you through the advanced negotiation strategies I’ve used to consistently charge up to 20x what average Upworkers do. Learn proven, scientifically based techniques, like my “Breadmaker Approach” for getting clients to say yes to your price quotes, and increasing clients’ budgets through “freerolling.” Find out the real reasons clients haggle on prices (and how to avoid it altogether), how to handle counteroffers, and more. I make all of this simple and easy enough for anyone to execute.
Lesson 3 – Skyrocketing your rates (without fear of rejection)
Freelancing is most fun when you get to charge what you want with confidence and power. Learn my “Rock Climbing Method” for raising your prices without any risk or fear of losing out on business. I’ve used this exact approach to grow my income quickly, beyond what most online freelancers believe possible. This method has its roots in the principles of successful investing, yet it’s something that anyone can do.
