r/Upwork • u/exciting_username_ • 20h ago
Proposals unopened
Hi everyone, I'm new to Upwork as a freelancer and I'm hoping to get some tips on how to navigate this.
I have sent four proposals in the past 4 days, and from what I can see, none of these proposals have been opened.
An example of what I see:
The jobs have been posted between a few days and 2 weeks ago. I'm not sure what to make of this. Is this normal?
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u/ImEmmy 18h ago
Four unopened in four days is common early on, especially if the jobs were already a few days old when you applied. Clients often skim Best Match / Search and never open the ones that look generic in the first line.
Tighten the title and the first two lines of each proposal so they name that client's app, stack, or bottleneck before you sell yourself. Only spend Connects on posts where you can do that honestly. Track opens for a week, not send count. If opens stay near zero, you're still on the wrong jobs or late to them; if they open and still skip, the proof after line one is the leak.
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u/exacly 19h ago
It's normal, because you're new and haven't worked through all the typical beginner mistakes yet, and it takes a while to figure out how the Upwork platform works.
In most cases, a job ad from 2 weeks ago has gone stale and is not worth applying to. Definitely not all cases, but you've really got to know what you're doing with them and what to look for. Target job ads posted in the last 0-1 days while you figure out the right approach.
The client gets an initial view of some key information about your and your proposal. If this basic overview (which includes the first ~35 words of your proposal) doesn't interest the client enough, they won't click on your proposal to open it. Look up exactly what the client sees (profile photo, hourly rate, job title, etc.), because that's where you need to focus as your refine your profile and proposals.