Freelancing platform giant Upwork would charge $0.15 per “Connect”. This new regulation was announced this week by the company CEO Stephane Kasriel. From the month of May, the 60 free “Connects” per month, wouldn’t be free anymore. For those of you still wondering, “Connects” are free credits that were available to place your proposal for projects on Upwork. A freelancer typically needs 2 “Connects” to place a proposal. Of course, you have the option to exhaust more of your Connects, to place premium proposals, etc. So ideally, with 60 Connects, you could place proposals for a maximum of 30 projects per month.
From the month of May, a freelancer would spend at least $0.30 (2 Connects) to place each bid. Mostly, without the guarantee that the client would eventually award you the job.
Why Was the “60 Connects Per Month” Capping Essential
Platforms such as Upwork are often infested with freelancers who aren’t professional and serious enough. People looking for unassuming clients and one-time gigs. Freelancers with limited credibility or accountability. So, with 60 free Connects in their kitty, these freelancers often go around flooding projects with relatively bogus bids. To compensate for their otherwise bland work history and unimpressive profiles, they offer to work at dirt cheap rates. There are three side-effects to this.
- They drastically pull down the overall pay standards.
- The cheap rates lure clients into awarding them the project. In most cases, the client ends up with sub-standard work.
- Bids from legitimate and skilled freelancers often get lost in a pile of bids. Identifying the right talent becomes a problem for the client.
The capping of “60 free Connects” is an integral factor to exercise a check on how casually you can afford to send out proposals. In recent times, Upwork has undergone revolutionary operational changes. For example, a stringent screening process has been introduced for new freelancers enrolling in the system. But what about the bulk of users that got migrated from once-existent Elance and oDesk platforms, when they merged together into the largest freelancing brand Upwork? The “60 free Connects” restriction was the perfect way to stop them from going hysteric.
In today’s freelancing landscape, Upwork tops the chart with the largest client base and a mammoth number of freelancers skilled in a plethora of niches. The operational processes and payment protection schemes are the best among its peers.
