I’ve been a freelance writer for nearly four years, and some of my very best clients have come from Upwork. In fact, I’ve earned over $100,000 since setting up my Upwork account in 2016.

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This may surprise some people because if you listen to most freelancers, they’ll tell you to avoid Upwork like the plague. I can’t even count the number of times I’ve been told that Upwork is a “race to the bottom,” or that Upwork is full of scammers.

I’m glad I never listened to any of these stories because I would have missed out on tons of great clients and opportunities over the years.

But here’s the thing -- if you regularly apply for jobs on Upwork then you will have to weed through your fair share of low-paying jobs. But that’s going to be true of any marketing strategy you use.

So in my opinion, the answer isn’t just to avoid Upwork altogether, but to learn how to weed out the bad clients so you can find more of the work you want.

7 Freelance Writing Red Flags

Fortunately, spotting difficult freelance writing clients isn’t as hard as you might think. There are some common red flags that always jump out at me in their job description.

So without further ado, here are the biggest freelance writing red flags to watch out for on Upwork:

1. The job description goes on forever

Have you ever stumbled upon a freelance writing job where you fall asleep halfway through reading the job description because it’s so dang long?

The client goes on and on about their project, what they’re looking for in a writer, what your responsibilities are as a writer...it just never ends.

This is almost always a huge red flag.

In my experience, good clients are always fairly succinct in their job descriptions.

They know exactly what they’re looking for in a writer, and they get straight to the point.

2. The client goes on and on about their “high editorial standards”

Okay, I’m not saying clients shouldn’t have high editorial standards. They absolutely should.

But the thing is, I’ve written for publications with millions of readers. And when I got hired, not one of my editors ever said to me, “Just so you know, we have really high editorial standards.”

That’s because good clients know that high editorial standards are a given. And because they’re looking for a certain standard of work, those clients are willing to pay accordingly.

In comparison, bad clients always want perfect, top-notch writing, but they never want to pay for it. So when a client warns you that they have very high editorial standards, thank them for their time and move on.

3. The average hourly rate is lower than $5/hour

Whenever you apply for a new job on Upwork, you can view some information about the client on the righthand side. You can see where the client is from, how many jobs they’ve posted, and how much they’ve spent on Upwork so far.

But most importantly, you can see their average hourly rate. And then if you scroll down further, you can see the client history, which gives you more info about how much they’ve paid the freelancers they’ve worked with.

Look, I’m not against taking one or two low-paying jobs, especially in the beginning when you’re just getting started. But as a rule, I never, ever apply for a job where the client’s average hourly rate is $5 an hour or lower.

In my opinion, these kinds of clients take advantage of freelancers. I could literally go back to work at Starbucks for more money than that, AND have access to benefits.

4. The client promises “lots of ongoing work”

One of the hallmarks of difficult clients is that they dangle some sort of carrot in front of your nose to try to get you to do what they want. For instance, they may try to convince you to write a free “test article” and promise that if you’re hired, they pay really well.

Or they may try to talk you into temporarily lowering your rate because they’ll provide lots of ongoing work in the future. This kind of client rarely follows through on their promises, and you should avoid them at all costs.

5. They’re overly concerned about education and experience

Okay, if you’ve been reading my blog for any length of time then you already know that you don’t need experience to get started as a freelance writer.

And you don’t need a degree in a writing related field.

Heck, you don’t even need a college degree. Some of the most successful freelance writers I know didn’t graduate from college -- including yours truly.

That’s because good clients aren’t really concerned about either of those things. They don’t care about your job history or what you majored in during college.

In comparison, difficult clients almost always want tons of experience. If they’re looking for a finance writer, then they’ll only be happy hiring someone who’s a CPA or has some kind of advanced degree.

Or they want someone with five to seven years of experience. This person is always looking for an expert, but they are rarely interested in paying expert rates. In comparison, good clients are more focused on skill sets, and how you can help them now.

6. They talk to you like a potential employee

There are many clients out there who want to hire a freelancer and then treat them like an employee. For instance, I saw a job posting the other day for a company who wants to hire a freelancer to work 50 hours per week.

Let’s take a moment to look at the definition of the word “freelance,” shall we?

“Freelance: Working for different companies at different times rather than being permanently employed by one company.”

If someone expects you to “freelance” for them 50 hours per week, then they’re trying to get out of hiring another employee. Because by definition, you cannot be a freelancer and work for one company full-time.

7. They write “good luck” at the end of the job description

Okay, this final point may be nitpicky. But it always rubs me the wrong way when a client ends their job description by saying, “Good luck.”

See, this person believes that any freelancer who applies for their job is desperate to get hired. They believe that everyone applying is engaged in some sort of competition, with winning the job as the ultimate prize.

And for some freelancers, maybe that’s true. But it’s not true for me -- when I apply for a freelance job, I truly don’t care whether that person hires me or not.

I know that may sound strange, but it’s true. I don’t care because I know there is plenty of freelance writing work out there for everyone.

So who cares if I get passed over for one writing job? I know there are another 10 clients out there who would be thrilled to hire me.

Bottom Line

There are a lot of great clients on Upwork...and there are a lot of really terrible clients too.

Recognizing common freelance writing red flags will help you avoid difficult clients, so you can find clients who appreciate you and the value you offer.

I love teaching new freelancers how to use Upwork more effectively, which is why I created an entire webinar about the exact subject.

It’s called How to Use Upwork as a Freelance Writer, and it’s full of helpful information and valuable strategies.

If you feel like you’re not making any traction on Upwork, then you need to check it out immediately. You can grab your spot here:

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