Tips On Hiring from Upwork (KDP Blog: Feb 12, 2024)
Over the past few weeks, I’ve learned a lot about working with and hiring freelancers. I have a VA who works for me part-time, and while he possesses many skills, I still turn to Upwork to find additional talent to assist with my books. In a recent article, I shared that I published my first-ever (proper) medium-content book. Since then, I’ve been working on my second book and am about 70% through. This book required illustrations, so I hired a freelancer on Upwork for the task.
I’ve also begun working on a third activity book and have once again used Upwork to find the ideal candidate for illustrating the pages. Here are some tips for hiring on Upwork:
- Always have a budget in mind and strive to offer a fair price. Offering too low a price might attract low-quality designers, while offering too much might not provide value for money. A good strategy to determine what to offer is by looking at prices on Fiverr.com for the specific service you need.
- Instead of manually searching for talent, create a post with a detailed description of your requirements. Ask applicants to rephrase your needs in their proposals, which helps to distinguish those genuinely interested in your project.
- Be patient and allow at least 24 hours before reviewing proposals. You’ll receive numerous applications; select the most promising candidates who have demonstrated similar work they have done in the past and possess effective communication skills.
- Narrow down the candidates to one or two and then message them to request a sample coloring page (paid). Provide them with a detailed brief on what the sample should include. For instance, “illustrate a children’s coloring page that features a school bus with a school in the background.”
- Select the freelancer whose sample most closely aligns with your expectations. If the samples do not meet the standards you are seeking, consider exploring other proposals or create a new job posting to attract fresh talent. Remember to take your time during the hiring process.
How is my first activity book doing?
It’s selling quite well, mostly through ads. I’ll delve deeper into the book’s performance in my next article.
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