Upwork Connects I How Do Connects Work on Upwork?

The main goal of Upwork is to provide a robust platform where freelancers and Clients connect and build healthy relationships. As a freelancer on Upwork, you need some digital tokens to send a proposal to clients and let them know you are interested in their project. These digital tokens are known as Upwork Connects.

As a freelancer, you invest these connects in your freelancing business to reach out and win clients. It is a virtual currency you use to apply for jobs on Upwork. This will help you market your skills and target the potential client you will build a working relationship.

How can you maximize your chance of landing a job on Upwork by using Upwork Connects?

This article is about Upwork connects, when, and why a freelancer uses these connects. How can we get Upwork connects to find a potential client? After reading this article, you can get free and paid to connect. You will also learn how we can use these connects effectively to win the right client. Let’s move further to explore some important points.

How to get connects on Upwork?

There are two methods to get connects on Upwork:

Buy Connects

Firstly we will discuss two ways to purchase Upwork connects:

1. Upgrade Freelancer Plus Plan

Freelancer Plus plans help you market your skills, send a proposal, and stand out from the competition. They have to pay $14.99 to subscribe to the Freelancer Plus plan. You will get the following benefits:

  • You will get 70 connects per month and 10 free from Upwork (a total of 80 connects)
  • You can reach out to clients and find projects easily
  • Upwork will keep active your profile
  • Enable the Freelancer to see bids of a competitor on the posted job
  • You will get a Customized profile URL
  • Enable to keep your earning confidence  

How to Subscribe Plus Plan?

  • Go to settings, Membership, and Connects
  • Select View or Edit Membership plan
  • Select the upgrade button on the plus

2. Purchase Connects

Each connect costs $0.15, and you can buy a bundle of 10,20,40,60and 80. These connects are used during the submission of the proposal.

How you can buy connects

  • Go to setting
  • Select Membership & Connects
  • Click Add More Connects

No need to use connects for every job. Mostly connects are used in the range between 2 to 8 There are some smaller projects where we use 1 or 2 connects and gradually increase as the length of the project increases.

buy connects

How to get free connects on Upwork?

Here I will discuss some methods to earn free connects.

1. Get Monthly Free Connects

Freelancer basic accounts get 10 free monthly connects, issued on the first day of the billing cycle. And 70 connects are given by Freelancer every month for the Freelancer Plus account. The Freelancer basic account is free for every seller, while the Freelancer Plus plan costs $14.99 monthly.

2. Get 40 Connects as a New Seller

As a new seller, you will receive 40 connects after registering your freelancer account on Upwork. Freelancers can connect if they pass the interview with a potential client. These free connects can vary.

As a new seller, you get 40 free Upwork connects, enough to bid for 10 to 15 jobs.

3. Earn 30 Connects as a Rising Talent Badge

Freelancers will receive 30 free connects if they earn a rising talent badge. Upwork gives rising talent a badge to those with a strong professional background.

Remember some tips to earn this Upwork talent badge

  • Create a strong profile with your accurate skills
  • Add some value to the project and complete it on time
  • Submit a proposal regularly, and it must be related to your skills
  • Keep the client up to date on the project
  • A freelancer must have been active for the past 90 days

4. Complete Upwork Skill Certification

If a freelancer passes some assessment given by Upwork, he will get an Upwork skill certificate. This will be able to get one-time connects bonuses after completing Upwork skill certification.

5. Redmme a Connect Reward

Upwork offers free occasional connects as a part of a limited promotion. A freelancer will receive a promo code to redeem the connects. you will achieve this by:

  • Go to Settings
  • Select Memberships & Connects
  • Click Add More Connects
  • Select an amount
  • Enter your coupon or promo code
  • Choose to Apply
Redmme a Connect Reward

6. By Submitting the Proposal

You can also get free connect if you win the client by passing the interview, for you need to send the proposal, win, and respond to the interview that exactly matches your skill. This strategy will help you to spend your connect wisely.

Where you can use Upwork Connects?

1. Submit your proposal

There are some jobs where you don’t need connects while sending a proposal, and the number of connects varies from job to job. Upwork will show the amount of connects before sending. So, use your connects wisely and read the job description carefully to see if it matches your skills.

2. Boost your Proposal

Boosting proposals is an amazing feature of a world where you can land at the top of the client’s list and get a higher chance of winning the job. You need to bid additional connects on your proposal to stand out.

Freelancers who spend more will be visible on the client’s list.

3. Turn on your Availability Badge

It helps to show your availability like “Available Now”, and the client will know you are available now. When clients look for Freelancer, it will show you availability. It would help if you spent connect weekly to turn on the availability badge. You can also set the number of connects according to your weekly choice.

Benefits of Upwork Connects

  • Upwork Connects ensures that freelancers only apply to the jobs they are best fit for, saving the Freelancer and client time.
  • Freelancers with little or no experience with Upwork can use it to send a proposal and increase their visibility.
  • Freelancers only focus on a job according to their strengths and Freelance skills.
  • Encourage the new Freelancer that they can also stand out from the competition.

Conclusion

In Conclusion, Upwork Connects plays a vital role in connecting freelancers and clients. Connects are an essential tool that enables the Freelancer to submit a proposal effectively and win potential clients. Due to its cost-effectiveness and time-saving, Upwork has motivated freelancers to get a good job on Upwork by using Connects. As a freelancer, you should use your connects wisely to stand out.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

If Upwork removes, the job post or the client cancels the project before the final. The connects used for that proposal will be returned to you in both cases.

The connects expire after 1 year from the date of issue.

Connects are the virtual currency you need to spend for submitting proposals. These connects will help you reach out to the client so that you may find a job earlier than your competitors.

It is impossible to get unlimited connects. However, you can get limited connect by following Upwork policies.