Custom Requests

and other

Upwork Project Catalog updates

During the last few weeks, they released 3 new Upwork Project Catalog updates. What changed?

50% of clients can filter projects by freelancers, who are currently online. The test is almost finished, so soon we’ll either see this new feature rolled out for everyone. or not 🙂

Upwork is promoting consultation all over the Catalog to make them more visible and buyable. If you have this feature (because agency members don’t so far), did you see any changes in how your consultations perform?

It is the one update among those 3, that is actually worth attention.

In the past clients could only buy the exact projects you created in the catalog. This worked fine for copywriting for 5000 words, for example, or creating a simple logo. But it could cause confusion for more complex projects. Because as soon as the clients purchases the project, the contract is automatically open for the fixed amount and there isn't a way to modify the Project Catalog contract.

What changed with this Upwork Project Catalog Update?

Starting September 23, half of all clients can request customized work on projects and services in Project Catalog. They will see a button ‘Custom request’, the freelancer will then receive a message that a client wants a custom quote.

After discussing details, freelancers can create a contract with the exact terms, price and deliverables that were discussed and offer it to the client.

Most freelancers in the community who already tried this feature, say that this update is a great improvements from the previous one-size-fits-all model. And we agree too that it is a positive step towards mitigating the strict terms of the Project Catalog.

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