This article explains how freelancers on Upwork can use the Boosted Proposal feature to increase their visibility for job postings. By bidding extra Connects in an auction, eligible freelancers can secure one of four top proposal spots marked as “Boosted,” improving their chances of client interaction. Boosting is optional and freelancers are only charged if they win a top slot or receive client engagement while boosted. The article details the bidding process, eligibility criteria, charges, and potential outcomes, including cases where no charge is applied if no eligible interaction occurs or the freelancer is outbid before the auction closes - AI helped create this summary
Boosting your proposal may help improve your chances of landing jobs you're excited about by placing it near the top of a client's list. This option appears only for jobs where you're likely to be a good match.
To boost, you’ll bid additional Connects on your proposal, entering it into an auction for a boosted slot:
- Eligible freelancers who are the top bidders will have their proposal appear in the top four slots, marked “Boosted,” until they’ve received an eligible interaction, OR their proposal has been opened three times with no further action, OR been seen five times with no action by the client
- If eligible, you can bid to boost your proposal until the auction closes, which happens seven days after the job is posted or when the client hires, whichever comes first
- Eligibility to boost your proposal is determined based on how good of a match you are for the job and client requirements. You can always submit the proposal without boosting
- Find: You see a job post that is a great match for your skills and experience. When you submit your proposal, you may see the option to boost your proposal
- Decide: If you’re eligible to boost, you can bid any Connects amount to boost. It’s always optional and clients still receive your proposal if you don’t boost it. The bid table shows what other freelancers are bidding to help you decide
- Bid: Set the maximum number of Connects you’re willing to spend to win one of the top spots. This will be in addition to the required Connects needed to submit your proposal. You’ll see the total Connects you’re using to submit your proposal at the bottom, which will include your bid amount and the required Connects
- See auction results: If you’re one of the highest bidders, we’ll highlight your proposal to the client by putting it in the top four slots and adding a “Boosted” icon. It will remain boosted until the client interacts with your proposal, opens it three times without further action, sees it five times without interaction, or you’re outbid. If you move out of a boosted slot, the “Boosted” icon will be removed and your proposal will be moved down the list to the organic results
The auction is closed after seven days or upon first hire, whichever comes first, and you can’t boost a proposal on the same job post after that.
- Find the “Boost your proposal (optional)” section at the bottom of your proposal. Note: You will not see this option on jobs whose auctions have already closed
- Add the number of Connects you’d like to bid and select Set bid
- Choose Send for (your total bid) Connects
To see if your proposal is still boosted:
- Go to Find Work and select Proposals and offers
- View your submitted proposals
Pro tip:
Make sure you’re confident about what you bid. If you withdraw a boosted proposal, you can’t submit it again and auction charges will still be applied as if you had not withdrawn.
When you boost a proposal, you are immediately charged the Connects needed to submit the proposal. You’ll be charged the Connects you used to boost your proposal at the end of the auction. The cost for the proposal and the cost to boost will show up as two separate charges in your Connects History.
If either of the below happens, you’ll pay what you bid:
- You are among the top four bidders at the end of the auction
- The client interacts with your proposal while it is boosted. We consider eligible interactions as: the client opens your proposal, shortlists your proposal, messages you, archives your proposal, declines your proposal, or sends you an offer
You will not be charged if you are knocked out of the top four slots by other bidders before receiving an eligible interaction.
Examples:
- You bid 35 Connects to boost your proposal and are the top bidder when the auction ends. The other winning bidders bid 30, 25, and 20 Connects. You’ll pay the exact amount of your bid of 35 Connects, the second slot winner will pay 30 Connects, the third slot winner will pay 25 Connects, and the fourth slot winner will pay 20 Connects. You’ll be charged at the end of the auction.
- You bid 20 Connects to boost a proposal. You’re in one of the top promoted slots and the client clicks on your proposal, but during the course of the auction, you get knocked out of the four promoted slots before the auction ends. You’ll pay your 20 Connects bid since the client interacted with your proposal while it was promoted.
- You bid 10 Connects to boost a proposal. You’re boosted, but unfortunately you’re knocked out of the promoted spots before the auction ends and the client did not interact with your Boosted Proposal. You are not charged the 10 Connects that you bid to boost your proposal; you’re only charged the Connects needed to submit a proposal.
Note:
To help measure if Boosted Proposals are helpful to users, a small number of job posts are randomly selected as “Boosted Proposal placebo jobs.” When freelancers boost a proposal for a placebo job, the client won’t receive any boosts on this job post and the freelancer’s Connects are not taken. Learn more about Boosted Proposal placebo auctions.