Note:
Boosted Messages is currently being tested with a limited group of freelancers and clients. If you don't see this feature on your account, it isn't available to you yet.
Boosted Messages let eligible freelancers promote a message to relevant clients, delivering it directly into a client's inbox. When your message is selected for delivery, it will appear in the client's Messages inbox with a Boosted label. Boosted Messages can help you introduce yourself directly to clients with open positions, who may be a good match for your skills.
How Boosted Messages work
Creating a Boosted Message is similar to writing a regular message, with a few additional campaign settings.
- Create your message
- Set your bid and spending limit
- Review the message preview
- Launch your campaign
Create a Boosted Message
You can start creating a Boosted Message from:
- Find work
- Your profile
When creating your message:
- Write a personalized message. Keep it quick, direct, and eye-catching. A few tips for writing messages that get responses:
- Personalize it. Reference something specific about what you bring to the table
- Lead with value, not your resume. Open with how you can help solve their problems, rather than a list of your credentials.
- Keep it short. Aim for a few sentences. Clients skim, so get to the point fast.
- Include a clear call to action. End with a simple next step, like inviting them to view your profile or reply with questions.
- Avoid generic openers. Skip vague lines like "I'm interested in working with you", they blend in and don't stand out.
- Your message can be up to 500 characters, including spaces.
Important:
Once you submit your message, you can't edit the message.
Set your campaign budget
Boosted Messages use Connects. You're charged Connects only when your message is delivered to a client. You decide how many Connects to spend per message when you set your bid.
When setting up your campaign, you'll choose:
- Your bid per message. This is the amount you're willing to pay each time your message is delivered to a client. A higher bid can improve your chances of message delivery when competing with other freelancers targeting similar clients.
- A spending limit. This is the maximum amount you're willing to spend on the campaign. You can set a daily limit (how much you're willing to spend per day) or a total limit (a cap for the entire campaign). Once your limit is reached, your campaign will automatically stop delivering messages.
- An optional campaign end date. If set, your campaign will stop running on this date even if you haven't reached your spending limit. Leave this blank if you'd like your campaign to run until your spending limit is reached.
You'll also see:
- An estimate of your potential message delivery, based on your bid, spending limit, and optional end date. This gives you a sense of how many clients your message may reach.
- A suggested bid, when available. This is based on similar campaigns and current competition, and can help your message stay competitive without overspending.
Bid amounts
You can bid as few as 1 Connect, and there's no maximum bid. When available, we'll show a suggested bid. Higher bids generally increase the chance that your message is delivered.
Preview your message
Before launching your campaign, you can preview how your message will appear to clients.
The preview updates as you make changes so you can review your formatting and content before submitting your campaign.
Reminder:
Once you submit your message, you can't edit the message.
Message review
Every Boosted Message is reviewed before delivery.
Messages that don't meet Upwork's advertising or marketplace policies won't be delivered. This includes content that violates our policies or attempts to move communication off Upwork.
If your message isn't approved, we'll notify you so you can create a new message that meets our requirements. This process is quick and typically takes just a few minutes.
Manage your campaign
After your campaign is live, you can:
- Update your bid and spending limit
- Change or add a campaign end date before the campaign ends
- Pause your campaign
- Resume a paused campaign
- End your campaign at any time
Message content can't be edited after the campaign is launched.
Campaign status
Your campaign will show one of the following statuses:
- Off: Your campaign hasn't started or has been turned off.
- In Review: Your message is being reviewed before it can go live.
- On: Your campaign is active and delivering messages.
- Paused: Your campaign has temporarily stopped delivering messages.
You'll get a push notification whenever your campaign's status changes.
Before a client replies
You won't have access to the conversation until the client replies.
How it works:
- You won't see the client's identity or contact information until a client replies.
- The Boosted Message won't appear in your Messages inbox, even though My Stats will show it as sent.
- You'll only see aggregate campaign performance in My Stats, including message views and replies.
Once a client replies, the conversation becomes a standard Messages thread, and you can begin communicating using Upwork Messages.
Track your performance
You can monitor your campaign in the Boosted Message section of My Stats.
Available metrics include:
- Messages sent: The number of messages delivered to clients.
- Messages viewed: The number of messages opened by clients.
- Replies: The number of clients who replied to your message.
Profile views from Boosted Messages are counted in your regular profile view stats, so you may see your profile views increase during a campaign.
When Connects are charged
Boosted Messages use Connects.
You're charged the Connects you bid when a Boosted Message is successfully delivered to a client's inbox. Your Connects history shows Boosted Message transactions. You will see the following message every time a client receives your message in their inbox.
"Your Boosted Message was received by a client."
If you don't have enough Connects, we'll stop your campaign before it exceeds your budget. In rare cases, you may have an outstanding Connects balance. If that happens, you'll need to purchase more Connects to cover the balance before you can start a new campaign.
Can I use Ad Credits?
When available, Ad Credits can be applied toward your Boosted Message campaign.
How does it work for agencies?
If you're part of one or more agencies, you can choose whether your campaign is paid for using your freelancer Connects or an agency's Connects.
To pay with agency Connects, the agency must have an eligible subscription. If you're not sure whether your agency qualifies, you'll see a message letting you know when you try to select it.
If an agency pays for your campaign, the agency admin will be notified that Connects are being used.
Frequently asked questions
Can I edit my message after launching it?
No. Once a Boosted Message campaign is launched, the message content can't be edited. If you want to make a change, you'll need to start a new campaign with a new message.
Why wasn't my message approved?
Messages that don't meet Upwork's advertising or marketplace policies aren't delivered. If your message isn't approved, you'll be notified so you can create a new one.
Can I pause or end my campaign?
Yes. You can pause or end your campaign at any time. You can also update your campaign budget and other campaign settings while your campaign is active or paused.
How am I charged?
You're charged in Connects when your Boosted Message is delivered to a client's inbox.
How often will clients receive Boosted Messages?
To help prevent clients from receiving too many Boosted Messages, we limit how often they're delivered.
- A client can receive only one Boosted Message every 30 days.
- A client can receive only one Boosted Message from the same freelancer every 90 days.
- A client can receive only one Boosted Message for the same campaign.
Can I choose what clients see my Boosted Message?
Not at this time. Boosted Messages are automatically matched to relevant clients based on your profile and their activity — you can't manually select which clients receive your message. Clients you've already messaged won't receive a Boosted Message from you.
What happens if a client isn't interested in my Boosted Message?
Clients can mark a Boosted Message as Not interested, which removes it from their inbox. You won't be notified if this happens. The Connects you used to send the Boosted Message aren't refunded. To help make better use of your future Boosted Messages, we won't deliver another Boosted Message from you to that client for 90 days.