What actually helped me get my first clients on Contra?
Some were clients I already had before joining the platform whom I invited to manage projects and invoices, and asked them to leave a review on my profile. (this last item is KEY)
Another thing I learned was to stop sending generic, AI generated applications. Personalized messages written for real people work WAY better.
And finally, a curated portfolio with the work I ACTUALLY want to get hired for.
That is what worked for me on Contra. What about you?
Oh well, I sent AI-generated messages to apply to different jobs on another platform, and that kinda backfired - rejections came one after the other, some even in the same day. 😅
Oh I see! I thought you were talking about sending invoices to clients outside the platform but I see what you mean now! The more personalized, the better!
I recently joined Contra and I have also decided to manage my current clients through the platform and I will ask them to leave a review. Thanks so much for sharing, this was so helpful
This post was really helpful we are still struggling to get our first hired on contra, done the best bit invited past clients and collaborators to leave a review, added a portfolio link I think what you said about generic AI messages might actually be one of the issues , Thanks anita
This is the playbook. Bring your credibility with you, talk to people like humans, and show only the work you want repeated. Platforms amplify effort, they don’t replace it.
In my experience both here and on UpWork, what brings the most and best clients are your "keystone" projects.
What I mean is this - you have some project you've worked on, and very likely its not the highest paid one - but its the one you feel showcases your talents best, and...
Recently shipped this motion-first agency website for Verq.
I handled the frontend architecture and development, with a focus on making the website itself feel like a showcase of their work.
WebGL, scroll-driven motion, GSAP, Lenis, Next.js, TypeScript and a Strapi CMS all tied together into a responsive site the team can update themselves.
I’m open to new projects where the website needs more than a standard template particularly interactive marketing sites, agency websites and product experiences.
Last night I demoed my job-feed agent live at AI Tinkerers Barcelona. I think it went well!
It scores each Contra posting out of 10 against rules I wrote in plain text, drafts the good ones, and declines the rest by citing the rule.
Recording, map and build order: https://redmage.cc/ait-bcn
I hit $10K in earnings a few days ago and received so many messages asking what I did differently.
honestly, the only thing that really helped me was stopping the overthinking.I stopped thinking about all the possibilities. Stopped thinking about when it would happen. Stopped...