New copywriters can often struggle to find clients. This is completely unnecessary, if you have basic writing skill and know some copywriting formulas. It's not your writing skill, in that case. It's just your knowledge level about how to propose for gigs. 

Fortunately, learning to propose for gigs effectively, and start earning $50/Hr and up right away, even as a newbie, is an easy fix, my friend. 

To get more $50/Hr copywriting gigs on UpWork than you can handle, log on to UpWork and propose to 3 to 5 gigs daily. But do it the RIGHT way, or it will be futile. A checklist for you:

1. Always use ONLY copywriting techniques in your proposal. No "just friendly" copy. No throat clearing. No "I saw your gig post and ..." You have the power of rhetoric, and proposals must be only rhetoric, only copywriting. A simple piece of rhetoric is Hook, Retain, and Promise Reward. Or more precisely in a proposal:

a. The Client's Problem as they state it in their gig posting

b. Intensify the Problem

c. Offer Your Solution

Always be copywriting! In almost every communication with a client or potential client. Especially in your proposals for gigs on UpWork. 

Here are more details on the Hook, Retain, Promise Reward gig-winning simple proposal formula: 

- HOOK: State the client's problem clearly, in one sentence, so they feel it.  Doesn't need to be super creative. Shouldn't be super creative or clever or funny or punny at all --  all that is just distracting them. Just needs to be clear, and one simple sentence. This gets their attention and there's no way they can resist it. (And they don't want to resist it. They want to solve that problem!)

- RETAIN: Make the problem even worse -- but with just one or two simple sentences without a lot of clauses. Just expand on the problem they have. Expand in one direction only. Don't start covering several points. That just takes up their time and delays getting them to do what you will ask them to do. 

- PROMISE REWARD: State the solution in one sentence. Don't be clever or overthink it. Just make it personal to their gig posting, as with all this copy in your proposal. 

2. Always close with a clear call to action. Tell them exactly what they should do to get the reward. (Ping you back.)

3. Make your proposals short, personalized to what the client wants, straight to the point, and with 2 relevant portfolio samples.

Don't have 2 relevant portfolio samples? Got you covered, my friend. Just do this:

Write two relevant portfolio samples for a lucrative and/or interesting field asap.

They don't have to be for clients. They can be examples you wrote to show your skill. Of course don't lie if asked [clients will never ask, because they don't care], but there's no need to label them as "examples" or "spec" pieces. Clients don't care if you've been "published." They only care that you can write well enough. So just include them as Google Doc links when you propose for gigs in that field.

Don't believe the outdated myth that Upwork writing gigs pay peanuts.

There are hundreds of copywriting gigs on UpWork daily stretching into $100/Hour range. And thousands in the $50/Hour range.

Propose to 3 to 5 Upwork gigs daily (and never quote less than $50/Hour, or you won't be taken seriously) -- and you'll soon have all the side-gig copywriting work you can do. (At which point, in your new proposals, you can bump your prices up)