If you’re a copywriter that uses any of the myriad online freelance websites to find clients (Upwork/Elance/oDesk, Guru, fiverr, Thumbtack, Freelancer.com, etc.), it’s important to be sure the people you serve leave feedback for you after you’ve thrilled them to their toes.

Because I’ve left the freelance sites (for the most part) for the past year or so to concentrate on getting prospective clients to me direct so I don’t have to pay the exorbitant /members’/finders’/percentage fees that so many online freelance sites require, I just noticed tonight that my ranking and ratings are dropping at the site I used most for the past eight years, not because the few clients I’ve served this year from that site are unhappy or dissatisfied–they all have thanked me profusely–but because they failed to leave feedback for me on the sites.

I simply wasn’t paying attention as to whether they were leaving feedback when prompted by the site’s automatic system, so I was pretty astounded to see that my ratings fell from 99% and 98% “would recommend” to about 77%. ACK!!!

When I inquired at the site, they told me that the dearth of client feedback is what led to the lowering of my ranking. So even if a client is deliriously happy with what you do for him or her, be sure you get feedback on the site–not just in a private message to you! Otherwise some sites will downgrade you to far less than you deserve.

I’m pretty disgusted by this sad, unfair state of affairs, but it is what it is. So be aware and be sure you always get official feedback from your clients–feedback that gets posted in your Job History at the sites you use.