**Paid Invitation Badge aka Availability Badge

FOR FREELANCERS

Why do I have to spend Connects to get the badge?

Thanks for asking. By charging Connects we hope that all talent will only use the badge when they are truly open to new projects (as opposed to leaving it up all the time). If too many freelancers have the badge at once then it won’t stand out as effectively to clients, taking away its value. 

Why does the number of Connects needed for the badge change?

Great question! The value of the badge fluctuates based on demand. If more freelancers add the badge, more Connects will be needed. If fewer freelancers are using it, fewer Connects will be needed. We set it up this way to ensure that market demand drives the cost.

This feature did not increase my business. Can I get a refund?
Thanks for reaching out. We do not refund Connects that have been used to add the badge to your profile. We cannot guarantee clients will send you more invitations due to the badge, rather we offer it as another way to market your business and availability to clients. If you find that the badge is not useful to your business at any time, you can always feel free to turn it off.

I turned on the badge and oops now all my Connects are gone. Will you refund my Connects?

Thanks for reaching out. We do not refund Connects that have been used to add the badge to your profile. Keep in mind that you do get 10 free Connects each month and you can check to see when those renew here. 

How is the price calculated?

Thanks for your question. The cost of the badge is paid out over the course of the week as long as it is turned on. Here are some cost examples: 

• If the badge costs 7 Connects, 1 Connect will be deducted from your balance every 24 hours. 

• If the badge costs 3 Connects, 1 Connect will be deducted from your balance every 56 hours.

• If the badge costs 3 Connects per week but the price changes to 7 Connects (within your maximum) 2 hours later, you will be charged 1 Connect when you first turned on the badge and then charged an additional 1 Connect in 22 hours. 

The Connects are deducted from your account automatically when the price changes, but you will always be notified and never charged more than the maximum you set.

I paid X for this feature, but my friend paid X. Why is that?

Thanks for asking. The value of the badge fluctuates based on demand. If more freelancers add the badge, more Connects will be needed. If fewer freelancers are using it, fewer Connects will be needed. We set it up this way to ensure that market demand drives the cost.

How does this look for clients in their search results? How does it look for them in proposals? Do they see me on the top of their lists?

Thanks for your question. Clients will see your badge in search results, recommendations, and on your profile. The badge does not impact where you rank in search. Here’s how the badge will appear:

Why don’t I have this feature, but this other person does?
Thanks for reaching out. We are currently beta testing this option and it isn’t available to all freelancers yet. Stay tuned!

I would like to signal that I’m open to invites only from certain clients/for certain jobs. I would pay for the badge but only if it was shown to clients who posted a job relevant to my category/skills and willing to pay my rates.
Thanks for your feedback! We are currently beta testing this badge and appreciate your input. 

SENTIMENT: This doesn’t guarantee talent will be on at that time, no adjustable hours.

Thanks for reaching out. The availability badge lets clients know you are ready to receive invitations, not that you are online at the moment or will respond immediately. You can turn the badge on when you really want more invites and turn it off when you’re at capacity. 

SENTIMENT: Too binary of a setting, doesn’t indicate what I’m available for.

Thanks for your feedback. The availability badge allows you to signal that you’re open to more invites from clients. If you’d like to communicate what type of work you’d like, you can add skills to your profile or update your profile overview to include this information.

INTERNAL INFO ONLY DEEPER LOOK:

We are charging the user on a per Connect basis - only going to be charging by 1 Connect increment while the badge is on. e.g. if I turn the badge on for 3 Connects/week, it starts a timer to track the customer’s badge usage (7 days divided by 3 Connects = 56 hours = 3,360 minutes of badge usage), and we will charge 1 Connect up front. Once the customer consumes 1 Connect worth of the badge, the “timer” restarts, we bill 1 Connect, and start the “timer” starts to track usage all over again.

(INTERNAL ONLY - see example price timeline below)

Day 0: A user turns on their badge for 3 Connects/week and sets their max weekly Connects to 5. 

Day 2 Price change 1: Price increases to 4 Connects/week.Max price of 5 Connects is not exceeded. The user now pays 4 Connects/week.

Day 9 Price change 2 (7 days after price change 1): Price decreases to 2 Connects/week. Max price of 5 Connects is not exceeded. User now pays 2 Connects/week.

Day 13 Price change 3 (7 days after price change 2): Price increases to 5 Connects/week. Max price of 5 Connects is not exceeded.  Customer will now pay 5 Connects/week

Day 20 Price change 4 (7 days after price change 3): Price increases to 7 Connects/week. Max price of 5 Connects is exceeded. Badge is systematically turned off.

a. when there's a price increase happening

b. when there's a price increase and it's outside of their set limit

c. when there's a price decrease

d. if the badge turns off due to not having enough Connects left to purchase the badge

e. how much they spent on the badge in a week