Beginner's Guide

Setup Your First Filter
In 5 Minutes

From zero to automated lead generation. Follow this guide to stop searching manually and start letting the jobs come to you.

Yes — you can go from zero to an automated filter in about five minutes. Pick your keywords, set your client-quality floors and budget, choose a delivery channel, and start it. This guide walks through each step. The catch: setup is five minutes, but writing a good filter — the right keywords and floors — is the part that actually determines what you see.

What this does not do

Setup is quick; a good filter is not. The tool does what you tell it, so the quality of your keywords and floors is the quality of your leads.

The number that matters

Most people spend the five minutes on setup and zero minutes on tuning. The freelancers who win spend the five minutes on tuning — because the filter only finds what you tell it to find.

Yes — you can go from zero to an automated filter in about five minutes. Pick your keywords, set your client-quality floors and budget, choose a delivery channel, and start it. This guide walks through each step. The catch: setup is five minutes, but writing a good filter — the right keywords and floors — is the part that actually determines what you see.

What this does not do

Setup is quick; a good filter is not. The tool does what you tell it, so the quality of your keywords and floors is the quality of your leads.

The number that matters

Most people spend the five minutes on setup and zero minutes on tuning. The freelancers who win spend the five minutes on tuning — because the filter only finds what you tell it to find.

1. Create & Name

Click 'New Filter' and give it a descriptive name like 'High-Ticket Copywriting'.

2. Define Criteria

Enter keywords to include/exclude. Set strict budget minimums.

3. AI Power-Up

Enable 'Persona Matching' to have AI read the job description for you.

4. Launch

Paste the webhook URL you want jobs pushed to (Discord, Slack or your own endpoint) and hit Start.

1

Initial Configuration

Once logged in, click the big + New Filter button.

The most important part is the Keyword Logic.

  • Include: "React", "Next.js" (Matches EITHER)
  • Must Include: "SaaS" (Matches ONLY if this is present)
  • Exclude: "Student", "Low Budget", "wordpress" (Filters these OUT)
💡 Pro Tip: Be aggressive with negative keywords. Excluding "entry level" often removes 50% of the spam.
2

Quality Control Gates

This is where FreelanceFilter shines over Upwork's native search.

  • Client Spend: Set to > $1,000 to ensure they have paid freelancers before.
  • Payment Verified: Always check this.
  • Hourly Rate: Set your floor (e.g., $40/hr).
3

AI Persona Matching

Toggle the AI Analysis switch.

Select the "Expert Strategy" persona. This tells our AI to read the full job description and assess if the client is looking for a partner or a grunt.

Learn more about how this works in our AI vs. Keywords guide.

4

Delivery & Notifications

Where do you want the leads? Delivery is by webhook — you paste one URL, and every match is pushed to it.

  • Discord / Slack: Fastest to see — the ping lands as each check finishes.
  • Your own endpoint: The full JSON payload, for a CRM, a spreadsheet or an automation tool.

To see matches the moment a check finds them, we highly recommend setting up a webhook. Read our Discord Setup Guide for a 2-minute tutorial.

Common Questions

How many filters can I create?

Scout is manual search only — it runs no scheduled monitors at all, and gives you 30 manual searches a month. Signal runs up to 3 monitors at once, First Responder up to 8.

What if a filter sends me too many alerts?

Send high-volume filters to a dedicated Discord or Slack channel rather than one you read all day. You can also tighten the filter, widen the check interval, or set a daily active window so a filter only runs during the hours you work.

Can I edit a filter after starting it?

Yes. You can pause, edit, and restart a filter at any time without losing its history.

Does this connect to my Upwork account?

No. FreelanceFilter is 100% safe because it does NOT require your Upwork login credentials. We search public feeds on your behalf.

Ready to Start?

It takes less than 5 minutes to set up a system that will save you hundreds of hours per year.