This week my series of articles focus on Elance. Elance is a website where you can bid on freelance writing jobs. It is a paid membership website and this week I want to give you the ins and outs of using Elance, why it’s a good idea to have an Elance account, and how to place bids on Elance. There is a lot of information to cover so be sure to check in daily to read more.
First off let me say I joined Elance back in 2004 and have been a member ever since. Is it something I regret, definitely not. Elance was my starting point as a freelancer and I have gained a lot of knowledge and great clients through Elance.
Do I recommend people join Elance?
Yes.
If you don’t have an Elance account then maybe you should get one. If you are just starting out you might think that you can’t afford to pay a monthly membership but I do believe that $9.95 per month is justifiable.
Like most people you have probably heard that bidding websites should be avoided because they pay peanuts and some of this is correct. Elance however have been around long before these peanut paying jobs started infiltrating the markets and my guess is that they will be around for a lot longer too. With Elance the minimum bid you can place on any job is $50 and the majority of people who place jobs on Elance do so in the knowledge that they will have to pay for this work.
I am reviewing the website Get A Freelancer this week and today day 3 I can really see why Elance have such an advantage. I am convinced that people post jobs on GAF because they know they will get them completed for nothing and I really do mean nothing. I have seen jobs posted there looking for writers to complete 500 word articles for $1. That really is a joke and it explains why bidding websites have such a bad name. Elance is not GAF I am happy to say. There are a few of these ridiculously low paying jobs getting added but unlike GAF on Elance no one bids on these jobs. Most of the members on Elance are like me and have been there since the beginning. We are not willing to compromise ourselves or our reputations by bidding on these jobs and the people posting these jobs know that.
The minimum amount you can expect to get on Elance for a 500 word article is $10 and that really is a big difference.
Elance holds strong when it comes to its members too. No adult content jobs are allowed and if posted these jobs are removed.
I think what it boils down to, is the fact that websites like Get A Freelancer and other free bidding websites are only out to make a quick buck. They’ve seen how well sites like Elance and Guru do and they want a slice of the action. The difference is however, they don’t care how they make their money. I am getting a bit critical here and I apologise for this, but it really has opened my eyes reviewing Get A Freelancer this week because I have witnessed firsthand the trash that is being posted here and it makes me have more respect for Elance.
I began on Elance back in 2004 and this is what started my freelance career. Even back then it was expected that you would get $10 for a 500 word article, maybe $5 for a 300 word article. These are minimum amounts but that was what you were expected to bid and this is what buyers expected to pay. It seems though over the years things have started to slide. There are a number of very cheap paying jobs creeping onto Elance and there are some members that are bidding lower than what I have stated above but still Elance remains quite strong. I think the real reason Elance hasn’t been flooded with crap job postings and $1 articles is because buyers know they won’t get bids, they know their offers won’t be excepted, and they know that if they want to post a job on Elance then they have to be willing to pay for it. That’s the way it should be in my opinion.
Elance for me has been my key to success and for the first 2 years of my freelancing career it was my main income earner. When I started freelancing I was also working part time. Through Elance I was able to earn the same amount freelancing as I was working part time and this is what convinced me to quit my day job. I built up my list of clients through Elance too and I still work with some of them today too. You see with Elance I have found that most of the jobs you get become repeat work. I worked with some of my clients for 6 months, other a year or more. The best thing is, these people also recommend you to others and this is how you build your business.
I very seldom have to look for work now which is great but I still keep my Elance membership open.
Over the past couple of months I have started using my Elance account again and have managed to get a number of new clients. Like I mentioned you can get $10 per 500 word article on Elance so why would you bid lower than that.
I definitely think it’s time that freelancers took a stand where the likes of these $1 article jobs are concerned and just say NO.
I have rambled a bit on this post..
My question was, do you have an Elance account. If you answered no, then I suggest you come back and read this blog everyday this week to see why you should have an Elance account.
Until next time,
Keep writing.
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{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
Ok Amanda. Thanks for the review of elance. I promise to go give it a look and see how things go!
George
Thanks for the comment George, be sure to read the rest of the articles in this series so you pick up some tips and advice on how to successfully use Elance.
Amanda
I had an Elance account and the amount of scammers on that site is ridiculous. Lowball bidders cheating the system and buyers who ask for “revisions” or “free samples” are prominent. Elance has been going downhill for a while now, and the amount of frustration and lack of concern from their staff is apparent on their Water Cooler forums. I used to bid $10 for 500 words and received “bid too high” all the time. Most buyers go to Elance for cheap work, but it just isn’t as apparent as it is on GAF.
Because of my frustration with the whole process, I launched http://www.epubster.com/authors.aspx for authors and http://www.epubster.com/publishers.aspx for buyers. My goal is to have a good article directory for SEO and host a job board to bring writers and buyers together. It also makes it easier for writers and buyers since many of the writing jobs are submitted to article directories. My site does it all in one place.
All of the jobs are screened as well as the writers, so there are no jobs posted that insult providers (another huge issue with Elance). I suggest buyers and providers check it out since I believe the quality of freelance writing jobs can be raised if someone puts the effort into filtering the bad. Elance does not screen anything, so a lot of providers and buyers get scammed in the process. My website is watched to make sure this doesn’t happen to anyone.
Hi Jennifer,
Many thanks for your comment. Your website sounds great and something I will definitely be checking out. I think you are somewhat right about Elance and low bidders, there are quite a few but with the introduction of the new stats system this should hopefully change. Now if you under bid you will get penalized which is not before time. I think $10 for 500 words is a reasonable bid for standard articles and I have to say that I do quite frequently get jobs at this rate. I have of course also managed to secure $15 for 500 words at times too and $20 for 500 word product reviews. I may perhaps be just one of the lucky ones but I do agree with you that Elance has gone downhills since 2004. There subscription changes at the end of 2007 were a big let down but I do keep my account active because most of the time I tend to secure new long term clients from the projects I complete.
I will be checking out your website and hope to post a review here in the next couple of days.
Great and informative post. I started submitting Elance proposals and getting projects over 10 years ago when Elance was brand new and it still continues to be my best online marketing tool. Not only does it allow me to connect with hungry buyers that are willing to pay me for my specific talents, I absolutely love the freedom and variety that Elance provides. I highly recommend it to beginning newbies and experienced freelancers as well.
$10 for a 500 word article? Not bad – if you live in a remote village in Africa. Anywhere else, $10 won’t buy you a loaf of bread and a decent cup of coffee!