Last week I received an email from Neil Asher in which he included a link to a free Elance E-book. This free e-book has been written for people who want to outsource but it is also a good read for freelance writers who use Elance as a means of getting freelance writing jobs.  This e-book explains how buyers can use Elance which you probably won’t find interesting but it also goes on to explain how buyers should screen freelancers, what they should look for and how they should evaluate bids.  This is great for freelance writers as it will give you an insight into the mind of the buyer and what they are really looking for.

As you probably know I am a big advocate of Elance and I have been using this website to obtain freelance writing jobs since 2004.  I still use Elance and probably complete at least one writing assignment per month.  This free Elance e-book is great for all new freelance writers who are confused about finding jobs on Elance and it will explain what you need to include in both your portfolio and your bids.

This book is free so if you are in anyway curious be sure to download it and see what information you can take from it.

Until next time,

Keep Writing

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Choosing a freelance writing job to bid on with Elance isn’t as simple as just logging on and placing a bid and there are a number of things that you should take into consideration before you do this. There are some tricks and tips that can help you make the most of your bids (connects as they are called on Elance) and not waste them.

Connects are explained in the previous post http://ghostwritinguncovered.com/Blog/elance-fees-and-connects-explained/

When you log into your Elance account and go to the Writing and Translation category to find jobs there are a few things that you should do. I always choose the show all category so that I can see a list of all the jobs that are available. Here’s a screen shot of what you should see:

Next I will start at the top of the list. If we take a look at the first project listed which is for a Creative Writer That Loves Food, we can see that there are no bids at this time. We can also see that the buyer has selected not sure for their budget (this can be a sign that the buyer is just putting up the project to get an idea of what it might cost them). If you mouse over the buyers name Ferntec you will see that they have posted 18 jobs and awarded 50% of them so that is a good sign. Next thing that I would do is to click on the + beside details to take a close look at this project. This acutually shows very little so I would click into the actual project itself to see what the buyer is looking for.

The job description is very poor:

Job Description:

Need a very creative writer that loves food, cooking, recipes etc..

Want ot to be very personal and fun…will only give slight suggestions – hopefully you can direct the newsletter yourself – self reliant, dependable

I have a few ideas for the newsletter – must promote products etc..

Please attach some writing that you have done – can be your choice

There is no indication as to how many words this buyer requires or exactly what they want. For me unless I was interested in writing newsletter I would leave off bidding on this project. The reason being I don’t want to waste my connects having to ask questions about exactly what the buyer wants.

Moving on, the next job listed is a featured project. You will see that this freelance writing jobs has been highlighted. This means that you will use double your connects to bid on it. It’s a translation job so I would skip this anyway. The next job I would look at is for 20 Articles. There are no bids on it as yet so let’s take a look. The first thing we can see is that the budget is less than $500. This is also the first project this person has posted and when we look at the details we see that this buyer has a very detailed description which is good, and it is also very clear, you are given the required layout for the articles and told that they are to be 500 words each. If I were to bid on this project I would bid a minimum of $10 per article so $200 for the articles and then include the Elance fees which are Payment Processing costs (2.75%) and Elance Service fee (from 4% to 6%). You will see these fees when you put in the amount of your bid as below:

There are a number of things to look out for when placing bids: If a buyer states “this project is easy for someone who knows what they are doing” this literally means I expect this to be completed for next to nothing so I would avoid bidding on this. Be sure to always check how many projects the buyer has posted and how many they have awarded. Elance insist that buyers award 20% of their projects which is one in 5. I mention this because if you bid on a project and it’s not awarded you don’t get your connect back.

Check out the buyers feedback too and always insist on using Escrow for payment. Don’t forget to include your Elance fees in your bids too as these are important. If you have any questions or comments on bidding on freelance writing jobs using Elance please leave them below in the comments section and I will answer them as quickly as possible.

Until next time,

Keep writing
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Elance is making changes again and this time for the better. The introduction of statistics is set to replacing the current ratings system and will aim to award those better performing freelancers. So what are these statistics all about?

These statistics are a new way to display freelancers activities and they will show how freelancers are doing compared to other providers.  These statistics will work on a points bases that will be calculated on your work and activity on Elance.  You accumulate points by:

Service Delivery
Service Delivery points will increase when you receive high ratings for your work and you use the Elance Work System (e.g. workrooms and status reports, payment, and feedback). Points are deducted for policy violations and cancellations due to poor performance.

Client Relationships:
Client Relationship points increase when you receive positive client recommendations, retain clients and grow earnings per client on Elance.

Marketing:
Marketing points increase when you submit proposals that win work and build a strong profile. Points are deducted for submitting proposals below the budget range.

From today stats can be viewed privately in your account so that you can become familiar with how they work.  This is beta phase and during the summer these statistics will become public and your points accumulated will determine your search result placement and they will be visable on the project proposals you submit and in your profile.

Is This Good News For Freelancers?

I think this system will work very and I especially like the fact that low bidders will be penalised which is great.  Points for service delivery will be calculated based on the past 6 months and will include earnings, feedback, status reports, cancellations, and violations.  Cancellations and violations will deduct points.  Points for Client Relationships will be calculated based on client recommendations, earnings per client, number of clients, and repeat clients.  Marketing points are based on bookings, job accept rate, tested skills, verified credentials, and proposals below budget (which will results in points being deducted).  Full information is available on the What are Points? page over on Elance.

I think this system will work really well and help to get rid of the low bidders who are ruining the Elance experience.  Now that you have to comply with all the rules of Elance it should make things so much better and I for one am in approval with this new system.  What do you think?

Until next time,

Keep writing.
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Continuing with my Elance series, today I want to focus on Elance membership fees and explain exactly what connects are.

Elance Membership Fees

Membership fees with Elance vary depending on the subscription you choose.

• Free Subscription = 3 connects per month, you cannot purchase more connects

• Individual subscription = $9.95 per month and 20 connects. You can purchase more connects

• Small Business subscription = $19.95 per month with 40 connects. You can add 5 people to this membership and you can purchase additional connects.

• Large Business subscriptiion = $39.95 per month with 60 connects. You can add unlimited people to this membership and purchase additional connects.

My Elance subscription is the Individual subscription so I pay $9.95 each month and I receive 20 connects.

What Are Connects?

This is something that confuses quite a lot of people. It would be easy to just say that connects are bids but it’s not that simple. Whilst connects are what you use to bid, each connect does not equate to one bid. The number of connects you need to bid on a project will depend on the project budget. If a project is under $500 you will use up one connect to bid on this project. $500 – $1,000 uses 2 connects, and so forth. This goes up to 4 connects to bid on a project. There are also what are known as featured projects and to bid on these projects you will use double the amount of connects. If the project is for $500 you will need 2 connects to bid on it if it is a featured project.

You can also use an additional connect if you want to have a sponsered placement in the bids. There are two sponsered placements offered for each project and if you choose to have one of these it means that your bid will be placed at the top.

For a newcomer to Elance the whole connects thing can be quite difficult to grasp but one you understand it, it’s not so bad. I have to admit though, I still much prefer the old Elance system where a bid was a bid and for my membership I received 80 bids per month that carried over if I didn’t use them all. With connects, if you don’t use them you lose them.

So that’s all about Elance membership fees and connects explained. The next in this series of articles will focus on how to choose a project to bid on and what you should avoid.

If you have any questions about Elance please make sure to ask them in the comments section and I will answer them and feature them in this series of articles.

Until next time,

Keep writing.
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As you know, this week I am working on a series of articles relating to the freelance jobs bidding website Elance. I mentioned this on Twitter a couple of days ago and I was approached by Maryan Pelland of the Chicago Freelance Writing Examiner who wanted to interview me about my experience with Elance and how I use it. I am delighted to report that the interview is now live and you can read it over at the Chicago Freelance Writing Examiner.

Let me know what you think and be sure to keep an eye out for the next in my Elance series which focuses on Elance membership fees and what are connects.

Until next time,

Keep writing.

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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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This week is set to be an exciting week here on the Hidden Writer. For starters I will be adding a series of articles on the bidding website Elance. This is a series of 4 articles which will include.

Why You Should Have An Elance Account
Connects and Subscription Fees Explained
How To Choose A Writing Job To Bid On
How To Word Your Bid For Better Success

Also this week I am working on a review for Get A freelancer which as you know is a free freelance writing jobs website where again you have to bid. My research for this post started yesterday and each day I will be checking out the jobs, placing bids, and reporting my results after 7 days. So keep an eye out for the post next week.

I am also busily preparing for the launch of my new e-book which focuses on multiple streams of income for writers. Currently I am interviewing a number of top freelance writers to get their views and opinions on some of the topics I will be covering in the e-book. If you are interested in taking part in this email interview just head over to my main website Ghostwriting Uncovered and send me a note via the contact page.

I plan on going back to basics over the next couple of weeks and getting a little more personal. I will be sharing with you why I choose Ghostwriting Uncovered as the name for my website. How I started my freelance writing career, and answering any questions you might have.

Until next time,

Keep writing.

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If you’ve been freelancing for a while you probably already know the answer to this question:

What’s The Worst Mistake New freelancers Make?

If you’re new to freelancing or thinking about getting started then keep reading because you will want to know the answer to this.  Believe me, it could save you a lot of hardship and sleepless nights.

Most freelancers start off using bidding websites such as Elance, Get A Freelancer, or Guru to name but a few.  When you log into these websites and find a job you want to bid on your have to include your price and the amount of time that it will take for you to complete the job.

I have underlined the last part of that paragraph on purpose because this is where you can make big mistakes. I’ve made them, as I’m sure many others have and it is because of this that I can share this knowledge with you.

When I started ghostwriting back in 2004 it was all new to me.  I worked in a hospital on the admin side of things so typing was part of my daily chores and my typing skills were second to none.  This was to be my advantage and of course my downfall.  I made quite a few mistakes when I started but the one that always stands out in my head is my lack of concept regarding time.

How long do you think it takes to type a 500 word article?

How long do you think it would take you to do a press release?

How long do you think it would take you to write 5 300 word blog posts?

Keep the answers written on a piece of paper beside you for a minute and when you get to the bottom of this post look at them again.

When I started I was so naive, I thought, 500 words, ah yes that will only take 20 minutes, I can easily do 10 of them in a couple of hours.  And so began my worst nightmare.  I placed a bid for 15 500 words articles @ $2 per 100 words (a beginners rate on Elance back then) and said I could have them completed within 24 hours.  Needless to say I got the job and a huge headache to boost.

I had 15 articles to type on health related subjects and I thought it was going to be easy money.  I sat down at my computer, microsoft word opened, google opened, and off I went.  I’d say it was probably about 10am and I was stoked.  I had estimated that by lunch time I would have more than half of them completed and by dinner time I would be $150 richer.  Not bad for a days work for a beginner.

How did it really go?

Well I started on the first article.  I can’t remember now what it was so I’m going to say it was about heart disease.  I opened google, typed in heart disease and began reading and taking notes.  I read through the websites of the first 10 google results, and took careful notes until I was ready to type my article.  I never looked at the time and just started typing up my article.  Once the article was finished it was then time to proof and edit.

One down and only 14 left I was on a roll or so I thought.  To my amazement when I looked at the clock it was already after 11am.  What I had estimated taking 20 minutes had actually taken over an hour and I had 14 more to do.

To cut a long story short it was well after 3am when I finished my 15 500 word articles.  Did I make the same mistake again?  No way…I learned a valuable lesson that day.

My advice to you, time yourself before you bid on jobs.  Before you jump in feet first it’s always a good idea to test the water.  You don’t want to freeze now do you.

Winning bids and getting paid for your writing is one thing, but sitting up till 3 and 4 in the morning is another.  Was my $150 worth it?  At the time no but looking back it was worth more than you could ever know.

I was lucky that my 500 word articles weren’t keyword articles or I might have been sitting there all night. I strongly advise that you take time out to assess your skills before you start freelancing.  Take my example above on heart disease, sit down and write a 500 word article.  Time yourself and see how long and how much work is really involved.  It is only then that you will really know.

If you want to practice keyword articles I do give a great example in my Ghostwriting Manual that you could try.

Now, take a look at the answers you wrote on your piece of paper.  Do they still seem realistic to you?

Until next time,

Keep writing.

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If you are one of the many people deciding to make the transitition into ghostwriting in 2009 then you are going to want to know where to start.  Now I could plug my ghostwriting Uncovered manual here but I’m not going to.  If you want to buy it you can

Today I want to list all the websites I know where you can bid on ghostwriting jobs.  I probably won’t be able to list them all so if I miss any that you recommend be sure to place them in the comments.  I would like to be able to compile a very comprehensive listing here on The Hidden Writer so that anyone looking for ghostwriting jobs will know where to start.  I would also like it if people would post their opinions and experiences with these websites in the comments section because that way we can help prevent time wasting.

2009 List Of Bidding Websites For Ghostwriters

1. Elance – This is probably the most common place for ghostwriters to bid on writing jobs.  A paid membership can cost from $9.95 with 20 connects (bids) per month.  You can also become a free member with 3 connects per month.  Elance has to be my favourite, it’s where I started out and whenever I am short on work this is the place I always return.  I have secured many of my full time clients from this website.
2. Guru - Guru is next in line after Elance and is a paid membership website.  I have to admit, that I don’t have much experience with Guru.  When I was starting out Guru’s membership fees were too much for me.  I have heard some good reports about this website though so hopefully someone will be able to provide some more details.
   
3. Get A freelancer - Get a freelancer is an extremely busy freelance website with plenty of jobs to bid on.  You can join for free and your get 15 bids per month.  You can also upgrade your membership to Gold status for $12 and if you do you don’t have to pay fees on the jobs you win.  My only complaint about this website is that all the jobs that are posted are really low paying.  I have seen people bid $30 for up to 40 articles.  I don’t know if anyone gets high paying or even reasonably paying work from here.  Anyone any comments?
   
4. Rent A Coder - Again I am not really familiar with this website.  Membership is free. 
   
5. Odesk - This is another website that I am not familiar with so any input would be appreciated.
   
6. Direct Freelance - I am a free member of this website and receive daily emails when jobs are posted.  Most of the jobs look very promising but I haven’t as yet bid on one because you need to be a paying member to do so.   It is worth joining as a free member and subscribing to their email alerts so that you can see for yourself the type of ghostwriting jobs on offer.
   
7. Biz Reef - I am also a member of this website.  What appealed to me about this website was the fact that you could bid in your own currency.  I subscribe to their email alerts and receive frequent emails  about new jobs that have been posted.  The jobs look promising but there are also jobs with very low pay so I am still undecided about this one.
8. EU Freelance - This website is linked to GetAFreelancer and is relatively new.  Bids are placed in Euro but like Get A Freelancer I have a feeling they are from people looking to have work carried out for nothing.
9. Writerlance - Don’t have very much information on this website.  As far as I know it’s free to join but again somewhere low bids can be expected.
   
10. Pclance - This is totally new to me and one I never heard of until I started researching this post.  Hopefully someone will be able to provide more information.
    
11. Ifreelance - This is a website that I joined as a free member back in 2007.  It was very promising and had some excellent ghostwriting jobs.  After a couple of months they changed to a fee paying site and because I have an Elance membership and my client base was growing I didn’t upgrade.  Anyone have experiene with this website that they can share?
    
12. Project4hire - This is another website I discovered when researching for this post.  Any information would be great.
    
13. Writing Bids - Another new one to me, looks very similar to all the other free websites.  Hopefully someone can provide more information.
    
14. Gofreelance - Another one that I have yet to experience but again probably very similar to the free websites that are out there.

I think the main problem with websites free websites such as Get A Freelancer is the members.  There are people who are bidding next to nothing to complete the projects and that is why more and more  people are becoming convinced that they can get work done for nothing.  What do you think?  Have I hit the nail on the head here?

Until next time,

Keep writing.

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This post is bound to stir up some contraversy but it is something that I have been thinking about since doing my first coaching session with a friend of mine last week. I was explaining to her how to use Elance and how to word her bids so that she might stand a chance of winning the job she was after.

So anyway after logging into Elance and getting her to pick a job that she would like to bid on, I set to work showing her how to word her proposal and showcase her talents. The next part was putting a cost on the project. I found myself explaining to her that she would have to bid low in order to get her first job and feedback rating. It was a transcription job and she like myself would have around 10 years experience doing this type of work. We set a bid price of $75 for typing up 7 seminars with a completion date of three working days. Now I know what everyone is thinking….OMG $75 how could you?

Long story short, she got the bid and was absolutely over the moon. She couldn’t believe it, she was a little child who had just been given the best present ever. It got me thinking about when I first started ghostwriting. I remembered that feeling, the excitement over winning a bid, the sheer joy at actually getting paid to do what I love. When I think about it now I realise how much things have changed in those few short years. Now when I think of Elance I just don’t bother. Why would I work for so little, why would I waste my time, so many why’s. The reality of it is though, I have become greedy. I’ve read so many posts where people are giving out about low pay, people are complaining constantly about Elance, and people saying that no writer should work for such low pay. There are writers constantly telling you that you should be getting x, y, and z for your writing and like most others out there I listened.

I stopped bidding on Elance, I stopped feeling that excitement that I felt when I won a bid, and I stopped enjoying getting paid for my writing. Now it was all about how much I could get, how much money could I make, it wasn’t about the writing anymore, it was now all about the money.

Watching the excitement on my friend’s face when she won that bid made me realise that I missed that excitement. I missed the thrill of winning and most of all I missed the feeling of getting paid to do what I loved. Have you lost that excitement? Do you think that you have become greedy over the years?

Yes I have my high paying clients and yes I make a large sum of money each month, but the excitement just isn’t there anymore. I remember I worked long hours but I also enjoyed every minute of it too. I loved learning about new things and now my writing has become a mere job, a greedy job too where everything is focused on money.

I have decided to change that. I want the passion and excitement back, I want the sheer thrill of the chase, that feeling that I have beaten everyone else and won the prize. Don’t you want that too? Don’t you want to feel as excited as you first did when you started writing for money?

How do I intend to do this? I’m going to start bidding on jobs again. I’m going to start going to Elance and seeing what’s on offer. I’m going to look for ghostwriting jobs that will spark my passion again and I am going to bid. I know that I will have to lower my rates to do this but I don’t mind. I believe that finding my writing passion and being grateful for the opportunity to get paid is more than enough.

It’s time to stop being greedy and focus more on how my writing skills can help others. We keep reading about a recession so maybe it’s time to start giving back. I know that most people reading this won’t agree with me and that’s fine, but let me ask you one question. If getting paid $2 per 100 words meant that you would again feel the excitement that you felt the first time you started getting paid for your writing, would you take it?

Until next time,

Keep writing.

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