Hello, I'm new to freelancing. In fact, I have not completed a single job yet. I have been searching the popular freelancing sites, looking on forums for people I can help and still I have had no success. One thing I want to try is promoting my efforts on craigslist. I have tried once before with no success. What kind of things should I include in my ad to properly entice prospective clients? I am looking to get into freelance writing/marketing. For those of you who freelance, how much success can one expect from craigslist?
I've never had success trying to do freelance writing on Craigslist personally. I get most of my work from WF. Freelancer and eLance are okay if you want to work for pennies. Do you have experience doing writing? Article, content, copy? Have you tried here on DP in the services section?
I've completed more than 50 over gigs but have not gotten a single job from Craiglist. I suggest you move away from Craiglist and spend your time instead on building up your rep on freelancing sites like ODesk or Elance.
It's because CL is a local classifieds. Most people there ignore and flag ads that are not for local services.
I do have experience writing articles and content. I have not tried the services section here. I looked for it but could not find it. Ethan, thank you for the advice. Now that I know this is the way to go on give it a shot. What is WF, and why is it better than the other freelance sites? Thank you to everyone. I appreciate the great advice. I think I just need to jump in and give it a try.
WF is the Warrior Forum, just another IM forum similar to this one. A bit more sales-y, but many of the people there are willing to pay a decent bit. For DP; Go down to 'buy, sell, or trade', then 'services', and then go to the content section.
I've found that self-promotion on Craigslist isn't as valuable (or easy) as you might think. I have, however, found quite a few jobs through Craigslist by searching for work, instead. There's a really great site called Search Tempest that I have used to find work on Craigslist, in the past. It lets you search the entire US for a specific term, which can be huge for freelancers. For example, if you're a writer you'd search for the term "writer" and set the distance to "Any" so that it returns searches all over the country. If you're a graphic artist, you'd search for things like "logo design" and "graphic design." You get the idea. Then, you just email the person who needs the work done and include your portfolio. Oftentimes, it's easier to pick up work this way in comparison to freelance sites because there's less competition.
Jennifer is right on Craiglist. Finding work by advertising is not easy, but if you start watching under JOBS-Writing/Editing in major cities you will find some great opportunities to bid on. The competition can still be pretty fierce. Forurms like Digital Point, Warrior Forum, Wicked Fire, and others have always been my best source of finding new clients for writing gigs. You can both reply to ads for people looking to hire writers, or post your own ads and get a good response. Make sure when you advertise on the forums that you add your ad post to your signature line so every time you post it becomes another mini-ad for your services.
Don't lose hope. Try if you think it's a good option for you. Many people advertise and convert well there. Just twist the method.
I have tried searching for work using craigslist, I got numerous interview but non of them is a good one. Probably this would depend on your location. Would still go for freelancer, odesk, or people per hour.
I'm with the guys who think Craigslist is rather useless. Especially for content writing there are many other freelancing websites that will help you out. As you might expect, it will be hard to get around at first and you will probably have to do some jobs for low payment just to get your portfolio going, but with time you will find more and more quality gigs. Such websites are oDesk, eLance, iWriter, Freelancer.com. Checking around this forum and similar forums you will find that there are also places that look for services such as the ones you're providing so you will definitely find better places to spend your efforts.
First of all for those freelancers who are new in the field, my advice to them is to focus on building strong strategic relationship with clients rather than just earning dollars. Now to answer your question. You have not gotten any freelance work but I am assuming you have some skills. Try Fiverr.com, where you can work for $5. You will definitely find some client there. Work for them. $5 may not be much, but think about earning client's trust and satisfaction which will result in long-term work for you. This will be a good start for you. On Fiverr, the important thing is what you are offering for $5. So think long and hard about your service package. As for the craiglist, it is like a classified site I believe. If you have done any work for a company or an independent work like a personal blog or something, then use it to create a portfolio. Post your portfolio there and offer attractive package. That should attract some clients. Don't ask for too much dollars.
Well, without having knowledge of successfully posting on Craigslist, it may take you years and constant updating to stay up to date with them. That is why you may consider a professional poster to do it for you. Be careful though, 99% of Craigslist posters are scams or just outsourced workers who don't have a solution for your campaign long-term. If you are serious about increasing leads with Craigslist, you need a reliable posting company that is based in the U.S Contact me or visit my website below Skype: ClassifiedWarrior Email:
I thin WF, DP, bhw , wicked fire ..best places to sell your services WE can help if any one want to pos ads a CL " Cheap I also OFFER JOINT VENTURE at CL I will post for you without any fee but share Money $$ Send me msg , I like new ideas also, I Offer Free posting in Labor n move, furniture, smbiz, comp etc section
Craiglist is not sufficient, till now i have got only one response from it. If you want to get jobs online you have to submit your service description in at least 20 yellowpages websites and to website which do crowdsourcing like freelancer, pph, etc.