I can see why you would want to look at elance/guru, etc. For "emerging market" countries, it provides a way for freelancers to connect with clients who have more money for projects than you may be able to find closer to home. I can see the two sides of the argument for freelancers paying a fee upfront just to participate in the marketplace. If it seems expensive, try this: get a great web site together showing off what you can do, then post ads for your services on forums like DP and SitePoint and Webmaster-Talk and others and see what comes to you that way. If you want to work for USA clients, I recommend getting an inexpensive VOIP phone with a USA phone number and act like your business is USA-based (same goes for if you want to work for Australian, UK, or wherever). Depending on what you do and how much you want to work, you can then try PPC ads (which will definitely be expensive, but can generate 10-20x return if you do it right). Hope this helps.
@amf-flt Overall yours is a well thought-out answer and some good alternate advice. Only thing that I disagree with is: Why pretend? I think in order for any business to succeed in the long run, there has to be honesty and transparency from the begining. Potential clients will figure out that you are not from where you say you are very early on, and that will only damage your reputation. Get a VoIP, thats great, cost-effective too. Just be truthful. You will do yourself a big favor in the long run. www.freelancersatlarge.com
I didn't say "pretend". I said to act like it. As in: "Act like you're going to be wildly successful." Semantics maybe. I know people who are USA-based and get VOIP lines in UK to drum up UK business. For UK people, having the local phone number implies a more UK-centric business which can be comforting for them.
Yeah, semantics maybe. Among one of my businesses I also run a web development company with a development center in India. In all my communications, I clearly state my Indian phone numbers, US VoIP Number, and also mention the time the company is in. www.freelancersatlarge.com