See workasfreelancer.com. All of you probably know getafreelancer.com or similar ones. I've decided to offer my service for free now with (almost) all the quality features of getafreelancer. The only difference: It won't cost you anything. I wonder if I could advertise the site this way, by saying something like: "Do you know GetAFreelancer? There is a way to get all this service for free now! Visit WorkAsFreelancer.com and get your project up and running or bid on open projects for FREE." If not, does anyone know how far one can go? Or does anyone have good legal resources that could clarify the issue? Thank you so much in advance.
If you're trying to offer your services for free, you will soon find out what you are overloaded with work to do and the quality of your work suddenly becomes much lower. There's no realistic way to offer your services for free unless you're already rich and can pay out a firm to do it as a public service. I've never seen anyway offer their services for 'free' to the public and still be successful at it. As far as the legality of it, I don't see that there would be any problem with it. You may consider being a little more general with the statements though, such as "Are you tired of paying thousands of dollars to freelancers on other sites? Join us, it's free!" .. or something along those lines.
@fsmedia: well in fact the system is completely automatic and there are certainly no refinements to be made anymore. i intend to offer others to advertise with the site as soon as it gets traffic etc. I think it wouldn't be that complicated to promote this site as others are actually paying for finding freelancers and this way they don't need to! also don't you think that this site could be spread even without spending hundreds or even more to promote it?
To be honest, I know free marketing works. I have PR6 sites and soon to be PR7 sites and I haven't spent a cent on marketing for them. Just depends on your site and how you market it, but you can definitely get your name out there and make a difference if you know what you're doing.
yes but marketing a site that would cost you money or commissions is much harder to promote when there are already established boards. I mean who would open a project on this site if they knew there isn't a real potential chance to find appropriate freelancer and/or get a generous amount of bids? They would likely turn to getafreelancer or any other site, don't you think?
I don't think that there is anything wrong with that. You can use the name of your competitors to promote your site with Search Engines.
Hmm sounds to me you dont value your time enough.. The opportunity cost of doing free marketing should atleast be above a couple of dimes
You have to be extremely careful when messing with trademarks I mean you could always get it for trademark dilution and you should always try and mantain strong BRANDING as not to be confused with other Brands or Trademarks.
Hi Sebastian. I think it is okay to make comparisons to other similar websites. But I also think it is better to address them as "other freelancing sites" rather than addressing the name itself. Putting down a well known site just to promote your own newbie site is not really good to hear right? I suggest emphasizing your benefits in a good way. You can tell people that your website works in the same way other freelancing websites do but yours is better because it's free. I believe the "free" term will draw in a lot of attention. If you are having trouble writing an effective description, you can always outsource a writer or have a friend whose good in writing do it for you. I wish you good luck.
Hmm.. I fhink free marketing works. It can be fast or slow depending on the amount of knowledge you have on web promotion. I see a lot of online marketers saying that effective marketing will only work if you spend for it. But in reality, aside from spending for an autoresponder, you can have a very effective marketing scheme without any money to start. And if I were to analyze the claims, it is all because these marketers are seeking to sell their promotion strategies or services. It is not really out of authentic concern for the people who need to do the marketing.
First off.. This thread is more than 900 days old.. You really shouldent bump a thread that old?? Secondly.. You completely missed my point.. He said he hadent spent a dime getting his sites to pr 6 and pr 7.. My point was that using your time has an opportunity cost.. You could have been working and earning money in that time.. So its only "free" in the sense you dont pay directly.. But if you value your time you will find that it most certainly is not free marketing your sites...
Using competitors' name to promote your product is not Business Ethics. Your product can stand out without their names. If you use their names in any case, say something good about them. ~Mike
Using a competitiors name in my opinion is just a no-no, it is not good Business Ethics. However one way to get around this is by saying: "Many of our competitiors may offer the same services for us, however we stand out because we don't charge you to find the help you are looking for" This way you don't name your competitiors, and you outline that you are free.
It's not considered "polite". But business is a tough game, if you are telling the truth, you can say whatever you want