What Freelance Job Sites Are the Best?

Hello to All!

I am new to Digital Point but are well established in the freelance writing scene.

I have been a Gold member of GetAFreelancer for a while now, O'Desk have my name on their membership and I recently joined Elance as well.

However, these three alone are worlds apart.

What really appeals to me on all three of them is that membership is free although on some like Elance the opportunity to bid for free is extremely limited.

I would like to know from you guys which sites do you recommend and where do you find the best projects with the best or most reasonable rates.

 

For the best projects and best rates I generally caution writers against using "freelance sites" at all. The vast majority of high paying gigs are never advertised. To get them, your emphasis should be on building your network and increasing your own visibility. Then work comes to you instead of you constantly having to search and apply for jobs.

 

So what you are saying is that having a proper website or blog where clients can read your work will help you find those better paying jobs?

and...

Does this mean that those buyers who are looking for quality and willing to pay for it will rather search the web than investing their time by placing ads with these freelance sites?

 

1. Absolutely.

2. Exactly. (They'll search for you or they'll ask for referrals from people they know, which is why networking is important.)

 

And so you learn something new each day!
Thanks!
I was under the impression the opposite is true!
Guess what am I going to do???

 

Also - I noticed that you don't pay for member ship on these site. GAF charge $12 for a gold member ship that helps you to gain more interest , and also protect you from paying a 10% project fee for accepting the work onsite. The site is a joke to say the least, people are asking for quality content for as low as $1 an article.

Elance only allows you 3 bids each month unless you upgrade for $19.99 a month and along with this you will recieve 40 connects (40 bids on projects you are interested in!)

Guru are a great site you pay the $150 for an annual membership , article rates are great , and if you are lucky then a lot of the clients will return to you time and time again.

Although offsite clients are best I have found the majority of the client base I have are picked up is through old projects on Guru and Elance.

 

There may be times when one might end up hiring a very good writer from the freelancing websites as well, all one needs to do is go through a few samples. The demerit here is that it is more time consuming, however one might strike a FORTUNE with writers who work on a lower price and give amazing quality !!!!

 

Or they could end up sued if that "amazing quality" content is ripped or rewritten from other sources (and articles at those extremely low rates often are).

 

There's no dearth of work anywhere online. Some sites allow you to bid for free and work through the site and then you can simply move on with clients and never have to come back unless you want to get acquainted with new clients.

Some sites want to have more control in order to act organized.

Some sites will have you pay some membership charges.

There's jobs everywhere.

The joke behind the idea of looking for clients is that nowadays everyone is a client. people post ads
"I have job, I give you" and you'll have some 380 people vying for that job."

It's not about not being from an English speaking country but there's plenty of dimwits( smarter humans with better advertising for their so called writing companies) who act as middlemen and outsource the jobs and pocket the difference.

Irrespective of where you look for a job, make sure you find the real client and not the middleman.

 

Another thing that bothers me extensively is the requests for adult content.

On some of these sites, you get mail once or a couple of hundred times a day to inform you of new job postings.

At one stage 9/10 of these job postings was from writing XXX articles up to the making of XXX video clips! I call it pornographic material and as far as I know that is illegal!

When I complained with the "management" of the site, I was told to disable the notifications. I disabled my membership as a whole.

In addition, jhmattern, regarding your comment:

Now do not fall off your chair now, but my first online writing job was 500 words for $0.30! You know why? I needed a job desperately. I would rather work for something than not work at all.

I landed this first job of mine on GAF, paid the commission and had something in my pocket for a change.

I think the distinction is more personal. I have always did my OWN work, never rewrite a copy from another website etc.

Today, I only laugh about that ridiculous rate I started with, but I can smile with pride and dignity today, because I write for much, much more than that today.

 

You may not have, but MANY do (which is why I said "often"). In fact, they don't think there's anything wrong with it. They'll go to EzineArticles and simply re-word someone else's content. They think if it passes copyscape the work is unique (it's not -- it just means that software isn't "smart" enough to tell the difference). The simple fact is that the vast majority of very low rate work is complete and utter garbage. Depending on where the client lives, there's also a good chance it's copyright infringement. It's a serious risk for buyers to take, and very rarely worth it. As for those supposed "gems" in the mix, all they do is hurt their own reputation in the grand scheme of things by associating themselves with the lower rate writers as a whole.

 

That is now some food for thought! Thank you, I value your comment...

 

I'm a member of Odesk and Elance.

Odesk is free to use, but it does seem to have a majority of buyers offering bargain basement prices. I market my skills and experience, and have picked up some very well paying jobs there, so it's worth persisting.

I usually use Elance for free, but when there are a few jobs I want to bid on, I upgrade for $9.99 I think, for 20 connects, that upgrade lasts one month, then I edit my membership to go back down to the free basic membership. Again, I've picked up several well paying regular clients that keep coming back for more content, and pay my rate.

I also have my own site and pick up clients there. I'm not short of fun projects that pay just fine.

There's no reason to restrict where you find work, as long as you market your skills and accept the rate you're happy to be paid.

 

You can also try a Russian web-site free-lance.ru.They often need native English speakers to check translated texts or to write articles in perfect English.

 

I am also new to Digital Point and I am thankful that I found this thread. I am also a provider for oDesk and have come upon this site while I am looking for a better job site for free lance writers. It seems I came to the right place, after reading this thread. The tips are valuable, since I have been debating with my two selves if I am going to put up a website for my articles/blogs or just look for more contracts from other websites. Now, I know which of the two should be given priority. Thank you so much for the enlightening posts. And thank you so much, SA Professional for starting this thread.

 

I like odesk and elance is the best for freelance job sites but there is a lot of freelance job to choose but the questions who is the legal one.

 

I think efreelancer is awesome

 

As a hirer I use Elance. I can always get what I need for a fair price there.

 

Odesk is a good one but it records you sitting at your computer. For me it feel like I'm being watched
These sites are also good for article ideas

 

That's why I refuse to support Odesk when I'm helping freelance writers out with job leads and such. In the US, that's exploiting the rights of independent contractors (clients cannot watch over your shoulder or control your work unless they're prepared to make you an actual employee -- and pay the taxes and such on their end that comes with it).