Writing on Elance: Watch for The Traps

When it comes to freelance websites, Elance is one of my favourites.  They are professional, attract a good range of clients from different backgrounds and needs, plus (and most importantly) they have an escrow service.  For those who don’t know, escrow means the client has to put their money into the pot before you start writing. 

I can, however, understand why so many writers and freelancers in general find the experience frustrating.  While my experience has been good, I am also pretty selective about which articles I bid for.  I am also not cheap, and don’t feel the need to sell my services for peanuts, which seems to be one of the traps new writers fall into.  

I must warn you, some of the advice I’m about to give, is likely the opposite of what you’ve read elsewhere, including the Elance tutorials and Elance University.  However, I have been around the block a time or two, and in my experience the most important part of Elance success is finding the right projects.  

Be Selective:  I don’t bid on everything under the sun in hopes one of my bids will stick.  For one thing, I put a great deal of effort into my proposal, so too many bids is time consuming.  Furthermore, I choose projects that I think I would be good at, or at least, pique my interest.  Finally, I look for projects that are phrased professionally, and will likely result in repeat business.  

Avoid the Dangling Carrots:  For every professional business looking for a writer on Elance, there are at least three non-professionals trying to get rich via pay-per-click.  You can usually spot these people by attitude, although I will admit I was once fooled.  By attitude, I mean they attempt to dangle a carrot in front of you, but suggesting they have hundreds of articles, and if you do well on the first five or ten, you will have a steady stream of work.  Granted, some of them are legitimate, but if they are a new poster themselves, be cautioned.  Professional projects are usually obvious and will pay for quality work.  (Real Estate Agents, Retailers, Specialty Magazines, etc).  

BEWARE OF CAPITALS:  Another sign of trouble, and quite likely a get-rich-quick client, are those who feel they must give all pertinent instructions in capitals.  MUST PASS COPYSCAPE. MUST USE PROPER ENGLISH.  MUST HAVE GOOD SPELLING AND GRAMMAR.  NO COPY AND PASTE.  Really?  So you’re hiring a writer to…write?  Thanks for making that clear, otherwise, I may have copied an article from the Washington Post, translated it to broken English and thrown in a few spelling errors just to make it an original.  While I understand bids may come from all corners of the globe, if a client is concerned with the quality of writing, THAT’S WHAT WRITING SAMPLES ARE FOR.

Bid More Than $50:  Don’t sell yourself short just because you don’t have any client reviews on your profile.  Click on the client profile to review other projects.  This will tell you what price range they usually pay.  You will probably notice it varies somewhat.  This generally means the client hired according to quality rather than the lowest bid.  You will often find feedback from other freelancers, and while they likely leave good feedback to get repeat business, it’s also true no-one wants to work for a lousy client again.  Research the project or at least the client as much as you can and tailor your proposal, your samples and your bid according to the project.  

Stretch the Definition of Ghostwriter:  Almost all the clients on Elance seem to be looking for a ghostwriter, yet very few seem to know what a ghostwriter is.  Ghostwriting used to mean a client had ideas, a story-line, characters, and other specific content (research), but lacked the skill to make it sound clean, polished and well written, while still maintaining the client’s personality, voice and character.  However, internet ghostwriting seems to be “I’ll give you a title and keywords, you can do all the research and write something good”.  When you see the phrase “ghostwriter” just assume you will get very little direction about what the client wants in terms of phrasing or characterization. 

While most Elance projects will likely not be credited to your name, you can make some solid money and gain some valuable references and repeat clients.  However, stay away from the traps, the bidding wars and the $1 per article projects, or you’ll find yourself working like a dog for pennies an hour.  The one impossibly demanding client I had that emailed me constantly (oblivious of the 8 hour time difference and fuming when I didn’t respond on cue), after writing 3 of the 10 requested articles, I simply quit and refunded the escrow.  That’s the beauty of freelance, you can choose your own jobs.