Still Wondering About Elance?

I joined Elance in April 2009 and am currently a Premier Provider in the Writing and Translation category. Elance helped me get started on my freelance writing career and I continue to be impressed by the services they offer to providers.

It was intimidating to start a new career, but I have always wanted to write. At the time, I had no idea how to become a freelance writer. After some web searching, I identified a few likely sites: Examiner, oDesk, Guru, Wisegeek, LimeExchange, and Elance.

Because I was a beginner and wanted to cover all of the bases, I applied to and was accepted into all of the sites. Some required more extensive information than others and had restricted access to their job listings until I was signed up. A friend had worked from Elance and recommended them, so I started there and was very impressed.

Before you think I drank the Kool-Aid, let me say that I did work for Wisegeek for a few months. I enjoyed the experience and learned a lot about SEO writing, but in the long term, the requirements were too restrictive and the pay too low so I left them to focus solely on Elance. I still have free memberships on the other sites and receive periodic emails from them with job listings. Those emails are how I know I made the right choice.

Here are few examples of projects currently listed on other freelance sites: 5000 links to be checked and rewritten with a budget of $50-100; 15 pages of original content (1500 words/page) for $5 per page; 6 Excel spreadsheets with research required for eleven items and extensive categorization with a budget of $20.

I would like to say that these are not representative of the caliber of the jobs on those sites, but they in fact are. Elance has its share of jobs with low budgets or incomplete information from buyers, but for the most part overall, the listings are fairly priced and clearly explained.

In addition to access to great jobs, Elance offers several tools that protect providers. The Hourly Work Guarantee, with hours verified by Work View™, assures that providers will get paid for hours worked. The Fixed Price Work Guarantee utilizes escrow to ensure that clients have the funds to pay for the job while ensuring payment for the provider. I have used both systems with great success. I was concerned that Work Viewä would seem intrusive, but it wasn’t at all. It was actually quite a good tool for gaining the trust of a new client. He was able to see that I was working on his project during the approved hours and I was able to gain a repeat client. For fixed price jobs, I always appreciate the comfort provided by that little money icon showing that escrow has been funded.

I am also protected by the Terms of Service. On Craigslist, as an example, a writer may be asked to write an article “on spec”. Basically this is free, unpaid work. Elance’s TOS states that providers cannot provide this type of work and jobs requesting it are removed from the site.

As for navigating the Elance site, it is really quite intuitive and easy-to-use. Each job has its own workroom from which providers can access all of the necessary tools to manage each job. I like to be able to communicate with clients and access all of the information associated with their jobs in one place.

Over the course of the last year or so, I have encountered a few issues and had some questions. The Elance community message boards provided me with suggestions, advice, and a way to blow off steam with others who understand the freelance world. I have also contacted Elance representatives for issues and the experience was very good. I have used email, support tickets, and telephone assistance to ask questions or to request assistance. Each request was answered quickly and helped me to work more efficiently or to resolve a problem.

Is Elance perfect? No; but it’s far superior to the other freelance marketplaces. It has an established presence online as well as a simple, intuitive, efficient interface. I can honestly say that I love working with Elance and I plan to continue to do so for many years.

Interested in trying it out? Use the link below to get started!

In Defense of Elance

I have seen several blogs, tweets, and forum discussions of the drawbacks of working through Elance. I just want to take a moment to discuss my personal experience with the company and tell you why I continue to work with them.

I began my freelance writing career by applying to every service I could find. Demand Studios, Guru, Textbroker, Lime Exchange, Elance, and About.com were all on my list. As I began searching through the job listings, I found that Elance was the best fit for me. The other gigs were either very low pay - textbroker, lime exchange, and guru - or had very long response times - About.com.

Before you start in about the low paying jobs, know that I won't disagree. There are some low paying gigs listed there. Some buyers are looking for cheap work. Many of them say it right up front, which saves time, because I just don't bid on those jobs. I use the information that Elance provides to research the buyer before I bid. I see the ratio of jobs awarded, the type of feedback they tend to leave, and how much they have paid for other jobs. If a buyer consistently awards jobs to the lowest bidder, doesn't award jobs at all, or leaves mediocre feedback stars with "excellent" in the comments (thereby lowering a provider's rank), I don't bid.

Compare this with the average listing from freelance sites that provide gig links. Many of these are on Craigslist or other job sites. I have applied to several of these with poor results. I frequently have no response at all or vague commitments or requests for work on spec. For the most part, these jobs simply do not pan out.

With Elance, spec work is not allowed. A buyer cannot ask a provider to write up a sample based on their needs, thereby getting free work. Elance has dispute resolution and service to assist providers who have difficulty with clients or vice versa. I haven't had many issues with buyers, but when I did, Elance helped me work through the process. It was good to have a middle man to help me settle things.

Is Elance perfect? No. The fees are a little steep and I think that the current ranking system should be tweaked and should separate teams from individuals. I don't work exclusively through them, but I do continue to use their web site on a regular basis. I have learned a lot about pitching and writing proposals as well as managing client interactions and more. Elance's transparency - the ability to research the buyer before submitting a bid - is a great asset. I will continue to work with Elance and encourage other freelancers to do so as well.