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Successful Freelancing on Elance

If you are a freelancer or hope to be sometime in the near future, you would be hard- pressed to find a better online networking source than Elance.com.

Elance will put you in touch with lots of potential clients, and provide several freelance work prospects. Although there is plenty of opportunity to earn money on Elance, it can be a struggle to get started on it, prompting some people to give up before they see how profitable it can be.
This article will provide some tips and advice to get you up and running quickly, so that you can get the most out of Elance, and enjoy the benefits as a freelancer.

What is Elance?

Elance.com is an online meeting place for businesses and qualified professionals to connect. A business will post a job that they need a worker for, and then the registered users of Elance can submit bids for that job. At the end of the open bidding period (usually seven days), the business who posted the job will pick what they consider to be the best bid, depending on a combination of factors including the bidder's profile, portfolio, feedback rating, and price of the bid. Some of the categories of work that can be found on Elance includes, but is not limited to, web & design, writing & translating, legal, finance, and engineering.
Due to the fact that there are so many jobs on offer at Elance, it makes it a great place to find freelance work.

Getting Started

To begin finding jobs on Elance, you will want to go to the register link in the top right-hand corner of the home page, so that you can open an account. This process is very easy, and you should have no problems.
Once registered, click on the “Find Work” tab, at the top of the page, and then go to the “Become a Provider” button on the right-hand side. In the resulting page, you will be offered twoplan types as an individual Elance member. The first and default option is the basic free membership, which is what you will most likely want to open to begin with, while you get your feet wet.
You may soon find it beneficial to upgrade your membership to the advanced, which will cost you $9.95 a month. If you are earning money on Elance and finding regular work, this is well worth the upgrade. With the advanced membership, you can apply for up to twenty proposals a month, as opposed to just three. You will also be able to take two free skills tests, thus boosting your credentials. Finally, you are more likely to appear higher in the search results, when businesses are browsing through the qualified professionals list. You can upgrade your membership at any time, so don’t feel like you have to get the paid membership right away.

Your Elance Profile

Now that you have opened an account and become a provider, you will need to develop your portfolio. It is essential for you to put a lot of effort and attention into this if you want to get the most out of Elance. Your profile is what the businesses will be looking at when they’re deciding whether or not to accept your bid. Here are some profile developing tips:

Create an impressive and eye catching Summary, detailing your skills, work ethics, and most importantly, what makes you stand out from the competition. Be sure to double check your spelling and grammar.
In the About Us section, you have the opportunity to describe your work experience, and anything else that you feel is important to show. Don't be afraid to brag, and again, double check spelling and grammar.
You have the option of displaying an Image with your profile. As this is the first thing that most people will see, you want this to be eye-catching, in order to create a great first impression. You could Insert an image of your logo, or even put in a video that automatically begins showing your demo reel.
Fill your Portfolio with all the best examples of your work. The more work you have in there the better. If you have different types of work, ie logos, web sites and graphic design, separate it all into different folders. If you don’t have much of a portfolio, spend some time building it. You may have to do some mock projects, but don’t underestimate the importance of this. If you have a limited portfolio or none at all, you will find it very hard to get hired.
References and Credentials can be listed on your profile, and this can be a way for people to see that you are a legitimate and well qualified freelancer. If you have references then list them here. Better yet, if you are able to pay the small fee that Elance charges to have references verified, it would be a very positive step for your profile.

Applying for Jobs

It is now time to begin the job searching process and hopefully start to earn money on Elance. Click the “Find Work” tab and begin the search. As you will be limited to the amount of bids you can make, you will need to be sensible with which jobs you bid on. Here are a few techniques that will increase your chances of being hired:

Only search for jobs that require the skills that you have.
Don’t bid on jobs that already have lots of bids.
Be the first to bid on a project. The business who posted it will see your bid first and will be more likely to remember you name. You can adjust your bid later if it turns out to be too high, or too low, in comparison to the other bidders.
When submitting your proposal, be sure to customize it to the clients job description, showing that you understand the task, how you will go about doing it, and answering any questions they may have put in the job description.
It can sometimes be hard to get jobs on Elance as a newcomer. You may need to do a couple of jobs at a cheap price in order to begin accumulating feedback.
Apply for multiple jobs at a time to increase the likelihood of you finding work.
If, after applying for a job, you see that the bidding is still open. Send a message to the client to see if they require any further information from you. Don’t pester them, just show that you are keen and able to do the job.

Work and Feedback

Once you have been awarded an Elance job, you will be expected to complete it within a certain time frame and have done all the tasks that were outlined in the job description.
After the client has paid you, they will be able to leave you feedback. The feedback is important for you in that, future possible clients will use it to help determine whether or not they want to hire you.

Feedback is determined by a number of factors, all of which should be taken into account when working on a job. These factors are: Quality of work, Responsiveness, Professionalism, Subject Matter Expertise, Adherence to Cost and Adherence to Schedule.
The client will give you ratings from one to five on each of these factors, after which a feedback percentage will be calculated.

Elance Forum

Elance offers a great section on their site called the “Water Cooler.” Here you will find forums and resources that will help you to learn and interact with other freelancers. Don’t be afraid to use this area if you are having problems and feeling stuck.

Persevere

Freelancing on Elance may require some perseverance. When you first sign up, it could take a little while to get the ball rolling. Don’t be disheartened if you’ve made a few bids, and are still waiting for your first job. By persevering, you will start to get work and begin to accumulate feedback and referrals, which in turn will make it easier to find more work and earn more money.

Written by Jon Boyd Barrett

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