Sep 23 2008
Get a Freelancer Update
I finally finished the first job I won through GetAFreelancer.com . This was my first time winning a bid on a work auction site and there were a lot of aspects of this method of obtaining work that I was unfamiliar with. Like:
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- GetAFreelancer.com charges the winning bidder a fee of $5.00.
- The project descriptions are VERY vague. This is scary.
- You need to make sure your pay is put into Escrow.
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The job I bid on was for a writer to create some How-To articles. They wanted no marketing (i.e. don’t explain how important something is to do, just explain how to do it), very straightforward, no fluff How-To articles. They did not state how many articles or when they needed them by. In my bid I explained I could turn in 2 articles per business day and quoted a price per word- a really low price since I wanted to win.
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After I won the bid I sent the buyer an email introducing myself and reiterating the details of my bid. A few days later the buyer sent me an email with 8 how-to article titles and asked me to write them. The buyer explained the format (did not specify word limits) and gave me more money per article that I had requested- unfortunately it was still less than I would normally receive.
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Two of the articles were about car repair. You don’t really know me so you can’t understand how my palms started sweating when I saw these two titles. You see, I am the girl who used to turn off her car with the gear shifter thingie still in drive. One morning after leaving it in drive all night, I walked outside to discover my car sitting in the middle of the road blocking traffic because it had rolled out of the driveway over the course of the evening. I am also the girl who once poured power steering fluid in her oil tank. I know nothing about cars.
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I asked the client to put the funds in Escrow with GetAFreelancer.com so that I would not be sending out completed articles with no guarantee of payment. I turned in 2 a day (3 on one day because I had some extra time) and finished the project.
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In all, it was a good experience because I had to move out of my comfort zone and challenge myself to write about topics that make me uncomfortable. The bad bits were the lack of any feedback from the buyer (so far anyway), the low pay (beggars really can’t be choosers), and the fear that someone is going to blow their car up because they read one of my how-to’s.
We’ll see.
Thanks George! I am on Textbroker and wrote a post about it a few weeks ago. I do like Textbroker, and direct orders are a great way to make an income. Since I plan on freelancing full time within a year/ year and a half, I’ve got to have more clients that Textbroker, Demand, AC and Today- which is why I’m working on the bid sites. Sorry you had a bad experience with GetAFreelancer.com. That is one reason why I suggested having the payment put in escrow. I will address samples in a blog post, because I think a lot of writers are getting screwed that way.
I think it is great to get paid for writing. I get quite a bit of work through digital point forums though the pay isn’t great it at least grants me regular work. I was in fits about your how to guides. I am writing stuff on yeast infections and how to go on a successful date ahahahaha.
Hi Fitness Diva- It is worth it to try it out. It’s also a lot easier than marketing yourself to a bunch of different firms.
Paulineh- I know what you mean, I have been having a lot of difficulty keeping up with my personal life these past few months. I’ll be tackling that in a blog post shortly.
Yanjiaren- ACK!! It is so funny the things we do for clients! I had to write one on How to Kiss. I felt like I was writing porn. I was laughing the whole time!