When I submit proposals, I am very selective with the buyers that I select and look hard at their online Elance reputations. I also bid above the range for most projects. I must admit however that there may be times when lowballing is necessary (to get your first project, establish your reputation, or simply to get a repeat project), however I believe that smart competitive bidding is the KEY to being a success on and off Elance.

For instance, before I submit an Elance proposal, I review the buyer’s feedback and make sure that they have a solid reputation. In addition, I always write individualized proposals and clearly state my qualifications on what makes me the best candidate. By doing this, I have been successful and recommend Elance to newbies and experienced freelancers too as it is truly the leading marketplace for online talent.

I signed up on Elance last week and have been awarded two projects. One was low pay, but got me some experience with a particular style of article. The other is better pay and much more exciting. When bidding, I also stayed within my realm of professional expertise and tried to pitch myself above and beyond the other bidders. I have received a request for more samples from another bid as well, which I’m just itching to get.

All things being said, Elance has been a treat for me and I’m looking forward to the future.

In terms of the ‘connects’, once you use a connect to reach out and win a project, either the provider or the buyer can create new projects in the future without using a new one. So, you could continue to work with existing Elance contacts without a paid membership.

Cheers,
Dana

Good article!

You said: “I only changed the last paragraph to individualize it for each job.”

I actually do the opposite; put that personalized part right at the top because that’s the first thing most clients want to see.

It works too since I have an award ratio of 27% at Elance. Just a small tip :) You can read some of other elance success tips here: http://wordpl.net/index.php/2009/11/how-to-build-an-online-business-with-elance/

Cheers,
Salma

I don’t personally have a problem with bidding sites even though I haven’t used them in years. When I first decided to wise up and kick content mills to the curb I tried a couple of these types of sites. My rule was simple and effective — set your regular rates and bid them. I’ve repeatedly tried to explain why service providers should never market solely on price. It’s as true in bidding as in anything else. Low-priced writers are only your competition if you allow them to be. It’s also each writer’s responsibility to have other ways to demonstrate value to prospective clients. I can tell you from experience that clients on these sites aren’t always looking for the lowest price. There are plenty who are looking for the most qualified person. If you can show them that person is you through your bid info then you don’t have to settle for less than your time is worth anywhere else to land these gigs.

That said, I’ve found these sites are a better supplemental, rather than primary, income source. While there are good jobs to be found, the process of digging through the garbage gigs to find them can waste time better spent elsewhere if you’re not careful.

My experience has been that customers on eLance require a LOT of education about the publishing industry and how much it costs to work with an experienced, quality writer. A statistic you might find helpful: I have tracked all my bids and discovered that more than 40% of the jobs I bid on were never awarded to any provider on the eLance site – however, I know from my own experience that a large percentage of projects I obtained, which were originally listed on the eLance site, were eventually awarded to me offsite when the client contacted me directly and changed the parameters of the project.

Obviously, there are many projects listed on eLance with ridiculously low budgets and there will always be “writers” willing to accept those projects and low fees. To be successful and ensure you receive the rate you are worth, you need to set yourself apart from the lowball bidders/unqualified writers and be selective of the projects you bid on – avoid listings that state “this is an easy project” (translation: “I have no respect for writers or the writing process”) or outline how much the writer will be paid and when the project must be submitted. A professional writer is the one to tell the client how much the fee is and when the project can be scheduled on his or her calendar. Take the time to bid on projects that you will enjoy working on and will be proud to have in your portfolio.

Thanks Jessie and Carol :-)

Oh, and I forgot to mention that when I started, I had not done any work on Elance and had no feedback and the first 2 gigs I got were in the higher end of my bidding range–so don’t feel like you can’t do it if you are a newbie!