Comments on: Bid No More

By: Eileen

Eileen — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 22:28:48 +0000

I signed up with one of them years ago. My regular client acquisition stats were something like closing the sale on every one or two out of three prospects I spoke with. On the bidding site, despite bidding on about 50 jobs with custom proposals, I got nothing for my trouble. Never again.

By: Paula

Paula — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 20:17:34 +0000

Okay. I stink at math. We all know that. But at $1 per article, how many "articles" would that idiot have to sell to pay his membership fee?

"Just seventy-five articles and my subscription will have paid for itself!"

By: Paula

Paula — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 20:14:27 +0000

I've never even considered a bidding site. And I'm way too cheap to subscribe to a service where you have to grovel for work ("Oh, pick me! I'll do the job for half the price of the next lowest-bidder! Pretty please!").

Finding work isn't always easy, but it isn't that difficult when you put in the effort and go about it with a plan. Plus, you tend to seek out places you would like to work with, not mystery clients who are often hiding behind blind ads.

By: Irreverent Freelancer

Irreverent Freelancer — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 20:09:39 +0000

Thanks for the shout-out, Lori. I'm an anomaly with regard to freelance-bidding sites. For several years, I made really good money through one of them (and when I say good, I mean higher than my average hourly rate now). Of course, I was fortunate enough to establish myself there when it was still 100% free to bid. Ironically, as the site continued to raise membership fees, the quality of the jobs got worse and worse. What also got worse and worse was the way that bidding site treated its service providers. I've never detailed on my blog what ultimately led to my leaving. Perhaps it's about time I got around to doing so. ;o))

On a final note, I don't think ANYONE can make good money on those sites these days. I've watched a lot of my former competitors who raked in thousands of dollars a month practically slash their prices in half to stay alive there. That's somewhere I'll NEVER go.

By: Kimberly Ben

Kimberly Ben — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 19:35:25 +0000

Hate them. When I was first starting out, I kept hearing on this one forum about how writers were booked two months out and making thousands on sites like Elance and Guru. Reluctantly, I parted with my hard earned money to secure the highest paid membership (first no-no of freelancing – paying for work)and was horrified at what clients were willing to pay for projects that require skillful writing, thought and strategy. I also found the bidding process quite tedious. After a month of losing bids to low-ballers, I wised up and requested a refund.

By: janineduff

janineduff — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 18:47:52 +0000

As a newbie freelancer, I signed up for Elance thinking I had to take low-paying gigs to flesh out my portfolio instead of really taking pride in my work and asking for reasonable project fees. I've had nothing promising come from Elance.

I got my first official copywriting client through word of mouth just a few days ago.

I cancelled my Elance membership today.

By: lwidmer

lwidmer — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 18:21:32 +0000

Ooo Cheryl, that's what I like to hear – a convert! Welcome to the other side, hon. Feels pretty damn good to stand up for yourself, doesn't it? Congratulations on the first step to a great career! 🙂

By: Cheryl B

Cheryl B — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 18:03:17 +0000

I had been a frustrated member of the E-lance community for a couple of months, Lori, when you celebrated your 2nd Writer's Worth Day.

I had read of others' success using E-lance and went into it with hope. It didn't take long before the hope turned to dread. I hated the bidding process, the anonymity, the groveling.

The day I read of your Writer's Worth Day, I cancelled my E-lance subscription and left what felt like muck.

Shortly thereafter, I began my blog. I'm still a little trepidacious about marketing myself as a writer; copy editing is my strength. But if I'm going to write for nothing, it should at least be fun.

By: Chantal

Chantal — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 17:59:52 +0000

Would never use a bidding site or write for content providers. Look, if someone asks you to write for free or for almost nothing, don't do it. Why? They'll respect you for it. I refused to write for free for a particular client when they asked me to. They claimed they had no money, but three months later they came back and said they had a paying job for me. The other writers that were writing for them for free didn't get the paying gig. I did. Hmm.

By: Gabriella F.

Gabriella F. — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 14:02:20 +0000

Utter waste of time and a degradation of our profession. Nuff said.