Freelancing Details
So you read my last article and you want to learn more about freelancing and earning money online? You're in the right spot! Here I will break down the most famous and best freelancing websites and demonstrate which jobs are jobs and which jobs you should never take unless you want to eat at McDonalds for the rest of your life.
1. Freelancer.com
What a surprise... One of the most famous websites for freelancing is freelancer.com... Who would've guessed... All sarcasm aside this is probably one of the most well known websites for freelancing out there.
The most important thing for those who are planning to use this website is the fact that you can only bid on projects for which you have the "skill" on their website. A free membership can only add 5 skills a month up to a total of 20, so you have to be fairly selective of what you're going to do on their website. They do their best to get you to buy one of their memberships, but it is not necessary to be able to earn money on there. The whole setup before being able to even bid on projects will take around 2 hours, so make sure you set aside a good chunk of time if you're planning on doing this.
They also have 2 different forms of freelancing: bidding and contests. Contests are exactly what they sound like. People submit their designs or programs and the winner is determined. Bids however work the other way around. The employer picks a person who fits their abstract criteria of choice from all the bids, and if you are the chosen bidder then you get to work with them and try to make the client happy. Neither scheme is necessarily perfect, but bidding is a better way to spend your time because of the guarantee of payment if you are chosen. You only get a limited number of bids per day if you have a free account, so it might be a good idea to only bid on projects you think you have a high chance of winning.
They also have an exam system, where you can get approved as knowledgeable in anything from Android to French to Physics For Game Developers. Each exam costs $5, but if you are active on the website you earn points which you can trade for free exams! My advice to you is to take all the free exams they have and then pay for a couple exams directly related to your field. For answers to FAQ about freelancer.com go to my Freelancer.com page and see if your question is there. If not, there is a form at the bottom for you to send me an email asking your question.
The most important thing for those who are planning to use this website is the fact that you can only bid on projects for which you have the "skill" on their website. A free membership can only add 5 skills a month up to a total of 20, so you have to be fairly selective of what you're going to do on their website. They do their best to get you to buy one of their memberships, but it is not necessary to be able to earn money on there. The whole setup before being able to even bid on projects will take around 2 hours, so make sure you set aside a good chunk of time if you're planning on doing this.
They also have 2 different forms of freelancing: bidding and contests. Contests are exactly what they sound like. People submit their designs or programs and the winner is determined. Bids however work the other way around. The employer picks a person who fits their abstract criteria of choice from all the bids, and if you are the chosen bidder then you get to work with them and try to make the client happy. Neither scheme is necessarily perfect, but bidding is a better way to spend your time because of the guarantee of payment if you are chosen. You only get a limited number of bids per day if you have a free account, so it might be a good idea to only bid on projects you think you have a high chance of winning.
They also have an exam system, where you can get approved as knowledgeable in anything from Android to French to Physics For Game Developers. Each exam costs $5, but if you are active on the website you earn points which you can trade for free exams! My advice to you is to take all the free exams they have and then pay for a couple exams directly related to your field. For answers to FAQ about freelancer.com go to my Freelancer.com page and see if your question is there. If not, there is a form at the bottom for you to send me an email asking your question.
2. 99designs.com
This website is almost fully dedicated to contests, which could be a positive or a negative depending on how one looks at it.
The best thing about 99designs.com is the fact that the buyer can guarantee the reward if the contest has more than 10 people in it and healthy submissions. That means that the contest holder has to choose a winner and pay the money no matter what so these are the contests I recommend you to enter.
They also have a logo store to which you can pre-load logos for a certain theme, and if someone wants to buy it (for 99$), you will either get 30% or 50% of the purchase depending on how many logos you've sold before. Keep in mind that you will need to edit your logo a bit to suit your client's company, but usually it doesn't take too long to get your money.
This website is a great way to find some long term clients. If you win a certain contest, at the end a client might ask you to do something else for him, and if he doesn't. Always remind him that you would love to work for him if he ever needs anything done later!
The money earned depends on how good of a designer you are, and how many contests you try to enter.
The best thing about 99designs.com is the fact that the buyer can guarantee the reward if the contest has more than 10 people in it and healthy submissions. That means that the contest holder has to choose a winner and pay the money no matter what so these are the contests I recommend you to enter.
They also have a logo store to which you can pre-load logos for a certain theme, and if someone wants to buy it (for 99$), you will either get 30% or 50% of the purchase depending on how many logos you've sold before. Keep in mind that you will need to edit your logo a bit to suit your client's company, but usually it doesn't take too long to get your money.
This website is a great way to find some long term clients. If you win a certain contest, at the end a client might ask you to do something else for him, and if he doesn't. Always remind him that you would love to work for him if he ever needs anything done later!
The money earned depends on how good of a designer you are, and how many contests you try to enter.
3. Fiverr.com
Offer any service for just $5! Are you a great ukulele or tuba player? Do you have 150 WPM typing speed? Are you very proficient in Photoshop or a video editing program? Do you have a rare skill? If you answered yes to any of these questions then you could be earning money with fiverr.com!
People are earning money for tasks like 30 second voice-overs, the creation of custom marathon training plans, promoting items on a popular blog, and many more!
If you think $5 a task is not enough, you always have the ability to add on Gig Extras for completing the task quicker, making the video longer, or anything you can think of that could work as an add-on to your task! Some people have the $5 bid work as a price for a 30 minute consultation, and then they let people buy add-ons to their bid for $100 or more dollars.
Literally any skill you have could be monetized! Can you juggle 7 balls at once while talking? Offer to make a video of that while saying a 30 word script of their choice. Do you have a popular blog or website? Promote other people's products related to your website for $5 in 100/200 words, and make them pay extra for a video review or a longer recommendation. The options are endless!
The money varies largely, but it could be a good extra source of income if you are already doing the other things on the list.
People are earning money for tasks like 30 second voice-overs, the creation of custom marathon training plans, promoting items on a popular blog, and many more!
If you think $5 a task is not enough, you always have the ability to add on Gig Extras for completing the task quicker, making the video longer, or anything you can think of that could work as an add-on to your task! Some people have the $5 bid work as a price for a 30 minute consultation, and then they let people buy add-ons to their bid for $100 or more dollars.
Literally any skill you have could be monetized! Can you juggle 7 balls at once while talking? Offer to make a video of that while saying a 30 word script of their choice. Do you have a popular blog or website? Promote other people's products related to your website for $5 in 100/200 words, and make them pay extra for a video review or a longer recommendation. The options are endless!
The money varies largely, but it could be a good extra source of income if you are already doing the other things on the list.
Other freelancing websites to check out
- oDesk- Takes a 10% cut out of every job you finish
- Elance
- PeoplePerHour
- FreelanceWritingJobs- For freelance writers
- GetACoder- for computer coders/programmers
There are many more other websites, but these are the ones I would recommend the most.