In looking for some extra cash, you know I’ve started doing some freelance writing on the side. Ever since I wrote about Helium, then had the guest post by Barbara Whitlock talking about its benefits (which I still haven’t really noticed, but that’s okay), I’ve been checking out some other sites that offer different types of freelance items, not just writing. But I figured this article is a pretty nice follow up to my last article on writing articles for others.
One day I came upon a post on a blog called Just Make Money Online, my friend Shai Coggins‘ site, titled Freelancing For Cash. It was a guest post by Lisa Folder of the blog Practical Money Maker. In the article, Lisa referenced three specific sites to look at for freelance writing work: Elance, Guru, and ScriptLance. This is my review, of sorts, of the three.
Elance was the first one I looked at, and the only one of the three that I discarded, though I might still go back. Overall, it looks like a site where you might get paid better for services you provide than the other two sites. However, as a service provider, you also agree to pay them a percentage of whatever you get paid. This means Elance is taking money from both sides, which is probably why those who advertise on it have higher paying jobs than the other sites.
You have the option of registering as either an individual or as a business, but if you register as a business there’s a higher fee. However, the fees you either pay or don’t pay give you the opportunity to bid on more jobs and the like. I guess it’s not bad, but it wasn’t the option I wanted to go with at the present time.
Guru was the next site I looked at, and I did sign up for them. With Guru, you create a profile and you can add samples of your writing, as well as a resume if you’re looking for other types of work.
Something I hadn’t paid attention to, though, was that you don’t get paid directly through them. Instead, if you get a contract that you bid on, the purchaser of services puts a portion of the pay into what they call an escrow account, and Guru holds your money until the project has been completed and approved of by the client. In essence, they’re kind of the arbiter to make sure both parties do what they’re supposed to do.
One of the problems with Guru is that you have to create profiles, but you only get to create one profile for free, which means you need to select the right profile up front if you’re looking to highlight one specific thing. Instead of going for writing, I decided to create a profile for my business consulting, which might not have been the best move, because I have fewer options to choose from than I might have if I’d selected freelance writing. Oh well, lesson learned.
The final site I checked out, and also joined, was ScriptLance. This site offers computer projects as well as writing assignments, so I signed up, then went to check out some of the offers.
There’s a mixture of both low and high paying assignments on this site, but most of the writing assignments don’t pay all that well. Also, some of the people who post projects have them sitting there for upwards of a month, which means if you’re looking for something quick, you may not find it here. I found that problematic because there was one I thought would be great, but they weren’t going to be making a decision for two weeks.
However, I still got on their mailing list, which I get once a day. It shows me the latest projects out there based on my profile.
And there you go. If you’re interested in freelance or project work of some type, you can’t hurt yourself in taking a look at any of these sites to see if there’s something for you.
Glad you found that post useful!
And, thanks for your personal reviews. 🙂
Thanks Shai; glad to see you finally visiting my blog. 😀
very interesting Mitch I’ve never heard of ScriptLance before until now I will certainly check them out to see what their all about
almir´s last blog post..Review Of “The One And Only” Atomic Blogging 3.0
Isn’t that the truth, Dennis. Still, one has to look at things like this sometimes, right?
So when did you join Helium? I reckon I must have missed that post. I’m a member but not an avid contributor, that time factor thing you know. Still, even so the money does trickle in, although now you have to keep your star rating up to be able to earn the cash.
You did miss it, Sire, as it was back in November. Then there was the follow up guest post in January from one of the folks who works for Helium.
Heck, I can’t be everywhere at once you know Mitch, after all, I am only one man/blogger.
Yeah, yeah,… this from the guy who writes multiple blogs, and seems to always be beating me to the punch when I get to a new blog. 🙂
Perhaps that is why I am known as Speedy Gonzales lol
I’d heard it was for a different reason, but, well, you know,… 😉
Really? Pray, do tell….;)
Sire´s last blog post..Securing Your WordPress Blog Against Hackers
Well, I’ve been talking to your wife,… no, I’ve said too much. 😎
Ah, now I know why I’ve been getting the silent treatment. 🙁
Sire´s last blog post..Securing Your WordPress Blog Against Hackers
Will check all those websites.
Thanks…
Hi Mitch. I appreciate your personal reviews of these sites. Thought I might recommend one more to you though – oDesk. You might consider checking that site out and possibly posting your thoughts. I’d love to hear your review.
Thanks again!
I’ll have to give it a look, Becca, but we’ll see if you’ll love hearing my review. 🙂
I used to be a freelancer at scriptlance but I realize that competing in scriptlance is not really good. The payment is so small. It can make a living from there.
.-= Ruri´s last blog ..Anti Ageing Skin Care Made Easy =-.
True Ruri, ScriptLance isn’t worth my time either.
Hi Mitch ,
Thanks for the article . I’m registered on Guru as well as Scriptlance. In my opinion Scriptlance is 1 up as you dont need to upgrade for most features ( Unlike Guru) . Ofcourse in both sites its more of “How good you are as a businessman” than a Freelancer. And sadly both sites are more dominated by web designing companies rather than freelancers.
Gavin, my issue was in trying to get contracts in the first place. It was all pretty distasteful.
Ya, you know the past couple of days , I tried to target more complex sites as less people would bid . But the bigger companies started bidding for $10. Its pretty unfair, especially since the sites were made more for individual freelancers and now we’re like shrimps among sharks …
That’s why I tried them then left them. One of my other friends here was doing the Guru thing and really got disgusted with it before finally quitting. There have to be better ways to address finding projects and the like.