Part Time Freelance Writing On Elance, Rentacoder, Guru

There are many websites that publish freelance writing jobs on their sites. As a freelance writer, you can bid for the writing jobs that are available. If your bid is selected, you get the opportunity to complete the job. The payments are made through online virtual banks such as PayPal and e-Gold, wire transfer or checks. The market is huge and you can bid for writing jobs on more than one site.

Many outsourcing or freelancing websites operate the same way, with minor differences. In this article, we shall explore three prominent websites in the industry.

Elance -

Elance has a very simple design which doesn’t confuse the users. It is very easy to search jobs and obtain a comprehensive results’ page. The specialty in Elance is that they show the number of bidders by their name and relevant information, except for the amount bided for, unlike in some other freelance websites. The advantage in this method is that you can see who your competitors are, their reputation etc before determining the amount you want to bid for. At Elance, you can either browser or search for freelance writing jobs. But in order to bid for a project, you will need to have a registered account at Elance. Registration with Elance can be chosen over two packages. One is a free package with restrictive advantages while the other is subscription with more services and facilities. For part-time freelance writers, the basic package is recommended. Once the account is created, you can create your profile. Unlike other websites, Elance has an admission test to be passed before submitting bids.

RentACoder –

RentACoder has a professional interface and is quite straight forward compared to many other websites. It offer jobs in many categories and is one of the safest sites when it comes to payment transactions as payments for every project goes in to escrow before the start off of the project. RentACoder also, has a special team of facilitators who act as arbitrators in any case of dispute that may arise between the coder and the buyer. So all in all, it is a very professional site which works according to strict rules and regulations. If you choose to become a part time freelance writer on RentAcoder, it is vital that you read through their FAQ and other related articles on how everything works around the site. RentAcoder is a global community in its true sense because wherever in the world you are, you can work and get paid on time.

Guru

With a clear cut interface, Guru provides a high usability for freelances to navigate and find jobs. Just as any other website, you will need to create an account and a profile before you can start. In order to find a suitable project you could either browse through writing categories such as Writing/Editing/Translations or simply search with a keyword such as ‘proofreading’. As with all other websites, make sure you evaluate the deadlines and allow yourself sufficient space. Also, make sure that you place a worthy bid amount because the website will deduct a percentage from what you earn as a service fee.

By David Drake

Sowing the Seeds of Opportunity: How to Multiply Your Freelance (Writing) Work

You can turn your $200 fee to write a press release into $2,000 to carry out an entire PR campaign simply by convincing clients to invest in campaigns, instead of individual assignments. Campaigns achieve better results and cost less in the long-term for clients, compared to individual assignments. And, of course, as the freelancer, you get paid much more for turning out a succession of assignments that assimilate a successful campaign.

Here's how to multiply your writing sales by convincing clients to invest in long-term campaigns, instead of short-term individual assignments.

• Know the short-term and long-term view results. A client approaches you to write a brochure. He may or may not know that his product can also benefit from other types of promotional pieces, such as ads, direct mail, news releases, websites, and so on, to sell his product or service. Your job is to educate the client. The brochure may be the first promotional piece in a consortium of promotional pieces. Here, you must know the short-term and long-term view results of the brochure.

The short-term view results are the results the brochure will achieve for the client; and the long-term results are the results the brochure will achieve/contribute for the entire campaign. It answers the questions, "How do the results of this brochure fit into the entire campaign?" and "How can these results be strengthened with other forms of promotional materials?"

Show the client how a campaign that's comprised of a succession of assignments can achieve — and exceed — his expectations and outsell and outdo the performance of a single assignment.

• Use "tie-in" services. Whenever a client approaches you with a single assignment, ask yourself what tie-in services can supplement the single assignment. A news release achieves better results when it's accompanied with a photo. And a press kit — complete with press releases, photos, brochures, and company information — can achieve better results than a single press release. All of these extra tie-in services can turn writing a single press release into multiple writing sales.

• Offer the "concept to completion" benefit. Instead of pitching yourself as a freelancer who can write newsletter copy, pitch yourself as a freelancer who produces newsletters, from copy to completion. You multiply your income by outsourcing parts of the job and delivering a finished product, not a piece of the product. You also can extend your "concept to completion" services by pitching yourself as a marketing consultant, in which you make recommendations to the client as to the best way to market the newsletter.

• Develop strong consultative skills. Besides selling your freelance services, also offer consulting services. Clients pay you to explain ideas, concepts, recommendations and turnkey solutions as to the best way to achieve the results they desire. Consulting with clients can lead to securing freelance work, since clients realize you have the skills and expertise to undertake the task.

• Know the future needs of clients. Clients come with present needs — and future needs. A client may hire you to write a newsletter now, but they'll also consider you for future work if you know what their future needs are and how to fulfill them. The company may be ushering in a new product line, creating a new division within the company, sponsoring a charity event, or creating a website. All of these future events need a freelancer to do promotional writing and freelance work. That's you. Your job is to show clients how you'll address their future needs with solutions that'll increase their profitability and/or productivity. This is usually accomplished with a proposal through which you pitch yourself as the freelancer who has the solutions to undertake the future tasks.

• Use proposals to secure work. Proposals are an inclusive persuasion tool to convince prospects that you can increase their profitability and/or productivity with your freelance services. Proposals specifically show the client how you intend to achieve the desired results, the time and costs involved, and why you and your solutions are the best choices to boost the company's profits.

• Adaptations. Any of your freelance writing services can be adapted for websites, turning a single assignment into two assignments. Get paid to write a press release or brochure, and then get paid again to adapt the copy digitally.

• Add-on services, such as desktop publishing services, marketing consulting, compiling and selling media lists, and project coordinating can help multiply your work and your income.

By Brian Konradt