Elance, good for a freelancer?

I currently use eLance, and I've found a few good content writers there.  I haven't hired freelancers for anything other than writing, so I typically ask for a fresh sample to be written about a topic I choose (for which I'll pay them for) so I can further evaluate their skills and if they can provide what I'm looking for.  The time it takes for them to provide the sample serves as a deciding factor as well.  As for the site itself - it's pretty easy to use, provides a 1099 service, and has a way for you to sort your favorites out.  The only thing I don't like is if you want to delete a proposal, you have to provide a decline reason (which is sent to the freelancer).  This has resulted in freelancers I've declined contacting me asking for second chances, and I don't really want to deal with that.

I've also used Guru and iFreelance - I hired two good freelancers on the former; however, the one I hired on the latter turned out to be a huge mistake (not so much the site's fault as the freelancer).  Lesson is to always look at prior feedback (and contact those folks if you can), and get samples when possible.

I have not used eLance for about a year. Not used the other services mentioned. Personally I didn't use it to find work, but to find somebody to help me. I had written drafts to five white papers. Really just a "mind dump" of ideas that wasn't as organized or as tight/clean as it should have been. Found a lady that did a wonderful job cleaning them up and for a very fair price. Also used them from time-to-time for other small/simple HTML projects and had good results.

Now with that said, I have looked around to see what people are bidding on different projects related to SEO, web site development, ad word campaigns, et al. My gosh, I don't see how you can make any money there. As somebody mentioned, a lot of shops from India just giving away their services for next to nothing, compared to what we'd charge in the US.

Heck, in the white paper examples above I chose the MOST expensive bid and it was still under what I had in the budget to spend. Good luck!

I use Scriptlance, can be a bit hit and miss if your not careful, but still nice and cheap :-)

It's been a long time since I used Elance. I just tested guru.com but wasn't impressed by it. Have you tried using LinkedIn for a referral. I found that to be a much more reliable place to get trusted recommendations for freelancers.

Thanks Andy. I actually do have a LinkdIn account that I have used to get in touch with some friends and distant relatives in neighboring industries. I like it so far. Haven't used guru.com, guess I'll give it a spin as well and see what I think of it. Thanks for the info about LinkedIn, gotta new perspective.

Filled with cheap seo/ppc shops in India.

same with Odesk

the old adage applies to these kinds of places. you get what you pay for.

Hi Brian,

I work at oDesk, so I'm biased, but I'd like to know if you've hired anyone on oDesk.  What was your experience?  Also, have you considered offering your services on oDesk?  We guarantee payment for hourly work and you can set your own rates.   Among other things, our feedback system and free skills tests help better providers rise to the top and command higher wages. 

Best,

Brian Goler

Apparently Odesk gets SM :)

Aside from that yes, I hired one gentleman located in India who has done some manual data entry for me. Not a bad service I must say.  The worker has done a sufficient job.

Hi Brian - Thanks for the reply and I'm glad to hear that you're giving oDesk a shot.  New providers are joining oDesk daily and we're always looking for new ways to help buyers find the skills and capabilities they need.  If there is anything we can do to improve your experience, let me know. I'm at brian AT odesk.

I haven't seen oDesk before, but I have seen other freelancing sites like Guru, Elance, and GetAFreelancer - those are usually ones where people charge really low rates, even though I guess you 'set' your rate and hourly rates as well...

Angie -  Of course there is price competition on oDesk, too, and some people do prefer fixed-price work for some projects.  But one of the things that makes us different is that we support time-based work in addition to fixed-price projects.  Our oDesk Team application keeps track of the time that a provider works and enables us to guarantee payment for the time.  When providers take an hourly job on oDesk, they agree to a real hourly rate that they will be paid for each hour worked -- not some implied hourly rate based on an overall project bid and some assumption about the time it will take them to complete the work.

Since this work is time-based, it often lends itself to long-term relationships where neither buyers nor providers feel locked in to a set of firm requirements (which is usually the case when you do fixed-price work).  These dynamics are more likely to put the emphasis on quality and overall value rather than just price.

--Brian
oDesk