Writing Articles: Opportunities on Outsourcing Sites

Want a steady stream of freelance writing jobs?

Penny uses the outsourcing sites to great effect.

She reports:

Outsourcing sites are a great place to look for freelance writing opportunities of every type, including writing articles. But if you are going to succeed and make money this way, you will need determination and the ability to structure your workflow.

There are a surprising number of outsourcing sites including Elance, Guru, oDesk, PeoplePerHour and Freelancer.com. Explore them all and see which one appeals to you. Most offer non-paying membership with an option to upgrade if this particular job environment works for you.

They all operate in much the same way, requiring writers (and other freelancers) to bid for jobs. So you choose the jobs that appeal to you and state in your bid how much you want to be paid. The employer then chooses a provider and you agree on terms for both time and payment.

Some freelance writers make a lot of money writing via these sites, but you have to be consistent and disciplined. You need to get a handle on who employers are and how they operate. This can be difficult in a virtual world, but it is possible to pinpoint the good from the bad by looking at their profiles and reading comments make by other writers.

I’ve been writing regularly for Elance clients for more than a year now, and one thing I can tell you is that if you take the system seriously, you can crack it writing articles.

Angela says

Most writers fail on the outsourcing sites…

Here are some reasons:

* Writers don’t take the time to learn the system. They take a quick look, and think “I wouldn’t/ couldn’t/ can’t/ won’t work for such pathetic fees”, without realizing that many writers are making great incomes on these sites. Way back in around 2005 I got some great gigs on Elance when I had holes in my client schedule. Among other clients, I worked for a mass market book publisher, and a video production company. They both paid great rates.;

* Writers are intimidated by other writers on the sites into under-bidding (a great way to either go broke or lost your mind);

* Writers lack the confidence to manage clients. Here’s a big tip: many of the buyers of services on the outsourcing sites are bewildered and befuddled. They only have the vaguest idea of what they want. You need to take charge, and help them to decide the scope of the project. Once you show them that you can help them to figure out what they want, and then get it done, you get the gig.

If you’re not making money writing, give the outsourcing sites a real try. It may surprise you to learn that many writers make great incomes there. It’s not difficult.

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