Freelance writing is a wonderful work-at-home opportunity. You do not need much more than a laptop, an internet connection, and great writing skills to get started as a freelance writer. If you are a freelance writer or have looked into doing freelance writing work, you know that there are quite a few scams out there that require you to pay to look at job listings. You can find jobs for free. In fact, some of the sites that require you to pay for the listings show you listings that are on the free sites.
Elance.com is one of the sites where you can bid on some freelance writing jobs for free, with a basic membership. The reason that they can do this is because they collect a fee when you get paid, and payment must be made to you through their site. The fees are not very high, and payment through their site helps writer too, by helping to ensure that they get paid. While it is true that you must pay to bid on jobs in other categories and bigger money jobs, if you are new to freelance writing, a basic membership is a great way to learn the ropes and see whether it is right for you before you put more money into it. When you sign up for Elance, there are clear instructions on how to set up your profile and begin bidding on jobs. You can also take skill tests to show potential clients how great you are.
There are some instances where you would want to get a paid membership right away. If you have skills that you would like to freelance such as web design, software or app development, or any one of the many categories outside of writing and translation, you must pay to bid on jobs. I would say that it’s worth it, because you can look at all of the jobs in all of the categories without paying anything. If you find a project you want to bid on, then you can pay. If nothing looks good, hold onto your money and check back in a few days.
If you are interested in freelance writing or if you would like to see if you have other skills that you would like to freelance, I would encourage you to visit Elance and see whether it is a good fit for you. I love it, and without it, I would never been able to launch my career as a freelance writer.