I’m so glad to see so many of you who have turned away from bidding sites. I’m especially thrilled that Cheryl made the decision after the last Writers Worth Day. Cheryl, you’ll never regret it!
We’re all intelligent people. We know it’s unwise to pay to access job listings. But we’ve done it. Why? Because the bidding sites are good at marketing. When I joined one years ago, I was hoping to locate those out-of-reach jobs they kept dangling like carrots. Let me explain.
When you have a free membership, you have access to a limited number of job ads. And they’re usually junk. But when you search, all available projects come up. The catch – you can’t view anything beyond the title of the job ad and a very brief synopsis. The job may be a perfect fit, but you haven’t paid to see it. After wading through page after page of awful listings, being disappointed each time one that fits appears (and yes, it’s usually “locked”), you start to imagine having access. None of us like to be left out. We’re not fans of watching a perfect gig land in someone else’s lap, either. So we take the bait.
For those of you who haven’t joined a bidding site (congratulations – and please, keep it that way!), here’s what you’ll see. The first few jobs look fantastic! You bid. You think given your experience, your chances are good. Congratulations – you’ve just joined the company of thousands of other writers who think the same thing. Your chances are no better on a paid bidding site than out in the real market.
In my short time on a bidding site, I did gain some long-term clients. Two to be exact. One has long ago disappeared due to, not shockingly, lack of funds. The other is still somewhere in the periphery, but the pay for that job far underestimated the work involved. In that case, I would have been better off donning the paper hat.
I did work one time for other jobs, but again, none paid a fighting wage. When you put everyone (job posters included) into the mindset of the lowest bid wins, the only winners are the bidding sites. Clients end up with substandard work – deservedly so. You have to pay for quality. Writers and editors end up spinning their wheels on projects with inadequate compensation.
I ended my bidding site relationship midway through a three-month membership. The caliber of jobs transitioned rather quickly from somewhat decent to the $4-an-article variety. When I complained to Guru about the denegration of the jobs, the answer was they didn’t discriminate against anyone posting a job and besides, they said, writers are bidding on them. There went my membership. Why pay $74.95 to view garbage?
Back then I tried justifying the paid membership. I actually uttered (and possibly wrote here) that one job pays for the fee. But that’s not really a justification that makes sense, especially in the current market, where everyone wants something for nearly nothing. Can you deduct that fee from your taxes? It’s likely, but again, why pay it when higher paying jobs are out there for the asking?
The lure of “access to the best jobs!” is powerful, but remember – snake oil never cured anything either, except maybe the financial condition of the seller. You cannot build a viable career on the backs of the one-time-and-done jobs, especially those that pay you shameless wages. It’s lazy marketing to rely solely on bidding sites as your source of work. You’ll waste valuable career time that could be spent locating a better pool of clientele.
When was your bidding site revelation?
All I had to do was look at the "free" listings and see what crap they were, read the agreement, and know it was all bull-pucky, as far as getting legitimate work.
If you're willing to pay for something on the premise that one job will pay for the membership, join your local chamber of commerce. You get a much higher return and a much higher level of client base.
Good point, Devon. I think that's what made me realize what a waste the bidding sites were. Now I'm a specialist, but at the time I was a generalist and worked with a lot of small businesses. I could pay $35 for a monthly networking event and come out with a pocketful of solid leads, at least one of which would lead to a job. When people called me after one of these events to inquire about my services, I would close the sale on at least one out of three of them. So imagine my shock when I couldn't close anyone on the bidding sites, despite hours spent on carefully crafted bid proposals.
These days, I carefully position myself as a specialist and make 'em come to me. People value you more if they have to chase you, not the other way around.
Excellent point, ladies. I was once a Chamber member. I should renew that membership as I did get work out of it almost immediately. Two contacts, one job. Pretty good odds, don't you think?
These are not bidding sites, but I would argue that there *are* a few legit paid job listing services out there.
For instance, FreelanceSwitch.com has a job board that is very highly regarded. I haven't joined because the bulk of the listings are for developers or designers, but if a call for writers caught my eye, I would definitely consider spending the $7/month for membership.
I do pay for FreelanceDaily.net, and I've gotten several gigs through it. The monthly fee is around $4 and all of the listings are for writers, editors or occasionally translators. I like that it includes the full job listing so even when a listing expires online, I can refer to it in my email to jog my memory about what it said. Yes, you'll want to exercise caution with some of their listings, but if you land one decent-paying job, that covers your membership for the entire year!
Susan, when I received FreelanceDaily.net, it was pretty much a rehashing of the same (mostly Craigslist) postings I can get everywhere else for free. Has that changed?
I don't know if I would call it a revelation, but I started hitting the "delete" button on Guru emails when the "project notifications" they sent me started having little or nothing to do with the kind of work I said I was willing to do. Another irritating site: Helium. I can't even figure out a way to deactivate my account with them.
I haven't regretted it yet, Lori. Thank you for the rescue.
I relate to Eileen's comment. For me, it wasn't so much the waste of money as it was time and effort. Admittedly, marketing myself is not my favorite thing to do, but there should be some degree of hope involved. As a friend of mine told me, bidding sites are like fishing in a pond with a thousand other fishermen.
Anecdote to share about my Friday:
I also turned around an emergency rush job for the client — he offered, without prompting, to triple my usual rush free (anything that has to be turned around in less than three business days gets a rush fee tacked on to it). He needed it done in a matter of hours, and therefore tripled the fee. He was especially desperate because he’d gone with a cheaper-priced writer (who works for mill content sites) who mucked it up royally, and he had tens of thousands of dollars on the line. I let the fee say, “I told you so” rather than saying it myself. If you hire someone who writes for mill content sites or bidding sites, that’s the quality you’re going to get. You get what you pay for. He was ecstatic with the copy I came up with. We’ll see if he’s learned.
I signed up for Writerlance a few years ago. I'm still a member, but not a very active one. Occasionally I'll place a bid on a project that sounds unusually good, or use my "bid" to chastise a low-paying employer.
Initially I got a couple of good projects via the site, and since you only have to pay if you get the project, I thought I was doing pretty good. But Writerlance quickly plunged into the darkest depths of low-paying gigs.
I'm still set up to receive a notification whenever projects I might be interested in are posted. I've noticed that with the low-budget gigs, if I place a high bid early on, scolding the "employer" for paying so low or touting the advantages to paying more, others will follow suit and the project will get fewer low bids.
So that's my main use for Writerlance. Some might call it a waste of time, but hey, since it seems to discourage others from placing low bids, I disagree. :o)
Katharine, it's an effective waste of time. 🙂 In the case of a site that's not charging you unless you bid – and I still have a problem with A) paying, and B) bidding on an open forum – it's less heinous than the pay to see any ads nonsense.
How much do the job you win there make up your annual income? Just curious.
There is one thing that sells better than snake oil and that's hope. It's the number one reason people buy into something. As writers in this sucky economy, we're all buying hope. I think we'd be better off developing and marketing our business for the long term.
mkp
http://www.ontext.com
Got that right, MKP. Thanks for commenting!
Devon's Friday made me smile, although not as much has she'll be smiling when that payment arrives!
Devon, I want that Friday!! Wow!