Thursday 14 June 2012

Make Money with Freelancer.com - A How to Guide for Freelancers


Why Freelancer.com?




The Internet has opened a whole array of opportunities for people looking to make money through the online channel. Whether you are an employer or employee there are a whole lot of opportunities waiting for you. However, the internet is a huge web where it is easy to get lost. It is impossible for you to get a hold unless you knock at the right door. You need a channel that will help you focus your energies in the right direction. And Freelancer.com is considered one of the best channels for all those looking to make money through freelancing projects. You can also make money with Freelancer.com. You just need to learn how to do it, the right way!

First, it is important to understand a little history, or rather web-story, of how Freelancer.com came into being and the purpose which it intended to fulfill. Started in 2004, Freelancer was then known as GetAFreelancer.com. Although it has eventually changed its name to Freelancer.com, the one thing that has not changed is its passion to bring together employers and freelancers to one online spot. A one-stop hotspot, Freelancer has helped the online population to find workers to accomplish their projects and employers to provide work; all in a mutually-beneficial and satisfactory manner.

Today Freelancer.com boasts of a membership of over 3.6 million users, who are all teamed up in one outsourcing marketplace. It is rated as the largest outsourcing centre where professionals from around the world find the right employers and the right employees. The major objective of Freelancer was to offer a place where small businesses and individuals could find a means to empower their business. Today, this online hotspot has enabled these businesses to grow dramatically by connecting the businesses in the developed nations with the manpower of the developing nations. And the result – growth and development for both!


How to get started?




So, how can you – a freelancer – make money with Freelancer.com? The answer to the question lies in two simple words – “Sign Up”. Yes, the first step in your endeavor to find work and make money through this website is to simply sign up as a freelancer. How much does it cost to sign-up? Nothing! You sign-up for free! Once you are done with registering yourself as a member freelancer, you are all set to start searching for projects. However, before you actually start bidding for projects, it is highly recommended that you take some time to update your profile.


You don’t have to break your head wondering what to add or not to add in your profile. Freelancer has categorized all the required details. Just go through the list and fill in all the necessary information. In fact, as you complete each section, you can also get to see how complete your profile is. The extent of completeness of your profile is graphically represented in percentages. You also have the opportunity to create a portfolio for potential clients to view.


Once your profile is complete, you can even promote yourself through your websites, blogs, or even e-mails. All that you need to do is add Freelancer’s “hire me” button offered in their website. They also provide you the necessary HTML code to be added to your website for wherever the buttons need to appear. What’s the benefit? Potential employers can directly hire you by clicking this button. No more bidding and no more waiting to win projects! You are all set to make money with Freelancer.com. What better way to bring the online population right to your doorstep, I mean your desktop?!


How to start working?



Well, once your profile is ready and your portfolio in place, what next? Browse through the whole array of projects listed in Freelancer. At any point of time you can find thousands of projects. There are a whole lot of professionals and businesses on the lookout for the right person to complete their task. Freelancer.com helps you break into this huge network of projects that are waiting to become your next assignment. And the best part, you can choose what type of work you want to do and when you want to do it; all from the very comforts of your own space.


Bidding is an important part of finding work in Freelancer.com. It is also the first step in your process to make money with Freelancer.com. You can bid for several projects at a time. The limit for your bids per month is restricted based on your membership. And this is one of the aspects where you stand to benefit if you become a paid member with Freelancer. You can either opt to be a standard member or a premium member. Being a paid member has several benefits for users. But, not to worry! Even as a free member you get enough bids to kick-start your freelancing venture. And all unused bids are carried over to the next month.


You can also highlight your bid or move it to the top of the list to make it more noticeable for employers, and all this at a very minimal cost of $1. Once you have been selected by an employer, you still have the option to accept or decline a project. Accepting a project entails some minimal charges. If you are a free member, you will have to pay $5 or 10% of the total project cost, whichever is higher. If you are a new member or are just starting out with small projects, this is a good way to get started.


But once you have established yourself, becoming a paid member offers you more benefits. One of the major benefits being, your cost of accepting projects comes down drastically! Standard members need to pay only $4 or 5% of total project cost and premium members have to pay only $3 or 3% of total project cost, whichever is higher. Paid members are expected to make membership payments, which again varies for standard and premium members. Moreover, Freelancer.com offers you an option to save on the membership costs by paying for six months or one year in advance.


These payments are hardly anything compared to the potential that you have to make money with Freelancer.com. The other benefit for freelancers is that based on the type of project you are bidding for the rates vary. The above-mentioned rates are for standard projects. There are also hourly projects for which only the percentage rates are applicable. For instance if you are a premium member you will have to pay only 3% of the project cost for hourly projects. Similarly, for full-time projects freelancers have to pay nothing at all!


What are the beneficial features?



Milestone is another wonderful feature offered by Freelancer.com. This is one way to guarantee you will be paid for your hard-work, especially in first-time projects, where you do not know much about your employer. You have the option to request for 100% milestone or even part of the project cost as milestone. You can even request the employer to create multiple milestones for a project and request for release of payment based on how much of work has been completed. This feature is beneficial for both. A milestone can be cancelled only by the freelancer, ensuring your payment is guaranteed. And the milestone can only be released by the employer ensuring they need to pay only after obtaining quality work and as per their requirements.

When bidding for projects you are expected to offer an estimated timeline within which you can complete the task. This offers you the opportunity to plan out your work commitments. And based on this you can place bids for other projects as well. Once you have successfully completed your tasks you can request for payments. The payments received in Freelancer can be transferred to your personal accounts through various options such as PayPal, Wire Transfer, Skrill (previously known as Moneybookers.com), Wire Transfers, or even your own Credit Card. Thus, you not only easily make money with Freelancer.com but also easily transfer it to your bank accounts.

Freelancer.com wants to ensure that you make the most of your opportunities. Therefore, there are a whole lot of tips and guidelines that they offer you in your endeavors. How to make the best of your bidding opportunities? How to communicate with your potential employers? How to make your bids noticed by hirers? You can get tips for these aspects and more. Moreover, they offer a host of features to help ease your tasks. There are discussion boards, private message feature, option to upload work samples, and even the option to view the average bid cost for a project! You are even given the option to receive mails whenever someone bids lesser than you!

You can also search for projects based on your skills. It helps you to filter projects that best suit your skill sets. This saves you time and effort. Moreover, Freelancer.com helps you to focus your skills and energy in areas that best suit your working expertise. That way you can be assured of work that best suits your interests. The huge array of work choice in this portal makes it the best place any freelancer can expect to be and the most efficient way to make money with Freelancer.com.


Add value to your earnings




When you make money with Freelancer, you can be assured that you not only gain value for your money but also keep the money for your own benefits. No more spending money on advertisements and business cards, no more spending money on canvassing or trying to find work, no more spending money on submitting numerous job applications. Freelancer.com will bring projects and employers to you, all that you need to do is choose the work that meets your skill sets and offer your services. Successful completion of work often leads to repeat projects and at times even full-time projects. With Freelancer.com you are sure to find continuous employment, regular income, and a successful career. In these turbulent and unpredictable economic times what more can you ask for!


Make Freelancer your business or professional collaborator and you will be surprised at how fast you begin to make money with Freelancer.com.