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It Looks Like Elance Has Really Gone Downhill In The Past Month Or So

by The Copy Warriors
4 replies
I just logged into elance and checked out the listings.

I noticed that even in the copywriting section, there's a decent number of requests for $50 sales letters, $25 re-writes, and other spammy pseudo-jobs, like what you'd see on odesk.

Mind you, elance was never much better than odesk in terms of the article writing jobs, but the sections for higher end work seemed a little better. Not so much these days, from the looks of it.

Seems these sites are getting pretty close to useless if you aren't getting invites to the private projects now (which I do get on odesk because I have 500 hours and 5 star feedback from more than 50 different clients, but I don't get them on elance because I'm not as established there).
#downhill #elance #month #past
  • Profile picture of the author Mac Wheeler
    Elance has changed in the last few years for sure, but just ignore the bottom feeding clients and filter out jobs posted by buyers without a verified payment method and the good projects are still there. Harder to get established these days I think though.

    I have the opposite situation to you actually. I have 300+ clients and over $140,000 earned in the last 2 years at Elance, and nothing at all on oDesk, although I keep meaning to give oDesk a fair try.
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    • Profile picture of the author The Copy Warriors
      Originally Posted by Mac Wheeler View Post

      Elance has changed in the last few years for sure, but just ignore the bottom feeding clients and filter out jobs posted by buyers without a verified payment method and the good projects are still there. Harder to get established these days I think though.

      I have the opposite situation to you actually. I have 300+ clients and over $140,000 earned in the last 2 years at Elance, and nothing at all on oDesk, although I keep meaning to give oDesk a fair try.
      Yeah, I think it's just a matter of where you get established first.

      By the time I got started on elance I already had a dozen or so odesk projects under my belt, so I guess the incentive to give it an honest try was not there.

      Still, I think elance is the better site overall. The handful of jobs I've landed there have paid much better than my typical odesk jobs.
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      • Profile picture of the author Mac Wheeler
        Originally Posted by Andy Button View Post

        Still, I think elance is the better site overall. The handful of jobs I've landed there have paid much better than my typical odesk jobs.
        Yes, I agree that it is still the best overall. I also get some surprising projects from freelancer.com from time to time. All of the writers looking for a decent rate left a long time ago, so now and then when you get a client looking for something that is actually readable, you stand a good chance of winning the project. It's rare though.

        I've tried PPH as well recently with mixed results, and I really find it a complicated site to use.

        Luckily I have enough direct/repeat clients to keep me busy, but now and then I pull something juicy out of Elance, even though I no longer place anywhere near as many bids as I used too. It's still a good site though.
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  • Profile picture of the author celente
    While I outsource alot of elance, and it has changed, I have been there long enough to know that you spend a little on testing and that you can weed out the bad eggs, very quickly.

    I swear by elance as you can find some very good workers, and they will look after you.

    95% of my team was sourced using elance, and the other 5% fiverr...but I still prefer elance, as you might have to pay for quality. But it is worth it. ROI is what it is all about. :-)
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