Questions to Freelancers - about bidding for gigs

Affmemo, bidding on the outsourcing sites can be a great idea, if you're just starting out.

Here's why:

* You build your portfolio;

* You get feedback;

* You get real-world experience delivering what people want right now;

* You'll learn a great deal about yourself: what you can do easily and well, and what's a struggle for you;

* You become confident, because you know your own worth.

Once you've got experience and feedback, you can parlay that into great money, away from the outsourcing sites.

In a real sense, you're getting paid to learn on these sites. Once you've got lots of feedback, you can even settle down to working solely on these sites, and making a great income.

It's all up to you.

Earn and learn. Decades ago, when I started out as a writer, I would have been thrilled with these kinds of opportunities. In those days, you collected rejection slips. No one paid you anything.

Re "... is it actually worth the trouble, knowing that more often than not (...based on my initial research. Correct me if I'm incorrect.), you will be getting below living standards payment for your services?"

I hope I've given you some insights as to why it might be worth the trouble for you.

As for what you're paid, if you already have experience, then you can do a couple of jobs on these sites, get outstanding feedback, and then charge whatever you like. You'll have confidence, and buyers will have confidence in you, because you have the feedback to prove it.

Yes, on these sites there's a rush to the bottom, with people underbidding. However, as I've said, once you have great feedback, ignore others, and charge what you like. The buyers aren't stupid. If you're worth the money you charge, you'll get it. :-)

Hope this helps.

Cheers

Angela

The bidding sites are great for people who are starting out. You need to develop a reputation and credibility. I started out that way and did quite a lot of jobs in the now defunct vworker.com as well as a few other sites.
When I started I was grateful for any jobs I could get because it enabled me to build up my experience.

Now I charge more but also provide better quality material. So if you don't have much experience, then yes, it is worth it but you have to leave your ego on the shelf because otherwise you may feel a bit down if you're not earning much to begin with.