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Odesk is a...mixed bag to say the least.

THE COMPLETE ODESK OVERVIEW

With regards to PRICES:

A "decently" paid 500-1000 word blog post will USUALLY run between $5-10. There will be some who will want that for $2. I usually ignore the low ballers and go straight for the higher paid jobs - which you really have to SEARCH for. I'd estimate that out of 100 jobs, I probably wouldn't want to work for 90 of them, and out of that 10, there will probably only be 2-3 that will pay WELL.

So please, ignore those who are paying $2 for a 500 word article. You MAY have to accept a couple $5 for a 500 word article to get yourself going if you can't find anything higher, but only make that for a few.

Oh, a WELL WRITTEN 500-1000 word researched article will take anywhere between half an hour to an hour and a half. i'd say, for the first couple jobs, put in a decent amount of time for the well written article.

DO NOT take the soul crushingly low paying jobs, as they will only demotivate you.

With regards to COMPETITION

Most of the people writing on Odesk are crap. There are a large proportion of non-native English speakers who can barely string a couple words together. The fact that you can write decently puts you above the majority of Odesk writers, so don't be TOO worried about the amount of people on there, because most of them are vastly substandard


Step 1 - COMPLETE your odesk profile - Put up a picture, and an interesting and informative explanation of your skills. You filling out a profile WITH picture will automatically make most clients gravitate towards you.

Step 2 - Take SKILLS TESTS - Take 2-3 skills tests, especially anything English related. Skills tests will not only concretely demonstrate that you CAN actually speak English to a high level, but will also give you more applications. While I certainly do NOT advocate "cheating" on skills tests, all I will say is that to do so is quite easy, you won't get caught, and everyone else on Odesk is doing it.


Step 3 - Write a WINNING proposal - Don't copy and paste proposals. READ CAREFULLY what your client wants. Often they put in "screening words" to ensure that contractors have actually read the proposal. Ensure that you explain in a detailed and thoughtful manner the skills/qualifications that you have in being able to complete the job, and what puts you ahead of all the other applicants.




IF you are thinking about writing for Odesk for a bit, also try Elance. Elance "generally" pays better than Odesk (although not by that much) but has the drawback of having more QUALIFIED native English speakers. In other words, jobs pay more on Elance, but you have a much higher level of competition.

Also, they allow you fewer applications than Odesk, unless you subscribe to their paid model. And unlike Odesk, even if you cancel a job, you won't get back your unused application.

Personally, I'm not sure that using the paid model will give you THAT much of an advantage, and I don't think it's worth it, but I'm sure that some may differ in their opinion.

I much prefer Elance for the fact that they pay better, but it has been quite a bit harder for me to land a job, due to the increased competition AND limited amount of available applications

Clippings.me is a free portfolio site. The upgraded version will show you page statistics and a couple other features. It's not a freelancer site like Elance - but people do surf there looking for writers. There is no bidding system interface like with oDesk.

Stick with Elance and more pro gigs. I meant to add this - don't worry about lowballers everywhere offering penny articles. Just deliver reasonable quality at a reasonable rate and you'll still find clients. (The trick is in making connections, not bidding the lowest).

My rate chart is just a freelancing rule of thumb so you can understand the going value of types of writing. Figure out which quality level the client pays for, not demands. You have to take control of your hourly rate; that chart is very reasonable in the eyes of real clients. So if you find a good quality/pay match, you'll know it's the type of client worth building a relationship with. After Panda/Penguin a lot of clients want the moon for a song. These clients are in constant need of replacing because they can't stay in business. They don't know how value investment works.

You can charge these rates and not bat an eye. The rates are very reasonable in the industry. Your trick is to match article quality needed with your profitability time window. When you take two hours to write a $6 article, you are going down a hole. Negative cash flow.

Textbroker sets your author rate level and you write at that payment.
Probably you'd write for .01 a word (Level 3) or .014 a word (Level 4) for all your articles. Your level is always at risk. TB rates your last 5 articles at the quality level. For example, if you're a Level 4 writer and 3 of your last 5 articles were judged level 3 work - you're now a level 3 writer. It sometimes takes a couple months to get your articles rated, so once you're at a level, get used to it. L4 has more orders than L3.

No matter what, don't depend only on one broker. Diversify. Constant Content, Elance, Warrior Forum, or contact SEO companies and local businesses directly with your services. The web changes daily. Diversify your resources.

As for your rejection question - don't worry about it. Textbroker clients may request one revision. If you wrote according to their directions, and they reject it - you can dispute it with TB. They will override the rejection on your behalf when needed. Clients don't usually reject articles if you write like a normal person. It's not a problem.

They can't reject and use your article anyway. Clients have to put the money into the pot first. Then they can't get it back if you wrote to their instruction. They can only ask for one revision.

Oh, here's a point: only do minor revisions. If a client says "Oh that's utter shit!" or "No, I meant for you to write a negative review, not an information article" or anything else that basically requires you to rewrite the whole article - don't. See, some orders look too easy: "Write me something about pears." Then you write about the World's Tastiest Pears, and the client says, "No, I meant the history of pear farming." Well, don't do it. Contest it with the editors. Or do what I do - withdraw the submission. The order goes back into the pool, and I have a nifty new article on tasty pears I can post on Articlesale.com, Constant Content, The Daily Article, one of my blogs, or bundle into a future PLR pack.

I'm not spending 40-60 minutes on a $6 pear article. I'd rather get zero than negative value.

The problem with Textbroker now is that more clients are ordering Premium articles at Bulk per word SEO rates. (Think, one hour orders for $6). I've found myself spending more time hunting for good value orders than just writing. Some days are easier than others. There is definitely a prevailing trend now for high quality, original writing - but people still want to get it for per word prices from an outdated bulk keyword content model. It's just no longer realistic. It's not the same product any more.

Well I hope all this helps. Let me know if you have any other questions. It can be hard but it can also pay off.

Yes, I heard some of them. But I think it is still better to deal with clients "directly."