FREELANCE JOB

Bid on GetAFreelancer projects

2009-04-16T23:22:00.000-07:00

Bid on GetAFreelancer projects

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Latest Freelance Projects

2007-05-07T12:53:00.000-07:00

Last 10 featured freelance projects

Great tip for freelance workers

2007-02-17T07:09:00.000-08:00

Freelancers, I will share with you, a great idea how to win freelance projects. I have used it for over one year and I can definitely say that it works wonderful for me.
Instead of offering to work for free to build your portfolio as freelancer, choose a website similar in nature to the type your prospective customer wants to build, and develop a written plan for improving it. (Yes, you'll have to have some conversations with them FIRST to determine what they want and need.) Use the site as an example of the type of site you think they need. Do NOT present the site as your own work, unless it IS your own work, but DO use your "superior knowledge of how the web works" to show them several ways that THEIR site will be better. Even more powerful is to look at one of their competitor's sites that seems to have similar goals and objectives, and show them how they will be better than their competitor.
Freelancers, you can comment it and share your own tips and ideas about how to win freelance jobs and projects and how to stay ahead of your competitors.

Building a freelance portfolio without working for free

2007-02-06T08:34:00.000-08:00

I would post a couple ideas for building a freelance portfolio without working for free. I used each of the ideas below in my business every time I wanted to add a new service and needed to prove myself.

Building a freelance portfolio without working for free. IDEA 1
Instead of offering to work for free to build your freelance portfolio, start out by building a site for your own business. Because you are your own client, this can be done around the hours you might spend on a day job. But, don't just make your site look pretty, go through the entire site design process, from ascertaining your needs, goals and objectives, to testing on multiple browser versions and even purchasing and setting up a domain name. This way, when a client says, "You're pretty new at this," you can say, "I understand your concern about the fact that I am new to freelancing, but let me show you what I have done for my own business, and explain the process I went through to create this site. This is the same process I would go through with you." Then, give them enough info to show that you do not just
"throw up a page," but that you go through a distinct planning phase that takes their needs into full account. This shows that you are a serious business owner who thinks about goals and objectives and how the web as a marketing tool can help achieve them. If you are lacking in actual experience, the best thing you can do is to build your prospect's confidence by showing them that you understand the bigger picture as well as the details of coding a web page. This works pretty good for me and i have won many freelance projects with this tactic.

Why to hire a freelancer

2007-02-03T07:31:00.000-08:00

Freelancers can be a great option. One of the great things about a freelancer is that they have more freedom and flexibility to take on a variety of projects. Some of the most creative people in web design work strictly on a contract or freelance basis. Another great thing about using a freelance web designer is that you may be able to negotiate a great deal. Freelancers often work from their homes, so there are myriad expenses that are spared. While it is true that freelancing has its own expenses associated with it, freelancers certainly have a greater range to negotiate a price. Lastly, you may find a great talent at a bargain. Many new freelancers are eager for work and sites that they can use in their portfolio to command higher-paying jobs. These people are very talented; they are just not as experienced. If you can find one of these gems, and don't mind being a bit patient while they get the hang of freelance work, you can get a great deal on top of the line web design service and also help a deserving person launch his or her career.

Tips & Tricks for freelancers

2007-01-24T06:41:00.004-08:00

- Concentrate on what you really do best.
- At the end of each project ask the client for three colleagues who might benefit from your services, and be sure to follow up!
- Some tips on creating a portfolio. When I first started I always like to act like I was a huge company on my portfolio site, and often referred to myself as we. Don’t do this unless you are a huge company! Your potential clients want to work with freelancers and not companies. Make it personally but not too personal. Try to impress them within 30 seconds. The most effective portfolio trick is to make everything on the homepage. Which includes: your portfolio gallery, contact info, about you, and a featured project (optionally).
- Get out there. There’s a tendency as a freelancer to stay in the office and just work, work, work. You need to get out in the community and be known.
- Phone, don’t email, especially if you’re contacting web agencies. They get hundreds of emails every week and even if you’re exactly what they’re looking for, unless you’re lucky they just won’t read your message. I tend to email them and then follow it up with a call.
- Set aside a work area, preferably in a seperate room which you can close the door on… In the corner of a lounge/dining room/bedroom etc is no good, because it’ll remind you of those stresses you have at work while you’re trying to relax (deadlines, annoying clients etc)
- Start a monthly newsletter to your existing and potential clients to tell them about all the great work you’ve been doing. At least once a month they will think of you, and there is a good chance you will have developed a solution for one client, and another client will realize they could use something just like that.
- Develop a network of other freelancers who have skills that compliment your own, as one person can’t do it all.
- dedication to the client is essential.
- It is true that a several long term clients who always look for you first when a new project comes will bring you important financial results too.

What you need to be a freelancer?

2007-01-24T06:41:00.003-08:00

What you need to be a freelancer?
First of all, you should do some self-evaluation before you leap into freelancing. Not only does it take a special temperament to run a successful business, but it also takes talent and expertise in your field.
Hard work, responsibility and high professional skills are necessary

What are the benefits of freelancing and why you should become a freelancer?

2007-01-24T06:41:00.001-08:00

One of the main attractions of becoming self-employed freelancer is no longer having to work for somebody else.
In some recent surveys conducted, freelance/ self employed people have more job satisfaction; they can choose where, when and how they work. More and more programmers are abandoning the safety of companies careers to become freelancers. The reasons can be really different: a need to pursue their vision, a desire for increase independence, the lack of a better future in a large firm.
You can get benefits as freelance seller or as freelance buyer.
The Sellers are the people who offer the services that buyers demand. The sellers range from content writers to designers to programmers.
The Buyers are the people who want any particular work to be done by somebody else. For example, if sombody wants to have a web site for her company. The buyer will specify how much she is willing to pay for the work and how much time is there for completion of the project.
The main benefits for freelance sellers are:
- Reduced travel time and costs . This is the most obvious benefit and, for many freelancers, a primary motivation. Most freelancers have used at least part of this time to get more work done, in contrast to the "relaxed lifestyle" image painted by the media.
- Improved work opportunities. Work opportunities are not confined to jobs within reasonable commuting distance.
- Better balance of work and family life
- A flexible approach to working hours
The main benefits for freelance buyers are cost savings, increased productivity, improved motivation, skills retention, organisation flexibility, flexible staffing,

What is a Freelancer? And what exactly is the definition of freelance?

2007-01-24T06:40:00.000-08:00

A freelancer is a person who is self employed. Freelance work is used in many different professions, but most commonly a freelancer works in the fields of writing and editing, photography, web design, graphic arts, or computer programming. In any given profession, freelancers sell or contract their work to a client rather than being employed by a business.
What exactly is the definition of freelance? To my understanding, it's usually when you have worked long enough in a certain profession, established yourself, known for your works and talents, and having your services in high demand for people in need of your talents. For example, a person might be working as a photographer in a newspaper or magazine for years. And then, he is renowned for his impressive portfolio. So, he quits the company, and decides to be a self-employed photographer. And people seek him for contracts, and not the other way round. Now that, my friends, is the true freelancer.

Freelance jobs Positions - real "work At Home" Oppertunity

2007-01-06T09:56:00.000-08:00

Freelance jobs Positions - real "work At Home" Oppertunity
Freelance jobs are not a typical form of employment. Freelance jobs are based on the idea of piece meal income. You may find yourself with several projects one week and only one or two the following week. The income available From a week to week basis in a freelance job is bound to vary greatly. People who need a steady, predictable income in order to feel secure typically do not so well in a freelance telecommuting position.
One of the most popular freelance job is graphic design. Whether your specialty is web based design or business design, graphic designers are able to break out on their own and even if they have marginal talent, they can land enough work to produce a reasonable income to pay the bills. A really good graphic designer has unlimited income potential.
Companies are willing to pay often astronomical amounts of money for quality web based graphic design. Web based graphic design is becoming more of a necessity in modern business. Web based graphic design can so severely influence a company's web success or failure that companies will ultimately leave a large budget for their web based graphic design.
Web based graphic design is a wide open market for freelance workers. With the power of the internet, a designer can ultimately reach clientele across oceans and continents. Once upon a time it was necessary for the freelance graphic designer to rent office space and meet regularly with clients. In modern business, it is now possible for a web based graphic designer to send a potential client their samples and quotes from anywhere in the world, complete the work, and then receive remuneration from their client without ever meeting them.

Freelance employment hourly rate caclulator

2006-12-05T09:37:00.000-08:00

Many freelance employment workers are asking themselfs, the question "How a freelance hourly rate might compare to a full time salary rate?".Here , in this article i will give you an advice how to calculate your hourly rate as freelance worker. The most important thing is the area of your freelance employment. It depends on that , are you a programmer, designer, writer, journalist, e-marketer, seo expert....

A formula some freelance workers have used to figure out their hourly rate is: Figure out what you'd like to make per year. Divide that by 50 weeks in the year (the other two weeks are vacations, sick time, downtime, etc.). Then take that number and divide by 40 hours per week. Very important in freelance employment is to keep in mind that as a freelancer all overhead comes out of YOUR pocket, not your employer's pocket. Insurance, electricity, housing, equipment...it's all you. So plan accordingly for that when you figure your rates. I would say that a freelance rate of pay would be 20% to 50% higher (or more) than what a salary individual makes. This does not mean higher profits, but it takes into account the higher overhead costs of a freelance worker.

If it were a question of a potential client rate difference, I do not think there should be one. While the overhead costs of freelance need to be covered by that individual, the bidding amounts need to be similar in order to be competitive. The
only chance that a freelance rate could be lower, would be if the company bidding was for a team of people, in comparison to one individual freelance bid. However, in that situation, the client should be made aware that the volume, and scope of a
project, would differ coming from an individual, in comparison to work done by a team, or firm.

Considering this on the basis of employment, in the end one could easily have a similar profit. While some freelancers do quite well, or better than salary workers at a firm, I doubt this is the normal situation. Some members of this group are
quite happy with their freelance incomes, or at least willing to live with it, since they are avoiding a controlling employment situation.

There are benefits to freelance, and there are bad aspects as well. Deciding which direction to go for employment should not be based strictly on income potential. Clients should not be leery of using freelance creatives, since they can bring in
interesting ideas at competitive rates.

The perfect freelance worker

2006-12-04T06:45:00.000-08:00

As we had been buyers on some of the freelance sites, we know and had some basic expectations of how a freelance developer will get evaluated.

-The Profile in the Freelance programming Sites should be very clear and good. The skill sets should be included only if one is really good at. Writing all the technologies in the world never means that we can win projects.
-There should be a niche area for the provider. Both in technology and domain wise. Quoting good examples of the previous work in the Freelance programming areas or some others will convince the buyer easily.
-The bids should never be very very cheap. It has to be a reasonable amount, worth paying for the work. Of course it can be adjusted in reference with market rates. It should also be at a very high levels as the buyer will never care to look at the bid, if it is high.
-Asking for any clarifications will prove the depth of understanding of the provider. But too many questions may scare away the buyer. Buyer will be happy to answer informed questions which are directed to him after the provider understands the requirements properly.
-It is better to be prompt with the replies. Making the buyer wait for longer times will have a possibility of losing the bid.
-Being honest is one of the most important things. The buyer or seller do not see each other. This sometimes is an advantages but at times may prove to be a big problem with communications. So being honest and prompt communication is very important.
-Every time during the discussion Provider should follow the basic etiquettes of email exchanges. Avoiding spelling and grammatical mistakes increases the confidence on the Provider.
-If the provider has a good past rating, showing it as a reference to the buyer will be a great plus.

How to win your freelance projects

2006-11-16T16:32:00.000-08:00

How to win your freelance projects

1. You should present your abilities very well, expose your supremacy in other aspects of cooperation with potential client. Not all the clients are making their selection looking on the price factor only. There are many who are willing to pay more, if they get the professional results in return.

2. What can you use to win? These are the key factors:
-quality of the work
-doing the work on time
-communication
Freelancers from developing countries make the common mistake of relaying on the financial aspect of their offer exclusively. This is a very common mistake. Sometimes the quality offered is on the low level, also the timing fails – and for many webmasters working on the “web market” it is time that matters most.

But the real problem can be the communication – poor knowledge of English language, ignoring the grammar or even too informal attitude can make potential client decide to discard your offer. Sometimes the misunderstanding can go further and the project description may be understood improperly, which results (if a client is a very strict one) in a negative rating given to a provider.

All these mistakes made by other freelancers you have to use for your advantage – then, even despite the significant difference in price, you have a good chance of winning the auction, leaving the competitors behind.

The strongest weapon in a fight for a client can be the DEMO.

Common freelance payment options

2006-11-12T20:29:00.000-08:00

Money transfer and withdrawal
If you are a freelancer, you can get your money from freelance job sites by PayPal, cheque , wire transfer (the fee for it can be quite high), sometimes Western Union (their fees are very high), Moneybookers or e-gold.

Freelance job list

2006-11-03T04:46:00.000-08:00

You can be a freelance worker in almoust any area, but this is a list of the most popular freelance jobs. You just have to decide in which you are best.
Freelance writer, freelance web designer, freelance web master, programmer, freelance illustrator or graphic designer, photographer, translator, freelance copywriter, data entry freelancer, journalist and one more, but very interesting freelance writer for greeting card company :)

Freelance job sites reviews - GAF

2006-09-21T05:09:00.000-07:00

GetAFreelancer.com

NUMBER PROVIDERS :
Statistics since February 2004
* Number of posted projects: 74,481
* Number of verified users: 159,686
* Money spent by our users: $3,279,420
PROVIDER COSTS:
"It's free to join GetAFreelancer.com! We only charge a small
commission on closed regular projects. 10% or $5(whichever is
greater). The Service Provider don't have to pay commissions on
featured projects. Gold Members don't pay any commissions on any
projects. There is a $10 montly fee for Gold Members."
ESCROW: escrow at GAF
CONTACT INFO :
Innovate it
Box 784
53117 Lidköping
Sweden
WITHDRAWAL OPTIONS:
How can I modify a bid which I've already submitted?
"Login to GAF. Find the project(public project page) you wish to
change your bid on, click Place Bid button again and make your
changes."
PAYMENT TERMS (buyers):
Creating a new project is completely free. You only pay a small
commission if your project is successful.

REFERENCES
"GetAFreelancer.com This is Europe's answer to the U.S.-based
freelance sites--the firm is based in Sweden and has a subscriber base
of 65,000 freelancers around the world."
"How it works: On this marketplace, the buyers get to decide whether
to allow closed or open auction bidding. The site has a very basic
interface but makes up for that by having an excellent e-mail alert
system that feeds relevant project leads to service providers. There's
also a capability for basic formatting of bid proposals and an escrow
service to help protect your funds."

How to earn money using IT Skills

2006-09-21T04:52:00.000-07:00

If you can develop software , you must read this. Use your IT kowledge & skills, do projects , Sell them be an Self Employed Professional or earn extra in your free time this is something with which you earn money as well as update your skills & enrich the experience. Many companies get overseas projects from this site. This is a good site to Freelance & out sourced project

Freelance log

2006-09-21T04:50:00.000-07:00

You can put in bids at different freelance sites. They have categories for web design stuff, writing, data entry... It takes a little while to get going, but the more bids you make the more you get the hang of it. I've been at it consistently for about the past month (I bit on something each day) and have landed three jobs in the last month.

GAF freelance job popularity report

2006-09-11T02:22:00.000-07:00

According to statistical analysis of the 27750 freelance projects on getafreelancer.com site most wanted types of job are PHP (40% of all projects), Web Design (31%), Graphic Design (16%) and Flash (14%).

Definition of freelance job and freelancer

2006-08-25T03:05:00.000-07:00

What is freelancing job means ?
A freelancer or (freelance worker) is a self-employed person working in a profession or trade in which full-time employment is also common. The word's etymology derives from the medieval term for a mercenary, a "free lance," which literally described a knight who was not attached to any particular lord, and could be hired for a given task.

explain me what is freelancer job actually means? Fields where freelancing is especially common include journalism and other forms of writing, computer programming and graphic design, consulting, and many other professional and creative services.

Freelance practice varies greatly among its practitioners. Some require clients to sign written contracts, while others may perform work based on verbal agreements. Some freelancers may provide written estimates of work and request deposits from clients, though for others this is not practical or necessary.

Payment for freelance work also varies greatly. Freelancers may charge by the day or hour, or on a per-job basis. However, large clients such as businesses may have internal policies regarding freelance pay, so a freelancer accustomed to charging by the hour may be asked to accept a lump sum payment for a particular job, although if a client's conditions are undesirable, the freelancer often does not hesitate to attempt negotation before accepting or rejecting the job.

Advice from freelance pros

2006-07-26T10:10:00.000-07:00

Advice from freelance pros
First of all, add the book The E-Myth Revisited by Michael Gerber, to your bedside table. I think Amazon has it. Also look for the Business side of Creativity (creativebusiness.com). The E-Myth will help you organize your head around your business and the Business side of creativity will help with some specific issues.

After that, I fear that you will need to learn an ugly skill that noone ever told me I would need back when I was in school. Sales! (Which is actually kind of funny. Marketing and marketing tools are so much about sales and pleasing the customer. We as creators are never taught to think about the fact that we need the same thing for our businesses!)

Pricing your services:There are various publications out there that come up with surveys every few years. Graphic artists get between $35/hr and $150/hr depending on their skills, experience and guts. My personal experience is think up the number you want to be making ($175/hr) and then say it. If the client says "okay", you know that your number could have been higher!

Why shouldn't you charge $10k for a logo? Imagine the value the company will get out of it. Isn't it worth it to them to have an Eric Logo? Won't it help them make their millions of dollars? Shouldn't you get compensated for helping them retire early to the carribean?

Remember that the client will ALWAYS want it for less, no matter how low you go, so start high. You will not get every client (heck, you don't want every client! where would you put them all?). Some will say no, some will say yes. If you ask enough clients, you will make a living.

So, getting clients means that you have to go out and start talking to people. As many as you can. Tell everyone you know what you are doing. Ask current clients who they know. Follow up every lead. Cold call a company and ask for their marketing department. When the Dir of Marketing says no, ask him for a referral.

And, if all else fails, get a sales coach.

You (and we) are in this to make money doing what we love to do. We are selling to businesses and people who need and value our services. Feed your business skills so that you can exercise your creative skills.

Good luck!

Freelance jobs : I'd like to share you job opportunity

2006-06-14T11:33:00.000-07:00

Freelance jobs : I'd like to share you job opportunity (opportunities actually) that you can do in your own place, at your own time, at your own price.
If you got the skills (I.T. and other related skills like word processing, etc) then you are very much qualified here. You do not need to polish a resume, what you need are these:
- Skill (as mentioned above)
- Time (2 to 3 hours, depends on your speed and depends on the project that you want to execute)
- Good English Communication Skill (we don't need ‘call center accent’ here, as long as you can write with complete idea and correct spelling of course then you are qualified!)

If you posses that minimum requirement and you want to make at least $30 a day or its peso equivalent then continue reading, if it don't interest you, you may now jump to other threads.
GAF short for www.getafreelancer.com has come up with marketplace where service providers (the freelancers) and service buyers (the project providers) meet.
In this website, there are hundreds of projects. You can bid on a project that you want to execute.
It is always in a form of bidding. Bidding, in selling an item, the buyer with the highest bid get the item however, here the freelancer with the lowest bid get the project or is chosen by the project provider to do the project for him BUT THAT IS NOT ALWAYS THE CASE. Project providers do want assurance that the project is done on time and done with quality. They will give the project to the freelancer who got these.

FEES:Freelancers (or you), as a free member, pays $5 or 10% of the project total (whichever is higher) to GAF. Meaning every time you got a project, $5 or 10% of what you make goes to GAF.
If you opted to become gold member, you pay $10 (flat rate) every month. No need to cash out if you have enough balance in your account as GAF will deduct the amount from it. If you have $0 balance then your account goes back to 'free member' status.
$30 would be the minimum that you can make for the smallest project.

HOW YOU GET PAID
It is an agreement between you and the owner of the project you are executing. But most likely, both of you will use ESCROW service of the website (which I'm using also for 4 projects that I've executed since I started). The payment for the project is deposited to your account (website account) using the escrow service. You can withdraw anytime using options available:
- PayPal
- Wired Transfer
- Check
- Western Union
- E-Gold
- Moneybookers
What is escrow?Temporary deposit with a third party of assets by agreement between two parties to a contract. The money is released when the conditions of the contract have been met.
For interested, please check the www.getafreelancer.com . Check the FAQ section if you have questions, OR if you don't have time to read the FAQ section then post your Qs here and I'll give you the As.
It won't make you rich but it will augment the amount you make. I am a member of GAF since last month (January 2006) and so far, I'm doing well.