Freelancer.com is a site that’s known for cheap freelancers who earn peanuts.
Sadly, it pays way too low that most people (including me) stopped recommending it long ago.
How can you earn from a site that pays so low?
How exactly can you earn 100k and above here?
As we saw on my freelancer review, if you work hard, you can actually earn some decent income from this site. Note that other sites such as Upwork and Fiverr pay way more than this, therefore if you decide to focus on Freelancer, you’ll have to work extra hard to earn something worth talking about.
I used to earn a lot from this site when starting, therefore I decided to keep this post here. Otherwise, I’ve contemplated deleting it many times since the site has really gone down since I wrote this. However, some people still earn from it and I believe this post will still help a few who’ve not managed to get jobs in other sites.
Below is how you can get 100k and above from Freelancer from next month.
1. Start Small
Matt Barrie, the owner of Freelancer once wrote an article in Forbes about how a profile cannot be transferrable. This means that if you have a tight profile in Upwork and start with Freelancer, you will still become a new freelancer with no credentials. You will therefore need to earn your way up.
Therefore, after you sign up to Freelancer, you will definitely need to start small if you want to make it quickly. For example, if you are a new writer, you can accept a few $1.5-$2 per 500 word jobs to just help you build a profile. Once you have a couple of 5 stars, you can as well double this figure. Consider the low pay your investment for a greater good.
Once again, such rates are really appalling to today’s freelancer. Just a reminder that I wrote this post way back when I was a very young freelancer who didn’t know of better opportunities. If you value your time, go straight for other methods.
2. Use a Sample
Always use a sample.
Freelancer.com disabled the attachment feature when bidding. Below is how you can still use a sample of your work. As usual, I use the example of freelance writing.
a) Use Dropbox
Use a cloud application like Dropbox then include a link in your message. You can click here to register to Dropbox:
Once you install Dropbox, below is how you’ll be getting links to your samples:
- Go to the file you want to get a link to
- Right click and hover on “Dropbox”
- Click on “Share Link”
- It will open a page on your browser
- Click on “Get Link” and the link will be copied to your clipboard
- Go to the message you’re writing to the client, right click and paste
b) Publish your works online for free
If you are a writer, you can easily do this in article directories or revenue sharing sites like EzineArticles, Medium, HubPages etc. then be giving links to your published content.
c) Use the portfolio feature
Of course you’ll need to do this as I insist on a complete profile below. What you’ll need to do though is tell the clients to check your portfolio to see samples of what you do.
For the best results, use all the three features above.
3. Complete Your Profile
Do whatever it takes to have a complete profile. This will include a photo, your portfolio, your subheading, description etc. Freelancer will always tell you what you need to do next to complete your profile.
4. Bid Daily and Deliver
Dedicate time every day to send out a few bids. When you get a job, make sure you deliver quality so that you can be given a great review. Always bid for $30 when starting since this is the minimum amount. Once you get better clients as seen below, you can bid for higher amounts.
Note that also Freelancer charges you approximately 10% when you get hired. Therefore, the lower the first bids, the lower the initial investment.
5. Become an Affiliate
Freelancer has one of the best affiliate programs I know. Once you refer someone to the site, you’ll be getting part of the lifetime project fees whenever they are accepted for a project. This way, you can earn money even in your sleep!
To become an affiliate, simply go to “Invite Friends” or go to “Finances” then “Affiliate Activity”. There you will get a link that you can use on Facebook, emails, blogs etc. to refer friends.
Note that this will not earn you quick money but once in a while, you’ll be surprised to get a $4.5 in your account. If you take my training and build a great blog, then the results of affiliate activity will become much better.
6. Become an Entrepreneur
Once you start getting high paying clients, look for freelancers from the same site and pay them lower than what you earn.
For example, if you are a lucky writer and you earn between $5 and $10 on the site or elsewhere, you can hire other freelancers from the same site and pay them between $2.5 and $5. You may need to invest a bit of your personal cash so that you can pay them milestones.
Otherwise, whenever you are paid, you can pay your freelancers, plough back some money to the business and withdraw some cash.
One thing I know about freelancer is the fact that you can make some long term relationships with clients. Your work will just be to make sure your freelancers do an awesome job and only pay them when you are paid by the client…and you’ll not need an office to do this.
7. Practical for Writers
As earlier stated, I used to make lots of cash through Freelancer with this method. As a writer, I am pointing this out for writers but all other freelancers can duplicate the same method.
- Start writing $2 articles
- Create a good profile and gather some 5 star reviews
- Upgrade to $5 articles (or higher if possible from Freelancer or other sites)
- Hire freelancers (from the same site) for $2.5 per article. This gives you a profit of $2.5 per article. Whenever you bid, tell clients that you have a team and can handle bulk work.
- Let your total production be at least 20 articles per day as a team; earning you approximately $50 profit per day.
- Work 24 days per month with your team (Mondays to Saturdays). Therefore total profit will be:
$50×24=$1,200
- Assuming a dollar is Sh. 100, this will give you Sh. 120,000.
- Of course there will be other expenses such as project commissions. When all these are deducted, you’ll be left with at least Sh. 100k per month from next month. At this stage, all you will be doing is bidding and proofreading since other writers will be doing all the writing.
- Increase your production to more than 20 articles per day as a team and you can easily multiply your income. You may need to promote some of your writers to become proofreaders and pay them for this but the more you produce, the more you get.
- Eventually, hire a virtual assistant/manager who will do all the above for you and start making some residual income!
Warnings!
- Always invest and pay milestones to your writers. On the other hand, always ask for milestones from clients. That way you’ll all be protected from the numerous conmen in the site. I once was conned a lot of money because I trusted some long-term clients who eventually disappeared with six figures. If you use milestones, this will never happen.
- Do not accept offers to work and be paid outside the site.
- If you ignore my warning and work without milestones, then make sure no client ever holds a lot of your cash at once. Also, make sure you have enough savings to pay all your writers should a client go rogue.
- Other writers should be cautious about accepting work from clients who do not offer milestones.
- Never write an unpaid sample. The client will simply disappear with it.
Conclusion
Freelancer.com is a low paying, but famous site. But still when used well, there are a lot of dollars to be made. It is mostly great for beginners who should later graduate to other better paying sites such as Upwork and Fiverr. You can then come back as a client since freelancing, like most businesses, may not be as lucrative without outsourcing.
Therefore, if you’re a new Freelancer, sign up with Freelancer.com and start making that extra cash either as a client or an employee.
See you on the comments!
Hi Walter,
Am just interested in online jobs but an not a good writer. Is there anything else one can do online to make some extra cash.?
Hi Sonnie,
There are hundreds or probably thousands of things you can do online. You can start by googling “how to make money online” and you’ll get lots of solutions. Pick one that you find best for you.
Wise nuggets of wisdom there Walter. And hey, I never knew that Freelancer actually has an affiliate thing. Will surely try it out
Hae walter, thanks alot. What do I need for a kick start, and can I be paid through mpesa?
Hi Calleb. You can follow the tips on the above article. These sites don’t pay via MPESA yet. So you’ll be paid via PayPal, Skrill or Payoneer.
Hi Walter, I am a new freelancer who has just signed up but I am still researching before I begin bidding and writing. Is it an offence for my account to stay idle for a while?
Hi Peter,
I’m glad you’re getting started.
No, that is not an offense.
All the best.
can a starter be given a chance to develop himself through being given writings that aren’t complex for building his experience.
Hi Alfred. That’s awesome. However most clients wouldn’t want trial and error for their real work. You can first really learn the trade then after that start practicing it. You can always check for tips here and slowly start implementing them for clients in different sites. Start small and keep growing.
I can confess that Walter is indeed a great informer on matters of online business. I wish I saw these articles when I was struggling in 2014. I am not doing well but I am picking up day after day and hope 2016, I will do more. Thanks for the great information Bwana Walter. You such a great mentor in this field. Hats off.
Most welcome Nicholus. I am happy to learn that you’re striving to make it in this industry. I appreciate your kind words.
hi Walter, good job you’re doing. Am a stay at home mom with basic knowledge of computer,which online job can you recommend for me please and how do start? I have never written articles but would love to and earn some cash. Thanks
Hi Maurine
There are so many online jobs that you can try out. Things like article writing, transcription, academic writing and administrative support jobs can be good for you from sites like Freelancer.com and Elance.com.
I hope this helps.
I am a new freelancer on odesk and freelance.com ..i have currently not recieved any job. Does the coverletter have to be formal and if yes, is there any format that you may advice me on. Then how can I get good reviews considering am new and no one seems to hire newbies?
Hi Mathenge
Stay persistent and you will get jobs.
First Google how to make your profile professional and also how to do great cover letters. There is a lot of specific information on that.
You will get reviews for good work done. Therefore whenever you are hired make sure you overdeliver.
All the best.
Hi Walter,I am glad to be your student.Well I have a question concerning iwriter.I used an orange modem and my account was closed by iwriter claiming that there was spam.I read a comment by someone here that if you use orange modem,it is prone to spam,while airtel is the best…kindly explain to me this because I have only an orange modem.should I avoid iwriter for now?
Hi Geoffrey
I am also glad to have you as a student. I would suggest you get an Airtel modem. It would save you a lot of stress with iWriter. If that is not possible now then you can avoid it for a while. Try out other welcoming sites such as Elance.
Thanks Walter,I will give iwriter a wide berth for now,and will keep trying the other sites like elance,thanks.
You are most welcome Geoffrey. Always feel free to ask questions.
Great article and excellent tips. I recently returned to Freelancer after a long hiatus and was frustrated to find out that the attachment feature has gone. Do you know the reason for this? There are ways around it like you pointed out but it just seems they are continually introducing new things that actually make things more difficult for writers looking for work…it was so convenient being able to attach whatever relevant sample you wanted at the click of a button!
Thanks a lot Anna for your kind words.
I don’t know why they removed the attachment feature.
Right now it is also very important to make sure you fill up your portfolio so that when clients check you out, they see some of your best works there.
Otherwise, don’t let that discourage you, follow the above tips and soon the dollars will start trickling in.
What’s your take on transcribing jobs?
They’re great!
I did that for a while back then.
You can try bidding for some in Freelancer or Elance.
thanks for the article am trying to make a living through writing but it is not a simple thing. I have two questions, hopefully you can help or guide me the best way to do.
My first question is how do i withdraw 97 dollars from my Paypal account. I have read your article on how to withdraw money from Paypal, where you gave two choices; Payoneer and epay.
I have visited E-pay’s website and it seems they are not offering the service anymore. I don’t want to jump into conclusions but when companies begin to show weakness, most end up in dissolution – which i hope this will not happen to E-Pay. The other reason i can’t use my Payooner card since it has not arrived yet. The company said the card would be in my mail by 8th but after several visits to the post office i have not been successful. Another major hurdle am dealing with is that i forgot my password -seems silly but i did, though i contacted them.
My other reason as to why i wrote was concerning your 250 shillings fee for training. I want to know is this a one time offer or a daily thing or a weekly payment that i need to pay please clarify. I work with a SEO writing company which i love but i want to diversify into essay writing but I have not found someone who can help me learn more about essay writing in a detailed way. I would like to learn the nitty-gritties of the different writing styles as i have found the jobs are better paying.
Hi Kwame,
I understand how hard it is earning full-time through writing.
1. The safest way to withdraw right now is through Payoneer.
As you wait for the card, I can personally help you withdraw. Click here to see how that works.
2. 250 will take care of article writing training. You’ll pay me once and then I’ll train you for a week how you can maximize article writing websites. After that, I’ll answer all your questions on freelance writing.
I see you are on my mailing list. I am sending an email shortly on how you can get an essay writing job.
All the best 🙂
i have one problem with these bidding sites,,, I just don’t see how a professional writer can work for $1 for 500 words. Irrespective of the ratings that is setting too low a standard. I believe that every writer should not settle for less than $4, this means less work but the pay is actually worth your talents and effort. I get most of my clients from fiverr and iwriter @ paying at least $4. What are your thought? Should I make the sacrifice or should I stick to fiverr?
Hi,
Thanks a lot for your comment.
I agree that no professional writer should work for $1. Absolutely not. Professional writers already earn way more than 30k a month.
If you are not earning 30k, you can try out the above method and consider the $1 jobs an investment. Since you already have iWriter and Fiverr experience, you don’t have to take strictly $1 per 500 words, you can bid for $1.5 at first then increase once you get a couple of good reviews.
The plan above helped me to get a lot of cash when starting out so I believe it will help most new to mid-level writers who earn less than 30k per month.
About your last question, you can stick to Fiverr and iWriter and use Freelancer to outsource work to writers. Of course this still depends on how much you are currently making per month in those two.
Look out for my post on Elance. That will be perfect for you.
Cheers
walter this is a master piece ..thanks
This is a great informative article. thanks
Thanks a lot Michael for the heads up.
Kevin,
Good to hear that.
Thanks and I hope to hear you got that 30k from Freelancer next month 🙂
Hi Walter!
Indeed you are a six star writer. I am not ashamed to say I envy you. Your articles leaves me with so much hope to work online. I have tried but none so far has produced any fruits. But currently am in the hustle and bustle of preparing for my College exam. At mid may this year I will strike the deal ’cause its my dream to work online. Believe me!
keep posting.
Hi Mark,
Thanks a lot for your great comment. Good to hear that my articles give you hope to work online. It’s a great place to work. It has its ups and downs like any other business but if you have a passion for it, then there is no limit to what you can do.
Thanks again Mark, it’s comments like this that make me want to keep blogging. Stay tuned for even better stuff.
Cheers 🙂
Yeah. I like the part that you state that you should look at the writing as entrepreneurship. That’s really great.
Entrepreneurship drives the world today. Thanks for sharing your thoughts Benjamin.
An informative piece indeed.
Thanks Sissoko. I hope the tips help you to earn much more than the stated 30k 🙂