When you don’t have time to take note of what’s happening around the freelancing world, don’t worry, FreelancerKenya has got you covered.
Last week was a heavy one in the freelancing industry, especially considering the sad move that PayPal and iWriter made.
I was happy to be featured on another blog. Read about it and grab their free eBook (limited copies).
I also held a blog comment contest via my mailing list and two people won Sh. 1,000 each. Another reason you need to join my mailing list. I will be holding such contests once in a while.
Below are the details.
1. Blog Contest Winners
After writing the blog post, 8 Excruciating Mistakes to Avoid in Your Online Business, I kicked off a contest in my mailing list for the top commenter. Two people who would post the most touching comments would each win Sh. 1,000.
I appreciate every single comment that was posted there. You guys are awesome. It was very hard to choose the winners. But even though two people won, you are all winners. I am so grateful to you all.
The two winners were Dennis Mwangi and Anthony Ndirangu. Click on their names and you will see the comments they posted.
Why these two?
For Dennis, he not only gave an awesome comment, but if you look through the comments you will see that he also responded to many other people’s comments with sound advice. He also has an excellent sense of witty humor. I loved that. For Anthony, he put up a long post (almost like an article, with good advice that was totally on topic). Â They both promptly received their Sh. 1,000 reward on their MPESA.
Congratulations Dennis and Anthony.
Once again, all the other approved comments were awesome. You may be the blessed to win next time.
2. PayPal Withdrawal via Payoneer no longer possible for new guys
According to PayPal last week, they are no longer accepting additions of new Payoneer bank accounts to their system.
These are the bank accounts known as Global Payment Service (formerly Payoneer Virtual Bank Account). They enable one to withdraw money from PayPal to their Payoneer accounts. There is no official communication out there yet (if you Googled at the time of writing this) but many freelancers tried adding their accounts and they were denied.
Note that those who have already added their Payoneer Global Payment Service to PayPal will not be affected, only new users.
Below is an excerpt from an email from PayPal confirming this – a freelancer forwarded it to me.
So should you still use your Payoneer account as a new freelancer? Yes. Even without PayPal, you can still add your USPS to other sites like Skrill, Amazon, CJ and others. Some sites like Elance, Freelancer and Fiverr pay via Payoneer. Here are more benefits of Payoneer.
3. iWriter is banning low rated writers
If you are in iWriter and your rating is below 4 stars, work hard to improve your rating. Below are some ratings that will get you banned, according to the iWriter FAQ page:
A writer rating below 3 after 5 reviews, 3.2 after 10 reviews, or 3.4 after 20 reviews.
As most of us know, all articles on iWriter get rated, apart from the auto-approved ones.
You can get a good writer and outsource some work to them to bump up your ratings. If you are a totally new writer, you can start by working for someone or other sites like Upwork and PeoplePerHour before going to iWriter. Here are some tips that will help you succeed.
4. My interview in Niabusiness
I was elated to be interviewed by the blog Niabusiness. This used to be an awesome blog back then but when updating this post, I’ve seen that it’s no longer in existence.
Thanks for taking your time to go through this news post. In case you have any other news from the freelancing space feel free to contact me and let me know. Let’s talk on the comments, shall we?
Hi,
I have also gotten myself the free e-book and its very nice.
Thank You for the timely updates.
Awesome.
Hi Walter, i am a starter and i want to know how to get an online payment account and which one is very suitable
Hi Robert
You can sign up for PayPal, Skrill and Payoneer.
These three are the most widely used online.
Thanks.
that’s a sad news to we the starters. I have just been wondering, how long does it take to receive your payments from PayPal to your equity account after you have submitted the money from PayPal.
Hi Charles
Yes, it’s sad for starter. Very sorry. It takes 5-8 BUSINESS days.
thanks walter!. always a pleasure
Most welcome Charles
Informative article Walter, as always!
And thanks for the 1000/- you sent over to my Mpesa account. Being the time of the month when guys scramble to post theirs wares on Olx, just to make the end of month meet the beginning of the next, I owe you a hot cup of soup over a lively chat. You do take soup, don’t you?
About iWriter’s potential banning spree, I think that is what Freelancer should have done ages ago, so it is indeed a step forward for iWriter. I’m hoping this won’t be encouraging some odd behaviors from some not so straightforward clients over there.
With Freelancer, scam, peanuts (Indian client’s) projects probably outnumber genuine, well-paying ones. I’ll forever be thankful to Freelancer, though, for having served me some time back with $32.89 , my first ever online income. But it should have been around $60 had it not been for the con client and Freelancer’s own little ways that could drive a newbie crazy.
Freelancer’s little ways that can drive a newbie crazy? How would you like to be charged some project fee before you even began working on the awarded project? Regardless, that you or the client might decide to end the project before it even began. The project fee would still apply though, and would be deducted the next time you raked in some cash.
But hey! Freelancer also got bills to pay. Again, thanks Walter, for the post and some mulla.
Thanks for the kind words Dennis. You deserved the Sh. 1,000.
iWriter
This is good and bad at the same time. I did a little experiment the other week. I trained a lady and she joined iWriter as a standard writer, she never made much and her articles got low ratings.
I gave her my Premium account for a week and she nailed all the articles, getting between 4.5 and 5 stars each.
I later gave her my Elite account details and she is doing awesome.
In short, there are few good requesters at the Standard level and some few good writers take the fall.
However the good side is the fact that this move will stomp out poor writers and make the site more credible.
Freelancer
Yes, this site pays peanuts and has some ill-mannered clients who may call you all sorts of names if you make a mistake. In fact it’s even greedier in 2014.
However, it’s good for starters to just learn how the biz goes.
In fact I tell most good freelancers not to work there for more than a month. They immediately upgrade to better paying sites.
PS: I don’t like soup. We can do tea, coffee or lunch one of these fine days.
One more thing to those of us who use iWriter and would like to retain their rating:
Only pick those articles whose feedback percentage is at least 70%. Reason? Some clients may simply reject your articles on iWriter without plausible grounds. It is also good to accept articles from clients you’ve written for before.
I don’t mean they’ll approve because you wrote for them previously. Of course, you’ve to write top notch pieces to earn that 4 or 5-star rating. It’s easier to earn trust from a client you’ve written for before than from a completely new one.
True
And I wouldn’t have agreed with you more, Kevinson.
Thanks to know you agree with this one Denno.
Hi Walter,
First off, thumbs up for your newsy style of blogging. My two cents: Well, the PayPal withdrawal via Payoneer is a major blow especially to those of us from countries where you cannot withdraw directly to your credit card. But better a half a loaf than loaf at all! I mean at least, they have not banned the entire service; Those of us who had already linked their Payoneer cards to PayPal are still unaffected.
However, for those of us who haven”t applied yet, we can still use the platforms you mentioned and i think PayPal – Equity withdrawal is still an option! Besides, people who help us to withdraw from PayPal within minutes, like Walter here, are still an asset.
On the other hand, iWriter’s move is a step in the right direction. I’ve posted there some articles in the past and I certainly had to reject a good number. Quality is imperative in writing and like any other business, iWriter would like to retain its high-paying clients.
This also means less competition among iwriters – no scrambling for available articles anymore! So, it’s a win-win for everyone: iWriter, clients and writers. Time for me to start picking some orders there again. I haven’t used my 4.2 rated account since January!
Hi Kevz Libz 🙂
Thanks a lot for your kind words.
PayPal to Payoneer Withdrawal
Yes, this is a big blow to new freelancers. However there are a few guys who have discovered a loophole that they can still use to add Payoneer. I will try it out and send it my mailing list or consider blogging about it.
Yes, PayPal to Equity is a fantastic option that I frequently use!
iWriter
I think it’s great though it may affect a few good writers – especially those who choose articles from requesters with bad reviews.
All in all it’s a great move for requesters.
Tip: When not using your 4.2 account, you can talk to a struggling writer to be using it, as long as money goes to your PayPal account and you take like 20% of it before sending to him/her. Make sure you agree on a good percentage before they start.
Your tip on the right articles to pick is spot on!
Cheers
Thanks Walter for your insightful reply which has subheads! 🙂 I am going to look into your suggestion of allowing a good writer to use my account. I am so busy with other writing gigs so I will definitely explore your suggestion.
Cheers!
He he he…you’re laughing at my sub-heads 🙂
Great! Try it out with your iWriter account and let me know how it goes.
thanks walter for the great job you continue to do. God bless you. thanks for the ebook.
You are most welcome Nimu. Most welcome about the eBook.
HI Walter,
Fantastic info. Now I have most of what I need to get started. Please continue to update us on new trends and happenings.
Thanks.
Thanks John. I will keep the updates coming.
Hi Walter,
Its always great reading your posts. Keep up the good work.
Lillian
Thanks Lilian for your valued feedback.
News is really here. Although I was shocked with iwriter, I am not feeling sorry for anybody because I also use the site for outsourcing some of my work when I want them done quickly. Poor writers are the order of the day. That is not to say I don’t get 3 star there when writing. I do but very rarely. Thanks. Writing is all about experience. That is what I have come to discover. Sometime before, I was never able to write when I have travelled to a new destination. I mean, I am living in Nakuru and was unable to write when I come to the city. I have been able to write papers on a bus until I complete thanks to the night travel. I writer is only doing a favor to clients its not bad news. Imagine paying your articles and you want them in 3 hours and what you get is not even editable.
Hi Dennis
Thanks for your feedback.
iWriter’s move is good and bad at the same time. At the end of the day it’s good news for requesters. I have also gotten some bad work done there mpaka I order premium when I choose to source work from there.
Otherwise, new writers have to really know what they are doing so that they are not flashed out while still new, especially the good ones.
Glad that you find the How to Start a Successful Blog ebook useful. Your readers too will learn something, at least one thing, they can put into use immediately to grow their online presence on a site of their own.
And Walter, even though you have a lot of commitments, you made this happen. Thanks for doing the interview.
Hey Phillo,
Nice ebook.
I’m still reading it but so far, it’s welcome news.
Great of Walter to share of it with us
Philos
Yes, it’s a great piece. I am sure they will learn a lot. Those who take action will go far.
Dennis
Glad you took your time to download and read. Keep us posted on how things go.
hi Walter,
i sent you an email n am anticipating for your reply. good stuff, am loving the whole thing. kip it up. God bless you
Thanks Rosemary. I will reply your mail. Stay blessed.
hello Walter am liking every article you writing, and am always encouraged, keep up the good work.
As for Dennis and Anthony i have read your comments and you guys deserve accolades.
i will keep it here
Thanks John. God bless you.
Hello. I have already gotten myself the free eBook and it is awesome. It will help me improve my blog that i am almost through with design and development.
Thank you for the timely updates.
Good to hear that Anthony. All the best 🙂
Hey, thanks for the update. Little wonder I could not link my Payoneer to my paypal even when I followed steps out;lined in your other blog. I am now thinking of getting rid of the Payoneer acct seeing as it may not be relevant…your blog is spot on, glad to be getting alerts on my mail
Hi Simone
Thanks for your response and sorry about the PayPal update.
A Payoneer account is still incredibly relevant. You can still add USPS to other sites such as CJ, Amazon, ClickBank e.t.c. You can also be paid directly to your card from Freelancer, Elance, Fiverr e.t.c.
More details here https://freelancerkenya.com/withdrawal-methods/benefits-of-the-payoneer-card/
Thanks.