Have you had trouble getting freelance writing job from Elance? How can I get a proposal accepted when I'm a new user and competing against established writers?

I've been with eLance for almost five months now. I get like one job per month. I'd like to share some tips that I got from the Net on getting a freelancing job:1.

Bid low first, as in the minimum (Note to other writers: Don't kill me please! ). After the first job, I started adding on to my bids to take into account eLance's fees.2.

I made sure my first job was what I really know and have experience with (I'm an accountant and the topic was about auditing). 3. Make sure the job is reasonable and you are properly compensated. It's better if you know what's an acceptable rate for you (never mind the other writers first).

I've had bids turned down because they can't afford my bid. I just said, "okay, next! ".

4.As Pam said, hang in there! Don't give up. Keep bidding and keep looking around.

Sooner or later, a client will take notice of you and award you the job. When you get one, put your best foot forward and deliver the work well.5. Don't forget to ask for a feedback (and make sure you also give one).

The feedback mechanism in eLance is something that I really like about it and may make or break your freelancing work in that site.6. Be honest when you bid. If this is your first time, say so (but don't forget to add why you think you can do the job well).

I've done this and I think my second and fourth jobs were given to me because of my honesty. Hope for the best but always expect the worst! Not that I'm a pessimist but it always pays to be prepared for anything especially in this free online world.

Good luck. I know you'll make it!

The issue with bidding sites is that projects invariably go to the lowest bidder and not essentially the highest quality bidder. It can be very competitive and much talent gets pushed out of the queues by freelancers able to dramatically drop their bids. What I will suggest is this:- Get more published work uploaded first to hubpages, ezinearticles, goarticles, squidoo and searchwarp.

Ensure all your URLs are categorized on your elance profile. - Get some reviews from publishers whom have liked your work, add these to your landing page and elance profile. Just ask them for a reference.

- Ensure you have a portfolio uploaded. Trust and credibility go hand in hand so just telling and not showing won't attract the jobs and higher rates. If you are new to elance, that shows on your profile making employers more hesitant - though you will have passed the elance tests, and that counts.

Employers need to see your work as proof that you can do the work. - Keep your portfolio updated. Have you received any comments on your articles?

Place these - if positive - at the top of your list. - ........rinse and repeattake a look at my hubs when you have a moment as they detail some great sites for finding freelance writing work, its worked for me and as a result, I never use bidding sites:hubpages.com/hub/stayathomejobshttp://hu... to you!

I would suggest building your clips. When I joined Elance I didn't have any non-fiction writing experience. I wasn't getting any jobs.

Everybody was passing me by. I began writing video game reviews for al ocal newspaper. I also wrote a few op-ed pieces.

I even wrote a piece for a local trade journal. With the exception of the piece that was in the trade journal, I didn't get paid for any of them. However, when I could cut an actual article out of a paper and scan it into my Elance Portfolio, people started taking me seriously.

Another route you could take is to post some hubs that aren't product reviews. Try political commentary, marketing research, or "How tos. " Most of the folks on Elance are looking to get rich (the providers and the buyers.) You have to learn what they're looking for and gear your samples toward them.

Also, I suggest bidding low (just not too low) when you're starting out. I rewrote an entire website (20 pages plus) for $125 dollars. One of the worstmistakes I ever made moneywise but that client I wrote for contracts me from time to time to post on that site and pays $64 per day (day = 2.5hrs.

)Also, look at the types of projects you are bidding on. Avoid article rewrites/spinning if you can. The folks looking to have that done are usually affiliate marketers and most of them won't accept a bid that's higher than a dollar or two per page (even if it's below elance's minumum bid.

).

I have accounts on most of the top freelance sites as an illustrator, including guru. Com, elance and freelancers. Com and have the most success on elance.com.

Bear in mind that just about anyone can advertise on these sites... both from the buyer and seller side, and both are often as equally as inexperienced as the other. My biggest beef about these sites is that they expect endless work for nothing. They also do not have a clue about what the current market rate is for professional work.

If they did, they would not be shopping on line and and put "not sure" where the space that says what they are supposed to pay. Adversely, particularly on freelancers. Com, the number of freelancers applying for an assignment may be 230 over 30 days.

This is where you maybe running into trouble. So here is what you can do:- look for assignments with shorter due dates... long stretch approval dates mean more competition- look for jobs that do not look for work on spec. This means they are looking for work for free- look for work that you are truly suited for- know that these sites are famous for baiting in writers/designers for low money so they do not have to pay the commission to elance, then renegotiating the fees offsite- look for assignments on other venues such as craigslist, not only in your cityGood luck!

I think a lot the freelance sites cater to certain markets. I haven't had any luck as a writer on elance but I find writing work and new clients all the time on rentacoder. I also did some writing on odesk but they cater to freelancers from a lower pay bracket.

I would be happy to share my knowledge of the freelance world with you. Just send me a private message.

Many new writers have the same problem when writing for an established writing place such as elance. Other places make it sound easy to get started, but once signed up, they start rejecting the peices that you write. The reason: most go by the guidelines established for writers.

Perfect english, perfect punctuations and the whole works. They want a certain voice for certain things. Many times they want an article to present a question or problem, and then continue on to give the answers to help out the reader.

If you are not an established writer, then getting your name in print will be a big help to you, therefore writing articles on the hub will help out dramatically. You can also go to Ehow, which is an article also, but you are designing the article in a format to help someone learn how to do something, that is ehow.com How to do things is another place that you may want to find out about. Associated Content is another place that welcomes new writers.

Keep in mind that you will want to read the writers guidelines, and make sure you use the proper word count on your articles which is 300 or 400 I think. Poems and prose does not have to be that long, and is usually published in a few days. Income is slow to grow, but it does grow in the long run.

Article Writing Income, articlewritingincome.com is a new place, but is an excellent place to get started by getting your name in print, and at this point, that is what you need the most right now. They say they are going to start paying in the future, as traffic grows. Once you have started to get your name in print, then you will see how much easier it is to start getting published, and the next thing you know, you won't have a problem with writing for anyone or anywhere.

While I've had an account setup on Elance for months, it wasn't until this week that I bid on a job. The budget was less than $500. I bid $350.

The person wrote me back and said they really wanted me, but their budget was only $20 per article, and they didn't need 5 articles, they needed 15. It seems like a venue for buyers to get some really cheap sub-par work. I have since posted some of my published work, so perhaps I'll get better offers in future.

Thanks for all the advice here..

Wherever possible, look for jobs that relate back to other jobs you've had. Write down every job you've ever had. Then, as you search through the jobs, look for jobs that have something to do with what you've done.

Did you sell vacuum cleaners? Look for jobs about sales, and jobs about vacuum cleaners. Did you work in a pet shop?

Look for animal jobs. Did you work in a doctor's office? Try medical writing jobs.

When you do your proposal, personalize, personalize, personalize. Open with a personal greeting. For your very first job bid reasonably, but bid low.My first Elance job was $150 for 10 articles, which was about right.

Explain you're bidding low because you want to establish your reputation on Elance. Soon you will have that reputation, and people will be inviting you to bid on their proposals, instead of you having to work so hard to bid. Good luck!

It's hard to get Elance jobs. After two years I get about 30% of the jobs I bid on. I wrote a hub about it.

You can read it here:hubpages.com/hub/How-to-Make-Money-at-th... big thing is, you can't take it personally. You have to just keep throwing bids at whatever until something sticks. Some weeks I still go all week and get awarded nothing, then I'll get three things all at once.

Hang in there. :).

I cant really gove you an answer,but what I can give you is a way to a solution, that is you have to find the anglde that you relate to or peaks your interest. A good paper is one that people get drawn into because it reaches them ln some way.As for me WW11 to me, I think of the holocaust and the effect it had on the survivors, their families and those who stood by and did nothing until it was too late.