When you go on to the Elance website you'll see thousands of projects. The majority of jobs are in IT & Programming, Design & Multimedia, Writing & Translation but there are enough opportunities in specialist fields such as Legal and Engineering and Manufacturing. You can even set up your Business as a Web Researcher or as a Virtual Assistant and start earning money this month or even this week. Here is quick guideline to follow.
Decide on your market
As with any business you need to figure out what service you are going to offer. You don't want to be too specialist or too much of a generalist. If you were thinking about setting up a marketing service, you might want to specialise in Public Relations or broaden your activities to include Marketing Strategy and Search Engine Marketing. Equally if you want to set up a Virtual Office business, you need to decide whether this includes data entry, transcriptions or research.
Build your profile
Before I even talk to a potential supplier I always check out their profile. Your username is important as it is going to be seen by every potential client. Unless you really want to specialise in just one area use a generic business until you have a clearer understanding of the market. Calling yourself something like 'white transcription services' could limit your opportunities. If you are setting up a business you will want to go for small business membership or individual membership.
You need to fill out the profile as much as possible with examples of qualifications, courses, experience and projects. You can get away with empty sections if you are buying services but not if you are providing. If you are entering a new sector then you need to provide some samples of work. Take screen shot of examples of your work. If you haven't got software that can do this you can download Jing from Techsmith for free. Add the images to word documents and convert them to pdf files. You can then upload the documents to your portfolio. Look at the profiles of some of the top people in your section to what you're competing with. When you start you won't have any feedback scores so you need to include some written references as pdf files or links.
Only the first 100 words show up on the front page so summarise your strengths first and then add further information in later paragraphs as this will show when the user clicks for more information. Overall your profile needs to look professional, current and dynamic. Use the most professional close-up image you can. Holiday snaps with family or friends look too casual.
Add a tagline
Adding a tagline to your profile is another opportunity for you to promote the benefits of your services. Keep it succinct.
Complete Elance Skills tests
One of the areas I always check out is whether the bidder has taken any of Elance's skills tests. I instantly ignore all the people who have 'self-rated' themselves. This will just work against you as no client is going to take any notice of a self-evaluation. I'm amazed by how many people seem to think that this works. Take the Elance tests. Depending on your scores you can include them in your profile or not. I'm always more likely to follow up a person or company with high test results as it shows credibility and skills.
Add keywords
Fill out the keyword section of your profile. This is important because buyers will search for suppliers by typing in keywords in the search bar. Think of words that the client will be using when searching for your services and use these. If you are too generic words such as 'Designer' the results will show thousands of contractors. It is good to include a range of keywords which reflect the services you offer, including some specialist keywords which a more experienced buyer might use. This will also reduce the number of suppliers showing up in the results.
Review the Buyers
Review the Buyers before you bid. Depending on your area there might be hundreds of projects to bid for in a day. Elance is an international market place and many of the buyers might be looking for lower paid contractors which you will find it impossible to compete with. If you are going to take a low paid contract initially then always check that the buyer has a verified method of paying. Look for the green circle with a dollar sign in it next to the buyer's username. Check out the buyer's profile. Do they give feedback? Have they cancelled lots of projects? As long as you are satisfied with the buyers profile be ready to bid.
Bid for many projects
The more projects you bid on the greater your chance of winning a contract but if you take time to produce a high quality bid you can reduce the number of bids you have to make the higher the quality of your bid and few bids you will need to make to win a contract. You need to buy Connects to bid. These cost $0.50 and depending on your membership you get some free connects a month. You need to be prepared to bid more initially to win contracts. Don't get 'hung up' on the number of Connects you use in the first couple of months, it is a very small investment you need to make.
I would avoid the very low priced projects even when launching your business unless the project is very transparent and you are sure that you can complete the work quickly. However, it is worth bidding on smaller priced projects if you think that you could build a long term relationship with the buyer. I've used some contractors for years and I'm far less cost conscious once I know that the supplier can deliver the work well. In fact I would rather pay more and use a trusted supplier than start again. How much you should bid is a very 'grey' area. I'm always suspicious of anyone whose bid is too low as it makes me question whether they are capable of doing the job so try and pitch your price competitively attractive but not at the bottom. Whilst this might mean you are working at a lower hourly rate initially you can increase you rate over time.
Winning Proposals
Your proposal is the most important step of winning a bid:
I've gone through many proposals over the years and thrown 50% out straight away because the proposal is generic and does not relate to the brief. It is not enough to just tell the buyer why they should hire you or how good you are. You need to tell them why and how your services will answer their specific problem or need. This shows me that they have spent time reading the bid. In the past, I received so many generic bids that I have specified for the bidders to include the last word from my brief in the first line of their proposal so that I can immediately see who has taken the time to read the brief. So many bidders don't!I want to see evidence that relates specifically to the bid, even if it is just a sample of how the work will be carried out.
Make the process easy for the buyer to hire you. Don't just attach sample documents which the buyer has to download and open each one. This process is so slow. Instead edit relevant samples into one document for the buyer and highlight why it's relevant to their brief. Remember to name the file attachment so that it is easy for the buyer to keep track of. For example: T_Nuttall_sample. Don't refer the buyer back to your portfolio. As a buyer I find this so annoying and others must too. You want to make it easy for the buyer to select you.
Be concise. I promise you when it comes to proposals 'less is definitely more'. Spend your time writing relevant proposals which can be read quickly. A buyer will contact you for more information if they are interested.
Bid quickly because the bids are shown in order of time. A buyer is more likely to view the first 10 bids carefully but if there is huge response then it can become too time-consuming to go through each one. You can also place a 'sponsored' bid, which means that your bid stays at the top of the list. Whilst you should be aiming to win about 25% of your bids, initially a 5% rate is more likely. Keep sending out great proposals targeted at the needs of the buyers and you will start getting great clients.
The hardest job is winning the client; getting repeat business is much easier.
Ask for feedback
Ask for feedback from the client personally so they know how important it is to you. Use their quotes and rates of repeat business in any new proposals. Although this information is available in your profile a Buyer may have missed this. As a Buyer I have sometimes felt obliged to give a higher rate to a supplier than I genuine thought their work justified. Consequently, I give priority to suppliers who have a high percentage of repeat business as I think this is the best gauge of a good supplier. You only give repeat work to people who have done a great job for you and who you enjoy working with.
Be contactable
Be contactable. You are not allowed to give your email details but you still need to make yourself easily available. Regularly check for messages and offer to be available to chat on Skype. As a Buyer I like to talk directly to whoever I am going to work with and whilst Skype contact can be very interruptive it is still a great tool for working with teams remotely. Building up a relationship with the Buyer is as important in the virtual world as it is elsewhere. Once you win a contract focus on building the relationship whilst you deliver a great service and your business will flourish.
Visit HomeforBusiness for more Marketing Strategy and Search Engine Marketing tips.
Daughter, Sister, Wife, Mother of three, PR Consultant and Entrepreneur
Like many women on most days I seem to have to juggle all my roles. On other days just three or four. This is why I founded Homeforbusiness. I recognise what it takes to be a working Mum and how to set up an online business from home with all 'pulls' of everyday family life and work.
I have always been entrepreneurial and set up by first corporate communications company, EMA Productions, in my 30s working with big corporate clients such as Texaco, Rank and Boots. Whilst it was challenging and hard work, it was quickly successful. I could focus solely on winning contracts and meeting the clients needs without family distractions and with the support of a fantastic team and office.
I feel very passionate about HomeforBusiness as I believe that lots of people want to create a better work/life balance and work from home, either setting up a new business or working as a freelancer. There are hundreds of genuine opportunities for people but often people do not know how to start. I want HomeforBusiness to empower anyone who wants to work from home profitably. With a panel of guest experts I will share share genuine business opportunities, business ideas, advice on running a business, online marketing, and health and wellbeing tips. I have also put together my favourite free online resources.
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