Honest Reviews of theMajor Freelance Writer Online Job Board Sites

If you start talking about online job board sites in aroom of experienced freelancers, you’re likely to starta fight.

You’ll find people who support them wholly. Others,like me, who believe they can be helpful as part of anoverall marketing plan. And others who claim that youshould never, ever use them.

That being said, the reason I like job board sites isbecause they are easy to access and because the clientsare pre-sold. When you’re first getting started, there isnothing more important than being able to land yourfirst couple of clients.

This allows you to get the experience you need and tolearn what you like and don’t like. You might discoverthat the niche you picked out before getting starteddrives you crazy. Before you’re committed to a long-term project in that niche, it’s much better to do acouple of small projects from a job board so that youcan easily cut and run.

What follows is my experience with these sites andinput I’ve received from other freelance writers withmore than three years in the field. Bear in mind this isall just my opinion and the opinions of others. The onlyway to know whether these sites will work for you isto give it a shot!

An Honest Review of iWriter

There are many different freelancing websites outthere where you can gain work and one of the mostcommonly referenced is known as iWriter. Although Icertainly know of plenty of writers who appear to besucceeding on the site, there are some things I believeyou should be aware of if you get started.

First of all, it is relatively easy to sign up as a writer,but it's important to realize that every writer begins atthe standard classification. After you've submitted asignificant number of articles, writers are thenreclassified based on their writing skills if they haveproven enough quality in the work.The articles that you write are rated by iWriter editorsas well as clients. The best advice for moving up on thissite is to write as much as possible so that you ratingincreases and you can begin being paid for higherpaying articles. The three classifications on the siteinclude:• Standard writer• Premium writer• Elite writer

An Honest Review of iWriter Cont'd

How Writers Are Paid On This Site?The pay you receive is based on your classification onthe site, which can be changed based on yourperformance.

After having worked with a number of differentwriters who have used this site and having used itmyself, there are several common themes that haveemerged in terms of using this site regularly. Theseinclude:• You only begin at the standard classification• You would need to write thirty articles with a starrating of four or above in order to move on to one ofthe higher levels• Payments are just over $1 to about $7 depending onlength (not worth it unless you’re some of speedmastercranking out several pieces an hour at the $7 rate!)• You would need to pay extra in order to be fast track• Plenty of writers on this site claim that reviewers arefake or that their work has been accepted, rejected,and then used later on the client's blog• Clients can be difficult to find and work with• Articles are rejected often• Client instructions are basic and do not provideenough information• Clients will expect for you to complete the projectimmediately or will pull it from youBased on this information, approach iWriter with care.If you are just getting started as a freelance writer, itcould be a beneficial site for learning more about yourskills and getting feedback from editors. I would notcount on this site, however, as your primary source ofincome.

An Honest Review of Textbroker.com

Another popular site for new writers to consider isknown as Textbroker. At any given time, you will findpeople saying that there are plenty of projects postedon this site and not enough projects posted on this site.The site seems a little bit tricky to figure out and I amwriting this review honestly from my own experiencewith the site. I found Textbroker to not be worth mytime, especially for the pay. In fact, what little pay Iearned there a few years ago I let sit there and expire-the one article I wrote didn’t even meet the earningspayout threshold!

To give you a little bit of background information,there are several steps you need to follow to sign up asa writer with Textbroker. These include:• Registering for a free membership• Submitting a writing sample• Receiving a rating from an editor on that sample• Completing your user profile• Beginning to write either open, direct or team ordersOpen orders allow you the freedom to choose fromthousands of different projects based on your qualitylevel. This is great for writers who are looking for aflexible work schedule and want the freedom ofchoosing projects as often as they would like. Directorders allow clients to send projects directly to you.Without much experience on the site, however, andhaving formed a relationship with someone you areunlikely to get a direct order.

Finally, many of the writers who use Textbrokersuccessfully are doing so with team orders. This allowsyou to get paid more and to have more regular work.

An Honest Review of Textbroker.com Cont'd

Many of the articles on Textbroker typically payoutbetween $2 and $9 depending on your classification.Five is the highest level of classification which isconsidered professional writing but it is very difficult forwriters to be classified in this way when they first startout.

If a writer is classified as a 2 based on his or her writingsample, for example, writers can only claim articlesclassified as a 2. A 4 classification, however, means thatyou can claim anything 4, 3 or 2.

One of the biggest challenges I found with Textbroker isthat payments are only made twice per month and youneed a minimum payout of $10. I completed one openorder project on this site and was only paid $7 when Ifirst got started as a freelance writer.

Given the amount of time it took me to put into creatingthat sample piece and doing revisions requested by theclient, it was not worth it.

An Honest Review of Textbroker.com Cont'd

I never even submitted another article on the site andwrote the $7 off. There are several different challengesassociated with Textbroker and complaints that I haveexperienced in speaking with other writers. Theseinclude:• Many of them are having to work many hours in orderto make this a career.• The wages are not competitive in comparison withother companies.• Clients can be difficult to work with.• Editors can be picky about grammar and difficult towork with.• Your writing level can be randomly changed.• It takes a great deal of work to create articles forwhich you may have to revise multiple times or never bepaid at all.The way that Textbroker classifies payments includes:For open orders• 2-star rating: 7cents/word• 3-star rating: 1cent/word• 4-star rating: 1.4cents/word• 5-star rating: 5 cents/wordDirect orders• Begin at 1.78cents/wordTeam orders• Begin at 1.5cents/word

Is Textbroker worth your time? According to a couple oflongtime freelance friends who use the site as theirprimary source of income, it only makes sense if you gethired on a team. It took one of my friends four months toget a spot on a team. I think you could have better luckelsewhere in that period of time.

An Honest Review of Freelancer.com

Freelancer.com is a major freelance job board site.There are hundreds or even thousands of jobs posted onthis site at any given time and what follows is an honestreview from my own experience and from interviewingother freelancers who have had the opportunity to usethis site.

How to Sign Up as a Freelancer on Freelancer.com• Use either your Facebook address or your emailaddress to get started.• Browse for jobs that may apply to your specific skillsand break them down by category.• Begin to apply for work by submitting work samplesand your profile or resume materials.• Get hired by clients who are interested in you.• Earn money.

How Freelancers Are ClassifiedIt's important to remember that unlike other sitesincluding iWriter or Textbroker, individual freelancersare not necessarily classified by a particular level. Youcan browse jobs and bid for them similar to Upwork butthe website does require you to pay extra for more bids.

It is free for freelancers to sign up, create a profile, selectprojects and skills you are interested in, get notificationsabout projects, discuss opportunities with potentialemployers and enter contests on Freelancer.

What Does It Cost to Complete a Project on Freelancer?For fixed priced projects you will pay a small project feedirectly to the company relative to the selected bid as anintroductory fee. If you are paid more than the originalbid amount you discussed with the client, you may alsobe charged a project fee on those overage payments.

For hourly projects, the fee is levied on each individualpayment made by the employer to you. The fixed priceproject fees are 10% or $5, whichever is greater, and10% for all hourly projects. There are five differentmembership plans available to individuals wanting tomake use of Freelancer.com.

How Freelancers Are Paid On Freelancer.comFreelancer strongly recommends using their milestonepayment feature in order to help projects get completedas smoothly as possible. Employers are eligible to setaside specific amounts of money into milestonepayments for particular service providers.

Both users are then eligible to view the payment after ithas been funded into escrow but only the employer hasthe opportunity to release the payment to the serviceprovider.

The service provider is the only individual other thanFreelancer staff who can cancel this payment. Thismeans that each party has, in essence, control over halfof milestone payment. If a project is completedsuccessfully, the employer can release the payment.If a project is not completed successfully, the serviceprovider can cancel the payment and the money will bereturned to the employer's account.

How Freelancers Are Paid On Freelancer.com Cont'd

One of the biggest benefits of using this site is that thereare many jobs posted there every single day, but a lot ofthese are posted by clients who want to pay a very lowhourly wage. It’s in your best interests to avoid theselow-paying jobs.

Much like Upwork and other online job board sites,sifting through a lot of low paying jobs that you aresimply not interested in before landing on anything thatcatches your attention.

If you are not using the appropriate marketing methodsor simply can't commit to keeping up with the volumenecessary to land jobs regularly on Freelancer, it willappear as though you have no background on this siteand this is the conundrum that many individualsexperience when getting started on any freelance onlinejob board site.

How Freelancers Are Paid On Freelancer.com Cont'd

Trying to break in and get your first job can be difficultwithout any background. In addition to the challengesassociated with getting your first job, which arecommon across all online job board sites, there arespecific challenges associated with Freelancer.com asreported by users including:• The system is complicated to use.• Fraudulent accounts• 10% is deducted from every project which someindividuals may not know upfront• Not enough projects are posted on a regular basis tomake it worth your time• Technical support has been noted as hard to reach andslow to respond• Payments can be reversed by freelance clients whoare not happy with your work after you have alreadycompleted the work and you have little to no guaranteewhether or not you are going to be protected in thissituation.

An Honest Review of Guru.com

Guru is up there as one of the most prolific online jobboard sites and it's a great way for you to break into thefreelance marketplace if you don't have that muchexperience. That being said, there are some pros andcons to using Guru and this is my honest review of thesite from my perspective as a freelance writer andvirtual assistant.

How Do You Become a Freelancer on Guru.com?• First you create a profile and outline the freelanceservices that you intend to offer to clients. Employerswill then find you by these services when they completea search for a freelancer to hire.• You can also search and apply for jobs directly thatinterest you in any category. You will need worksamples and a pitch to communicate with potentialclients.• When a client decides to work with you, he or she canhire you directly through the Guru site and you cancollaborate in their workroom.

How Are Freelancers Classified On Guru?

This process works quite similar to Upwork and othersimilar sites in that you are rated by clients based on thework you complete. You rating is much like an EBayprofile rating that tells people whether or not you'vehad past success with other clients. Having many solidreviews from past clients makes it much more likely thatyou will get hired in the future. It's also a good idea tomake sure that your profile stands out when you arebidding with other individuals.

How Do Freelancers Get Paid On Guru.com?Much like other sites, Guru serves as an intermediaryescrow service receiving money from the client andholding it until the client has approved the work andwants to release it to you. If you are already workingwith an employer, you can invoice directly to protectyour tax and financial information. That being said,Guru will not intervene on your behalf with unpaidinvoices. The other option is to use Guru's programknown as Safe Pay.

This gives more payment protection than invoicingalone. Employers add funds into Safe Pay or can payinvoices by credit card, paycheck, PayPal, cash accountfunds or a wire transfer. Certain payment methods leadto processing delays. Some result in your employerearning 3.5% cashback that could be applied to futurepayments.

Complaints About Working with GuruAlthough there are many different jobs posted onGuru.com, a lot of them are in the technical sector andhave a great deal of competition. This means that otherindividuals like virtual assistants or freelance writersmight not find as much work on Guru as they might onother sites.

Individuals who have had success on Guru have beenthere for a long time and have a great deal ofbackground information on their profile. That beingsaid, it is still possible for you to break in and achievesuccess with this site if you work hard enough. Some ofthe most common complaints recorded by freelancerswho have used this system include:• Finding jobs is difficult• Receiving a job offer is competitive• Payments are low for the amount of work that youhave to do• Guru will always take a portion of work that you earnon projects• If you do not use the Safe Pay program, then the clientcan back out and avoid paying what was originallypromised• Some clients on Guru are seen as difficult to work with• Directions can lack detail if you don't get informationupfront from the client• Customer support is difficult

An Honest Review of Upwork.com

Having been active on the prior Upwork platform ofElance and then Upwork for the past four years, I have agreat deal of experience in working with this site.

The process is relatively easy to sign up as a freelancerand after you have been verified by the company, youcan begin submitting bids for jobs. One of the things thatis most difficult for new freelancers to overcome is thatthey have to pay both for monthly membership and thenfor any additional connects.

Connects are the official bids used in order to submitproposals on various jobs posted on the Upworkplatform.

When you are first starting out, you'll be doing a lotmore work submitting to jobs and attempting to gethired, then you will be replying to invitations, which donot require that you use any connects. This means thatmost new freelancers on the Upwork platform will goabove and beyond their monthly allotment of connectsand have to pay extra.

This is an example of a pay-to-play enterprise, but if youare willing to submit some time and a little bit of moneyto get started, it can turn around for you significantly.

In my first month freelancing on Upwork's predecessorElance, I made $200. The second month, however, Imade $1200 and the third month I made $2400. I waseven able to build a six-figure writing business fromUpwork.com and you too could do the same if you wishto have the benefits of working with this site.

There are several different pros and cons of workingwith Upwork.

First of all, there are a number of low paying jobsregularly posted that you have to sort through andattempt to weed out the poor fits. There are excellentjobs on here and gems of clients. That being said, theyare not always easy to see because there are so manylow paying jobs posted.

Also, Upwork's search algorithm is currently highlyflawed, meaning that you are unlikely to get manymeaningful invitations for jobs you'd actually like towork on. Unfortunately, this is not really the client'sfault but it is something that Upwork needs to spendsome time working on.

Overall, Upwork is a good fit for new freelancersbecause there are some high quality jobs with decentpay associated with the projects posted on theseaccounts but you have to be willing to look for them.You also have to do the work to refine your pitch, profileand your work samples.

They can take some time to achieve success on Upwork,which can be challenging if you see a great deal of jobsthat are requesting that you have 100 hours or more ofwork experience. It's sort of hard to get your foot in thedoor with a site like Upwork, but when you do, it can bea great source of regular work or attempting to drumup work when the rest of your freelance business isslow.

Do freelance writing job board sites make sense? Thebottom line is that they can, if you find one or two thatbring you high-quality clients. Bear in mind, though,that when you’re not in control of all the aspects of theworking relationship that you’re going to give upcertain benefits of working for yourself.

Test out these freelance writing job board sites and see ifthey work for you. You might find that they are a goodbackup to your regular freelance marketing efforts.