ASK US WEDNESDAY: “What’s so wrong with freelance bidding sites?”

by Rachel Smith
18 January 2017

I’m a freelance newbie and have been swayed (after subscribing) to newsletters by freelancers who are making a killing, supposedly, on bidding sites like Upwork, Freelancer.com, and others. Would you recommend any of them? H

Short answer? No. Mainly because I think treating your writing services like the bargain basement table at Target is never going to end well – for you, your bank account or your mindset. But, because I do love a long answer too, here are my ten main reasons you should steer clear:

1. Most job-posters are on these sites because they want a bargain.

We’re talking paying $5 for a 500-word blog post or piece of copywriting. I don’t know who these monkeys are, but anyone with half a brain knows that a good piece of writing is going to cost more than $5.

2. You’re bidding against people whose first priority might not be getting paid. They

might be writers who are starting out and looking to build a portfolio, or people who simply don’t need the money.

3. You’re bidding against people who don’t consider $5 the crappiest pay ever.

Think writers in third world countries.

4. There’s not a lot of trust going on.

I’ve read about job-posters who demand you install software so they can watch you work and monitor your hours.

5. It’s exploitative.

Especially sites like 99Designs where designers are required to all come up with a concept to a client’s brief, who then cherry picks (and pays) the designer who created the one they like best.

6. It sets up false expectations for the industry overall.

A lot of my time is spent educating job posters on what is fair and reasonable in the current market. These sites aren’t interested in fair and reasonable; just in ensuring they get stuff done as cheaply as possible.

7. I’ve yet to meet a freelancer who makes good money on these sites.

Perhaps people like Danny Margulies – who writes about his Upwork strategies – do. But now he’s also making money from selling courses to help other people make money on Upwork.

8. You waste a lot of time jumping through hoops.

From setting up accounts to verifying payment options and bank accounts, to adding your skills and writing a profile and trying to get reviews so you’re bumped up a level… it’s kind of exhausting. It takes a LOT of time. There’s NO guarantee of success. And you’d be better off – you guessed it – spending that time chasing up legitimate, reputable clients who have the budget to afford you.

9. The site takes a cut of what you earn.

And when it’s $5 for a blog post, you really can’t afford to have even one cent siphoned off, am I right?

10. It’s hard to build real client relationships.

Oh sure, I’ll be some people do form long-standing client relationships from these sites. But how do you know the temptation won’t be too much for that client to chuck their next project into the bidding pool instead of just commissioning you to do it?

Prove me wrong! If you’re a List member who makes real money on these bidding sites, we’d love to hear your experiences in the comments.