I used to love Elance. I want to love them again. Don’t know if it’s the economy or if somebody’s asleep at the wheel over there. I’ve made over fifty grand on Elance in the last two years, writing all kinds of stuff for clients around the world, and while it was always bluecollar writing with absolutely no glory (as in, no bylines) — hey, that’s the definition of freelance writing, isn’t it? — it’s all gone to hell in the proverbial handbasket.
If you aren’t familiar with Elance — and if you’re a blogger you should be, because there’s work there — it’s the eBay of online writing gigs. People from around the world who need to hire writers post projects there, and then writers bid on them, backed by a proposal, samples, and an infrastructure that provides user ratings and feedback, categorization and full-service money exchange and conflict resolution. On paper it’s perfect, and for a while it was the answer to any writer’s dream of actually writing for money. And while all that’s still in play, Elance has turned into the garage sale farmers market art fair marketplace of cheap writing. (Note: writing is only one of several skills auctioned off on Elance; some rocket scientist decided to categorically pair it with “translation” , so you’ll be working in the “Writing and Translation” category, which in street terms is like working in the “Tax preparation and car tune-up” category.)
Here’s what’s wrong with Elance lately. Because the posting and bidding process is largely unregulated (the only rule is that buyers can’t ask for free work, though the point here is that they might as well be), the economy — combined with large does of greed, desperation and utter cluelessness — has driven rates for writing services down well below minimum wage. When a buyer posts a project they declare a budget range, and about 80 percent of the time buyers select a bidder at the lower end of it. If the range was reasonable that would be fair, but here’s the shitty reality: they want entire books written for $500… they want twenty articles delivered for $50… they want an entire web page written for $75… they want 1000 articles written for, again, $500. I’ve seen all that, and worse. Much worse. Somewhere Robert Bly (look him up) is being fitted for a noose in his garage.
Here’s an example project I saw this week. Some buyer — and they truly come from around the world; if you read the postings, at least half are obviously prepared by English-as-a-distant-second-language self-proclaimed newbie entrepreneur — is asking for 850 articles of 550 words each. His budget range is $500 to $1000. Do the math. Then get angry. That’s less than a buck an article, up to slightly more than a buck an article. But forget the slightly more option, because somebody, somewhere (think India), will actually bid $500, or even lower, and no matter how strongly you pitch your credentials, the buyer will more than likely select the lowest bidder. Almost always. If you can write four of those things in an hour — and if you can, then you’re a real pro, or just the opposite — that’s a working wage of four bucks an hour. When you apply this same formula to the guy who wants a 50,000 word book for $500 — one that won’t have your name on the cover, by the way — the math is even worse.
The economy isn’t Elance’s fault. What is their fault is that they have no quality standards in place, or even a standard of fair play and equity. You’d think they would understand and honor the value of professional writing, and when they support highway robbery and insulting pricing they show that they obviously don’t. And why should they, the site still posts about 15,000 new projects monthly, on which they get 7.5 percent of the action, in addition to the very reasonable membership fees.
Bit of a rant, I admit. And I don’t really have an agenda, other than fair warning and a sad lament. My Elance user name is Wryterman – check my client feedback and my numbers, and you’ll see that I’ve been there and know what I’m talking about.
And if you’re a blogger, know this: more than ever we must cling to our values and self esteem as writers who deliver value. And as for “free” writing, doing this is far more rewarding that what Elance is schlepping these days.
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{ 29 comments… read them below or add one }
Hey Larry,
I came across your post today, and thought I’d follow up as the guy whose job it is at Elance to bring high quality jobs to Elance.
Overall, you are right on about the need to separate the “Writing” from the “Translation” categories. This is something we will do, and wish it was an easier switchover that it is.
As for the low-brow writing gigs on Elance, this is something that we really don’t want either, quite frankly. There is a lot of value to having an open market, but it comes with these sorts of challenges too. Especially in a day and age when content is more important than ever for search engine optimization and such.
We have a few of our own ideas about how to elevate the market, but would welcome your own thoughts. Feel free to ping me directly with those ideas: bporteus elance dot com.
-brad
This is huge. Brad, who works for Elance, found my blog and actually contacted me (see above). Not to defend, not to tell me off, but to acknowledge and ask for help. That’s a best case scenario outcome, because I really can help. I’ve since written him a long email recommending a way Elance can create and enforce standards that serve both sides of the buyer-seller equation where writing is concerned, and Brad assures me my ideas will get airtime with the Big Guys. That’s all any blogger can ask for — that his work finds the target audience, hits home and makes a difference.
I feel your pain. I’m in more IT related fields myself, but I have seen the same thing. I am newer to elance and similar sites / services. I have not as yet made money using them. I love the concept though.
I see the ridiculous low balling budgets and bids as you have noted. What really gets me is that I know that a very large percentage of these projects can not be successful. It is not simply that they are bidding too low, the requirements are crazy and the timelines outrageous. I see people promising to finish in two days what I know will take at least two weeks to do.
What I find really interesting is that the market has not corrected yet. When I first saw all these bad projects coupled with bad bids, I thought, “Hmm. These sites have been around a good while. I wonder why the market has not worked itself out yet.” To this I still do not have an answer.
Thanks for commenting, Jay. I’m afraid the problem won’t go away quickly as long as there are folks in far off lands — like, say, Arkansas… sorry — that are willing to work for three bucks an hour. Hey, companies like Nike discovered long ago that if they bend over, they’re just asking to get screwed, so why not. I think your comment about the projects not succeeding is very astute, too. Trouble is, most of these posters are first-time “entrepreneurs” who have just walked out of a “how to make money on the internet” workshop, and when their projects fail there will be another wave of enthusiastic cluelessness right behind. What’s a professional provider to do? Not sure, other than keep fighting the good fight and keep scouring for those few legit projects that are out there. I wish you well in that pursuit. Thanks again. Larry
Larry,
The timing of my discovering your blog is perfect. I’m an Elance newbie and am in shock over the rates. Just this morning there are several new job postings for articles that state they’ll pay $1 per 500 words. A friggin’ buck! Now, at this stage I’m grateful for any work at almost any rate, but I don’t live in Bangla Desh, I live in Oregon (West Linn too!)
In 1993 I sold a 1,500 word article to a nationally published magazine for $200, roughly $300 in 2009 dollars. $10-$15 would be a high rate for an Elance bid article. Granted, technology has streamlined much of the process since ‘93, but I can’t write anything 20 times faster than I did back then. Getting old maybe.
While I try to provide well thought-out, well written, effective pieces, I’m beginning to feel like that’s not what “the market” wants. Most buyers want it cheap and fast and full of key words, to hell with quality. It’s really disheartening. Thank for airing out what many of us are thinking.
Mike
Hey Larry,
great article. I fully understand what you are talking about. I work as a graphic designer, and have always looked for an opportunity to do some work on the side. So some time ago I joined Elance…. oh, boy! Had a known that I would only be wasting my time with posting bids and never getting anything because… well, I am about to design a corporate logo for $60. One tried and tries, but it seems that no matter what the quality of one’s portfolio might be, some guy in India who is willing to do the job for $30 will always land projects. Sorry, but since I am not living in India, I am also not able to spend 10 hours working for $30…. and then to have to pay Elance fees on top of that. Great for the ones who are willing to work for free…. me on the other hand – I am out of there!
As you can see… you are not the only one out there. Many of us feel your frustration.
As someone who is very specific in what I write about (health and wellness) I didn’t even bother to join Elance after I saw this blog. Bidding for work is a disaster in my opinion, particularly when it means quality goes out the window. In my profession accuracy is a must, and it pains me to read through some of the “advice” there is on the internet when it comes to health issues. Elance should not strive to emulate eBay, because writing is an art, a talent, not a product. It’s a shame, because they certainly seemed appealing, but now, I’m very relieved I didn’t join. Even at $9.95 a month, if it comes down to who will work for the absolute cheapest price, then it’s nothing I wish to be associated with, I have standards and by god, I’m sticking to them!
I work on Elance and other similar sites. I’m not a writer but a software developer. I have a masters degree and I do great work. I was hoping that after I had more clients under my belt I could demand more money, but the fact is that the clients aren’t really interested in paying for a developer that has a reasonable chance of success. They are interested in paying for really cheap labor.
I think the real problem is that the customers need to be educated. Many of them simply can’t afford the work they want done. There is no reason to believe that they will be successful at achieving their goals and somebody needs to tell them to either increase their budget or find some other way to get what they want.
It is unfortunate, but this is how the global economy works I guess.
Most new businesses never make it ( last time I looked – 2007 – the SBA stats said 625,000 start ups and 530,000 failures). And for every business failure there are probably a host of reasons.
That said, does it make economic sense to spend $1500 on a logo when someone in some other part of the world will deliver for $50? Before I’m slapped to near death – consider that most of these businesses will be shuttered within a year or 2. The businesses that do survive will likely refine their image as part of a natural evolution toward success.
Sorry, but let the outsourcing continue. It brought us cheap everything. And when you get sick of replacing your toaster every year …buy a better one.
PS – I’ve worked both sides of Elance …as a Buyer and a Provider.
@David — you make a decent point. It’s just when the economy forces high providers into a position where they need to compete on price with lower-end providers (less experience, lower quality), and who have a competitive advantage because of their third world locale… well, it’s a free market, so bully for the buyers… and it still sucks for the high-end providers. I’ve suggested to Elance that they create a high-end category to separate the lower end commodity work (that doesn’t require an experienced pro) from the challenging stuff (that does).
Thanks for your thoughts, David.
Since all consumers in our planet have a budget in mind prior to wanting to buy something, Elance should force buyers to declare their exact budget when posting a job. Giving a range won’t cut it. For example, what does “Less than $500 mean”? $499.95? $50?
I bid on around 20 jobs a month and the few jobs that get awarded to someone almost always get awarded to providers in the States. So Elance should demand that buyers select the countries they wish bidders reside in. Providers should also be able to filter out buyers who don’t want bidders from their country.
Not all buyers are struggling and/or clueless startups. A few are quite moneyed. I have an Access program that filters out broke buyers, i.e. buyers whose average monthly purchases over the last several years can’t finance my monthly living expenses. That doesn’t mean that I don’t bid on jobs posted by broke buyers. I do.
Finally, as a tiny business with no employees, I try to DIY as much as possible instead of demanding that someone cuts my hair, mows my lawn, designs my logo, or paints my house for a pittance.
I design and develop software. The rates floating around at elance are impossible for US service providers to compete with. Elance has to know they have a problem. In my opinion they are milking the last bit out of the US market with their $10/month fee because they know that real project work is dead for US providers. Don’t waste a dime on Elance. If Elance believed in their service they would at least allow people one or two “free” bids. As it is, one has to pay $10/month for the right to bid on a few $100 projects per month. That’s insane. Try craigslist. I’ve gotten work there, even in this terrible economy. Look for work that needs someone local.
Not only are the prices unrealistic, eLance’s contract is unrealistic. They state that they are NOT an agent, but go to state that providers and contractors cannot work together outside of eLance for 12 months after one job job is procured by the contractor and provider. That sounds like an agent to me.
If eLance is the future, then the future looks bleak.
I’m glad I found this post. I am a graphic artist and animator that has been using Elance for a few years, and it has definitely taken a turn for the worst recently.
I’m interested to know how the dialogue with Brad Porteus turns out. I think that you are right that more pricing categories would help. (At least a couple more between $50-$500) Because there *are* jobs that only require $50 of work. But these should not be lumped in the same category as a job that requires 10 TIMES that amount, or people will undercut each other and the market will suffer for everyone.
Another problem is that Elance uses completely backwards regulation. Elance forbids providers from sending samples or mock-ups that are related to the specific job. Can somebody explain the logic of this? Allowing samples would provide a huge factor in the decision-making involved in choosing an appropriate client. Otherwise, the only factors are the price (which keeps the prices low), and previous job statistics. It creates a cycle of disproportionate earnings. Providers that have not been awarded as many “Elance” jobs will look less attractive, and will not be awarded as many jobs. The only option they have to stand out is to bid at the lowest price.
If Elance allowed samples (or even encouraged them), talent and compatibility would become increasing factors in the chance of landing a job. As an animator or designer, it is worth it for me to spend a few moments working to visually communicate directly to the client’s needs. More feedback would be provided to those who aren’t making the cut. Once a relationship has been established, both the buyer and provider would be comfortable raising the price, and everybody wins.
Instead, Elance quickly removes and penalizes jobs in which samples or mock-ups are involved. Perhaps the motivation is that Elance is trying to prevent buyers from taking advantage of providers and getting free work? This would not happen if there were careful procedural explanations, or even applications, for protecting bidders and their work. For visual content, there is watermarks. For programmers, there are expiration dates. For writing, and for all work, it could be a miniscule fraction of the amount of work required.
I’m interested to know your thoughts. Thanks for this freelance support group. I thought there was something going wrong with me, personally, until I found this message board.
@Thorne — thanks for your thoughtful input on this. I haven’t heard from Brad in a while, but he should get this thread, which means he’ll see (I hope) your commentary, which is spot-on and paints a vision for a solution, as well. Nice work.
I’ve been away from Elance for some time, and while I continue to be frustrated by the low-rent nature of that market (just saw a writing job wherein someone wanted over 100 articles by a “skilled” writer… at $5 each, or about 20% of the real-world market value.. and eight suckers actually bid on it, which cuts us legit providers out of the loop, since such buyers don’t know (and probably don’t care about) the difference.
See, you got me stirred up again. Excellent input, Thorne, thanks.
Totally agree with this article, I’m a web developer myself and face the same issue with elance and odesk. You have these 3rd world developers bidding $2-10/hour and idiots who don’t know anything about software development will accept their proposals because they have no concept of things like 12 hour timezone differences, lack of communication skills, and even lack of programming skills. You truly do get what you pay for!
I’m waiting for a site to come along that does everything elance does except has a way to split it up so that someone looking for a developer or a writer can say, I only want developers from my country, and then won’t get spammed by 50 Indians bidding $5/hour. By the same token, as an American developer, you can then search for employers who are only looking for you, not Indians.
@Justine — well said. Perfectly said. Thanks for contributing. I keep checking in at Elance in the hope that something will have changed, but here on the writing side, there’s still buyers demanding “high quality professional work” for 100 articles of 800 words each… for a maximum bid of $500 — that’s about two weeks worth of work — and bidders actually bidding $150 for the job.
In what dimension, in what freaking time zone, does this make any sense to anyone?
Wow – I am so sorry that you are so frustrated and truly hate that you will reconsider as you have “mad writing skills” and I am confident that you can find quality clients on Elance that will pay you a competitive price for services offered. I agree that the marketplace has changed from the good old days when you could just post a short (sometimes canned) proposal and win all types of projects.
Now, you’ve got to market yourself and scrutinize buyers like crazy. Some may think this is a waste of time but I personally don’t. I’ve completed over 700 projects on Elance and have been a provider there for over 10 years.
Why? Because the online marketplace works and I know how to work it. LOL!
Here are some tips:
- Submit competitive proposals and don’t worry about those providers who are lower than you. If you’re good, showcase your talent and get paid with a stellar profile and kick-butt samples.
-Market yourself via the private message board. Sell your skills via the private message board to really stand out from the crowd.
-Don’t waste connects on goofy buyers only bid on the cream of the crop projects from reputable buyers with solid reputations.
-Always require half down and the balance upon project completion.
-Submit proposals often and have fun. You’ll win some and you’ll lose some but the ones you win will make it well worth the effort.
@Kristi — thanks for the great comment and tips. I’ve been considering diving back in, and this really helps. Much appreciated!
To Access developer:
you stated “Since all consumers in our planet have a budget in mind prior to wanting to buy something, Elance should force buyers to declare their exact budget when posting a job. Giving a range won’t cut it. For example, what does “Less than $500 mean”? $499.95? $50?
I bid on around 20 jobs a month and the few jobs that get awarded to someone almost always get awarded to providers in the States. So Elance should demand that buyers select the countries they wish bidders reside in. Providers should also be able to filter out buyers who don’t want bidders from their country.”
As a buyer, I have a very different perspective. As a buyer I want to get the best product I can get, for the cheapest price. Indeed, it is my responsibility to my company to do so.
Forcing a buyer to reveal their budget is an absurdity that simply does not work, not for the buyer, and not for the seller.
If I reveal my budget, a very predictable outcome will result. Every bid will not surprisingly come back in that range. People who would have bid lower, will increase their bid, while people who might have bid higher may decrease theirs.
I almost never accept the lowest bidder. Only when they have the best work. (which does happen). However, I do not want to pay more than someone is willing to accept either, nor do I expect anyone to lower their bid to fit my budget.
The deal needs to be a good deal for all parties. A good match between my company, and the freelancer.
I should be able to post a project, and get a list of fair prices, based on what people are able to accept. I can then review their portfolio, and select the one who does either the best, or at a minimum adequate / acceptable work.
The point is simply this. I don’t have any desire to force a service provider to lower their costs. Nor do I want to feel that I was taken advantage of, by someone who increased their bid.
I want a fair system where I post a project, and freelancers give me their bids based on their costs, and profit motives. I there fore would not use a system that forced me to reveal my budget.
Under the current elance model, I always select the lowest range, but then often accept bids many thousands of dollars higher.
As far as being forced to select the country, that is just silly. I can get excellent work for a tenth the cost in India, China, etc. I am happy to use Americans if they are competitive, or if their work is compelling enough.
If I were forced to pick a country, I would have to pick India or China. The number of jobs available to you would fall through the floor.
If I then never see your bid, I would forever be restricted from doing business with you. Not a loss for me, but a loss for you.
I am simply not willing to reveal my budget, but if your work is compelling enough, I will pay your price, if you have the guts to propose it. Likewise, I am willing to hire an American at American wages, if you are the best, and if I need the best. But if I am forced into a corner, I will go the more economical route.
If you want to chase buyers out of the market, then keep pushing us. We don’t care. We can go elsewhere. If you want our business, then you better take a real hard look at your customer service.
Not a rant. This is a great article. I feel like any professional who browses Elance for 10 minutes will quickly see that there are no standards in place. The sad thing about this is that Elance could be a really powerful site, but it’s not. If they enforced quality standards, it would be an awesome marketplace for everyone.
What really should happen is that all U.S. providers should form a loose association and agree on standards for how much different projects are worth at a MINIMUM. This still allows some providers to charge more but under no circumstances would any provider work for less. And if providers in 2nd/3rd world countries were smart they would match those minimums set in the 1st world markets. But there’s lots of not so smart people in all markets…
agree, even though i am from pakistan still i cant work for that much lower price as mentioned by you,
i take 15$ per hour minimum but still got requests from the buyer to lower the bid or bid amount too high!
another negative point with elance is about connects and categories . . . plus no guarantee payment! i hope they can improve things a little.
Larry:
I can all too well relate to your frustrations. Though I’m a writer myself, my medium for employment is putting covers on the books people write, or styling the pages themselves. As a professional designer who has been around the block, I can say with surety that sites like ELance are harming my industry, not helping it.
eBay had a good idea with selling people’s unwanted junk using the online bidding system. A fairly unregulated “cheapest bidder gets the job” bidding environment for professional services, however, is not only degrading for those professionals who are in need of work, but threatens the very livelihoods of all in their field. For what will the aggregate impression of the goods and services we professionals provide look like in a culture where talented people have to bend and scrape for pennies just to win a contract?
This is in the end just another example of the deadly paradox of thrift; a paradox, one might say, that is partly responsible for the economic woes we are suffering in our day and age. The ELances and the Walmarts of the world are cheapening our standards of living from both ends, not only in the products we buy, but the services we provide.
If anyone has any respect for a talent or trade, they would avoid places that invite auctioning off hard-earned and hard-honed talent at bargain basement prices. Don’t get me wrong. Getting a deal is one thing. Contributing to a community that encourages virtual slavery is quite another.
I hope Brad Porteus reads this too, though I doubt the gist of my message would ever go over well at the next corporate meeting.
I write on odesk and elance, and I’ll bid way over a buyer’s posted budget (usually on odesk, because of the way their weekly bid limits work). And if the buyer posts too low for a copywriter, I’ll rip em. I don’t care. They need to hear that 800 words of good copy can’t be had for 10 bucks. Then I tell them to contact me when they’re ready to fix the 10 dollar garbage that they paid for.
I couldn’t agree more. I’m new to eLance, and looks like I won’t be staying there. As a programmer, I see people bidding at an hourly rate of $10 an hour for work that should be $40 an hour (all offshore).
I just don’t think I can compete with those types of prices, and have no incentive to even try to land a project on eLance.
Great post and a great discussion. I found your blog when I decided to research elance to see if it was legitimate. After looking at the buyer proposals it seemed like a complete joke. Going through all the comments here I’m not convinced that it isn’t. But I might give it a try and see if anyone has use for a good copywriter who charges more than $1 an hour.
What we really need is a new site like Elance but only for Americans. You could market it as “Avoid outsourcing rubbish and get quality in your own country! Hook up with local service providers now!”
Then have minimum standard hourly wage amounts so no one is really racing to the bottom on price but instead charge more if they offer more or better quality.
Hey there Larry (and all other bloggers),
I just came across your blog in search for some information regarding e-lance bids and budgets. I work as a freelance writer for Demand Studios and after ending up in a disheartening dispute with Paypal, I sought out other venues of making revenue on the web. Browsing through ‘possible’ working assignments to pursue, I must say that the market place looks pretty dim.
I need to disagree with a few other bloggers here however who seem to believe that the marketplace should be restricted to just US providers. It should not matter if a provider is from the US, Europe or what you deem as ‘3rd world countries’. If the provider has the right qualifications and business ethics to do the job right, then what part of the world they are from should not matter. It is unfortunate that many people think this way. There are many talented people from other countries who have great potential to add value to the market place. Selection is key. I happen to live in Jordan, but my mother tongue language is American English. I am usually pretty modest, but compare my credentials to the average Joe, then it would be a pretty sad idea to say that the solution lies in restricting marketplace location. And no, I don’t just happen to live in Jordan, I was born and raised in Jordan.
That said, I do believe that standards should be in place to ensure that quality gets compensated accordingly. I haven’t checked out oDesk or guru.com yet, but I suppose they wouldn’t be that much different in terms of buyers basing their projects on ‘cheapest seller’ concept.
Cheers.
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