Comments on: First Experience With GetAFreelancer http://www.getpaidtowriteonline.com/first-experience-with-getafreelancer/ Straight Talk About Your Writing Career Thu, 18 Mar 2010 16:52:04 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: John http://www.getpaidtowriteonline.com/first-experience-with-getafreelancer/#comment-3027 John Wed, 14 Oct 2009 09:10:39 +0000 http://getpaidtowriteonline.com/first-experience-with-getafreelancer/#comment-3027 There's not a day that goes by that I wish I could be rid of GetAFreelancer. I'm a good writer, I've got skill and still haven't reached the zenith of my potential. Unfortunately local legislation prohibits me from receiving money through a PayPal account, which means I'm basically cut off from the world (yes, there is moneybookers.com, but how many buyers will sign up just to pay me?). I'm telling you, GAF doesn't care about standards, as long as they get their cut from your hard-earned money. And it's a shame, too - the art of writing being sold for as little as $0.25; buyers only caring about quantity vs. cost instead of quality. Almost makes you hate the internet. There's not a day that goes by that I wish I could be rid of GetAFreelancer. I'm a good writer, I've got skill and still haven't reached the zenith of my potential. Unfortunately local legislation prohibits me from receiving money through a PayPal account, which means I'm basically cut off from the world (yes, there is moneybookers.com, but how many buyers will sign up just to pay me?).

I'm telling you, GAF doesn't care about standards, as long as they get their cut from your hard-earned money. And it's a shame, too – the art of writing being sold for as little as $0.25; buyers only caring about quantity vs. cost instead of quality. Almost makes you hate the internet.

]]> By: Martin Ford http://www.getpaidtowriteonline.com/first-experience-with-getafreelancer/#comment-1097 Martin Ford Wed, 10 Dec 2008 15:27:13 +0000 http://getpaidtowriteonline.com/first-experience-with-getafreelancer/#comment-1097 I worked on GAF for some months and in general my experience was not so good. It's a continue fight to get a project because the buyer are more interested in paying less than to have the projects done with quality and some coders don't bid $1 because it's not allowed. Most buyers are fraudsters, who want to runaway with your code without paying. In a forum I heard about GetACoder.com and I tried to post bids in some projects that required my skills. In a week I was awarded 2 projects with a nice budget and the buyers were professional and paid on time. So don't loose your time with GAF. I worked on GAF for some months and in general my experience was not so good. It’s a continue fight to get a project because the buyer are more interested in paying less than to have the projects done with quality and some coders don’t bid $1 because it’s not allowed. Most buyers are fraudsters, who want to runaway with your code without paying. In a forum I heard about GetACoder.com and I tried to post bids in some projects that required my skills. In a week I was awarded 2 projects with a nice budget and the buyers were professional and paid on time. So don’t loose your time with GAF.

]]> By: Sharon http://www.getpaidtowriteonline.com/first-experience-with-getafreelancer/#comment-1096 Sharon Fri, 10 Oct 2008 10:20:30 +0000 http://getpaidtowriteonline.com/first-experience-with-getafreelancer/#comment-1096 Glad it's worked so well for you, Vik. Glad it’s worked so well for you, Vik.

]]> By: vik http://www.getpaidtowriteonline.com/first-experience-with-getafreelancer/#comment-1095 vik Sun, 28 Sep 2008 18:30:41 +0000 http://getpaidtowriteonline.com/first-experience-with-getafreelancer/#comment-1095 i joined GAF around 6 months back, and till today i have earned more than $1500. if you have some talent of programming or designing, this is the site to be, easy premium membership, hassle free site & great projects! vik i joined GAF around 6 months back, and till today i have earned more than $1500. if you have some talent of programming or designing, this is the site to be, easy premium membership, hassle free site & great projects!
vik

]]> By: Sharon http://www.getpaidtowriteonline.com/first-experience-with-getafreelancer/#comment-1094 Sharon Tue, 24 Jun 2008 11:56:15 +0000 http://getpaidtowriteonline.com/first-experience-with-getafreelancer/#comment-1094 That's true on many of the sites; thanks for your tips. That’s true on many of the sites; thanks for your tips.

]]> By: Freelance Writers http://www.getpaidtowriteonline.com/first-experience-with-getafreelancer/#comment-1093 Freelance Writers Mon, 23 Jun 2008 02:49:57 +0000 http://getpaidtowriteonline.com/first-experience-with-getafreelancer/#comment-1093 In my experience it is best to begin with a focus on positive reviews opposed to income potential. Sites like GAF are great ways to build clientele while keeping a steady flow of income. Sometimes low income is better than no income. If you have a high positive review count then in many cases you will be able to bid higher and still win the project. For the $1 budget buyers, I would suggest sending them a friendly private message telling them that their budget is too low for quality work and explain why they should accept your rate at an 'x' amount of dollars. This will work best if you have a high review count and bring your high review count to the potential client attention. The catch 22 is that to get a high review count you will have to accept low budget projects. In my experience it is best to begin with a focus on positive reviews opposed to income potential. Sites like GAF are great ways to build clientele while keeping a steady flow of income. Sometimes low income is better than no income.

If you have a high positive review count then in many cases you will be able to bid higher and still win the project. For the $1 budget buyers, I would suggest sending them a friendly private message telling them that their budget is too low for quality work and explain why they should accept your rate at an ‘x’ amount of dollars. This will work best if you have a high review count and bring your high review count to the potential client attention.

The catch 22 is that to get a high review count you will have to accept low budget projects.

]]> By: Kate Naylor http://www.getpaidtowriteonline.com/first-experience-with-getafreelancer/#comment-1092 Kate Naylor Mon, 14 Apr 2008 12:55:51 +0000 http://getpaidtowriteonline.com/first-experience-with-getafreelancer/#comment-1092 GAF... I agree. On the whole, awful. If all employers are prepared to pay is peanuts, then all they'll get is monkeys. As an experienced copywriter it makes me very cross when UK companies post such loony rates of pay on GAF. It devalues my profession. A good UK copywriter'll charge between £35 and £45 an hour. That's about the same as a decent plumber or plasterer. GAF's $1 for a 300 word article mentality is lamentable. The problem appears to be that it covers too many disparate geographical areas. GAF's a great model but it'll only ever work properly for professionals if it is split into common seense economic regions. For instance UK, europe, US, India. We all have different currencies (I particularly dislike working in dollars), we all expect different rates of pay and we use different native languages if, like me, you count American english and US culture as distinct from ours. Having said all that, I keep a weather eye open. I've managed to find one very nice long term client via GAF. With whom I now have direct contact. So if you have the time, it can be worth trawling through all that shite! GAF… I agree. On the whole, awful.

If all employers are prepared to pay is peanuts, then all they’ll get is monkeys.

As an experienced copywriter it makes me very cross when UK companies post such loony rates of pay on GAF. It devalues my profession.

A good UK copywriter’ll charge between £35 and £45 an hour. That’s about the same as a decent plumber or plasterer. GAF’s $1 for a 300 word article mentality is lamentable. The problem appears to be that it covers too many disparate geographical areas.

GAF’s a great model but it’ll only ever work properly for professionals if it is split into common seense economic regions. For instance UK, europe, US, India. We all have different currencies (I particularly dislike working in dollars), we all expect different rates of pay and we use different native languages if, like me, you count American english and US culture as distinct from ours.

Having said all that, I keep a weather eye open. I’ve managed to find one very nice long term client via GAF. With whom I now have direct contact. So if you have the time, it can be worth trawling through all that shite!

]]> By: mulda http://www.getpaidtowriteonline.com/first-experience-with-getafreelancer/#comment-1091 mulda Sun, 16 Mar 2008 12:00:19 +0000 http://getpaidtowriteonline.com/first-experience-with-getafreelancer/#comment-1091 Getafreelancer is the biggest crap ever. I'm wondering why everyone claims that Indians are computer experts - they're certainly not. The work you get (bid $10 or $1000, it makes no difference) can be thrown directly into the recycle bin. Website creation: Disastrous! Those foreign people have no clue about validation, they never heard about proper design standards and their layouts and designs look like 2001. Actually someone even showed me wrong references to get the task. SEO: Had to deal with some company which actually looked serious. I put a sum of $2500 into escrow, the agreement was that the money will be released in steps after the desired google positions have been reached. 6 months passed! The only thing that happened was to put my german site into a bunch of foreign english useless web directories. The website wasn't even found in the Top 1000. Great, GAF should issue a refund of the interest they received with my money. All in all I can say: If you need some crappy work for low money, go for GAF. Everything which deserves the adjective "serious" should never be posted on GAF. Don't waste your time with dumb and non-english speaking third-world-morons. Getafreelancer is the biggest crap ever. I’m wondering why everyone claims that Indians are computer experts – they’re certainly not. The work you get (bid $10 or $1000, it makes no difference) can be thrown directly into the recycle bin.

Website creation: Disastrous! Those foreign people have no clue about validation, they never heard about proper design standards and their layouts and designs look like 2001. Actually someone even showed me wrong references to get the task.

SEO: Had to deal with some company which actually looked serious. I put a sum of $2500 into escrow, the agreement was that the money will be released in steps after the desired google positions have been reached.
6 months passed! The only thing that happened was to put my german site into a bunch of foreign english useless web directories. The website wasn’t even found in the Top 1000. Great, GAF should issue a refund of the interest they received with my money.

All in all I can say: If you need some crappy work for low money, go for GAF. Everything which deserves the adjective “serious” should never be posted on GAF. Don’t waste your time with dumb and non-english speaking third-world-morons.

]]> By: Sharon http://www.getpaidtowriteonline.com/first-experience-with-getafreelancer/#comment-1090 Sharon Mon, 25 Feb 2008 12:42:27 +0000 http://getpaidtowriteonline.com/first-experience-with-getafreelancer/#comment-1090 I'm working on a project for RAC now. We'll see how it goes. Some of the prices are ridiculous, but there are also some gems - if you can get them. I’m working on a project for RAC now. We’ll see how it goes. Some of the prices are ridiculous, but there are also some gems – if you can get them.

]]> By: Katherine http://www.getpaidtowriteonline.com/first-experience-with-getafreelancer/#comment-1089 Katherine Thu, 21 Feb 2008 15:47:38 +0000 http://getpaidtowriteonline.com/first-experience-with-getafreelancer/#comment-1089 I use Get A Freelancer and Rentacoder primarily. And of those, I've had the most luck with Rentacoder. I have a good rating and have been doing projects on the site from the beginning. I got started by taking on some ridiculously low paying projects just to get the feedback rating. I am trying to get things started with ifreelance. I know that I would need to do the same thing - take on low paying projects. But I know I can find work elsewhere at this point for what I'm worth so I am not sure it is worth the energy. I use Get A Freelancer and Rentacoder primarily. And of those, I’ve had the most luck with Rentacoder. I have a good rating and have been doing projects on the site from the beginning. I got started by taking on some ridiculously low paying projects just to get the feedback rating. I am trying to get things started with ifreelance. I know that I would need to do the same thing – take on low paying projects. But I know I can find work elsewhere at this point for what I’m worth so I am not sure it is worth the energy.

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