How Does Elance Work?

Providers bid on jobs listed by clients by submitting detailed proposals. Most jobs are paid through an escrow service where Elance holds the funds pending the completion of the job.

Why Do Freelancers Work with Elance?

Freelance marketplaces like Elance are appealing because it gives a writer, for example, an opportunity to connect directly with prospective clients, which is a rarity for those of us pushing content on the web.

Another part of Elance’s appeal, for both providers and clients, is the feedback and support that the site encourages. When a job is complete, both the freelancer and the client are able to provide clear and honest feedback that cannot be deleted, meaning that clients who don’t pay and freelancers who can’t provide as promised get terrible reputations and find it difficult to do business.

Additionally, because Elance offers an escrow program, there is little doubt that you’re going to get paid for your work. Also, if there is a dispute, the website intervenes and mediates a resolution. For many of us who have gone the freelancing route alone, this is a big plus.

What’s the Downside?

The biggest downside to sites like Elance is the pay. While you do set your own price to an extent by bidding, for most jobs, including the writing and translation jobs, you’re bidding against people willing to work on a wage well below American standards. Oftentimes you find yourself facing a mass of open jobs where the client either has unrealistic expectations, demanding high-quality, time-intensive work for a pittance or where competing providers have stepped in with bids well below what you are able to provide.

It’s also very easy to lose a lot of time in setting up your profile and chasing down jobs. Between the skill tests and the proposals, you might waste 2-3 hours not getting paid.

What Do I Think of Elance?

My experience with Elance has been mixed. I’ve actually made a lot more money on Elance than through any other marketplace or website on the web, but it takes a lot of time and effort to keep up with it. With working full-time, I just don’t have the extra time to stay on top of the time-intensive projects or the bidding process.

I also found that while I liked the escrow system, that Elance takes a fairly large chunk of my earnings in commissions, fees and monthly membership. Not to mention, actually getting the pay out from Elance’s system to my PayPal or personal accounts was not the easiest process.

When I look at my earnings and the projects that I completed through the site, I would estimate that I spent the equivalent of 60 hours on all work completed through the site and only earned about $800. At the time, this was better than being completely unemployed, but it is not a livable wage in the long term.

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