Two Potential Client Pitfalls

Elance is a great site for the freelance writer.

Potential clients from all over the world come there to offer you jobs, and many times if you do a good job, certain clients will use you for all their future work.

But there are dishonest people in every walk of life, and that includes potential clients at Elance.

I've worked through Elance for about ten years and I've only come across four such clients in all that time, so they are few and far between...

So here's a couple of things to be wary of:

Make Sure All Bidders Have To Do The *Same* Sample Test
When it comes to proofreading and editing work, every job usually gets about 80 bids.

The reputable client, who wishes to test bidders on their skills before giving them the job, will upload a single "proofreading test" so that all potential bidders can attach the same test when they submit their bid. There's nothing wrong with this.

But on more than one occasion I've bid on a proofreading job where there is *no* preloaded sample test, and the potential client will contact me and send me a sample page of their document to edit instead.

80 people bid on the job,the potential client might send out 80 different pages of his document, we freelancers edit that single page, the client gets back 80 different pages and he then ends up hiring no one because he doesn't have to - the work's already been done and he hasn't had to pay for it.

Obviously, if the potential client has a row of green circles by his or her  name that means the client has purchased a lot of work and can be trusted to not be trying to diddle you out of a free page of work, but if it's a brand new potential client on Elance who proceeds in this fashion, I'd tread carefully.

Don't Do Sample Articles for Free
When you submit a bid on a project, you attach some samples of your writing, or your proofreading work, or what have you. That should be enough.

A minority of potential clients - the crooked ones - will respond to your bid proposal and say something like, "I'm thinking of hiring you, but could you do me a writing sample on "this" or "that" subject, written in the way I need it to be done, so I can make sure you're the person for the job.

Ask them to put a milestone on their job for $5 or $10 - so that if you do this work you will be paid for it, even if they don't choose you.

It's the same principle - someone who has no intention of hiring anyone gets lots of people to send him (or her) a sample article - and if 20, 30 or 40 people have bid on the job, that's 20, 30 or 40 free articles this person has gotten.

Again, you need to use your best judgement - if the client has lots of green dots indicating that they have hired freelancers and do pay, then chances are they are honest...but if it's a new person to Elance, tread carefully.

It All Goes Into The Portfolio
If you do do a sample article and are not chosen for the job, even though the potential client has led you on that you're "in the top ten" and he just wants one more sample, or something of that nature, and the potential client doesn't pay you even a token amount, all is not lost. Add the article to your portfolio - and note down the screen name of the client so that you never bid on his or her jobs again.