Ultimate Guide To Online Jobs: Make Money Online At Freelancing Sites

Are you tired of working in a cubicle from 9 to 5? Want to have the freedom you always desired? Then worry not. This guide will deal with all aspects you wanted to know about online jobs. So, how different are these online jobs from your regular day job? There are many differences, really.

Note: You Will Have To Join These Two Sites If You Want To Earn Money Online:

Getafreelancer and Sriptlance

In a regular day job, you have assigned tasks, bosses, appraisals, curtailed freedom and so on. However, with online works you have many features that are otherwise hard to find in your regular job. There is virtually nobody to restrict your freedom, you are free to choose what you want to work on, whom you want to work for, for what price you want to work for, in what fashion you want to go about doing work and so on. Now, isn’t that just amazing? If your answer is yes and you want to explore all of this and more, then read on.

Clearly understand all the points I intend to say and then put them into practice and then find out for yourself if it really works for you.

In a layman term, online jobs are those that can be done via internet. In this work format, the online worker gets to know about different job assignments through different sites, forums and so on. The worker then has to apply his quotation either in the form of a message or a bid and get in touch with the job poster or the job owner.

If the job owner likes the quotation and the skill sets of the provider, he can then give the green signal to the worker. The service provider then works on the assignment or the project and submits it back to the job owner. On successful completion of the project, the worker would be paid for the exercise he had done.

The payment will be done either through different online mediums or through cheques and so on. This entire procedure of bagging a project and working on it online is common across different online works.

You may now ask what different works are available online. Don’t worry one bit in this regard. Whatever be your skill sets be, you will find one or another job that you can easily accomplish. Some of the jobs that you can find online are related to Data entry, Copywriting, Coding, Translation services, Data processing, SEO, Legal services and so on.

Prior to the advent of freelancing sites on internet, people had a hard time in finding genuine online works. However, with their advent the situation has drastically changed and for good. Believe me, it is undoubtedly the best ever thing to have happened to each one of us! So, what are these freelancing sites? Which are the top ones? Are they free to join? Are they legitimate?

It is common for you to have these questions and many more related to freelancing sites. Firstly, let me tell you what a freelance site is. In a simple term, it can be defined as a place where online works gets published regularly. They are posted by people who want their works to be done at a cost or within a budget. If you are an online worker or intend to be one, you need to find the right kind of job for you at this place.

Then, you need to get in touch with the job poster to ensure the job is yours. Hence, in this regard, a freelance site can be compared to that of a market place where buyers (job posters in freelance sites) and sellers (online workers) meet to buy and sell the products (different kinds of services in freelancing sites).

The only difference being there is no physical meeting between the buyers and sellers in the freelancing sites. Let us know more about these freelancing sites in the coming sections.

Before I get into the nitty-gritty of individual freelancing sites, let me explain you certain other aspects of them. There are few freelancing sites on the internet that requires you to pay upfront to join them, and there are other sites, where you don’t have to pay a penny to join. Whatever be the mode of operation of these sites be, you can be rest assured of finding legitimate work in them.

Yes, you heard it right. The jobs are for real and the money you stand to earn is real. There is no two ways about this. As said earlier, you need to pay a small fee up front in paid freelancing sites. This fee is for the different services the sites have to offer to you. In these sites, you may have to become a member there after and subscribe to their notices and so on.

In case you fail to make it big or get swindled by the program itself, you stand to lose your energy, time and money obviously. So, what’s the point in joining a program or a site that asks for an amount before you get started in it, only to be disappointed later?

It is in this context I would like to divulge few freelancing sites that you would love to be a part of. These sites are absolutely free to join and anyone can make a living out of it in any which way. You can work on them either part-time or full-time. Irrespective of your geographical location, you can have a wonderful exposure to them. Now, let me not keep the suspense for too long.

The two sites I was dealing with were GetaFreelancer and Scriptlance. No doubt, there are many more freelancing sites on the internet like  Guru, Elance, GetACoder and so on. While few of these sites are very difficult to make a mark in; especially for newbies, others fall under the category of paid freelancing sites. Let me now focus on the above two sites that stand head and shoulders above the rest. In addition to giving details about them, I will discuss certain things that can ensure you success whilst working on them.

A) GetaFreelancer: – It is one of the most popular and free to use freelancing site available on the internet. GAF as it is fondly called belongs to the company ‘Innovate it’ and is based in Sweden. It is widely regarded as the Europe’s answer to ‘Guru’; another freelancing site and its competitor.

As up to now, GAF has been in the business for more than 5 years and is catering to the needs of lakhs of customers based out in different parts of the globe.

For new freelancers working online, getting started with GAF is undoubtedly the best way to go about. However, there are few things you need to know if you get started. Things will not happen for you right from the word go. Many people working on freelancing sites including GAF presume that they will get success overnight! Few of them even start dreaming of earning hundreds of dollars within few weeks.

This is far from reality. Just like any other business in the outside world, you need to build a reputation for yourself.

For this, you need to build a profile for yourself in GAF. In your profile, you need to clearly indicate what skills you are bringing onto the table. Then, you need to start applying projects that matches your skill sets. Always remember to work for lower rates in the beginning as it is very difficult to win the 1st project at any freelancing site including GAF.

Try your best in impressing your buyer through your work and communication. He or she will surely give you a good rating. These rating can in turn help you win many more projects at GAF.

If you don’t know what a rating is, then do not worry. They are basically indicators as to how your performance was in the last project. These ratings or reviews as they are called are applicable to both service buyers as well as service providers. Once a project is completed; both the parties involved in the deal need to pass a comment and a rating of each other’s work.

As a newbie, your effort has to be in earning a very high rating; preferably 10 out of 10. A very bad rating in the first few projects will surely be a big set back to your freelancing career. So, make sure you have excellent ratings to start with at least. Do not be inclined towards money aspects during this early phase.

A time will come in future when you do just that. At this point in time, your entire focus has to be getting excellent reviews and nothing more. After you get 10 plus reviews, you can then start commanding a price you feel worth getting.

Few tips to succeed in GetAFreelancer: -

a) Register yourself in GAF using a username and a password. Once this is done; update your profile page with your details. Here, you need to clearly mention your skill sets, goals and so on. Don’t keep the price rate per hour too high. You may as well do it later once you have gained experience.

b) You need to select a mode of payment. Once the work gets done, the buyer will pay you through GAF account. This will get reflected in your account details. Now, you need to divert those funds to your personal bank account. To facilitate this process, there are many ways in GAF.

Few of them are PayPal, Moneybookers, GAF Debit Card, E-Gold and so on. Select the one that is appropriate to you. The first two modes are however popular with most of the GAF users and I will recommend you the same. Follow all the steps required to open an account in them.

c) At this stage you are practically ready to get started in GAF. As a service provider you need to identify the right place where you can find the latest projects and then get in touch with the buyer. Where can you do this? For this, you need to click on ‘Browse projects’ which is found on the top-side of the GAF main page.

This will take you to a page which will contain 3 important sections – “View all projects”, “The 100 Newest Featured Projects” and “The 50 Newest Projects”. Always concentrate on the latter most section for getting new projects.

d) In GAF, you need to be a gold member to apply to maximum number of projects. For newbies who are yet to become one, there is a restriction in this regard. But, that should not stop you from going forward. I will tell you how. To be a gold member at GAF, you need to pay $12 on a monthly basis.

These members are free to bid for as many as 160 plus projects during this period. While non-members can only bid 16 projects per month. It is understandable that you may not be able to pay that amount straightaway. You don’t have to pay the amount from your pocket. There are many projects posted in the last section that specially asks for freshers to bid on. Identify those projects and bid on them.

e) Though there are numerous projects to choose from and as many types of them in GAF, I will recommend you to concentrate more on copywriting and Data entry sections. There are few reasons behind this. Firstly, the projects related to them are easy to carry out. Secondly, almost all providers can work on them.

Thirdly, money involved in these tasks is also respectable. This is particularly so for copywriting projects. Here you need to write simple articles on a given topic. And yes, the write-up has to be grammatically correct and free from spelling mistakes and so on. All the contents in the article have to be in your own words. No section of the article either in full or in part has to be taken from the internet or other sources. This is very important aspect of the copywriting tasks.

f) To bid on a project, click on the ‘project title’. This will lead you to a page where all the details of the project are posted. If you scroll your page downwards, you will see “Bid on this project” icon. Click on this icon. On clicking the icon you will be taken to a page where the bidding details have to be posted.

As you are a fresher in this kind of work, you need to bid for the lowest amount. So, select $30 in your bid. In the next column you need to tell the number of days required to complete the task. Here, you need to be realistic. Go through the project description quickly and identify for yourself as to how much time you require for this whole project. Once you have made up your mind of completing the task within a time frame, note down that period in the column provided.

The next column is where you need to give an introductory message to the buyer.

This section is really very important. The more professional your message looks the better it is. Always, refer to your buyer as ‘Sir or Madam’ as it would mean giving respect to them. Tell them very briefly that you can do their task very efficiently, in a quick time and within the provided budget. Furthermore ask them to refer to your PM (Private Message). I will tell about this PM in my next tip. Once this is done, highlight the notification box underneath this box. Now, you are done with the initial bidding. So, click on the icon “Place Bid”.

g) Merely placing your bid against a project will do very little to your chances of bagging it. You need to send an attractive private message to your service buyer. These messages in GAF are also referred to as PM. In a simple term, it can be defined as a secret conversation between a provider and a buyer.

So, in this section you need to tell the buyer, why you need to be selected over others. Tell the buyer that you will do his assignments diligently and quickly. Get to know from the buyer the lowest price he is willing to offer for this project. Tell the buyer you are comfortable with it.

h) You can send the PM to the buyer after you did the initial bidding. For this, you need to click on the icon “Post PM” which is present next to the buyer’s name in the project description page.

i) Applying to a single project and waiting for things to happen will not help your cause. You need to be quick. Spend as much time as possible in GAF. Bid on the latest projects. To identify the latest projects posted in GAF, you need to keep refreshing the projects page very often.

Then see in the “The 50 Newest Projects” if any new projects are posted or not. Keep repeating this after every few minutes. Once a new project suiting your skill set is posted, be the first one to apply to it. This way your chance of bagging the projects increases considerably.

j) Always remember that you are not supposed to reveal your contact details like emails, phone numbers, and messenger ids and so on in GAF. This is strictly against the rules of the GAF. So, avoid posting any such details in the site. In case your service buyer asks for the same, tell him or her that it can’t be done as it is against the rules. Make him understand the process involved in this. If found guilty on this count; you are likely to be suspended for a certain amount of time. 

k) Last but not the least the will to succeed is very important in GAF. You are less likely to win the project in the first attempt itself. For few, it might take few weeks and for others it might take couple of months. Whatever the duration be in your case, do not give up under any circumstance. You are bound to win a project at one point in time. There will no looking back for you after that.

B) Scriptlance (SL): – This free to use freelancing site comes from the stable of R3N3 International Inc. Like GetaFreelancer, this too is fast catching up with many online professionals worldwide. While there are few similarities between the two sites, there exist small changes as well. We will look into this and lot more in the coming sections. The services of SL began around 8 years back and it works in quite a similar fashion as that of GAF.

In SL, the service providers are referred to as programmers. Irrespective of your nature of work, you would still be referred to as a programmer. Like in GAF, you are not supposed to reveal your contact details to others. If found doing so, you could be temporarily suspended from the services. Here too, you need to update your profile page.

You can do so by clicking on “Edit Acct Info” icon on the top most side of the main page. You need to go about your working style in a similar fashion as you do in GAF. The need of the hour is to identify brand new projects and apply to them as quickly as possible. The term PM is referred to as “Message Board” in SL. It is through this board, you have to send personalized messages to your service buyer.

Few tips to succeed in Scriptlance: -

a) Applying to projects as soon as they are posted is always critical in Scriptlance. Firstly, you need to go to the main page of SL. At the bottom left side of the page you will see an icon “view all”. Click on this icon. You will now be able to see “Scriptlance Projects” page. It is here you need to identify your type of projects. Keep refreshing the page after every few minutes.

b) You can get more details of the project by clicking on the project name itself. Clearly go through the description of the project. Then you may place bid by clicking on “Place Bid” icon. The next page is quite similar to that of GAF. Here you need to fill in all the details of your bid. Always remember to quote the lowest possible bid. Finally, you need to click the icon “Place Bid”.

c) Once you have placed your bid, go back to the project description page and click on “View Project Message Board” icon. Clicking on this icon will enable you to send a private message to your buyer. Here again, your messages have to be a personalized one. You need to tell the buyer what is so different of you. How you are going to do the project and so on.

d) The key to succeed in SL is quite similar to that of GAF. You need to garner as many top reviews as possible. Only then you can start commanding a price that you might feel rightly so.

You may choose to work in any one of them first. But the key ingredients have to be there for you to click long term in these two sites. No doubt, there are countless other sites. But not all of them are easy to deal with or are free to join. In these regards, GAF and SL stand out in the pack. You may take lots of time in getting your first project. But believe me; once you get it, there will be no looking back for you in your online career. So, have the patience and will power to succeed in these. Also, understand the fact that things can’t be rosy for you every day. You have got to work very hard for your projects. But then, isn’t the rewards worth doing it? Anyways, keep trying. Note that there thousands who are making a living out of it, if they can do it, so can you.

How to do monetary transactions in these sites?

As mentioned earlier, there are many ways to do monetary transactions in GetAFreelancer and Scriptlance. The popular modes are however PayPal and Moneybookers. Do not worry one bit about the security aspects in these sites as adequate measures are in place for it. All your transactions through them are secure and fast.

To get your money from freelancing site accounts to your bank account, you first need to connect your PayPal account or Moneybookers account with your bank account. Firstly, open an account exclusively for this purpose in a bank that is well connected to online transactions. You may now ask how I make sure about this. Ask the bank officials about the SWIFT codes or other codes that is unique to their bank. These codes enable you to do foreign transactions online.

Once you have opened a bank account, next step would be to open an account in one of these or both sites- PayPal and Moneybookers. In Moneybookers, getting registered is very simple indeed. Firstly, log onto their home page:  Here you will be able to see an icon “Register”. Click on the icon.

You will now be required to go through 4 different steps for completing the entire registration process. All this might take no more than few minutes. Do not forget to choose your account type, the currency type and other details. Also, make sure that your debit card details are entered correctly and have your personal address verified too.

Once you have completed all the steps, you will be provided with an automated email in your registered email account. You need to click on the link present there to authenticate the entire registration process.

You are now virtually ready to receive and send money online to different locations, right from the comforts of your home!

PayPal is also quite similar to Moneybookers in its operation. This online medium is also very secure, fast and efficient. To get its services; you need to register with them. You can do so by visiting their home page; Here you will see a section to get registered.

This is found on the left side of the page.On clicking it, you will be taken to a new page where you have to select your country and account type. The next step would be to fill in all the personal information. Here, you also need to add your credit card or debit card number with other details of it. In case, you find it difficult to enter some details, do not hesitate to contact their customer care. They will certainly help you out. Now, you are ready with a PayPal account.

Use your Moneybookers and PayPal account to get back the money from your freelancing site account to your bank account. They are safe, reliable and fast. They will however charge a small fee for their services. But, it is nothing to what you stand to gain.