New Employers – Tips for Posting ProjectsFreelancer.com gives service buyers access to freelancers from around the world for virtually any type of project. If you’re new to using our services, you may find the task of posting a project a little intimidating. We’d like to provide you with a few pointers on posting a project that will draw the attention of the right bidders and make the process of hiring your next contractor a pleasant and rewarding experience for you both! 1. Start by knowing what you need. While a good service provider may be able to fill in some gaps on a project description, your best bet in getting quality bids is to know what you’re looking for. If you aren’t sure exactly what to ask for, do a little research before you post. 2. Create a descriptive project name. A freelancer should be able to tell at a glance what you’re looking for. For instance, a project named “E-Book” may grab the attention of graphic artists, writers, web developers and others. A name like, “Write an E-Book about Snakes”, however is likely to bring bids mostly from writers and in particular writers with some knowledge of snakes or resources for the knowledge. 3. Provide a detailed description. Your description should answer as many potential questions as possible. Think about what will be required of the provider you hire and be as clear as possible. Details that are often overlooked are (note that this is not a complete list): a. Special software skills required b. Length of writing projects (word counts, etc.) c. Language requirements (English, German, French, etc.) d. Platform (Unix, Windows, Mac, etc.) e. Programming language(s) f. Rights you are purchasing (full copyright, internet rights, etc.) g. Payment terms (up-front, milestones, etc.) h. Payment methods (PayPal, escrow, etc.) 4. Select the Job Type carefully. Use all 5 of your available selections if possible. Many freelancers search the projects strictly by job type. 5. Consider your budget selection carefully. Too low a budget may eliminate some of the better candidates for your project. Setting the budget too high may leave the door open for some price gouging, but this is usually fairly easy to spot. No matter what, though, don’t set a budget higher than you’re willing to pay, just to attract more experienced freelancers. Freelance professionals will usually bid according to strict criteria and most won’t want to waste time with price haggling. Be straightforward about what you are willing to pay and allow the providers to do the same with what they will accept. 6. If you have examples of what you need, upload them. Note: don’t borrow content from websites, articles, programming code, or other sources as your examples, unless you own the rights to the source. Doing so may constitute copyright infringement! 7. Allow enough time for bidding. If your project isn't urgent, don’t make service providers rush to bid. Remember that the top professionals are usually the busiest, so you may eliminate some of the top contenders by setting the bidding time too short. 8. Select the right options. The Featured option will almost always be to your advantage if you can afford it. Nonpublic and Full Time options may be useful, but read the description of these options before selecting them. Freelancer.com takes pride in matching employers to the best professional freelancers. We sincerely hope that these tips will help you find the best service providers for your projects! How To Hire with Freelancer.comFreelancer.com makes finding and hiring temporary or ongoing help for any project quick and easy. We provide employers with access to skilled freelancers from around the world and the tools to help you find the right ones for your jobs. Use the guidelines below to see just how simple outsourcing your projects can be. (read more) Four Questions to Ask Yourself When Selecting a BidderNew service buyers may find the process of choosing a freelancer for a project a bit overwhelming. The number of bids alone may be enough to make an employer wonder where to start. Since each project is different, there is no single right or wrong method, but the list of questions and answers below may help narrow the field of choices and make the selection process easier.(read more) Contracts for Freelance WorkSee Other Topics
|
