How to get registered on freelance websites

As a follow up to my earlier post on Freelancing, I have come up with a detailed report on how you can get registered to one of the most popular freelance websites on the internet; www.elance.com

There are so many other freelance websites which you can join but for a start, let me start with Elance.

Elance is an online marketplace where contractors and creative professionals can find freelance work projects. (NOTE: Contractors as used in this context could be small companies, NGOs, Multinational Companies, churches, schools, banks etc. Creative professionals as used here could be any individual or a group of two, three or five people.)

Just a few days ago, I was searching out jobs which I could do and pocket my money, I saw a job posted by a Nigerian pastor. He was looking for a freelancer who could help him design bible software which he would install on his Ipad to facilitate his preaching. The job really paid off. You too can be making lots of easy money from Elance.

Before I proceed to give you further details, you must meet up with certain requirements. These requirements include:

You must have;

·        A computer (It could be desktop, laptop or tablet PC with internet connection).

·        Basic knowledge of surfing the internet

·        Patience. (You must exercise patience if you must make it online).

The basic Elance membership is free, and anyone can join Elance and look for work. The following steps will guide you to get registered. Please read it carefully.

1.     Open your web browser and type www.elance.com

2.     Click on the “Register” option at the right top of the page or you can click “find work” at the top row, select “I want to work” button then click continue. You also have the option of signing up with your Facebook account. So the choice is yours to make.

3.     Fill in the form that will come up. Check the “Elance terms of service” box and click on “Register” button at the end. You will be directed to the “type of job” page.

4.     There are many types of job categories on Elance namely IT and programming, writing and translation, design and multimedia, Admin support, sales and marketing, Engineering and marketing, finance and management as well as legal. Select any of the job categories you feel you have much experience in and proceed to the next page.

5.     The next page is the “membership plan” page. Choose the Basic membership plan.  Like I stated earlier at the beginning of this report, the basic membership plan on Elance is free and lets you bid for up to 15 project proposals per month. The other three membership plans require a monthly fee which allows you to bid for more projects. I don’t advice you to go for the paid membership plan until you must have made a reasonable income on Elance, then you can upgrade your plan as you wish.

6.      On the next page, you will be prompted to enter your username, password and email address. Choose a secret question and add your contact information, such as your street address, telephone number and full name. Choose the category you want to submit proposals for (such as Writing and Translation, IT and programming etc).

7.     Click on "Join Elance." You'll be directed to your account home page, where you can search for projects and create your custom bio data and profile. Meanwhile, you will see a note on the screen asking you to check your email to verify your account.

8.     Open your email, click on the link sent to you to verify your account. You will be requested to type in your profile data on the page that comes up.

At this point you have successfully opened and verified an account with Elance. In my next post, I will tell you how to make a good Elance profile as well as how to bid for jobs.

Don't forget to leave a comment. If you have questions, please feel free to send me an email, I will promptly reply you.

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