Elance - The Forgotten Marketplace

Elance - The Forgotten Marketplace

by Stuart Reid

You may have heard of Elance in passing, or you may even have browsed the site before, but have you ever considered the amazing Marketing Potential of this resource?

Elance operates as a virtual "Skills Auction" where you can operate online tenders for everything under the sun.

As a "Buyer" you have a project and you can post it at the site. Then "Service Providers" will bid on your project and you can choose who to accept, if any. You can make money on either side of this equation.

Your project can be anything! Popular requests include needing a website designed, needing a ghostwriter, a programmer, a marketer, or even an editor.

It's a simple system that brings together skilled internet persons around the world. And that's a key factor - the worldwide reach. Costs of living are low in many countries such as India, Russia or the "third-world" areas yet they are full of highly skilled people. A completed project can cost you much less than you'd expect!

In truth many Marketers use this service quite often but very rarely talk about it. Most Marketers are NOT programmers, or site designers, or perhaps just don't have the time to wear every hat. Elance is a valid alternative to employing expensive companies or copywriters yet you will find individuals offering their skills easily as qualified as these.

You need to join Elance to use the service. There is a free membership level as well as various paid schemes , but you won't need these until you are experienced.

You can create a complete product using Elance freelancers at a bargain price. For example, you can have an ebook written, the sales page designed, and graphics created for less than $200 if you chose the right people. And that's without offering individual incentives such as a profit-deal. Many individual programmers or writers are open to such offers.

As a "Service Provider" (i.e. a freelancer) you can browse current projects to see if you can supply the skills needed. For example, if you are a skilled writer you can bid for the contract on many projects involving Ghostwriting, Copywriting and everything inbetween. For example, recent projects include writing for a fantasy online game. It's best to look at current bids to see where to place your own - and as any business owner knows the lowest tender doesn't always win.

If you need services yourself you must post a project in as much detail as possible including what you want and when you want it. For example, "I am looking for a flash header graphic for my website. It is a business site so it must look professional and fit with the overall page design" - or "I require a book ghostwritten on how to secure finance and grants for a startup company. Rough size 35,000 words." Note: A "Ghostwritten" article or book is one where you retain copywright and can pass the item as "written" by yourself.

All you need is the idea. And, if pushed, you can simply post a project which asks for a "clone" of an existing popular tool or service...

Elance itself has full documentation on it's services including a complete multimedia "step by step" presentation. So if this introduction has whet your appetite why not pop along the site itself?

You won't be dissapointed!

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Stuart Reid is publisher of Netpreneur News and webmaster of various websites. If you want the latest Marketing and moneymaking information with regular freebies thrown in just visit: http://www.netpreneurnow.com
P.S. There's a complete Members Site waiting for you!