Best Freelancing Websites to make Money Online
Introduction
The world is constantly changing and evolving. The regular 9 to 5 job which was once considered the norm and the dream profession of the common man is now a thing of the past. The concept of working on a constant regular basis with hopes of one day getting a pay raise or promotion is becoming obsolete. With the advent of the premise of freelancing, the notion of a pay raise is no longer in the hands of your disapproving boss but on your hard work and effort.
Freelancing has changed the employment game entirely and for good reason. People who were once trapped in their jobs with a hectic schedule that heavily impacted their regular lives are now free. They can work when they want, how they want and most importantly earn accordingly. Doesn’t that sound truly amazing? Well, it is.
Now that you’re sold on the notion of Freelancing, let’s get you caught up in the current freelancing market and how you can make a living for yourself in this amazing industry.
If you’re unsure of what skill set you currently have or want to hone for freelancing, you should check out this article. (Insert hyperlink of the previous article)
Where to begin…?
The first thing you need to understand before diving into the world of freelancing is that there are different types of freelance sites:
- Traditional Freelancing Websites
- Non-Traditional Freelancing Websites
Common Terminologies
Before we dive into the mechanics of the traditional and non-traditional market place, lets clear out some common terms. There are two types of people that engage in freelancing. These are buyers and seller
Buyer
A buyer is an individual or group of individuals that pursue services of some sort in the freelance market. They pay money to acquire said services.
Seller
A seller is an individual or group of individual that offers their services to anyone who needs them. They earn money for providing their services.
Traditional Freelancing Websites
Which websites are Traditional…?
Traditional freelancing market places are distinguished by their conventional practices and methods. Top freelancing sites like Upwork, Freelancer, and Guru are examples of traditional freelancing websites. So what is common about these websites?
How they work…?
The traditional freelance market place works such that a buyer posts a project. The project may be a task that they need to be completed within a time limit. Multiple sellers offer their services for that very project in the form of bidding. The buyer also posts their personal budget for their project. The seller can view the budget, time limit and nature of the task. From there the seller can decide whether they want to provide their services for that project or not.
The buyer receives numerous offers for their project. They can then choose to assign their project to a seller based on their personal criteria for choosing. The seller provides their experience, skillset, incentives, and what not to convince the buyer to hire them. A buyer usually looks for a reliable and experienced seller to complete their task.
Upwork.com
Upwork.com is a widely popular site for freelancing. It has around 7 million registered buyers or clients, 12 million registered sellers or freelancers and 100,000+ jobs available. The quality of services provided in Upwork is topnotch and quite reasonable.
Upwork is a great place to establish yourself as a freelancer. The competition is not very intense and the clients are very cooperative and reasonable usually. There are exceptions obviously, such is the nature of this profession. But if you’re looking to start fresh and have an established skillset, Upwork is the place to go.
There is a complication that Upwork keeps its competition low by not providing its access to everyone. In order to work on Upwork, one has to verify their identity and Upwork only hires more freelancers when they are needed. This maintains the market for only professional workers.
Freelancer.com
Freelancer.com is also a very popular freelance market place. It has a far bigger pool of around Thirty Million registered sellers or freelancers and 45,000+ jobs. Freelancer has a lot more traffic than Upwork and this has its advantages and disadvantages.
Upwork often denies its access to new freelancers because it wants to keep its traffic limited and checked. Freelancer, on the other hand, does not do so and thus automatically has more traffic. This is ideal for a beginner to settle and learn the fundamentals of the freelancing market place. However, because of the abundance of freelancers, the quality of services provided and clients are often compromised.
Thus if you’re a new freelancer who wants to understand the freelance market place and cant settle on Upwork, Freelancer is an ideal place for you. It simply is the best freelance website for beginners.
Non-Traditional Freelancing Websites
Which websites are Non-Traditional…?
As the name suggests, they are a bit different from the conventional freelance market place. Fiverr.com is a great example of a non-traditional freelance market place.
How they work…?
In non-traditional freelance market places, the services provided by sellers or freelancers are abundantly present. The unique element here is that the buyer or client has their project in mind. They then accordingly search for the services of a seller. The seller publicly provides their skillset and services and the client chooses their own seller accordingly with respect to their personal criteria and thus award the project to the seller.
Fiverr.com
Fiverr.com is a perfect example of a non-traditional freelance market place. Fiverr provides easy access to anyone however they have a unique ranking system. Sellers are divided into classes. These range from Level zero, Level one, Level two and Top-rated seller. These levels distinguish the amount of experience an individual has earned on the platform of Fiverr. They are valuable when a client is looking for you.
The nature of the system of Fiverr keeps the user lax but it also requires patience. Jobs are a lot harder to earn on Fiverr than on traditional market places like Upwork and Freelancer.
Fiverr is thus a very rewarding platform to start freelancing, however it requires a lot of patience and perseverance which only gets rewarded in the long run.
Conclusion
So in conclusion, there are numerous websites for one to make a name for themselves and earn money online from home. It all goes back to the expertise, tastes, and feasibility of the individual. We have briefly explained the best freelance websites online. All market places have their respective characteristics that distinguish them. It is up to you whether you choose to settle where. I personally would recommend you explore all possibilities and then once you’re sure, settle down in one place. So what’re you waiting for? Get started and start earning and Use Best Freelancing Websites to make Money Online
