Every established freelancer will tell you how hard you have to struggle and soar above the content mills. They will try to convince you that nothing is worthy of your time down there and that you will be wasting your time taking on inferior orders.
The sad truth is they are right. Beginning is hard, getting a good job without a reputation is next to impossible, and you have to present an impressive portfolio to merit a glance in your job application.
Don't forget that getting the client to notice you is a mile from convincing him or her to hire you. Even though you still have to endure the same troubles even when you aren't working for a content mill, the sheer volume of people on these content mills could make competition worse.
These are facts, nothing but experience can argue against their validity.
Even though I have a good number of clients who give me constant work week in week out, I still frequent my Upwork and Elance account to bid for new jobs. The rates might be inferior but I have good reasons to keeping this trend alive.
People come to content mills when they need urgent content
Most of the client on content mills are there to get a good freelancer and get a job done. With a good profile and a strategic bid, you could easily net a one time, or better still, a recurring client. The point here is with a complete profile and proper bid placement, you could land yourself a lifetime client. After all, you won't be competing against highly skilled freelancers who keep off the content mills.
The clients in the content mills are there because they cannot work with the big fish who swim the high seas. This doesn't necessarily mean they won't pay good. Good is relative. $5 per 100 words, for instance, might be a joke to a professional but good enough to a beginner. $50 for a simple logo might be unheard of to a pro but acceptable to the beginner - it's all about perspectives.
One of my worst freelancing weeks was when I kept off the content mills and flew solo. My new client was giving impressive rates for a web design project and was paying me handsomely to contract a team of ghostwriters to keep the new website pumped up with content.
A 25 percent deposit of the project's worth seemed good enough as that fraction was almost double what I made in a week at the content mills. That was all the money I ever got for the entire deal. I couldn't sue the client, there was no Escrow or Upwork support to fly wingman. That is why I take all my clients to my favorite content mills to establish a solid relationship. The little fee I pay is always worth it.
I am a web designer and Ghostwriter. I have to deal with stereotypes each time I place a bid since I am from Kenya since am neither a native English speaker nor has there been 'great' web designer from Kenya.
Do I let this erode my spirit? Oh no! I actually embrace it and use it each time I bid for a job. My chances of landing a contract are flimsy, just because people believe I can't get it done perfectly (well, my English mightn't be perfect and I didn't attend some fancy UX college so no hard feelings.)
To overcome this, I need a constant flow of jobs to choose from. Content mills are teeming with crap contracts and some bits of golden opportunities. Knowing when to bid and what to bid on could land you repeated projects that will pay your bills and vacation bills while leaving you some time to keep hunting for the ultimate client on or off the content mill.
Having come to terms with the fact that I won't escape the content mills because I don't want to, it is time to let you in on my bidding secret.
Lookout for my next post on how I maximize on each bid I place to ensure that I either get the job or get a better deal than what the client had in mind... It will take the title below but will go live in 2 days' time. You can subscribe to my blog via mail or just come back then. Till then, keep carrying on!
Surviving the Freelancer Mills - How to Make Each Bid Count
The sad truth is they are right. Beginning is hard, getting a good job without a reputation is next to impossible, and you have to present an impressive portfolio to merit a glance in your job application.
Don't forget that getting the client to notice you is a mile from convincing him or her to hire you. Even though you still have to endure the same troubles even when you aren't working for a content mill, the sheer volume of people on these content mills could make competition worse.
These are facts, nothing but experience can argue against their validity.
Why I keep to the content mills
Even though I have a good number of clients who give me constant work week in week out, I still frequent my Upwork and Elance account to bid for new jobs. The rates might be inferior but I have good reasons to keeping this trend alive.
The competition is manageable if you keep to your league
People come to content mills when they need urgent content
Most of the client on content mills are there to get a good freelancer and get a job done. With a good profile and a strategic bid, you could easily net a one time, or better still, a recurring client. The point here is with a complete profile and proper bid placement, you could land yourself a lifetime client. After all, you won't be competing against highly skilled freelancers who keep off the content mills.
The clients in the content mills are there because they cannot work with the big fish who swim the high seas. This doesn't necessarily mean they won't pay good. Good is relative. $5 per 100 words, for instance, might be a joke to a professional but good enough to a beginner. $50 for a simple logo might be unheard of to a pro but acceptable to the beginner - it's all about perspectives.
Effective Escrow Services
One of my worst freelancing weeks was when I kept off the content mills and flew solo. My new client was giving impressive rates for a web design project and was paying me handsomely to contract a team of ghostwriters to keep the new website pumped up with content.
A 25 percent deposit of the project's worth seemed good enough as that fraction was almost double what I made in a week at the content mills. That was all the money I ever got for the entire deal. I couldn't sue the client, there was no Escrow or Upwork support to fly wingman. That is why I take all my clients to my favorite content mills to establish a solid relationship. The little fee I pay is always worth it.
A constant flow of projects
I am a web designer and Ghostwriter. I have to deal with stereotypes each time I place a bid since I am from Kenya since am neither a native English speaker nor has there been 'great' web designer from Kenya.
Do I let this erode my spirit? Oh no! I actually embrace it and use it each time I bid for a job. My chances of landing a contract are flimsy, just because people believe I can't get it done perfectly (well, my English mightn't be perfect and I didn't attend some fancy UX college so no hard feelings.)
To overcome this, I need a constant flow of jobs to choose from. Content mills are teeming with crap contracts and some bits of golden opportunities. Knowing when to bid and what to bid on could land you repeated projects that will pay your bills and vacation bills while leaving you some time to keep hunting for the ultimate client on or off the content mill.
Having come to terms with the fact that I won't escape the content mills because I don't want to, it is time to let you in on my bidding secret.
Lookout for my next post on how I maximize on each bid I place to ensure that I either get the job or get a better deal than what the client had in mind... It will take the title below but will go live in 2 days' time. You can subscribe to my blog via mail or just come back then. Till then, keep carrying on!
Surviving the Freelancer Mills - How to Make Each Bid Count
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