by Doreen Martel

Created on: February 07, 2011

Bidding sites have been gaining in popularity because more people are searching for ways to earn additional income. Combine this with the fact that more companies are being forced to tighten their belts and looking for ways to save money and this has created an ideal market for freelancers.  While many freelance bidding sites are free to join, what is not always readily available is tips for using a bid site to find freelance jobs.  Bid sites can provide freelancers with numerous opportunities provided they understand some of the tricks of the trade.

Completing an online profile

Most bidding sites will offer users the ability to create an online profile. Reviewing the profile restrictions is both helpful and necessary.  Provide a real sounding user identification name, a brief overview of what you can offer clients (remember you are selling yourself) and a portfolio of work to draw the most attention to a profile. Before publishing an online profile make sure that it is thoroughly checked for spelling errors and grammatical issues so that potential clients see current and accurate information.

Reviewing job postings

It is important to review the freelance job site to see what their policy is on job postings. Not all bid sites review the postings prior to being made available to bidders. This means that some of the job postings will not be legitimate and could potentially create problems. Sorting through job postings is critical to finding success on a freelance job bid site.  Evaluate each opening individually and make sure that the skills that are required by the post are clearly reflected in your online profile.

Bidding on job postings

When a freelancer has found a job posting that is of interest, it is important that the bid process be executed carefully.  First of all, make sure that the terms of service of the freelance bidding site are adhered to, they are there to protect both the freelancer and the bidding site.  This means that if there is a prohibition against including direct contact information it should be carefully followed or a freelancer could risk having their account terminated.  Reviewing the bidding history on the job (where allowed) is also helpful as this may have an impact on the amount of the bid.  Freelancers should always remember that a bid is in effect a competition against other freelance professionals. It is not always appropriate to bid on price, it may be more beneficial to bid on quality.

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