by John W. Paulus

Created on: February 28, 2008

As a seasoned freelance writer, I can tell you from personal experience how difficult it can be navigating through the vast expanse of freelance writing and translation job online sites. Not only are there a large number of these sites out there, it seems as though more are being added each day.

The unfortunate thing about this is that a writer or translator could spend their entire work day looking for work on these online sites, without actually landing any new business. If you feel like you've been spinning your wheels and are lost in this vast expanse of often-useless sites, you should consider these four best online sites for freelance writing and translation jobs:

1) Guru.com. Guru.com established itself as a leader in the freelance area almost from the day that it opened. Guru.com has had a consistently high volume of available writing and translation gigs for several years running. On top of this, of all the online sites for freelance writing and translation jobs, Guru.com has the best site design and the most effective search mechanisms available.

2) Scriptlance.com. Scriptlance.com, like Guru.com, has a consistently large amount of work available for freelancers to bid on. Site navigation at Scriptlance.com is bulky, and the site really needs a search or filtering feature to be able to separate offers by category. However, the sheer amount of work avaialable here makes it worth paging through the offers to find the ones you want to bid on.

3) Helium.com. You're here already, good for you! The Helium.com marketplace has a growing number of opportunities for you to strut your stuff, and to compete for clients. The best part about the Helium.com marketplace is that you are competing for single articles that have a much higher payout than you are going to find on other web sites. Helium.com has the potential to one day rival sites like Guru.com and Scriptlance.com in terms of volume. Getting established here now can only help you in the long run.

Finally, let me offer some advice before you actually start visiting these online sites for freelance writing jobs:

* Make sure you demonstrate your value to potential clients. If you have an advanced degree, say so in your bid. Is English your native language? Let potential clients know that, as well. These sorts of assets will put you ahead of the pack.

* Making it as a freelance writer or translator requires a great deal of determination and self-discipline. Keep focused on getting those bids in, and eventually you will get some work.

* Capitalize on work that you have done in the past. Check back from time to time with former clients that you found on these online sites. Establish a professional rapport with them. Delivery your quality product on time, and you are almost guaranteed to be on their short list for next time.

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