I can only speak for myself in terms of your questions but here goes.
When I hire a freelancer from these sites I just look at the rating system and then read what was said by the past companies that hired them. I’m not so much looking for sample in that ratings area. I just want to say
that companies that have used a couple freelancers on the site have given the freelancer I’m considering some good feedback. I look at the freelancers ratings and see if there are other companies that have had similar projects as me.
If they did and have rated the freelancer I’m considering well for those projects then I’m more inclined to hire them provided the price is right and there isn’t someone else that has even more experience and at a better price. So these are the factors I take into consideration.

In terms of actually samples, it all depends on the nature of the work. Some stuff is very technical and might be a bug that I needed fixed on my site. So in respects to that I might try to find a freelancer that seems to have a lot of wordpress experience since that’s the platform I use to manage my site. If this person has done a lot of wordpress related tasks and received very good ratings then again I’m inclined to hire them. But in many cases as I’m looking at the bids of many freelancers I’ll contact the ones that I’m considering directly and ask them to provide a sample of what they’ve done if its possible such as an article they wrote which could be online or a word document that they can upload to google documents. Or if I’m looking for a designer they usually can provide the url of the websites they have designed in the past. So there trust me if an employer wants samples he’ll ask you. I wouldn’t be too worried about it. Most of us look
at the ratings and the comments.

Another thing I like to do is give certain freelancers a minor test first just to see if they have the basics to do what I need. So I might post a bs project related to what I need that doesn’t pay much. Then if I say if one of the freelancers I picked did a great job. I later just give them a bigger project. So we have ways to figure out who’s good or not. When you’re really good the company may skip the whole post the project thing and contact you directly after working with you and offer you a more permanent gig. I know I’m still working with a few technical people that I found from freelance sites. I don’t even bother bidding anymore. I contact them first and offer them whatever they feel is reasonable because they’ve proven to be good.

In terms of the competition and their experience. Don’t worry about them so much. Just start low & build up your ratings. That will eventually determine what you can charge people. As I said I’m looking at the freelancers past ratings and will then ask for samples if necessary. I don’t really look at their years of experience. To me you’re only as good as what the last couple of companies have said about you publicly on these sites. This may or may not be the case for other companies
but most of us that hire freelancers on these sites are savvy enough to know that “the years of experience” don’t necessarily amount to better work. It’s just one of many indicators to take into consideration.

As for your last question, you won’t know unless you try. All those freelancers that have great ratings were once you. They just put themselves out there, stayed persistent and let the chips fall where they may. This is no different than any competitive gig. You have to put yourself out there, get knocked down a few times, pick yourself up and come back for more. I’ve never hired any one without a rating but that’s me. I’m more experienced and know exactly what I want out of a freelancer. But there are many companies that will give a newbie a try. If you want to increase your chances of getting picked offer up samples of what you can do in your bids. There are so many free websites that allow you to post your articles and show examples of your work. Put some of your best work there and provide the url to some of this stuff in your bids.

Another tip is to be very specific and personal with your bids. That’s a big secret that freelancers also ignore. When I place I project I’m extremely specific about what I want. So when I get a canned bids that I see this person uses on every project, I tend to ignore it especially if I asked a specific question. So if someone responds with something like I can do this for you, or “sirs we’ve been doing this for 3 years and would like to service you”, I’m out and on to the next freelancer.
The freelancer that places a bid such as:

“Hey username, I’ve read your project description and feel confident I can help you. It should take me only a day. I actually have written similar articles for another client. I’ve taken the liberty of posting a similar article on MyUrlOnSomeFreeSite.com/MySampleDocumentHireMe.html so you can review my work. Although I’m new here I have been doing this for a bit of time. I hope to work with you Username. Thanks for your consideration.”

When I read stuff like that I feel this person has attention to detail and has actually taken the time to read the project and not just some joe schmoe that is trying to bid on every project regardless if they’re really capable or not. They also provide a sample that they’ve uploaded without even me asking that is related to project. So that builds the stacks in favor of the freelancer that did a little more than everyone else. So that’s the type of stuff that wows me and I feel confident gets the attention of other companies like myself.

So feel free to run with this or not. Good luck.

I know you’re on vaca in sunny Fla. Just wanted to say thank you for your advice. I had just wondered where you found 90 survey sites! Was that all just by googling? So even with 90 sites you couldn’t make it with surveys. Not surprised at all. But I have every intention of signing up with guru, elance and every other freelance site I can.

Great advice, Eddy, about charging less at the beginning. And yes, I have been advised many times by well-meaning people (usually motivational types) to charge high even at the beginning in order not to “undercharge.” But your comment made far, far more sense. One has to pay dues first.

With only 2 online testimonials under my belt — and I’m not even sure how to put up samples from those jobs — what right would I have to charge as high as someone with 5 years of Web writing experience and numerous clips and references??

And, lastly, what would you advise for someone who’s just starting out freelancing and has no published samples at all? I’m not sure even lower bids would help … Would you want to hire someone completely untested?

Have a great one,
Ana

You’re welcome. I look forward to hearing your progress. Just keep in mind that freelance sites can be very competitive since you’re pretty much competing against the world. So don’t get discouraged if you don’t get a job right away. When I hire folks from freelance sites I’m always looking for freelancers with good ratings. Freelancers that are new may have a harder time because you have no real references in terms of the actual freelance site. So you may want to take a few jobs for a lower amount than what you would usually accept. This way you can get your foot in the door and start building up some positive feedback. Then as you become more established then you’ll be able to demand higher rates. Most people do just the opposite and usually fail as a result.

The other thing to keep in mind is not to put all your eggs in one basket. Be sure you’re signed up to multiple freelance websites and bid on many projects you’re qualified for. Some freelance sites are better than others. You won’t really be able to gauge this unless you’re on all of them. You may also make more money that way. Hopefully these additional tips will help you.

By the way I totally agree with you about all these sites claiming they’re not scams. I’ve been fortunate enough that I have the social proof in the way of user comments, the media and other websites that back up my assertions. I always get annoyed when I visit a work at home site and they have these logos of news outlets as if to imply they’ve actually been featured or recommended by the shows. But you’ll notice they never actually have a link to these so called recommendations as I do:
http://www.workathomenoscams.com/media
http://www.workathomenoscams.com/about

So it’s pretty easy to spot the fakers. I’m far from perfect and I’m still working on things to improve my site for my users but I feel confident in saying I have helped a good number of people either make money or avoid scams.

Thanks again for chiming in.

I wasn’t actually able to read the site content. But you’re right it is a freelance website and I’ve updated the information to reflect this. Thanks for bringing this to my attention.

Hey Barbara,

Feel free to mention the legitimate international survey sites that you’ve used. Thanks for asking. I appreciate that. I guess I was correct that freelance sites are the way to go for international folks considering your success. Thanks for sharing.
May it serve as inspiration to others.

I have registered with a few of the companies you provided online one is ODesk. I have placed a bid for the first time so i will give you feedback on this one as soon as i have a result.

Thanks for providing the information for these companies as you know anyone can say they are looking out for scams but proving it is another thanks again.

I will continue to view your site!!

I signed up on two survey listings, if Eddy allows me to I’ll disclose their names, but in the meantime just Google something like “paid surveys” and you’ll get some interesting results.
I’ve actually given up on the whole survey thing, I earned almost no money because most of the international companies give away lottery tickets and “points”.

If you live outside the US like I do, think about becoming a freelancer. I’ve been on Guru since June and tomorrow I’m leaving for a weeks vacation in Florida thanks to the money I’ve been earning there

Best of luck to you Ana!
cheers
Barbara