I signed up for a freelance account with Guru.com about two weeks ago and I've submitted bids on a few really good job postings but the projects were awarded to someone else. I'm starting to wonder if this site is just a waste of time. Has anyone had success with using this site or any other similar sites to get work?

__________________
Shannon R. Baker
Socially Savvy V.A.

It is a great site to get work, but takes a lot of bidding and trying over and over, the paid membership is 59.95 a year and in all honesty I've got tons of jobs there.

Tammy-
Have you been able to keep your pricing the same or did you have to under bid what you would normally charge? I haven't been to guru; however I've seen a lot of low bids on other sites such as odesk and freelancer.

Hi Tammy -

Places like eLance, Guru, and so forth are notorious for very low payouts. You have to consider the time and effort that is being spent compared to the ROI received. If you spend 20 hours worth of time bidding and then finally land a job at even one of the highest rates (usually around $15.00/hour at best - and those are rare) then how much are you actually going to benefit? If that same 20 hours could have been spent in marketing and getting a solid, long term client - you have to determine for yourself what scenario works best for you.

Sometimes the need for cash-flow is real while you build your business - but there again - consider the time commitment. Is a part-time job locally a better option that will give you a little more freedom. Only you can answer that...but think about what we promote as a key benefit to our clients. We give them back valuable time so they can focus on generating revenue. So time is money.

I'm sure you will make the best decision for you and know that we are here for you to help you and be your sounding board.

__________________
Pam Blackman - Pam Blackman Online
Online Marketing Consulting & Project Management

Thanks for the responses! As you stated Pam, a lot of the jobs do have a low hourly rate but I'm hoping that they will get my foot in the door so to speak. I have not purchased a membership from them and was not going to until I knew that it would provide a ROI.

Tammy, I'm glad you have had success with it! Do you get return business from the jobs you won?

__________________
Shannon R. Baker
Socially Savvy V.A.

I actually think guru fits me better than elance. I don't spend a lot of time bidding because I just don't have the time (I still work a full time job and will continue to do so until I get that first client) plus part of me thinks it's a waste of time because I have yet to get any kind of response to any of my proposals. I'm thinking of upgrading my guru and elance accounts, but I just have a hard time paying for a job.

I signed up with Guru, ODesk and others but found that VA's were only getting paid $2.00 an hour so I was constantly being outbid. Shortly gave that up and now I am working on marketing my website and social media to promote business.

__________________
Stacey N. Ramke
www.Staceys-Admin-Solutions.com

I have bid many, many times on Guru and only got a few jobs which paid low. I finally decided it was not worth my while to keep bidding on these jobs and better to market on my own.

__________________
Stephanie Cogeos
Wordprocessing & Design