ELance – It’s a competitive market out there.

In case you didn’t know, Elance is a marketplace where freelancers and people or companies that need work done can meet and agree on the terms of a job. I’m really just getting my feet wet in the Elance marketplace but I’ve already noticed that the competition is fierce, especially in the writing sector, especially when you’re starting out with the free account and can only bid on 3 jobs per month.

I know that I could upgrade to one of the paid accounts for very little and bid on more work, which would give me a better chance at scoring the job, but I’m trying to make the service pay for itself, rather than throw money into it first and pray that I get something out of it.  Of course, that attitude may change as the month goes on or if I see jobs in the marketplace that I’m qualified for or am just eager to go after.

From my initial probings, Elance is the perfect venue for anyone with a varied skill set like myself.  Having worked in many aspects of the technology industry as well as having a firm background in writing presents a wealth of options that I can pursue, which is a downfall of many other services that lock you into one skill or another without taking into account that you may just be pretty good at more than one thing.

What I’m wondering is this:  Have any of you had experience with Elance?  If so, would you recommend upgrading to a paid account at the outset or just stay with the free account until I’ve managed to get a job under my belt?  Have your experiences been positive or negative?

Let us know in the comments.

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