Last time on our intro on how to make money online, we looked at the three major ways on how anyone with a will to succeed and discipline can earn money online so for today, we shall be looking at how to make money online by freelancing on Odesk.

So why choose freelancing as our pioneer? Well it’s quite simple; almost anyone can do it irrespective of their geographical location and it assures people of a steady source of income as opposed to the other methods we had earlier on mentioned which require a lot of hard and smart work in addition to some luck from above (to some extent).

To get us started on making money with freelancing, we shall start by looking at freelancing on oDesk which in my own opinion is the best freelance site in the world. It basically provides a gateway where clients pay for work done and freelancers/contractors get paid for work done.

We are now going to look at oDesk’s brief history and some of its basic operations.

oDesk’s History

oDesk is a privately owned company whose core objective is to provide a link between clients and freelancers/contractors; a sort of a symbiosis relationship. It was founded in 2003 by two Greek entrepreneurs namely: Odysseas Tsatalos and Stratis Karamanlakis who are currently its Chief Technology Officer and Vice President of Development respectively.

oDesk has got its headquarters in Redwood City, CA and was ranked number one by the Annual contractor earnings making it the largest online freelancing company in the world..

Freelancing On oDesk: How oDesk works

• Clients-Clients can post jobs, make a hire, track the contractor’s progress and pay when the job is complete.
• Contractors-Contractors can complete their profiles, bid for jobs, complete the job and get paid.

^It’s that simple.

oDesk Payments

Payments in oDesk are made via ACH, local fund transfers, PayPal, Moneybookers, pre-paid debit cards, and wire transfers.

Are payments in oDesk guaranteed?

Their Work Diary system tracks your time and takes snapshots of work in progress, creating visibility into hours worked for both you and your client to avoid disputes and ensure timely payment                                                                                                          

How often does oDesk pay?

Hourly jobs are paid on a weekly basis. Fixed-price projects are paid according to a schedule agreed upon by you and your client.

How to increase your chances of getting a job in oDesk

The single most important thing you can do to attract clients and land jobs in oDesk is to build an effective, impressive, and accurate profile.

Include all your relevant skills, experience, education, and a professional looking picture. Bring your work to life with a portfolio and build credibility by taking oDesk tests. In addition to building your profile, once you’re hired, make sure you do a great job for your client as this will lead to high ratings and great feedback in addition to new work opportunities.

How much does oDesk charge?

It’s free and always will be free to sign up, apply, and interview for jobs in oDesk.

When you get a job and get paid, oDesk charges a fee equivalent to 10% of the total amount charged to your client. For example, if your rate is $18 per hour, oDesk charges an extra $2 so that your client pays a total of $20 per hour.

Freelancing On oDesk: Jobs Offered on Odesk

oDesk has got 9 main work categories namely:

Web Development, Writing & Translation, Customer Service, Software Development, Administrative Support, Sales & Marketing, Networking & Information Systems, Design & Multimedia and Business Services.

The above main categories are subdivided into other sub categories e.g. sub categories from Administrative support are:

·         Data Entry

·         Personal Assistant

·         Web Research

·         Email Response handling

·         Transcription

Writing and Translation is one of the easiest categories in oDesk as it includes things like blog writing and creative writing and as such the competition is bound to be stiff. Actuaries (plus math guys), IT guys (inclusive of graphic designers), Accountants and lawyers just to mention a few have an upper hand in oDesk since not very many people bid for those types of jobs e.g. Statistical analysis, web design, book keeping, legal issues e.t.c. and as such, their rewards can be quite appealing e.g. $500 and above for a single task.

How To Register In oDesk

I’ve personally been an oDesk member since early 2011 and I can say it has been quite an experience to say the least. I’ll take you through what I had to do in order to get registered in oDesk hoping they haven’t changed their regulations:

I had to fill out a form (the basic stuff e.g. name and the like), take an oDesk readiness test (which you must pass to be verified), scan my latest voters card (which for Kenyans happens to be the last referendums voting card), scan my ID, fill out my profile and take a couple of tests e.g. excel so as to increase my chances of getting a job as well as to increase my quota.

It’s however not compulsory to take the oDesk readiness test nor any other test for that matter, send them a copy of your scanned voters card + ID or even complete your profile BUT if you’re serious about earning good money from oDesk then you ought to make an effortr of doing what I did if not more and below is why:

• No client is ever going to give you a job if you are not verified by oDesk (You become verified if you have passed the oDesk readiness test and sent them a copy of your scanned ID plus voters card-both sides off course) or if you have a skeleton profile. It’s important to remember that you’re competing against others who have not only been verified but who have also completed filling out their profiles. Just place yourself in the client’s shoes;who you would pick for the job?

Conclusion on Freelancing On oDesk

oDesk provides people with a great genuine way to earn good money wherever they are located in the world and all it takes is dedication, persistence and smart work on your part. There are people who earn a decent living from freelancing on oDesk so why can’t you?

The benefits of freelancing on oDesk are immense e.g. you become your own boss and work when and where you feel like; all you need is a computer, electricity and a steady internet connection.

So if you’re tired of always been conned online and you feel that you really need to earn some real extra money on the side (especially for students) either to pay bills, fees or just to run some small errands, then register in oDesk and start making money freelancing on oDesk.

The best part about freelancing on oDesk is that “IT’S FREE TO JOIN AND ALWAYS WILL BE WITH ABSOLUTELY NO MEMEBERSHIP FEES”, so go ahead and register today.

NB: oDesk is also a great place for clients to have their work done.

Feel free to air your comments, we’d love to hear from you!