guidelines

Identifying Freelancing Scams

I have written in general about Freelancing Scams in 2009 and this post is an updated version.

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In 2009, I have discussed a few ways to identify freelancing scams. However, 2013 is approaching and this is the perfect time to revise some of the most common scams in the freelancing industry.

Common Signs of Scam

Unique Article as Sample

Situation: Employer will request a unique article sample (NOTE: if you are a designer, you might be asked to present a unique logo design as a sample).

Reality: You are providing a piece of unique work for nothing.Personal View: Personally I have experienced this in my early months. I have written a few articles, sent them to the so-called employer and never get paid.

Payment Out of System

Situation: Freelancing sites such as Freelancer.com and Elance.com require payment through their system. Any payment out of the system is a breach of their terms and conditions. Now, some employers prefer to pay out of the system to avoid fees.

Reality: Most employers who seek payment out of the system are scammers. They do not have the intention of paying at all. It is not recommended to accept payment out of the system for first-time clients (employers).

Brief Job Description

Situation: The job description is too general.

Reality: It is usually fake (although not always).

Low Pay

Situation: You are being offered low rate (e.g. $1 for 500 words).

Reality: First, they just want to save money. Secondly, they are fooling you into thinking that you are worth such rate because you are “new”.

Too Good To Be True

Situation: You smell something fishy.

Reality: Trust your instinct. Chances are you are right, there’s something wrong.

Pay First Scheme

Situation: You are required to pay in order to “secure” the job.

Reality: Once they received your payment, they will disappear into the thin air.

Revenue Sharing

Situation: You are required to submit articles and your earning depends on the traffic to your articles and the number of clicks on the ads.

Reality: If you don’t mind writing for peanuts, you might want to try this. However, in most cases, they are fraud.

Personal View: I have tried on Triond. While the earning is rather low, but at least they pay as promised, every month.

Newbie Trap

Situation: In exchange of “experience”, you are required to work for low pay or no pay.

Reality: They are insisting on the fact that you are “new” and to lure you into thinking that you are gaining “experience”, you are required to work on low pay or no pay. In other words, this is a waste of time and total scam.

Conclusion

Please beware of the signs when looking for freelance jobs / gigs / work

How To Get Focus In Writing Something You Don’t Need Research

working

[photo credit: Andreika]

You have something you need to write. You have a deadline for a story, a news article or a press release. Something that you have already known — and it is sitting in your mind at this moment.

The problem is, you are too busy meddling with other things you don’t need.

Twitter. Facebook. Friendster. Tagged. Emails. Blogs. Gossips. Everything.

How do you eliminate all these distractions?

To be honest, I encounter these distractions often too. However, a girl must do what a girl must do.

There are two solutions.

1. Cut off your internet connection.

2. Shut down all unnecessary applications except the one that you are using to work on your article.

Yes, these are what you need to do if you want to get things done on time.

Cut Off Internet Connection.

As the title suggests, this is when you don’t need to research anything online. You have everything you need offline in order to complete your work so there is no need for internet connection at all. Otherwise, you will find yourself going back to Twitter. Facebook. Friendster. Tagged. Emails. Blogs. Gossips. Everything.

If you think that you have the power to control your desire, then you may connect to the internet at your own risks.

Shut Down Applications.

Shut down applications such as Winamp or Windows Media Player and leave only Microsoft Word or Notepad on. This will help you focus rather than messing with the songs and videos. Just like internet, these applications are distractions. We will never get started while we are still playing with these stuff.

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So, there you go, two simple and effective ways to get you started working on your project, whatever it is.

What Not To Do When You Write An Essay

Essay writing is a creative activity that can be undertaken for fun, to put across ones views or for someone’s recreation. Following are the highlights of How to write an Essay easily.

How to write an essay?

The following steps must be followed to write an essay:

1. Select a topic- Decide the topic on which the essay has to be written. An essay maybe written on a topic that explains some steps or it may be a topic that is argumentative.

2. Make an Outline- The purpose of an outline is to put the ideas in an organised format on a paper. An outline helps to make a basic structure of an essay.

3. Write the Thesis statement- A thesis statement clarifies to a reader what he or she will be reading about. Thesis consists of two parts. The first part states the topic and the second part contains the main points of the essay.

4. Write the body- The body contains an explanation, description or arguments for and against the main points of the essay.

5. Make paragraphs- The body mainly consists of paragraphs. Each heading in the outline forms a paragraph. Write sentences that elaborate the main points and if required support the sentences or arguments with evidences.

6. Write the introduction- Begin the essay with a sentence or information that grabs the attention of the reader. At the end of the introduction paragraph, write the thesis statement.

7. Write the conclusion- The ending of the essay must summarise the main points of the essay in strong sentences.

8. Check the order of the paragraphs- Once the paragraphs are written, check their ordering. Place the strongest paragraph at the beginning and the weakest paragraph in the middle. While ordering the paragraphs, ensure that they make sense and are logically connected.

9. Check whether the instructions specified have been followed or not.

10. Check the style of writing- Check whether an appropriate style of writing has been incorporated or not. Ensure that there are no spelling or grammatical mistakes. Also make sure that punctuations are correctly used. Also check whether what has been written makes sense or not.

What not to do when you write an essay?

• Do not plagiarize i.e. do not copy or borrow text from someone else’s work and pass it on as your own.
• Do not use advanced vocabulary.
• Do not use jargon.
• Do not write abstract sentences that do not make complete sense.
• Do not be redundant i.e. do not use the same words again and again.
• Do not use bad grammar.
• Do not include too many ideas.
• Do not start writing all at once. Think before you start writing.
• Do not write very long sentences.
• Do not use personal pronouns.
• Do not use mismatched words and phrases.
• Do not write sentences in a non coherent manner.
• Do not omit conjunctions.
• Do not elaborate so much that you move away from the main points of the topic.
• Do not let the essay stress you. Enjoy the brainstorming method and have fun while writing.

By following the above guidelines, one can surely write an effective format ad the same can be understood by searching for more information on the internet. Now you know how to write an essay that will blow your competition out of the water.

Essay writing is a creative activity that can be undertaken for fun, to put across ones views or for someone’s recreation. Following are the highlights of How to write an Essay.

Jordan Kavoosi is the managing director of www.payforessay.com, which is the leader in market of Essays How to write an Essay, catering to the needs of Clients all across the globe.

What To Do When You Are Rejected

It must be heart breaking to be rejected for the very first project you bid on. After all you have spent so much time preparing your portfolio for the project.

However, this is life. There are people winning and losing at the same time.

Perhaps you are rejected today but tomorrow, you might get yourself a better project.

Here are a few things you can do in times when you are rejected from the projects you bid on.

1. Mourn

Consider this as a ritual. You will feel better.

2. Move on

Everyone needs to move on. When a husband died, the wife moves on. When one is rejected, one will have to move on too.

3. Compare Your Own Performance – not others

Perhaps you might be comparing your work with others to measure your performance but do you know this is so wrong? You should be comparing your present work with your previous work rather than with someone else’s work.

4. Don’t be agressive – be positive

I know it is hard to take the loss but don’t let this affect your mental health  into doing something stupid like harassing the winner of the projects.

5. Bid on other projects

When you lose in a project, go on and bid on other projects. There are so many projects around and you are bound to get one. It is a matter of time.

What You Should Not Do As A Freelance Writer

When we talk about being a freelance writer, many people thought that it is easy to write, everyone can write and we can write about everything. The truth is there is more than just writing.

Certainly everyone can write but not everyone can write excellent materials and definitely not everyone can write about just anything in the world.

If you want to be a freelance writer, there are things you need to remember to NOT DO.

  1. Do not depend on writing as the sole income.

    This is very important because not everyone can earn a living being a full time writer. Try to get some other part time jobs to support your living.

  2. Do not submit a bid and wait for an answer (it takes more than one for an answer).

    Submit as many bids as you are allowed or possible to increase the chances of winning projects. This will naturally increase your income as well.

  3. Do not blame yourself or anyone if you have been rejected for many projects.

    I am sure that you will get rejections before you are accepted for selected projects. The truth is rejection is not so bad after all it is a lesson. Not everyone is lucky to be selected for a project the first time they bid on a project but perhaps one out of ten would be the lucky one. If you are not the one, don’t feel sorry.