Let me start with how first. To search for jobs anywhere online, make sure you meet all the basic requirements before you start. These things can be something as simple as an email address or phone number, or even a PayPal account. It is very important that you do this if you want to get a job, get paid and receive your money anywhere in the world.
I’ve written some simple steps here to get you started, even if you’re new. If online freelancing is new to you, read carefully what I explain below. You must have these things ready before you start your search.
Email address for sending and receiving mail
You should have one email address, two is probably better. At least one on Gmail (Google Gmail) and one on Yahoo (Yahoo Mail). They are all free to set up or sign up for. But if you’re having trouble with this because your internet skills are low, then I suggest you go to a cafe near you and ask the operator there to help you. However, most will ask you to pay a small fee for this.
Open a PayPal account
PayPal is a payment solution, it is an account you can have online to receive and pay people online, it is the most acceptable and fastest way to get paid for online work. Registration is also free. It is important to note that some of these networks also accept check (cheque) payments. An alternative to PayPal is AlertPay. PayPal is the most acceptable solution, but they still have some issues, one of which is that they don’t accept people from certain countries to use their service. Nigeria is such a country.
The way to find out if your country is not blacklisted is to visit their website http://www.paypal.com and see the list of blacklisted countries. If you did, your country happens to be among the blacklisted countries. Then do this: contact me via my email and I can help you. If you live in one of these countries and you need PayPal, please feel free to contact me. My email is: danlord4u-at-yahoo.com (replace at with @ when emailing me).
with telephone line
While this is optional for beginners, it is a very important asset if you want to become a professional online freelancer. This makes it easier for your customers to contact you when they need a new piece quickly.
work skills and enthusiasm
By skills I mean communication skills and experience in a job you enjoy. You must be able to communicate orally and in writing in English.
If you’ve got all of these and more, or assuming you’ve got the 1 and 4, then you’re good to go. Now that you want to start making money online as a freelancer, the next thing you need to do is sign up for the list of freelancer/service provider sites below. Read as much as you can about all of their policies, rules and regulations – their do’s and don’ts. Once you get to know them well, you can proceed to sign them. Some of them will ask you to take a short test before they can bid for jobs on their network. Once you know everything, it’s time to start bidding.
Below is a list of the best online freelance sites. These are places where you can get work done online and get paid. The list is short, but if you want more, go to a search engine like Google, Yahoo, Ask, MSN and type the keyword: freelance jobs and hit search. You get a lot. While some freelancers ask you to pay a small fee to upgrade your account to get full access to all of their work, most won’t ask you to pay before signing up.
– eLance.com
– Freelancer.com
-RentACoder.com
