Elance and the other bidding sites can be an excellent starting point for new freelancers, and a great backup for the more established individual in times of economic difficulty. But how to go about finding work? What do you need to do to get set up? Here’s a few basics to get you started:

1. Register for free membership

Don’t dive in with a paid membership at the outset. Elance gives you full functionality without any investment, so take advantage of that to scout out the marketplace for at least a month. An upgrade does give you more ‘connections’ (more bids for work), but until you’re sure it’ll be worth the membership price, just stick with the freebie.

2. Set up your profile

Everyone hates doing this. It’s such a chore to fill out all that seemingly-useless stuff about yourself, but in this case it’s really important. Employers actually do check out your profile information – especially your strengths and portfolio. Make sure you have information on there that’s useful and helpful, as well as a couple of samples of work. They don’t have to be previously published, just as long as they’re good examples, showing the spread of what you do.

3. Make sure you have an online presence

Whether it’s a blog, a web page, a FaceBook profile or an entire, professional site, make sure that you have something employers can visit. Having a base for your online persona is extremely important: while many employers won’t bother to visit, the mere fact of having one makes you look more professional.

4. Set your minimum

Before bidding for any jobs, the most important decision is to set your minimum earnings. Bidding sites are filled with low-paid jobs which might not be worth taking. Just because you’re new to freelancing doesn’t mean you have to be paid slave wages. In some cases, it may be worth being paid less – for example, if it’s a big site with a lot of traffic and the employer will give you the byline – but there should always be something in it for you, whether it’s reputation or pay.

5. Bid carefully

A basic membership gives you the ability to bid on a few projects. Choose carefully, as the number of ‘connections’ is very limited with the free option. Test the waters with fixed-budget jobs that are short-term. They will be worth less, on the whole, but quick completion will give you feedback that will improve your reputation.

6. Do a better job than is required

Reputation and feedback are absolutely critical to your success on bidding sites. Some employers are flexible and friendly: they will look at a newbie in just the same way as a long-term, experienced provider. The majority are less trusting and want to see some history. Consequently, the more jobs you can do that give top-rated feedback, the better off you will be.

Do not throw the work together at the last minute. Communicate with your buyer and provide more than they want – better quality, longer articles, an extra draft, whatever – to ensure they’re happy. Once the project is complete, thank them for their custom, provide accurate feedback and remind them that you’re available for repeat work (if you want it).

7. Prepare to get burned

It will happen, unfortunately. There’s always some flaky scammer advertising on the bidding sites, on Craigslist, on professional job boards – everywhere! It’s happened to me and it’ll happen to you, too: you do the work, you send it over and suddenly the buyer disappears. Ensuring that your buyers use Elance’s escrow service helps avoid this.

8. Upgrade if it’s worth it

After a month or two using the free bids, take a moment to look back at what you’ve earned and the kind of jobs you’ve been doing. If it’s worth the price, upgrade your membership, so that you can bid on more. Elance can take the payments from your account on the site, so it comes out of your earnings and not out of your bank account.

Once you’re established, you can look at ways to get better jobs, better pay and expand into new areas. There’s a lot of useful information for improving on your initial earnings all over the web – for example, there’s a post with 10 Tips For Elance Success over on my blog that should help if you’re not winning bids.

Bid well, bid sensibly, and good luck!

This article has been guest written by Spike from ScrawlBug.com. Spike has been a freelance writer, blogger and editor since November 2008.