Hello, long time, no post (or type). Has anybody any experience of a site called Cashback.co.uk? It's supposed to be something like 20Cogs (which I've looked at but not participated in). I looked at the reviews on Trustpilot and they were very much mixed - some people raved about it whereas others weren't contented. I've had an expensive January but at present I am somewhat limited in what I can do as I've jarred my back so I can't do anything like using the phone apps where you go round shops in your town and make a record, that sort of thing. So, I'm pretty much limited to what I can do from home currently - no, I'm not going to apply for that local leafleting job I'd thought about.
Has anyone sold their wares on fiverr? I had a look at it - I was thinking about touting my audio typing skills there but when I perused the site it seemed like everyone and their Great Auntie Maud was advertising there - and Upwork seems very similar. One lady said she got her typing clients from Twitter but I'm wondering about the state of Twitter at present.
If anyone has any bright ideas I haven't thought of I'd be very grateful to hear them.
Hello,
I'll see if I can help a bit. No experience of cashback.co.uk, but very experienced with freelance sites.
People Per Hour is currently an absolute race to the bottom. I think I'm writing for one historic client there now who needs something five or six times a year. Their payment terms are now absolutely woeful, designed to favour the freelancer equivalents of financial boiler rooms, and no doubt paying their staff about £1 an hour.
Upwork is almost certainly going in the same direction - I've only ever had one client through Upwork (so my experience might be skewed), but it wasn't great. They wanted someone with specific experience, we agreed a price, and they paid half and ran away. Upwork then took most of that in fees!
I'm going to be that strange person that cheerleads for Fiverr - I put a carbon copy of my PPH profile there at the beginning of the pandemic, not expecting anything. Within half an hour, I had a message from a client who needed an opera expert to write long-form academic level articles for their autograph and memorabilia online shop. I'm still writing for him now. I've had other approaches from potential clients there too, but they've always been at times when I've not been able to take other work on. This is from one skill offer of a 500 word arts-related article, so I really should get my act together and put up 10-20 things, especially as I could offer anything from music tuition to voiceover work in addition to writing! Proper audio typing skills (either experience or the good old RSA exams) are thinner on the ground than you might think these days, so it's worth a try.
I think the key with Fiverr is the keywords, and it's great that they offer this option. There's also the nod towards CPD, with helper videos for even the most experienced freelancers.
Twitter is an absolute sewer at present, but don't be afraid to tweet out each job as you list it; I keep meaning to set up a work only account just to do this but never get around to it. Follow lots of smaller businesses that are likely to need audio typists - surveyors, architects etc. - and even approach directly.
I must get on with my tax return now, or I'll be in trouble!
