« Ghostwriting Interview Published | Home | Have Elance Made A Big Mistake »
Elance Announces Membership Structure Changes
By admin | November 13, 2007
Elance are about to make some big changes that will take effect on the 4th December. Whether these are a good thing or not remains to be seen but on initial examination I think I am in favor.
Here’s a summary of what Elance have to say:
On December 4, 2007, Elance will introduce a new provider membership structure to simplify the available plans, make it easier for you to choose the right plan for your business and reduce the cost of submitting a proposal for the majority of projects on Elance.
Summary of Changes
The new membership structure is simple, easy to understand and less expensive for most service providers. Highlights include:
Fewer categories - We will merge some service categories, reducing the number of primary categories from 11 to 8. For many of our providers, this will reduce the number of categories needed to maintain memberships, creating significant cost savings.
Simplified membership plans - We will reduce the number of membership options by eliminating the quarterly and annual memberships - offering each category at the same price. Previously, providers had 90 possible options to choose from. Monthly plans are the most popular on Elance; they provide the flexibility to pay-as-you-go, maintaining your membership only during the months when you want to work.
Individual and Business Memberships - Providers will have a payment plan based on the size of their business. Individual freelance consultants who do not bid the same amount as a larger firm will have a plan and monthly payments that closer meets their usage.
Bids replaced by ‘Connects’ - Connects are similar to bids - enabling you to submit a proposal on a posted project. The primary difference is that the quantity of Connects required per project proposal will vary according to the value of the project, and the cost per Connect is lower than the existing cost per bid. By matching lower budgeted projects to a lower proposal cost and higher budgeted projects to a slightly higher proposal cost, we expect to improve the experience for both buyers and providers.
Reduced cost to bid - With the new membership model, the cost to submit a proposal will be the same or lower for the majority of projects on Elance. Currently, the cost to purchase one additional bid is $1.50. With the new model, it will cost $0.50 (1 Connect) to bid for projects valued at less than $250, significantly less than the existing cost to bid. For projects valued between $250 - $1,000 the cost to bid will be $1.50 (3 Connects), which is equal to the current bid price. For projects valued to be over $1,000 the cost to bid will be $3.00 (6 Connects).
New Premier Provider program - We will launch a new merit-based program for qualified providers, called the Premier Provider program, and we will end the existing Select program. As a provider who performs at high standards and consistently delivers quality work, you are invited to participate in this program. Learn more
If you are a member of Elance you will want to take a good look at this. I think the new premier provider program is probably going to be the best but again we will have to wait and see.
Until next time,
Keep writing.
Elance, elance membership structure, Elance payment plans, freelance writer, ghostwriters, ghostwriting job, new features on Elance
Topics: Latest News |
November 13th, 2007 at 12:24 pm
The new Premier program intends to cut out the riff-raff and wannabes. Elance plans to test freelancers on their skills - a very good thing.
Monthly costs for the Premier plan might be a consideration for smaller freelance writing businesses or individual freelancers. However, you have to spend a buck to make a buck, as they say.
November 13th, 2007 at 8:44 pm
Hi Amanda,
I work at Elance and I wanted to make sure you know we are available for questions about the changes we are making to the site. We reached out to our active members yesterday to make sure they had a heads up on the changes coming, and I’d like to share the reason behind the changes.
Over the last year the volume of activity on Elance has more than doubled and we are updating our membership plans to benefit our community for the long term. The aim is to create a much better dynamic for our members, ultimately resulting in higher quality and more growth. (Just as James commented above).
Our mission is the same, to create the best virtual workplace, with the best talent and projects available online. Short term change can be hard, but we hope our users decide to stick with us. It will all be for the better.
For anyone who doesn’t automatically qualify for the Premier Program, you can apply to join when the program launches on Dec. 4. We created this option specifically for providers who may not have had an opportunity to build a reputation on Elance yet, but who are highly skilled and qualified. All the information to manually apply for the Premier Provider Program is here - http://www.elance.com/p/help/provider/premiermembership.html.
Best,
Cyndi, Elance
November 13th, 2007 at 8:58 pm
Cyndi,
Many thanks for your clarification on this issue. I am very much in favor of the new changes. Over the past year there has been an influx of new writers marketplaces but credit to Elance who have remained my top of the list. Most of the other marketplaces are packed full of extremely low paying jobs which as a professional writer just aren’t for me. Elance has remained consistent although I have noticed a few of these low paying jobs slipping in lately. I think the new pay plans will allow everyone a fair chance and I look forward to seeing how it rolls out.
Amanda
November 14th, 2007 at 7:12 pm
These changes are pretty problematic to a great number of individual freelancers who don’t have the big bucks to spend on extra “connects.” I’ve been working on Elance for years, and I’ve written about my opinion–and that of many other long-time providers–on my blog. Here’s the link if you’re interested in the other side of the argument:
http://catalystblogger.blogspot.com/2007/11/why-im-leaving-elance-and-you-should.html
November 14th, 2007 at 9:54 pm
Hi Amanda,
Many freelancers are discovering oDesk (http://www.odesk.com). An online marketplace with over 2,000 jobs (check out these writing jobs: http://www.odesk.com/console/jobs/?search_button.x=1&action=Jobs&reset=1&search=Advanced&filter%5BJobCategory%5D=Writing), oDesk won’t charge you membership fees or fees to bid on projects. Plus, one of oDesk’s advantages is guaranteed payment for hourly work, so it’s a great place for long-term projects.
Looking forward to seeing you on the oDesk network!
~Michelle, oDesk
http://www.odesk.com
November 15th, 2007 at 2:38 am
What Elance is doing is appalling! I recently joined up for a year. For my $220 I was told I would get 80 bids per month. With no warning, I now find I will have to pay a minimum of $500 more to get the service I have already paid for, as my monthly bid allotment is now only 25 bids. On top of that, many jobs will now require 3 or 6 bids per job, leaving me the opportunity to bid on about 6 to 10 jobs per month max, rather than the 80 I have, yes, already paid for. If I want more bids, such as the 80 I’ve paid for, I will have to buy them a second time. There is no allowance for jobs that aren’t awarded, which are many, generally 80-90%. I understand that a class action suit is underway. Can’t wait to sign up for it. Run like hell from this sleazy site!