Pros and cons of freelancer sites

Working as a supplier and a client, I’ve come to understand both sides of the fence when managing a creative campaign. When I was in-house for smaller businesses with tighter budgets, one of the go-to resources were sites like freelancer.com or bark.com, which allow you to list your project and receive bids from freelancers. The decision was usually based on the quality of the bidders portfolio and the cost they submitted, but this has its downfalls. Admittedly, it was a great resource for SMEs and sole traders, but after working in agencies and for myself, I realise how saturated these services are and how they don’t always provide the greatest benefit. So here are the pros and cons for freelancer sites…

Pro - Turnover

For quick, smaller projects these are great. Upon submission, you can get a response within the hour along with a bid and timings, which you can set the parameters around anyway. However, this can lead onto the next point...

Con - Templates

Because the portals are saturated so much, freelancers will usually submit a bid within the fasted time possible. I’ve found a lot of the time that the end result isn’t actually original work, but rather templates used from different sites which they have labelled as their own. This is especially true with logo animations.

Pro - Cost

As you can set the budget, you can be guaranteed that the end result will stick to that. A lot of these portals use their own money transfer system and a client will have to pay the budget into this for holding before the project is completed. This makes things a lot simpler and avoids any awkward invoicing situations.

Con - Quality

However, the previous point comes with a caveat; you get what you pay for. Paying a few quid for a logo animation or ident will leave something to be desired. A lot of the time, if a template hasn’t been used, freelancers will produce something as quickly and cheaply as possible so they can move onto the next project.

Pro - Accessibility

Any business or individual can use these portals and for smaller organisations, they are a great resource undoubtedly. There are thousands of freelancers with various skills ready to help and tasks can easily be outsourced within a few hours. No interview, pitch process or red tape involved.

Con - Attention to detail

Once your brief is submitted, you will likely only get a handful of amends, due to the cost and timing restraints. Communication is also limited to chat windows, so phone calls to discuss the project aren’t really possible, unless explicitly requested. This environment can lead to a lot of errors, miscommunication and lack of attention to detail. When weighing up the time and cost for the project, this can be a hindrance, but all depends on the kind of freelancer you work with.

Pro - Building Relationships

Working through these portals as a sole trader myself, I’ve managed to build up some really good relationships with both suppliers and clients, which has led to repeat business. You can then decide to move communications away from these sites and more towards phone and email. This will heavily depend on the quality of work and communication however.

Con - Competition

Hourly rates can vary greatly depending on location and skill. Someone might be willing to work for £10 per hour and produce very low quality work, compared to a seasoned supplier who would only work at £100 per hour. It’s easy to see how this could sway a client’s decision based on cost.

So what’s the verdict?

For smaller start-ups looking to quickly outsource on a limited budget, these portals are very useful, but that usefulness is limited and only has a certain shelf life. For both clients and suppliers who grow their businesses, this solution is only viable for so long. It’s no question that these kind of website will be around for the foreseeable future as it provides a niche solution on a quick turnaround. So if your budget is small and you need something completed within a few days then this could be the solution for you. However, if you’re looking for something more bespoke and at a higher quality, it’s best to go directly to the supplier.

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