The best way to start

The best way to start is to join a freelancer marketplace such as ContractList.com. These websites are broken into two sections; one for Project Managers (that’s you) and the other for Freelancers; this includes people who are skilled in programming, design, writing and other talents.

As a Project Manager on ContractList.com outsourcing your development work is broken into four steps: Signup, Post Your Work, Select a Freelancer, Payment and Feedback. Below you find a description of each step followed by the relevant link to complete this action.


Signup :: The first thing you will need to do is to signup at ContractList.com as Project Manager. This allows you to post projects, accept freelancers and make payments online.

After filling out the short signup page, a letter will be sent to the email address that you submitted. This is done to confirm that your address is valid and you are able to receive important announcements pertaining to your projects. [http://www.contractlist.com/wm.php?a=signup]


Post Your Work :: After signup, gather the project details together and login into your account. After login you will be taken to the Account Management page. Here you can see the information relevant to your account. To post a project, click the link ‘Create Project’ at the top of the page. You will need to fill in the Title, Project Type and description of the work that you would like to be completed. Later in the guide I will explain how setting the right budget lowers your cost, and which details to include ensuring you get the most qualified bids. [http://www.contractlist.com/wm.php?a=create]


Select a Freelancer :: ContractList.com is setup in a way that allows Freelancers to openly compete for your business. This known as a reverse auction, where competition actually lowers the bids instead of increasing them. Each Freelancer will be able to submit a bid (the cost for the posted work to be completed) and a time frame for the delivery of completed work. As there are hundreds of Freelancers on ContractList.com your project will receive multiple bids from people around the world eager to complete this work for you. Go through each Freelancer’s bid and select the person that you feel is best suited for the work.

Payment and Feedback :: After the project is complete you will then need to log into your account to submit payment and feedback about the Freelancer that you worked with. ContractList.com creates online accounts for both Project Managers and Freelancers, which are used for transferring funds related to work completed. As a Project Manager there are several ways in which you can add money to your account: Checks, Money Orders, Bank Transfers, PayPal.com, Authorize.net, 2checkout.com, eGold.com, StormPay.com, YowCow.com are all supported. Once the funds are placed in your account, you will then need to transfer funds to the Freelancer you worked with. These channels are also used for Freelancers withdrawing funds so you don’t have to worry about how to send payment to a Freelancer in a different country.