Professional Perks

Elance knows that word of mouth is one of the best forms of advertising. Because of this, they’re willing to reward you for bringing in new business. It makes sense. New clients and contractors make them money, and they pay you for the introduction.

Affiliates Program

Scroll to the bottom of most any page on Elance and you will find links at the footer. Click on Affiliates Program. This will take you to the Affiliates Program page where you can view the details and sign up (see Figure 18.3).

Figure 18.3: By inserting an Elance ad link in your website, you can earn money when people sign up for Elance through you.

It’s simply a matter of completing a short online application. Once your application is approved, you will have access to text links and banner ads that you can place on your website. When your website visitors click on any of those links, they will be redirected to Elance. If the traffic you refer posts a job or signs up as a provider, you will receive money for introducing them to Elance.

Referral Program

The Referral Program works much like the Affiliates Program. Hover your mouse over Resources in the top main toolbar and click on Referral Program. You can also access the Referral Program through the page footer links. For every qualified referral you invite to Elance through Facebook, Twitter, or email, you will receive either $10 or 10 Connects. Also, any contractor you bring will receive 10 Connects as a gift from you.

Top Tips

Some contractors may be wondering why they should refer other freelancers to Elance who will eventually become their competitors. However, unless they’re designing their business exactly like yours, they most likely won’t be direct competition. Writers specialize in different areas and have different strengths and weaknesses. The same goes for programmers, designers, etc. The pool of talent is enormous, as are the jobs to choose from.

We’re not talking about making major bucks by bringing in new Elance members. But you can make a bit and help out other people in the process. Have a look and see if it’s something you’d like to be involved in.