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With a total global workforce of around 3.5 billion, there are approximately 1.1 billion freelancers around the world. As the freelance talent pool continues to grow, so do freelance marketplaces.

Freelance marketplaces are web-based applications and databases that connect businesses with a variety of talent. These websites have been around for years but saw amplified user growth due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Now more than ever, businesses are looking to save on costs and are relying on independent contractors to provide specialized services.

Whether you’re looking to produce more course content, need help with marketing, or are just looking for an extra hand to get more work done – freelancers bring a special set of skills, experience, and tools to help you scale your business. In this article, we’ll share our go-to list of freelance marketplaces. We’ll also cover the types of freelancers you can find on each.

Where to hire freelancers

  1. Upwork
  2. Fiverr
  3. Freelancer
  4. Thumbtack
  5. Onlinejobs.ph

Upwork

Upwork has the largest talent base and can connect you with freelancers across the globe. You can use Upwork to instantly post jobs and receive replies from dozens of freelancers in minutes. This can be a bit overwhelming at first and you’ll want to take some time to review each proposal and make sure they’re a good fit for you and your project.

If you’re building a course around a specific topic, share that in the title and description of your job post. That can attract people that can bring relevant experience to the table, ultimately enhancing the quality of your course. Upwork has an easy-to-use interface, so you can message freelancers directly. You can also view past work experience and reviews, which help with the selection process.

Upwork

Upwork

Go to Upwork

Upwork, formerly known as Elance, is a freelance marketplace where businesses and freelancers connect. Upwork is headquartered in San Francisco, California and has over 18 million registered freelancers and 5 million registered clients. There is over $1B dollars in freelance jobs completed on Upwork annually, making it the largest freelance marketplace in the world.

Best For Hiring:
  • Graphic Designers
  • Web Designers and Developers
  • Copywriters and Editors
  • Virtual Assistants
  • Digital Marketers
Highlights:
  • Largest freelance marketplace in the world
  • Provides access to talent across the globe
  • Allows for both hourly and fixed bid contracts

Fiverr

Think of Fiverr as the Walmart of freelance services. It pretty much has everything you need for creating and selling courses. Not only does Fiverr provide critical services that can help you create more polished course – like graphic design, video editing, and voiceovers – it also has an absurdly random rabbit hole of Gigs you may have never even considered.

With Fiverr, you can hire a barbershop quarter to write a jingle for your course. You can also have Jesus himself give an overview on your curriculum. You can have a picture of yourself converted into a caricature. The possibilities are limitless. Fiverr is a great freelance marketplace for creative course creators that want to make a lasting impression. It just takes a little bit of imagination to make some magic.

Fiverr

Fiverr

Go to Fiverr

Fiverr is an online marketplace for digital freelance services founded in 2010. The company itself is headquartered in Israel, but their platform is globally recognized as a one-stop shop for all types of freelancers. This freelance marketplace provides a simplified method for both freelancers and business owners to interact with one another. Freelancers (sellers) can sign up for free, create Gigs, and set fixed prices for their services. Whereas buyers can browse through different categories through categories and search filters to purchase services.

Best for Hiring:
  • Graphic Designers
  • Illustrators
  • Voiceover Artists
  • Video Editors
  • Course Developers
Highlights:
  • Large global talent pool and fixed price Gigs keeps costs low and predictable
  • Virtually every digital service under the sun; you can even hire have an astronaut record your message from space
  • Easy to browse user-interface for buyers to quickly explore services and hire freelancers
Audience Research Workbook

Freelancer.com

With the name Freelancer.com, you would think this would be the go-to marketplace for hiring freelancers. The reality is Freelancer’s brand recognition and user adoption was hurt from being a little to early to the game. Their user interface is a little outdated and is often thought of as a secondary place to look for freelancers behind Upwork and Fiverr.

Still, Freelancer is a viable option for finding and hiring freelance talent. Course creators can find value in their contest platform. This is a great feature for new course creators that need help designing or customizing their course website. Sometimes you don’t know what you want in terms of a design until you see it. When you launch a Freelancer contest, you will get hundreds of brilliant ideas, and you only need to pay for one design.

Freelancer

Freelancer

Go to Freelancer.com

Freelancer stands out as one of the most established freelance marketplaces on the web. It has been around for nearly 15 years, serving people in more than 240+ countries. The site allows employers to post work for active freelancers who place bids in a competitive process. The site also allows businesses to host contests, where freelancers can enter to win prize money.

Best for Hiring:
  • Graphic Designers
  • Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Experts
  • Pay Per Click Advertising Experts
  • Social Media Experts
  • Email Marketers
Highlights:
  • Easy to post jobs and receive bids from multiple freelancers
  • Option for launching contests is a great way to source creative assets
  • Aggressively acquires job platforms and other websites to provide businesses and freelancers with as much resources as possible

Thumbtack

When most people think of Thumbtack, they think of an alternative to HomeAdvisor. But, a leaky faucet isn’t the only thing you can get help with on Thumbtack. From a course creator’s perspective, it can be challenging to come up with high-quality media. Shooting selfies and video footage on your phone can only get you so far. At some point, you may need to coordinate with a professionally to assist with capturing content. For example, if you’re building a course on advanced yoga poses, it’s going to be a little challenging to set a timer and capture all of your best angles.

Another advantage of using Thumbtack is the local aspect. Course creators are passionate individuals and sometimes you need physical interaction to effectively collaborate. Thumbtack professionals thrive on a hybrid environment. If you’re not comfortable working on an email campaign to promote your costs with someone halfway across the globe, Thumbtack is a good alternative.

Thumbtack

Thumbtack

Go to Thumbtack

Thumbtack is an online service that matches customers with local professionals. Currently, Thumbtack lists approximately 500 types of services in categories such as home, business services, events, and lessons. Thumbtack was originally built to generate B2C leads, but they have expanded into B2B markets. Today, through the Thumbtack website and app, businesses can browse hundreds of services and find nearby freelancers and professionals to request quotes for short-term and ongoing work.

Best for Hiring:
  • Photographers
  • Videographers
  • Graphic Designers
  • Email Marketing Consultants
  • Search Engine Marketers
Highlights:
  • Local contractors and companies that provide a wide variety of business services
  • More expensive as contractors pay per lead and compete against other local professionals
  • Transparent pricing and easy communication tools allow you to budget accordingly

Onlinejobs.ph

The Philippines is well known for Virtual Assistants (VA’s) that can help with research, data-entry, customer support, and many other administrative tasks. It is also a country where English is the primary language. This combined with a hardworking mentality, and lower hourly wages, is what makes Onlinjobs.ph an amazing marketplace for businesses looking to outsource work overseas.

Creating a detailed, well-research course can be time-consuming, especially if you are not an expert. Relying on low-cost virtual assistants can help you expedite research and development so you can get to market quicker. One practical use of virtual assistants would be to have them transcribe your content. If you have existing videos, lectures, podcasts, or any other recorded content, you can hire a virtual assistant from the Philippines to extract information. From there, you can repurpose the content and use it for assessments, email marketing, ad copy, and more.

Onlinejobs.ph

Onlinejobs.ph

Go to Onlinejobs.ph

OnlineJobs.ph is a marketplace dedicated to helping businesses hire freelancers from the Philippines.  It was founded in 2008 by John Jonas and has grown to be the largest marketplace of Filipino virtual workers. OnlineJobs.ph database consists of more than 1M profiles and over 30,000 Filipinos join each month helping businesses by providing

Best for Hiring:
  • Virtual Assistants
  • WordPress Developers
  • SEO Experts
  • Facebook Marketers
  • Bookkeepers
  • Video Editors
Highlights:
  • Largest database of Filipino virtual workers
  • Freelancer rates are extremely affordable and one of the lowest worldwide
  • Good user interface and filtering functions to find and communicate with candidates

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Audience Research Workbook