Ask HN: Have you landed a project through “Freelancer/Seeking Freelancer” posts? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: Have you landed a project through “Freelancer/Seeking Freelancer” posts?

3 pointsdhruvkar7 comments

I'm wondering how effective it has been for people to post their credentials on the "Freelancer? Seeking Freelancer?" posts.

If you landed a project, what percentage of your annual revenue did you make from it? Would love to hear specifics if you care to share.

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I posted every month for around 4 months a few years back. I got two responses and one turned into a short term contract. Considering the low effort of 'write an ad, post to HN', it was a positive experience.

Last time the question was asked nobody answered (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7832404) and almost 3 years ago only one success answer (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7832404). Either the success rate is low or those with success don't share in worry about attracting competition.

I remember counting the ads once, can't find my own comment, and it was 95% seeking. This month it's 100% seeking. So at least companies no longer post in the threads.

Thanks. I'd venture that the success rate is low.

I, and others, have asked questions [0] [1] about people's experiences/financial numbers in running an indie business and the HN crowd very willingly shared both. I doubt the freelancing crowd would be that much different in terms of sharing.

[0]: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12269425 [1]: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12065355

Last few clients were from those posts, and I'm really happy with them. Right now I would say it's one of the best sources for leads/clients.

I work as a contract DevOps guy (mostly out of disgust at the agency recruitment model now prevalent in Britain) and hunt down all my own work. I'd say it's 50% word-of-mouth, 50% HN.

IMO the single best thing you can do to attract clients is show good communication skills (i.e. write a good ad) and a track record of successful projects.

Yes, a few prospective clients and one deal. Not particularly much in terms of annual revenue but still.

We hired two great guys that I found in the thread. A full time contract of around six months.

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