Comment by BjoernKW | Hacker News Reader

Comment by BjoernKW | Hacker News Reader

Each of those so far over time has devolved into a place where recruiters try to promote their projects in order to attract developers they in turn can sell as an anonymous commodity to their respective clients.

The solution to the problem you're describing isn't getting freelance developers on yet another job board but precisely the opposite: Instead of marketing them as an anonymous bundle of TLAs have them actively market themselves as valuable problem solvers with specific experience and niche specialisations.

A possible approach for achieving this could range from individual coaching to courses about sales and marketing as well as helping freelance developers with creating compelling websites and online presences for their businesses.

Of course it would be ideal if freelancers could just find contracts because they have a great portfolio, but that isn't reality.

It has to be a big site in order to compete with the SEO and marketing budgets of big agencies.

Individual freelancers don't stand a chance of being found.

So I want to create a place where we can be found and also promote each other.

More importantly, it needs to be a site where clients can post potential jobs maybe with a process of clarifying job description and help identifying a realistic budget.

> Of course it would be ideal if freelancers could just find contracts because they have a great portfolio, but that isn't reality.

Then why not create that reality instead?

> Individual freelancers don't stand a chance of being found.

Steady and consistent efforts (blog posts, involvement in open source work and similar public projects, talks etc.) accompanied by networking and customer referrals go a long way. This isn't something that can be achieved quickly but over time and through consistent work you can build a decent public presence as a freelancer / consultant.

> So I want to create a place where we can be found and also promote each other.

Sites like this are ten a penny. How would you compete with the SEO and marketing budgets of big agencies yourself?

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