Freelance Writing – ArcticLlama

When Google released its Google Chrome web browser, it included a private browsing mode called Incognito Mode. When Microsoft released Internet Explorer 8 it included a Privacy mode. When Mozilla released Firefox 3.0 it came with a Private Browsing mode. In all cases, these integrated browser privacy modes were met with almost universal derision. Most commentators called them Porn Mode, suggesting that the only potential use of private web surfing features was to hide the tracks of those who view pornography online.

At the time, I suggest that people dissing privacy modes were small minded and that, perhaps, if they themselves were not so obsessed with pornography online, there were actually numerous useful, and respectable, reasons to use the private browsing modes on these browsers.

It seems that I might finally be getting some company on my stance. The folks at the “life hacking” website called Lifehacker, for example, recently published a computer tip suggesting that using Google’s Incognito mode was a good way to use someone else’s computer without having to log them off of websites they are using. For example, if your friend Joe is logged into Google Mail, going to check your own Google Mail requires logging Joe off. On one hand, it isn’t that big of a deal. On the other hand, why should Joe have to get logged off for your benefit. Using Incognito Mode denies access to the cookies and browser sessions that are keeping Joe logged in, so Gmail must assume that you are not currently logged in. In fact, it has to assume that you have not been to the site yet. Thus, you can use Gmail and when Joe comes back, so can he.

Ironically, I use the same feature constantly for the same purpose, but not just when mooching some computer time, as the author puts it. In fact, there are tons of legitimate reasons to use privacy modes like Incognito Mode.

I use Incognito Mode or Firefox’s private browsing sessions (I actually use a Firefox extension that lets me use Firefox private browsing without my current session disappearing) to check Gmail on my own PC. I have numerous Google email accounts and sometimes I just need two seconds to see if something showed up in my inbox yet, so I don’t want to log out of my “main” email account.

The same feature can be used to submit links to Delicious or other social bookmarking websites on behalf of a client using the account setup for that purpose by the client, instead of having to log out of your own Delicious account first.

This is just the tip of the iceberg. There are plenty of legitimate reasons for private browsing modes. It’s nice to see some other writers noticing it too.

I am a registered user at Elance, although I’ve never really done too much with the website. A while back I looked into whether or not Elance was a legitimate way to find freelance writing gigs and came to the conclusion that while it might be fine for some people, that it just didn’t really fit within my freelance writing business model at the time, although I am preparing to re-evaluate that. You can see my analysis at is Elance worth it. You can also check out my look at is Guru.com worth it.

(Note on the above. I have a working theory that the big G gives different power to links that are not capitalized in the way that article titles usually are. The idea is that a link in the text of an article suggests that the anchor text is more genuine than when linking to a title. One way of differentiating the two would be looking at how they are or are not capitalized. – Does anyone have any info on this?)

A recent email about a new Elance payment option caught my attention. It is a pre-paid MasterCard. Since I load up most charges to get big credit card rewards that I can redeem for things like travel or cashback, I’m not sure it is for me. The high-end rewards in the Capital One rewards catalog, for example don’t come cheap.

I am always on the lookout for new developments or advancements in the freelance writing world, though, so I looked into it a little bit further to see if it was worth it or a scam.

Elance Pre-Paid MasterCard Payment Option

Getting paid for work at Elance is pretty much like getting paid for writing anywhere else. You and the client work out an arrangement and then, ideally, you both hold up your end of the agreement. An online writing gig website like Elance typically has a high percentage of users that will want to pay freelancers electronically via PayPal.

Getting paid by PayPal for writing is usually just fine once you figure the system out well enough. There are a couple of potential gotchas with PayPal. One is that you have to link a Social Security number to an account in order to withdraw more than $500 per month from a PayPal account. Another is that if you decide to play by the apparent “rules” and setup a business account, you can expect to be nickel and dimed to death by all manner of PayPal fees that the company apparently feels most businesses won’t mind since they get similarly dinged on credit card transactions and have built the cost into their pricing model. Also, transactions that come in foreign currency can have some hefty charges levied onto them.

Otherwise, if you link a personal PayPal account to your SSN, things generally work out. Although, you want to transfer your money out of PayPal as soon as possible. The rules for PayPal accounts are NOT the same as they are for real bank accounts and there can occasionally be some nasty surprises when you find out in what ways they are not the same.

However, Elance offers a different solution for writers working for Elance and getting paid from clients that post projects there. It is called the Elance Pre-Paid MasterCard.

How Elance Pre-Paid MasterCard Works

The Elance MasterCard payment option works like this. First, you “apply” for the credit card. There is no reason to worry if you have bad credit to get this credit card, because it is a pre-paid credit card. That means that there is actually no “credit” associated with it at all. Instead, it is like one of those gift certificate type of gift card that you can use anywhere a credit card is used, or like one of the refillable Starbucks pre-paid card.

Instead of someone buying a $100 gift card and giving it to you, the Elance MasterCard starts with $0 on it and when you select to get paid from Elance via the pre-paid credit card, your earnings get deposited onto the card. For example, if you bid on a writing project on Elance and were awarded the project for $300, when the customer pays you for your work, the $300 does not go to your PayPal account, it gets deposited onto your MasterCard. At this point, your Elance card is like a regular credit card with a $300 limit, but instead of paying the money back after you spend it, it comes off of your balance.

Is The Elance Pre-Paid MasterCard A Good Idea?

All of this begs the question, is using the Elance MasterCard a good way to get paid. The answer depends on several factors. First and foremost is how you use your Elance earnings. If Elance is your main source of income, you will find it difficult to pay the mortgage with a MasterCard. You can make ATM withdrawals from the card, up to $1,000 per day. Although, you’ll have to drive around to a few ATMs to make that happen since most of them have a much lower daily cap for cash withdrawals. You will also be charged for each of those withdrawals unless you find a Surcharge Free ATM (several of them, actually). Plus, the card itself charges you $1.35 per ATM withdrawal. Getting your thousand bucks will cost you $5.40 plus whatever the ATMs charge you assuming the standard $300 cap at most automated teller machines.

Then, of course, you have to take that cash to the bank and deposit it into a real bank account so you can write a check or do an ACH transfer to your mortgage company.

In other words, the Elance MasterCard is not a good idea if you eventually need your money in cash form.

If you have other sources of online writing income, and those pay your “big” bills, then the whole pre-paid credit card thing might work better. You can pay your cell phone bill online with the card, for example, or use it for your trips to Staples. If you only use Elance for supplemental income, you can keep the card as your fun money.

Elance MasterCard Fees

The most important thing to keep in mind when using the Elance credit card option is the fees. There is a fee to get paid, because that is considered “loading” the card. You pay for each and every loading transaction, so if you get get paid on the card for 10 projects, you get charged 10 loading fees. These charges are modest (at time of writing), but can add up, so you should definitely be aware of them. The loading fee is $1.50 per transaction for “standard” and $4.00 for “immediate”. Standard comes with a 2 business day delay.

Also, the card charges a monthly usage fee of $1 if you actually use the card for at least 2 transactions that month, and $3 if you don’t.

There is also a $5 activation fee which is waived if you sign up during the introductory period. Also, don’t forget that there are no credit card rewards points to be earned or redeemed either.

When you look at all the details, I think the Elance Pre-Paid MasterCard is a good idea if you are going to use it to separate out some fun money or set aside dollars from some of the writing projects won for a certain purchase. However, for day to day usage and cash management for running a writing business, I think most people would be further ahead getting a PayPal Debit Card to provide the same functions without a new layer of potential expenses and fine print.

Good Writing, everyone.

A handful of interesting articles worked their way through my RSS Reader this morning and I thought I would share some of them here for others who might also find them interesting for their freelance writing business. This list is not an endorsement of the content that is linked, which I may or may not agree with, but rather interesting or otherwise helpful information that made me stop and take note.

First up, is this post, which while I’m sure is not the official release, nor the original mention of the news, was the first one I happened to come across mentioning that the coming release of WordPress 3.0 might be sooner than I thought it would be.

Next is this post of 15 Lesser Known Blogs for Freelance Writers and Other Freelancers. Some of these are actually new to me, and others have been in my RSS subscriptions for awhile. As always, beware the temptation to read more about writing than you actually write. That is a fast trip to nowhere. Nothing makes you a better writer than writing, and nothing builds a writing business faster than writing. Still, when you are taking a break, want some food for thought, or just feel like you need to take another look at what is and isn’t working for you, reading some of these freelance writing blogs might be just the ticket.

Here is an update about Elance which some freelancers are fans of, and some are not. I wrote about what I thought of the website in is Elance worth it (no caps as part of an experiment…). The latest concept at Elance is something similar to what Odesk has been doing for a very long time. I have a soft spot for Odesk because they were the first ever “bigger” website to list my writing blog as one of the best freelance writing blogs in their Top 100 Freelance Blogs list.

The new Elance feature is called Work View and it allows the client to look into what the freelancer is doing in the middle of the project. Officially, the purpose is to allow clients to provide timely suggestions and updates. The writers, however, feel like they are being spied upon or checked up on, which most freelancers hate. I’ve always said that if you are a freelance writer being paid by the hour, then your employer or client has a right to demand that you actually work the hours paid for. How the client and freelancer choose to verify or not verify that data is up to them. On the other hand, if a freelance writer is paid for the project or even for parts of the project, then the client is only entitled to accountability for the delivered project. How much, how little, or how often, or not, the freelancer works on the project is immaterial because the amount the freelance writer gets paid is the price for the product, not for the time. This is why I strongly prefer to be paid by the project. Anyway, the guys over at All Freelance Writing are very upset about it.

Finally, comes a small note. Lately, it has become trendy to bash multitasking after a pseudo-science research study declared that multitasking hurts productivity. Here is an article at a site that I generally respect that delves into the same subject with a bit more finesse than usual.

Folks, everyone multitasks all of the time, every day. It is the way the human brain is wired. If you don’t believe me, just try and only hear one thing in a room that is not soundproof. That guy giving the presentation isn’t the only thing you hear. You hear all of the coughs and the sneezes too. Taken one step further, if you are writing notes, while listening, while looking up at the awful PowerPoint presentation, you are multitasking. The key is to multitask properly, not to stop doing it.

I’ll be expanding upon my views of the benefits of multitasking in the future, but for now, remember this: eliminating distractions is good, tunnel vision is not.