Lack of projects to bid on?

Comments

133 comments

  • Adam

    I think the doom and gloom on the news doesnt help and when the mortgage crisis happens as people's disposable incomes drop it will be even more challenging

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  • Craig

    I have been an avid user of PPH since 2012 and for the last five years I have been operating on a full-time basis. I would wake up every morning to at least a few orders or messages but now I am getting almost nothing. I used to have somewhere between 10 and 20 messages every couple of days, but it has all changed. You only have to look at the leaderboards to see what has changed. In the writing category, I can see the number of clients people are working with has dropped but also the figures that put people at the top. 

    I am guessing that this is down to AI in my situation. I got through Covid with barely an issue and since then it has gone from strength to strength but the last two months has really changed.

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  • Nancy

    Liam, I wouldn't have thought you'd be affected too much by AI - so yes, times are indeed very scary.

    I'm a transcriber - transcribe webinars, business discussions, etc, but I also proofread, edit and write.  All these skills can be phased out by Otter and Chat GPT, and I know they are.

    Upwork's difficult for UK freelancers isn't it - have to comply to US tax laws or something, fill in a form?  Anyway, I've had no luck there either. Plus, there are the same scammers operating on all freelance sites.

    We're all desperately hoping things improve.  Wish you the best of luck. 

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  • Craig

    @Liam, with regards to images, I was recently working with a client who wanted four images with each article. These copyright-free images were getting harder and harder to find, so he suggested using AI images. He gave me a link to Bing and I was creating images based on the subject there. there was no need to worry about licenses etc etc and it took seconds. 

    I honestly never bothered responding to projects,  unless something came up that I liked the look of. I had clients that would return time and time again but now they are dwindling. Put it this way, at the height, I would work on around 100 jobs/clients per month. I was outsourcing 25,000 words per week to one writer and outsourcing a lot of work to another writer, both of these have disappeared in a matter of weeks. That is how bad it has got. I was only mentioning to one of the writers a few weeks ago that I thought it had gone quiet but she was fairly adamant that it was normal and I liked her positivity but I was noticing a big shift and here we are today.

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  • Craig

    @liam, I have always wondered about this. I have thousands of sales and when I search I am very rarely at the top and am often beaten in the results by people who have a handful of sales. 

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  • Adam

    I can understand an increase of 10% but not 50% for no additional benefits

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  • Simon

    If they have messed around with the search algorithms so that higher ranked freelancers are not getting any priority, that is enough to explain the lack of work. I had a bit if an upturn in work over the last year after the complete freeze caused by covid, but it was mostly from people contacting me, rather than me bidding for projects. Now nobody contacts me, except existing clients.

    Are they looking to open up a new income stream by charging us to promote our profiles?

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  • Craig

    The other funny thing is that I am getting more account views than I was when the site was thriving......

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  • Adam

    @simon I dont think there is a marketing or a digital budget. Yet alone a team (LinkedIn states there is a brand manager). There is no way that PPH can compete on a scale with Upwork and Fiverr and hence it has been run to the ground. Let all be honest I sit here banging my head continually about them promoting only design work and freelancers that have not been on the site for years. Realistically there is no marketing strategy and if you pay to promote your offer you should get the chance to be promoted on social media. To be fair you most probably don't want to currently.

    @Liam I got scammed by a UK writer who farmed it out. I put a job on the job board a few weeks ago and was bombarded by Indians on WhatsApp contacting me about the need for the role. Reported them nothing done. T 

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  • Adam

    Yes I have been quiet since April yet I have moved up in the writing category. Last month was the worst since I started on PeoplePerHour back in 2018

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  • Lauren

    I've found it the same. I've been on PPH for close to 10 years now, and the last few weeks have been quieter than ever. 

    Any idea what could be causing it?

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  • Adam

    I think the main issue is the poor levels of freelancers that have flooded the market with no skills and the fact they just bid for any old scrap even when they have no ability in doing it. Lack of customer support and I don’t think they market anymore either.

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  • Nancy

    Combination of things:

    1 - The economy is hesitant.

    2.   AI is having an impact (on certain skills).

    3.  Because of 2) projects are being given to lower calibre candidates instead of being posted generally.

    4.   Bad experiences of PPH - lack of customer service.

    5.   A lot of businesses have closed down due to Covid / economy / Brexit.  I've lost three longstanding clients to this.

    6.   They now just prefer in house work.

    And yes, the lack of work here is worrying.  I'm considering jacking it all in and getting a job in a high street shop.  

      

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  • Adam

    Nancy I have been applying today as I am quite concerned this is going the same way as fivesquid, sick to death of nothing changing.

    I messaged about plagiarised content yesterday which was responded today yet I have 2 requests that I have been waiting over 12 days. Clearly picking and choosing what they want to reply to now. Even now on the help page it’s the same sorry we are closed why not just remove the option to register? Remove all inactive users etc it is madness (it seems like it’s being run in a bedroom)

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  • Nancy

    The way this is going we'll all be inactive users.  I'm surviving by the absolute skin of my teeth. 

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  • Adam

    Same if I go to 14 days clearing I will just give up

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  • Lauren

    I don’t want to give up on PPH, but there’s any so long I can go without getting a new job. I’ve been getting a full time wage out of PPH for many years, but I can’t see that being the case this month and going forward.

    Weirdly, my profile views are up by 132% this month, which doesn’t seem to align with the lack of jobs.

    It’s not even the lack of projects to bid on, I’ve also had fewer people than ever buying my hourlies this month too.

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  • Adam

    Same my profile views are up Lauren and I am in the Top 20 in my category but with around 60% less sales this month.

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  • Simon

    I had a good run a few months ago and there seemed to a lot more work but it stopped almost as suddenly as it started. I also think the more serious companies want the work kept in-house and it is only the really low paid stuff that we see now.

    Covid has had an effect and it seems to have changed the attitude towards remote working. Before Covid, I ran a business from an office in my house. Now I "Work from Home", and am not worthy of being paid anything meaningful. Now we have AI being used as a stick to hit us with. It isn't what AI can do, it is what it is perceived to be able to do.

    18 months ago I branched out into remote tuition, because I have a teaching qualification, but that has the same problems. Private companies are hiring low quality staff and dominating the market. The pay and conditions keep falling. I have something a bit better now that is not self-employment this time. It is still way below the minimum wage if I include all the preparation and admin.

    I see people stacking shelves in supermarkets and realise they get at least the minimum wage and they get paid for all the hours they work, and they don't have to buy their own equipment. It's certainly tempting.

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  • Liam

    very odd, i wrote a message about various people ive spoken to last night about this plummet in work and its been deleted hmmmm

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  • Eleonora

    Same thing's happening to other platforms...scams, newbies, lack of jobs, decrease in job quality and quality clients. Looks like 2023's not going to be easy at all....

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  • Eleonora

    I've recently lost a good client since they decided to embrace AI so yes, this situation is due to many factors including technology implications.

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  • Craig

    It is hugely frustrating if I am honest and I am unsure of where it is going to go. As good as AI can be, it still needs to be used properly and if businesses are choosing to use it with no prior knowledge then it is going to have a negative impact on them. I have lost clients too and I am convinced it is all down to AI but Peopleperhour has changed a lot. There used to be hundreds of projects to bid on, now there are around 180 jobs at a time. The overall project count used to be in the tens of thousands, now it is barely 2,000. There is a lot of uncertainty in the air, unfortunately.

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  • Nancy

    I'm a TOP CERT and have been with PPH since 2010 full time.  This is the worst it's ever been.  There are no credible messages or enquiries, no real jobs to bid on.

    AI has had a real impact on transcription and writing.  It isn't perfect but clients seem happy with it.  I know for a fact I've lost clients over this because I've asked them.

    I now have no work at all, no income at all and becoming extremely worried what with the cost of living crisis and all that.  I will stay here and try my best - I've close to 2000 reviews - surely one of those clients may need me at some point? However, I can't continue like this. Not sure of the answers.       

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  • Craig

    I am very much the same Nancy. I am a Top Cert, I regularly finish in the top 3 and I think I had the most sales last month based on the number of clients but I still finished in 8th position. I know it translates into the amount that those sales generate but it has all changed. 

    I still have income ( more than an above average job), so I am fortunate at the moment and for the is month only but I have seen a significant drop in earnings overall as well as turnover. Since March I have slowly noticed things dropping and I know of other writers on PPH who have only in the last few weeks, gone out and found a job....it is very sad but I did not see this coming at all, or so quickly.

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  • Adam

    I am in the same situation Nancy and Craig. I have been writing CVs on here since 2016 and although the last few days have picked up I have had to totally change my business model and offers to attract new clients. Last month was my worst sales since being established on the site.

    I find enquiries our lower than normal and people tend to want to negotiate outside of an offer service, which can have implications on payment clearing if they ghost after receiving the service.

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  • Nancy

    I replied to Craig here 10 mins ago - and it's still marked as 'pending approval.'  How odd when messages generally go through once you've hit the submit button.  Plus, most comments don't get an official reply in days.    

    Bit of positivity guys, Mondays are always quiet.  Let's hope tomorrow's a better day!

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  • Eleonora

    FYI, this is the same situation in other freelancing platforms...I am not as established on PPH as I am in other work marketplaces, but it's literally the same over there...veterans not getting invitations, no views on profiles or proposals, plus the flood of scams, the continuous changes in algorithm....

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  • Nancy

    So 40 mins on my comment to Craig was still awaiting approval, so I've cancelled it. But Craig, one of your rivals is a bit suspect.

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  • Liam

    Can I ask, what industry and services do you guys all offer out of interest ?

    I offer web design / graphic / ux design and have been an active member and top cert member since 2009 and last year around March i noticed a dip im work but nothing like the recent one. January this year was dead, then i noticed it pick up and then April and May it absolutely fell off a cliff. When i contacted PPH Support they kind of dismissed it and told me i shouldnt rely on people buying my offers but i responded saying well the quality of the work and budgets is also really bad as has been mentioned here. They must be getting worried themselves too.

    I noticed a guy on their Facebook page (Will i think) posted about it dying and someone responded and they made a valid point that PPH keep posting profile images and examples of peoples work but whenever you check those peoples profiles nearly all of them havent been active on the websites for over a years. What more concerning is has been zero response from PPH in weeks trying to justify or the usual "contact our support team and we can help"

    Ive been trying to push my profile on Fiverr and Upwork with no real success and although I have a little bit of savings I am seriously starting to get worried

    I hear and wonder if AI has someting to do with this but Im not sure Ai would really impact my work that much I can only assume its the cost of living crisis.

    I love PPH it literlly changed my life and im really hoping things improve or I dont know what im going to do Scary Times!

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