Hi John Smith,

I'm Julia Robertson and I'm a Rent A Coder Facilitator. My job is to watch over the bids and bid requests and shepherd them as they go to completion.

To maximize your profit on rent a coder, I highly recommend taking a moment to read the following...it can both make and save you quite a bit of $$$.

1) Don't get stiffed: The site is designed to prevent you from getting 'stiffed' by a non-paying buyer, because we force them to escrow funds before you start work. However, the system only works if you let it. A few buyers have tried to trick coders, by pressuring them to send source code...and promising that an upcoming escrow payment (that never materialized) was coming soon. If this happens to you...DON'T GET BURNED! Instead hold your ground and respectfully ask the buyer to escrow funds via the site (I can help them if they are having technical issues). Then please immediately report the situation to me.

2) Easy money: Do you want to make 37% more money on the site? Our stats show that coders who provide a photograph of themselves in professional attire earn 37% more business than those who posted no picture, a logo, or a casual picture of themselves. This is an easy way to impress your customers and increase your profit!

3) Get the 411: If a buyer's requirements are vague or undefined, you can now suggest that they meet you in the new bid request chat room to clarify them quickly and easily. To get to the chat room, go to the bid request and then click on 'enter chat room'.

4) Get it in writing: (This applies to 'pay for deliverables' projects and not 'pay for time' projects.) If you and the buyer agree to a change in requirements, scope or a deadline, MAKE SURE you get them to document it in the bid request by posting it as a new comment. Should the buyer ever dispute your work in arbitration, it can mean the difference between getting paid for your work, or not.

5) Contact information warning: To protect our Rent a Coder Fee, we do not allow certain content in your profile or bids. The posting of contact information (which includes phone #s, email addresses, ICQ, etc.) and/or URL's to sites which contain contact information (and/or feedback forms) is not allowed. (Note: On bids > $500 we will release contact information to the buyer--if you have allowed it in your profile. However, this is done automatically by the site, and doesn't require any extra info in your profile or bid.) We have a dedicated person who reviews all site postings for infractions and you can be banned for ignoring this rule...so please don't let it happen to you.

6) Maximize your profits: Make sure you check out the Affiliate program on the site, so you can get paid for every new buyer you refer to the site. It's free money for very little work! To signup just go to
/RentACoder/Affiliates/Help.asp

7) Expert's Edge: If you're a true expert and want a huge edge in the bidding, take the time to get ExpertRating certified. Certification automatically appears in your profile. You can get more info at /RentACoder/ExpertRating/AboutExpertRating.asp

If you have any problems with buyers or need assistance, let myself or another facilitator know (at http://www.RentACoder.com/RentACoder/misc/Feedback.asp). Also, if you have any suggestions on how to improve the process or the site, don't hesitate to tell us.

I wish you the best of luck on your bids and wish you a fun and profitable experience.

One more thing. To ensure delivery of your paychecks, please take a moment to verify your above contact information. If anything is incorrect, you can correct it at: /RentACoder/authentication/MyRegistration/GeneralInfo.asp?lngRegistrationScreenMode=3&strReturnUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fdev%2Erentacoder%2Elocal%2FRentACoder%2FSoftwareCoders%2FshowBioInfo%2Easp%3FlngAuthorId%3D

Sincerely,
Julia Robertson