This post was written by TCCS member, Di Clements
If you’re like most people, you put Airtasker in the same basket as Fiverr—a real rip-off. People expecting quality work for such poor peanut pickings that not even monkeys would work for them.
Is that what you think? Then it’s time to eat those peanut thoughts.
Using Airtasker is like panning for gold. You fill your pan with tasks. Sift through them carefully, and then… bingo! There’s a little flake of gold.
Repeat this process often enough and your bank account will love you.
So how do you find those flakes of gold? Here are some tips to help you start gold panning in Airtasker.
Get into the gold zone
You won’t find gold if you’re not in the gold zone. So sign up. Supply your bank account details for payment. Then write your profile. Carefully. And make every word count. Most people considering you will read it to decide if you have what it takes. No profile = no confidence = no work.
Now it’s time to get ready for some swift panning action.
Get your gold panning gear ready
First, choose where you want to look for gold. In Browse tasks, select Remotely.
Set your starting rate. In Any price use the slider to set your rate. But don’t price yourself out of tasks that could end up as nuggets. You can always increase your rate once you apply for a task.
Choose Task type and hide tasks that are already assigned. Not much point looking for gold in an area that doesn’t have any.
Now you’re ready to start panning. But remember that not every pan will have even the teensiest amount of gold. You may need to sift through four, five or even ten pans before you find a speck. And even then someone could beat you to it. That’s the luck of the gold panning draw.
Fill that pan with tasks
Scroll through the listed tasks. Chances are you’ll come across some fool’s gold—fools posting tasks in the Remote section that aren’t remote at all.
There’s lots of dross, too. People who want social media shares. Someone to write their assignments. Even people looking for work. I take the time to report these tasks to help keep the site clean for serious gold diggers.
First glimpse of gold
Oh, the excitement of finding a gold flake. But be careful or it could slip through your fingers.
Click the poster’s name and read about them. Check their reviews. If you see negative comments, move on. But if all looks hunky dory, it’s time to put in your offer. You want that gold.
Your offer must be gold
Go over the task with a fine-tooth comb. You might even want to copy and paste the task details into a document or email so you can work on your offer very carefully.
Always tailor your response to the task. You want that gold. But no phone numbers. No web links. Airtasker will block them. They make panning for gold difficult just to protect their own big claim area.
People want to see that you know what they want, and that you can do the task for them. They want to feel confident about choosing you.
Many people copy the same offers for every task. And they often make ridiculous claims. One that comes to mind because I see it so often is “I’m very good at writing… I work for a very renowned newspaper with 61 bit writers…”. It goes on for around 10 lines that have nothing to do with the task, ending with a horrible grinning emoji.
Airtasker takes some of your gold away
So you’ve written your response. Now make the offer. The rate comes first, and this is where you can increase it.
Airtasker charges you 22% of the task amount. I always increase the offer by that amount–and tell the poster, “My offer includes the Airtasker fee”.
Then copy your carefully edited words of gold into the next screen and submit your offer.
That’s it. But don’t rest on your golden laurels.
Keep on panning
New tasks are posted constantly, so keep an eye out for any new glimpses of gold. If you’re the first to make an offer, you may be selected very quickly. If not, you can see offers from others and what they say.
Always check your new Notifications. You may find more details about the task, or a question from the poster.
Your gold is on the way
When a task poster chooses you, you’ll receive a text message. I recommend responding to the poster asap. Open the task and send a message to thank them for choosing you and provide your contact details.
Complete the task as soon as you can—to the best of your ability. Then let the poster know you’ve sent it by both email and a message on the Airtasker site.
Communication is key, so keep in touch. And never, ever miss a deadline unless the poster holds things up. Ask for a time extension or initiate that yourself.
Earning your gold stars
When the poster is happy, they’ll let you know. Time to get that gold rolling into your bank account. Open the task and select Request Payment. You’ll be notified when the poster has paid.
Leave the poster a star rating and review. Only then will you see whether the poster has left one for you. I usually let the poster know I’ve left them a review and say it would be great if they could leave one for me.
It takes 3–5 days for the gold to hit your bank account.
Going for the big nugget
Once in a while you’ll come across a big Welcome Stranger. A task with a gold nugget price tag. One that practically has your name on it. When that happens, go for it—big time.
I once found a high-paying web content task and put in an offer considerably above the price. A record number of people applied, but my offer was so persuasive that they chose me.
I wrote all the web content in a week, including all edits. They gave me a glowing review and a five-star rating. I was paid $1,700 after Airtasker took out its fee.
To me, that was a Welcome Stranger.
Put aside any prejudices about poor payments and stop referring to Airtasker as “Airexploiter”.
There are great tasks out there. There are also small ones that can open the door to ongoing work, which has happened to me many times. My biggest client came through Airtasker. And I’ve helped many people who didn’t know who else to turn to—a real privilege. There’s also gold in the relationships I’ve formed.
Over to you
So go ahead and stake your Airtasker claim. But be selective. Be consistent. Be persistent. Reach for that gold—and those gold stars.
Before you know it, you’ll be panning for Airtasker gold faster than you can say Jack Robinson.
About Di Clements
Di Clements is a Melbourne-based copywriter. She loves the flexibility of freelancing from home. She’s also a busy PA to her three adorable cats.
Di often pans for gold on Airtasker, and has a growing number of clients from that site who give her on-going work.
