Describing your project well can help you get more bids, better prices, and higher quality matches with the right service providers for your projects.  Here are a few tips.

Choose the category that best matches the skills you need
Choosing the right main category (Design, Websites, Programming, etc.) is important as it defines the group of professionals that will be able to bid on your project.  Elance categories represent the skills needed rather than the industry or business type.  For example, if you are a lawyer and you need a website, you should post your project in the website category and not the legal category.  For each category there are also subcategories that further classify your project.  Service providers in the category can see and bid on all subcategories, so if you are not sure which subcategory to use, choose the one labeled as Other.

Choose the right project type - either Select or Basic
Elance has two types of projects, Select and Basic.  Select projects are only open to service providers with a Select membership, and can be a good choice when you want fewer, higher quality proposals from more established providers. All service providers in the category can bid on Basic projects, which make up the majority of Elance projects, so if you are unsure which category is best for you, go with Basic to get the most bids. 

Determine your approximate budget
When posting a project on Elance, the price you set in the beginning does not lock you into a price range.  Providers can bid higher or lower based on their estimated cost of doing the project and how much they want to win your business.  It is good to communicate an estimated range, especially if you have a set budget.  If your range is unrealistic for the amount of work to be done, however, service providers may not think it is a serious project and the likely result will be fewer and lower quality bids.  If you are unsure about the price you want to pay or communicate, just choose "Not Sure", which is a common selection.

Write a good project description - provide enough detail
Describing your project in a clear and concise manner is one of the best ways to increase the number and quality of bids you receive.  It also helps you get more accurate estimates in the bids you receive, so a service provider won't need to charge a higher price either in the original bid to cover potential unknowns or later if more complexity is added to the project than originally anticipated.  By starting with a clearer concept, your project is also likely to be more successful in terms of faster completion and your satisfaction with the final deliverables.

You don't need to detail out everything, but it is important to give service providers enough information to make a good bid.  Make sure to outline the project goals, scope, and main requirements.  Using examples of things you like or want your provider to do is a great way to make your ideas more concrete, and you can point to ideas online or upload files to share.

Use the Elance Escrow system
At no additional cost, Elance Escrow protects both the buyer and the provider. Buyer's funds are held securely until the services are provided satisfactorily. The provider can begin working on a project knowing that the buyer has provided project funding into the escrow account.  In addition, projects that use Elance Escrow receive the benefit of two other free services: Elance Mediation and the Elance 1099 Service (for U.S. buyers working with U.S. providers).
More about Escrow and 1099.

Expect multiple responses within days
You should start to get multiple bids from qualified providers within the first few days.  Every situation is different, but the quality of the bids is more important than the number of bids received.  Check out our tips on choosing the right bidder and if you don't feel like you are getting the right quality bids for your project, we highly encourage you to give us a call or send an email to projecthelp@elance.com to give us the opportunity to help you out.