[mdolon]

Definitely stay away from those sites unless you plan on doing volume/mass work to compensate for the low wages (or unless you have a big reputation). Like I mentioned in another post, at least 85% of my freelance gigs come from my existing network and their word-of-mouth referrals. I've found clients are much willing to pay more when they trust the consultant and a verbal referral from a friend can go a long way in providing that trust.

Some tips for this:

* Make sure your friends know what you do - update your Facebook profile, hand out business cards, start a blog, etc.

* Make sure your friends think/know that you are the best developer that they know and that you are the first person they think of when someone says "I'm going to need a website"

* Use LinkedIn - surprisingly enough, I've had old contacts connect with me via LinkedIn, view my profile and hire me for a project

* Exploit whatever niche you're a part of - if you are active in your church, approach them or another local church to see if they need a site. Apply same strategy for a youth group, social club, etc.