I charge $100/hr and have no shortage of leads. In this business you are selling yourself, not your pricing.
stymiee
He's No Good To Me Dead
3,360 posts since May 2006
Reputation Points: 161
Solved Threads: 38
Forget those sites. The people looking to hire someone from there are looking at price only so you can't compete.
I don't look for jobs. Instead I (actually we) established ourselves as experts and good developers any way we could and eventually our reputation got us leads which got more more word of mouth which generates more leads.
stymiee
He's No Good To Me Dead
3,360 posts since May 2006
Reputation Points: 161
Solved Threads: 38
It takes a while as you really need to be consistent to build a reputation. It really is part of a long term strategy rather then a quick method to get business. It also is a lot of work but when you break it down into about an hour a day, or less, it doesn't seem so bad and can add up quickly. Creating threads that are worthy of being stickied is always a great way to get extra attention.
stymiee
He's No Good To Me Dead
3,360 posts since May 2006
Reputation Points: 161
Solved Threads: 38
You can advertise yourself as a freelance programmer in your city offline, which could give you more leads.
ithelp
Nearly a Posting Maven
2,230 posts since May 2006
Reputation Points: 769
Solved Threads: 128