In those types of market places, the primary way for participants to differentiate themselves is price. It's not like you can exercise a lot of control over how any given platform is going to let you market. A bunch of people competing on price without being able to effectively differentiate in any other way is going to have predictable and unpleasant results.
So yeah, doing sales work sucks. But it doesn't suck as bad as the alternatives.
If you/your wife go down the road of trying to source hourly contracts from such markets, you're setting her up for a working situation that's almost strictly shittier than working a "real job." It's basically impossible to rack up 40 billable hours a week on a consistent basis. 25-30 is much more realistic. If she's charging 50/hr, that'll work out to about $58,000 gross a year assuming 75% utilization and that none of her clients ever flake out. Nevermind that the work is more precarious than a "real job", doesn't have insurance or other benefits, and you get slammed with self employment taxes. Also, you/she don't even get to count on a paycheck at any particular interval. If you provide net 30 (I don't recommend, but it's fairly standard,) you have to have enough of a financial buffer to deal with clients cutting you all of your invoices at once instead of as you bill them. Enjoy praying for the mailman to come before the bank closes so you can pay rent.
Finally, I assume your wife didn't spend 6-10 years of her life grinding out a PhD so she can make 58k a year in the most precarious possible way. Get off of this freelancer mentality, start a business, deliver real value, and get her the income and respect she deserves. If you/she bill yourself out like a commodity, people and businesses are going to treat you like one.
