I think that "Offer HN" is a great way to get clients. It's how I found my first Dev (who is on this page!) to help me create an app that was better than anything I could have imagined - and I mean that literally because I imagined and designed X and he re-imagined and created X to the 10th power.

FWIW I have looked at eLance and oDesk and the like on more than one occasion and I find the process very tedious. I would much rather go to my Community first (HN, Reddit etc.) because it is, to me, more genuine.