It would probably be a good idea to offer escrow as you are very new here and it would not be advisable for people to join without any kind of guarantee of receipt of payment.
Its true my account is new, But dabs and me are co-owners for this project, and he can vouch for me. If something happened to me like I get hit by a bus, etc. Dabs would be here/able to cover it.
I have so far done a signature contest, and received an entry, and paid after upfront .1 BTC or so.