Are you seriously thinking about freelancing jobs? Getting Freelancing jobs is not easy. But a systematic and a planned approach can help you get Freelancing jobs even if you are a beginner.
In this article, I will explain all the details that would help you to get Freelancing jobs and make money online.
Freelancing jobs has always been and continues to be the most trusted and reliable way to earn money online.
In freelancing jobs, you do service and charge a certain amount of a fee. Their fee structure can vary as they can charge hourly or on a project-wise basis.
They trade their skill to earn money online. They don’t work for their boss but they are the boss themselves.
The beauty of freelancing jobs is that it provides you with the liberty to work with freedom.
You can work from the comforts of your home and that too with flexible timings. You have options to choose from various skills you consider yourself to be a master. The work you do involves your passion so will always love it. You won’t feel bored sitting in front of your laptop doing ordinary things.
Now let’s start with some of the essentials for becoming a successful Freelancer.
We will divide the process into two parts:
A – Prerequisites For Freelancing Jobs – These elements will help you when you’re a beginner.
B – While You Grow – These tips will help you when you establish yourself to the intermediate level.
Prerequisites For A Freelancer
1- Identify Your Passion
As we discussed earlier, Freelancers exchange their skills for the money they earn. So, you must start in the right direction of choosing your desired skill. You choose the one you are a master at.
This is the first and the most important decision you need to make early. This will decide what you do and what you avoid and finally target the right partners to work with.
The more precise you are about what services you offer, the better and smoother the journey gets. This will help you with premium branding. This allows you to take control of how potential clients perceive you? How they value your offerings and work? This also allows maintaining your profile in the direction you want to move ahead.
Are you still wondering about what skills to choose? Don’t worry it’s simple!
Sit back and think about your history. Try to recall the activities you loved to do when you were at school or in your first job. You can even think of the things you love the most when being at home in your free time.
I take my example; I was superb at arts and writing at school. So, I became a web designer and content writer. It is as simple as my case.
Below is the list of some niches you can consider.
This can help you decide on your choice.
1. Coding
2. Translating
3. Graphic Design
4. Website Building
5. Blog Writing
6. ESL Teaching
7. Analytics
8. Photography
9. Wikipedia Contributor
10. Proofreader/Editor
11. Social Media
12. Product Description Copywriter
13. Resume Writing
14. User Testing
15. Pay Lip Service
Know more about each one of these in this article.
2- Create A High-Quality Profile/Portfolio
Once you decided what services you will offer, it’s time to create a high-quality portfolio. An appealing profile can attract, new clients.
The key elements to elaborate upon:
- Who you are?
- What is your expertise?
- How you can help with the client’s needs?
- How you are different from others?
- Why the client should prefer you over others?
- What are your relevant past experiences?
- What is your delivery time?
- How much do you charge?
The purpose of the portfolio is to enlist your skills and ignite interest to convince potential clients.
That’s why it’s worth investing time figuring out what to feature on your portfolio. How it’s presented is important before looking for new projects.
In this competitive world, it becomes important to prove your technical skills. One way to do this is by having an amazing portfolio. Plus, a stellar portfolio can make a difference between getting hired or not.
Even if you don’t have a lot of job experience to prove that you know your stuff, a well-structured portfolio can help you out-stand in the crowd.
3- Identify Your Ideal Market
After you create your profile, it is important to decide which market suits you the best.
You need to develop a clear picture of what will work best for you. Do you want to work for small business owners and startups or take on longer-term contracts with mid or big size companies?
This clear distinction will help you answer the who and what type of business questions. You will have a clear answer for your targeting and thus will help in pitching your services.
You should ask these questions to define exactly who your ideal partners are:
- What type of business has problems and how your skills would help in solving them?
- Would that client become a long-term prospect and will you be able to sell your services regularly?
- What demographic factors can affect? Think of factors like age, gender, geographic location, and personal interests.
Here, when I am talking about the demographics you should focus on where are you going to sell your services?
Will it be global or country-specific?
When you are a beginner, the tendency can be to get as much work as possible, no matter where it comes from. I would recommend avoiding this at the start of your freelancing career.
The reason is very obvious. You may not understand the culture and trends of other countries than your own. You understand your own culture better and hence create better results.
Once you get the expertise, you can expand your horizons globally.
4- Market Your Profile/Portfolio
- Upwork
- Fiverr
- Freelancer
- Flexjobs
- RemoteOK
- AngelList
- Working Nomads
- Craigslist
- Cold emailing your favorite brands
- Friends and family
- Facebook groups
- Your professional network or other freelancers
- Your employer or previous employers
The other way to do this is by creating your website. As an online freelancer, a website is your online storefront where you can showcase your expertise. A website proves your legitimacy and also serves as your portfolio.
Today having a website of your costs close to nothing. You can even build your website for free.
5- Polish Your Skills
As a freelancer, there is always a scope for improvement in your existing skills. You should invest a lot of time in yourself. Any source of information is valuable for you. Read a lot about what’s happening in your industry. What are the latest trends that are creating buzz?
If you can afford it, invest in some high-quality courses in your field. All these can help upon improving and growing your expertise.
Practice by creating dummy projects like the actual final projects for the client. These will also be helpful when you have no experience to show at the start. Whether it’s a WordPress website, mobile app, or something else, the more you present, the better it gets.
It helps to differentiate yourself from an ocean of competition. Cool side projects will attract potential customers.
When you get your first real project, you will be more than ready to serve it. It will avoid any rejection chances from the clients.
While You Grow
When you complete the initial journey, it’s important to grow and excel as a freelancer. Here are a few things you should consider:
1- Develop Credibility
Client satisfaction builds your credibility. The quality of your deliverable matters. The deadline to complete the projects becomes a factor.
Besides these, there are many ways to build your credibility within your industry.
- Engage in social media.
- Creating high-quality blog content.
- Collaborating with influencers in your industry.
- Create YouTube videos.
- Writing an ebook.
- Create an online course.
These accomplishments can boost your credibility. You can list these on your portfolio. This way you prove your knowledge and expertise for more potential clients to see. In today’s world, it’s all about presenting yourself.
The smarter you are spreading your message, the more credible you get within your market.
2- Use Your Existing Network
Leveraging your networks is one of the most effective ways to market yourself.
Whenever you discover a freelance opportunity, give yourself some time before you apply. Research about the company. See, if you can find a mutual connection on LinkedIn, Twitter, or Facebook.
See, if they can introduce you to that company. This can warm-up your introduction and your pitch will no longer be a cold email. Cold emails are more likely to go to thrash. So, try to avoid them and use the warm-up technique.
Your actual friends, former co-workers, and former happy clients can become warm introductions for you. This is a great alternative to cold contacting. You can request if they would mind emailing the introduction on your behalf.
This approach will bring you a higher response rate than cold emails.
3- Develop The Art Of Pitching
In freelancing, much of your success will depend upon the strength of your client relationships. This will decide how well you’re able to forge meaningful partnerships. Sending an awesome proposal is not enough to get new potential clients.
Your success depends upon the pre-work you do before applying for that offer. Understanding the client’s needs is key. Realizing their problem points will help you provide your value propositions.
So, consider pitching as an art and science and not proposal writing.
I have won several clients because I do a lot of research even that costs me time and effort. This is worth investing in because many of them end up being my clients.
Determining their needs and providing immense upfront value, creating meaningful insights even before I get on to the payment discussions becomes my key to selection.
4- Price Yourself Premium
Before setting your prices you should consider:
- Your financial needs.
- The actual value you’d be creating for your clients.
- Make sure you do not leave any money, you could earn.
How much do you charge depends upon how much do you need? How much money do you want to make for sustainable and comfortable living? If you do not make enough money, then chances are, you will not get motivated.
This will impact your productivity. So choose your price with care and stick to it. Set up your base price and do not negotiate under that level. As long as you continue to deliver consistent value, you will have no trouble setting and maintaining high prices.
5- Write Blog Posts About Your Niche
Earlier, I talked about having your website. Besides showcasing your portfolio, a website can also help publish valuable content about your niche.
It will attract and convert potential clients across the globe. This will make you stand out as an expert in your field.
You can start with 1 or 2 in-depth and detailed blog posts per month. Choose the topics upon the potential problems your clients can face. Provide your analysis and expert advice to tackle those.
You can put these posts in front of the public through Social Media platforms. Once your potential clients discover your content and get free value, you become a natural choice for them as an expert. The chances for you to get hired, increase.
6- Write Guest Posts
Once you have some of your blogs ready and published, it’s time to get beyond. The mission is to get more traffic to your website.
Must Read: SEO For Blogger | 19 Killer Tips To Make Money Blogging
One of the most effective ways to increase your website traffic is by getting content published on blogs and publications. Find places where your potential clients spend the most time.
You can start on a much smaller scale and be sure to get the immediate benefits. Featuring on blogs and publications can drive hundreds or even thousands of new visitors to your website.
Make sure you create high-quality content to get a positive reply from the partners you reach out to feature on their websites. This increased visibility will have a direct and positive impact on your client acquisition.
That’s it from me on freelancing jobs. Now, it’s your turn to try these tips and share your feedback comments.
If you have questions, please feel free to reach out, I am glad to answer your queries!
