Get Serious About Freelancing To Increase Your Income From Working For Yourself
Since being freelance a little over a year ago, I’ve collaborated with a diverse range of clients, including a dozen fast-growing companies and many top experts in their fields. Not only that, but I’ve never had to lower the high rates I set for my content marketing services. Therefore, I’d want to provide you some tips on how to get started freelancing and making money from it, even if you’re a complete beginner.
Now that I’ve established my value propositions, built my personal brand as an industry leader, and promoted my freelance writing to new audiences, I have a waiting list of clients and projects that will take anywhere from three to six months to complete.
Making money online with your smartphone’s clicks is another viable option.
It’s safe to say that didn’t happen overnight, however. My meteoric climb to prominence as a freelancer was the result of a confluence of careful placement, hard work, and good fortune.
If you’re ready to embrace the freelance life seriously and increase your self-employed income intent towards work, here are my top five tips for growing your income in your first year out on your own.
Establish your specialty.
If you want to start freelancing, you may be prepared to do ANY job that pays money on Fiverr or Upwork. As your freelancing career develops, though, you’ll need to be pickier about the clients you work with and the assignments you accept.
You may be wondering how I might increase my income as a freelancer by being selective about the jobs I take on.
Specialization leads to more knowledge and expertise, which may be reflected in a higher price (there are expert and pro categories on Upwork and Fiverr too).
My own opinion is that you shouldn’t give any thought to the age-old debate of whether you should start your freelancing career as a generalist or a specialist(opens in a new tab).
If you were a customer looking for someone to fix your email marketing so people actually sign up, create advertisements that compel people to buy, or even just update your old website, would you rather hire someone who is a jack of all trades or an expert at doing one thing and doing it effectively? If an expert says anything, I will almost always believe them.
The best decision I’ve made for my freelance business was to specialise on content marketing consulting rather than taking on broad digital marketing projects.
Since you’re alone yourself, you need to immerse yourself in your profession. The results of your study should allow you to:
Customers in the making
Ideas for perennial or timely pieces of writing
• Freelancer-specific goals
• Methods that have proven successful for other professionals in your field
Create an Online Resumé or Portfolio
One of the best ways to showcase your technical skills is with a stunning portfolio site(opens in a new tab) of your own. If you’re a new freelancer and you want to be taken seriously, you need a website like this:
• It serves as proof of your competence.
• Highlights the significance of one’s past experiences.
• Gives away your true self.
Put in your contact information so that others may easily get in touch with you.
If you don’t have a lot of job experience or references to back you up, having a great portfolio might be a tremendous help. For more, see “11 High-Paying Tech Jobs for People with No Experience.”
Customers should be informed, intrigued, and ultimately convinced by your portfolio to hire you for their technical needs. It is important to take the time to plan out what will go into your portfolio and how you will display it before you begin applying for new jobs.
If you haven’t already done so, start including links to your portfolio website in your email signature and other online profiles as soon as your website becomes live.
Three, hone your abilities
The most compelling argument in favour of higher hourly wages is… Be sure you have exceptional skills that are in high demand.
You may put your new skills to use by designing the kinds of projects you’d want to get paid to work on in the future. WordPress websites, mobile apps, or something altogether new like graphic design, copywriting, etc.—the more you can separate yourself out from the crowd with fascinating side projects and samples that will pull in customers, the better.
In addition, remember that hopping on the bandwagon doesn’t need going back to school for a BS in computer science, even though highly experienced freelancers might potentially make a lot more money. Front End Development training from Skillcrush, for example, is just one of several online courses that might help you get on the right track and take charge of your education.
Launch a website
A portfolio website is essential for every self-employed professional. Create a web-based portfolio to showcase your work and help clients recognise your skills.
Rowan Made founder Breanna Rose suggests looking at website templates if you’re constructing a site yourself but don’t have the funds to employ a designer. This will ensure that your site will still seem professional.
5 Pick tools within your financial means.
Due to the rise of the freelance economy, software has become more important to the success of those who work from home.
According to Upwork, by 2025, remote workers will make up 22 percent of the U.S. workforce.
As a freelancer, you are on your own to acquire all of the equipment you need to do your job. Therefore, you need to choose your instruments wisely so that they don’t exceed your budget.
When first starting out, if you don’t have the funds to invest in the best software, you should make do with what you have.
By way of illustration, WordPress is an exceptionally good and cheap website host. You can put it to use for six months to a year before investing in a custom website designed around your freelance profession.
Set a Price, Step 6
This information is crucial to your professional development and future success as a freelancer.
Depending on your area of expertise, you may charge by the hour or by the project. Payments may also be broken up into smaller chunks that correspond to certain project milestones.
A freelance writer, to provide just one example, may do everything mentioned above and more, all while charging clients by the word.
There are a number of approaches that may be used when determining pricing for clients. A detailed guide that may come in handy is provided below.
Micromanagement is another major issue that arises with hourly pay. This is done so that clients have a chance to dispute the stated number of hours worked or the specified nature of the job. It’s more common to choose for an hourly rate rather than a fixed fee.
