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Being a freelancer is one of the most profitable ways to earn an income nowadays. The average hourly rate for a freelancer around the world is $19/hour. Around 31% of all freelancers make more than USD 75,000 per year. And the best part is, 84% of freelancers claim that freelancing has allowed them to live the lifestyle that they want. In this article, I will share how you can be a freelancer within a week or less.
I’ll be breaking this article down into bite-sized step-by-step sections so it’s easier for you to digest.
Step 1: Acquire a skill
The most important part about being a freelancer is to specialize in something. If there’s something that you’re really good at, you can be a freelancer for that specific task. For example, if you’re really good at designing, you can be a freelance designer. Some of the most popular freelancing skills are mentioned below:
- Graphic design
- Web design
- Writing
- Social media marketing
- Web development
- SEO
- Virtual assistant
- Video editing
- Digital Marketing
- Management
- Customer service
- Data entry
If you don’t have a specific skill that you’re really good at, don’t worry. There are plenty of freelancers who start off by learning a skill from scratch. Go on YouTube and search “How to _________”. (Fill the blank with what you want to learn) For example: ‘How to design on Canva’.
Step 2: Create a mock portfolio
Once you’ve found the skill you want to freelance with, create a mock portfolio. If it’s designing, create a portfolio filled with sample work that you’ve done. If you haven’t done any, take a day or two and create a few really good pieces of work. It’s important to know that your portfolio is what potential clients will look at when deciding if they want to hire you or not. So make sure to put only your best work inside!
Step 3: Find out who your target audience is
Your target audience is the group of people who would most likely hire you. For example, if you specialize in digital marketing, your potential customer could be small business owners. Therefore, that will be your target audience. So when you create your portfolio, make sure that the content within your portfolio are things that small business owners would find attractive. Think about what your target audience does and most importantly, what problems they have that you can solve.
Step 4: Create your offer
This is the fun part! This step is where you highlight your value and decide how much you’re going to charge for your service. If designing is what you do, you can think of how much you want to charge for designing a post or a flyer. You could also think about the complexity of the project and price based on that. In this step, it is important to note that different clients have different requirements. To make things easier for you and the client, make sure you have a complete breakdown of all the services that you do and their individual pricing. This way, you can create the most suitable mix for your client and give a good quotation.
If you have never worked with clients before, you can start off by offering your services to clients at discounted prices.
Step 5: Create freelancer accounts
There are many platforms out there where you can create freelancer accounts. My personal favorite is Fiverr. I have multiple freelancing skills and therefore, I’ve created different gigs for each of my skills. Fiverr also enables me the option to offer different-sized packages to my customers so that they can choose which one they like before contacting me for an offer.
Apart from Fiverr, there are so many other sites like Upwork, Peopleperhour, etc. Make sure to check out every site and create an account for yourself on every freelancing platform.
Step 6: Polish your skills
The most important thing to remember is, as long as you’re working for a client, it’s a piece of work that you can add to your portfolio. Therefore, make sure you keep polishing your skills by doing free courses online. Because remember, practice makes perfect!
Step 7: Establish yourself on social media platforms
Social media is a potent tool when it comes to building an audience. Once everything is set up, you need to make sure that you’re active on platforms where your target audience is at. For example, if you’re targeting small business owners, you can consider making a name for yourself within Facebook groups filled with small business owners. Similarly, make sure that you’re present on platforms that are saturated with your target audience.
Step 8: Deliver beyond expectations
When delivering the completed work, ensure they’re of the best quality. This will help you to accumulate positive feedback while also increasing the chances of getting referrals from happy clients.
And there you have it! That’s how you become a freelancer. This step-by-step guide has everything you need to know to become a freelancer. If followed closely, you too can earn a profitable income doing what you love! In conclusion, being a freelancer is not difficult. It just takes a bit of learning, organizing, and publicizing.
If you enjoyed this article, make sure to share it with someone else who might find this useful! I didn’t start my freelancing journey alone. So if you prefer, you too can get together with your friends to freelance. You just need to make sure they know these steps as well! All the best.
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Hey! I’m the co-founder of Smartiac – a pinterest management agency for the home furnishing industry. If you’re a furniture store owner or marketing manager looking for assistance with pinterest management, definitely get in touch with me!
