How To Become a Freelancer and Make Money

A Freelancer is one business model that requires the development of particular expertise so well that prospective clients need to see concrete proof of work before committing/to themselves.

As a Freelancer, you need to be more practical in your approach to win over prospective clients; it is not like getting a certification as we traditionally do in universities. Most times, we are offered work without even practical knowledge of what we know.

Anyone can become a Freelancer, if you put the work into it, here are some tips to help start your journey into freelancing.

1. Learn a Skill.

The first thing you need to have under your belt is considerable skills; as a Freelancer, you are intended to get paid for applying a particular skill set in a specific work area.

There are so many skillsets to learn as a Freelancer; make sure they are primarily sought after. Some of these skills include; Web Development, Digital Marketing, Voice over, graphics Designs and more.

2. Use Freelancing Websites.

The next step is to go online after acquiring any of these skills to the point where you have a working portfolio.

There are so many websites designed for Freelancers; before going into a massive list of these websites, I would like to give you a brief overview of how Freelance website works.

All a Freelance website is designed to provide you with a secured online platform to showcase your skills, sell them to prospective clients from all over the world and help you make money while you deliver these micro-jobs.

A Freelance website like Fiverr would link you to clients all over the world, assign you with a micro job that you offer, and then collect money on your behalf, mind you, the money is not paid until the task is completed, and the client has certified the job a completed one.

3. Create a Portfolio Website.

The final step to getting started as a freelancer is to create a website for yourself, this is not important, but it can serve as a CV for the previous work you have done so far.

All you need is a landing page kind of website that talks about you, the kind of skillset you possess and a complete list of your past and present projects; this can help you get more acceptance from potential clients that you know you are doing as a Freelancer.

4. Promote Your Freelancing Services.

As a Freelancer, you have a lot of skillset to your belt, yet no one is readily patronizing you; this is usually a problem for freelancers when they initially get started, they get paid very little in the first season, but this is normal and would go away if such a person is persistent and always tries their best to deliver more than expected.

When I started freelancing as a web designer, it was a very tough experience, but I learned a lot, and one of the things I discovered is that;

Talent is not everything.

The highest-paid freelancers don’t have more skillset than you; all they do is present themselves to be more appealing and charge more.

Please don’t feel bad when you are being underpaid as a newbie freelancer; it will pass, but in the meantime, pay serious attention to the details in this section.

1. Word Of Mouth.

The first type of marketing that every Freelancer needs to understand is the native and crude advertising called “Word of Mouth”.

This type of advertising involves telling your close friends and family about the services you offer, this method seems to be very slow, but it converts more than any other method discussed in this section.

As a new Freelancer, all you need do first is to spread the word via group discussions, Instant messaging platforms like Whatsapp, Phone calls and any means to reach out to your close and loved ones.

2. Start a YouTube Channel.

The next potent channel is the use of YouTube; Youtube allows you to utilize a trust model by giving out a piece of advice to your audience and asking them to patronize you in return.

If you can pull through to get a lot of views, you can make money via Google Adsense, affiliate links and recommending your services.

3. Leverage The Power of Facebook.

Facebook is another potent channel to market your services as a Freelancer; there are many ways to use Facebook to your advantage, such as Paid advertising, Facebook groups, and many more.

4. Go on Instagram.

Instagram can also help you sell your services as a freelancer; this platform is suitable for media skillsets such as graphics or video editing.

All you need do is show off your work by uploading them to your Instagram page and get the clients rolling in; Instagram is suitable for a media skillset, but you can also leverage the power of Instagram if you have any other skill set.

5. Start Blogging.

Blogging is a great marketing channel to reach out to potential clients from all over the world. Suppose you have multiples or even a single skillset.

In that case, you can create content around that singular or multiple area of expertise on your blog and optimize them for search engine optimization and get the buyers rolling.

6. Use Medium.

Medium is a social network for writers worldwide; all Medium does is provide writers with a free platform to express themselves and get paid more.

Medium is a better alternative if you cannot cope with the technical stress involved in running your blog.

Articles published via Medium are easily ranked on Google, making it easy for you to start getting targeted traffic from search engines like Google, Yahoo and Bing.

7. Pinterest.

Pinterest is one social media platform that has been long underrated as it has become the social media network to follow after growing over 4,000% last year alone.

The core concept of Pinterest revolves around users creating and sharing pins of things that align with users’ interests.

Pinterest ranks third on engagement on the internet behind Facebook, Instagram and TikTok. It effectively operates as a massive visual search engine with images streamlined to specific user interests.

Pinterest is created so that each pin you make can contain a link back to your website, which generates massive click-through rates for your website.

As a freelancer, you can create promotional content about what you do and publish each of them on Pinterest.

Conclusion.

When starting as a Freelancer, you are often tempted to charge less to win clients’ trust but to be honest with you; it does not make them trust you; they even get to devalue you more.

As a Freelancer, make sure you set a high standard for yourself and be prepared not to accept every project that is not good enough for you; trust me, don’t undercharge; the good clients will come around.

I shared a link to a comprehensive article that addresses this question below, be sure to check it out.

Thank you, and have a wonderful day

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---. “How To Become a Freelancer and Make Money.” Tchelete, 16 Apr. 2022, How To Become a Freelancer and Make Money.