Freelancing has become a huge trend in the recent years, especially for people who value their freedom and don’t want to commit to strict working hours in an office. In the US alone, there are more than 53 million freelancers, which is about 35% of the total national workforce. However, any freelancer can tell you that it took quite some time until they’ve managed to get on their feet and build a significant client base.
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Don’t think for one second that you’ll be in for a great time and money will just come knocking at your doors. You’ll have to earn every penny with hard work, and you might think about giving up more than once while at it. Freelance jobs are not so easy or glamorous as they seem.
There are many freelance earning methods and how to be a good freelancer. But you need to have goals and a plan!
This guide will highlight some of the best tips you can use to try and earn more money during your freelancing career.
1 – Specialize To Earn More Money As A Freelancer
New freelancers will often make a mistake and promote themselves like they’re fit to do a wide array of jobs. So a content writer will all of a sudden be able to write a movie script. I don’t think so. The more you narrow down your field of specialization the more success you’ll have getting the jobs.
The people who are hiring you are looking for a specialist, not someone who can manage. So pick out your niche, whether it’s content writing in the field of finances or writing video game reviews, the more you’re specialized for a certain niche, the easier it will be for you to land a job and get paid for it.
2 – A Great Portfolio Can Help You To Earn More Money As A Freelancer
Sure, you may have a random CV anyone can see on Linkedin, but having your own website that can really showcase your experience is what can skyrocket you and get you more clients.
It will not only highlight your expertise, but it will immediately make you look better in the eyes of any client that is looking for a professional. Even if you don’t have a lot of experience, a good portfolio can convince your potential clients that you know what you’re doing.
If you invest enough time into creating a stellar portfolio and display it in a creative way – you won’t have to worry about finding employers.
3 – Deciding On The Price – Know Your Hourly Rate
This one is pretty important since most freelancers out there just randomly input a rate they would be satisfied with.
It is important that you know how much your time is worth and sticks with it, at least for a while. How much does your electricity bill costs? How much money did you invest into your high-end computer? These are all the costs that need to be covered by your hourly rate if you are to continue freelancing.
If you’re working too much and can’t live comfortably, then your rates are all wrong. This isn’t to say that you should up the prices immediately, be objective about your work.
Find the balance between how much do you think it’s worth and how much do you think you can get for it.
4 – Keep Your Clients
There’s a misconception about freelancing where people believe that you’re just going to get hired by anonymous people all the time.
While you may be able to do so, I’ve found it much more profitable to build a connection with my existing clients and get hired by them over and over again. If they are satisfied with your work, there will be no reason for them to go searching for another freelancer for the next job.
They’ll just contact you and ask you if you’re up for it. This is why it’s super important to have a healthy relationship with your clients and actually invest yourself in everything that you do.
5 – Create A Blog
Blogs are awesome. You don’t have to be a writer to have a blog, that’s not what it’s about.
If you have a website with your portfolio on it, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t have some high-quality content on it that will convince people that you’re the right person. Not only that, but it will also help you rank better through SEO optimization.
If you’re a freelance website designer it’d be good to upload a tutorial on how to design a great website, or even have a video about it. Blogs don’t have to be articles anymore, the more videos and images you’re packing the better for you.
6 – Pitching Is An Art
When you’re searching for a job, most employers will request for you to write an outline on how you’d handle the job, before they choose the right candidate for them.
This is called pitching, and you need to perfect it if you want to land the best jobs out there. Pitching isn’t all about the idea that you’re suggesting, but also about the way that you’re talking about it.
If you are excited about it your potential employers will notice it. No one wants to hire someone just to do a job; they want to hire someone who’s going to care about doing it the right way.
7 – Improve Your Skills
If you really want to start earning more money as a freelancer, you need to start thinking in advance.
When I was starting as a freelancer, I was offered a really bad rate for something that was completely beyond my skill set. However, I recognized the potential of the project for my portfolio, and I took the job even though I had no idea how to do it.
The point being is that you need to push yourself forward, and the best way to do it is to be forced to do it. By accepting that job, I put myself in a situation where I had to complete it – and that forced me to learn quite a few things and improve my skills. At the end, I would finish with my favorite quote: “Experience is the mother of knowledge.”
