Many people want to start their career as freelancers because of the work-life balance it offers them. This isn’t a bad idea because flexibility in your job is what everyone wants.

However, a dangerous side of being a freelancer is the fact that they work many hours. Working many hours can result in burnout in the long term. Not something you want to happen! In fact, statistics show that 43% of freelancers are prior to burnout, meaning that nearly half of them.

Therefore, in this article, we will show you some tips you can follow to prevent burnout as a freelancer.

The primary symptoms of burnout

Burnout isn’t fun to experience; the only way to realize it is after it happens. Burnout gradually worsens over time if you don’t make any significant changes to your routines.

Burnout symptoms focus on work stress but are usually related to depression, stress and anxiety. As many struggle with health issues, early intervention is much more important than not doing so at all. After all, it does impact your life, so suffering from stress is not something pleasant.

Burnout is what exhausts you physically and mentally. Nevertheless, it’s challenging to care for yourself once you face burnout. Moreover, here are some physical and psychological symptoms of burnout:

• Indigestion and stomach issues
• Feeling tired
• Muscle pain, headaches
• Self-doubt
• Fear
• Demotivated
• Feeling isolated
• Avoiding people and work

7 Ways you can avoid burnout as a freelancer

1. Set boundaries

Another huge red flag for freelancers burning out is their inability to set boundaries. Even though working more might be better for your wallet and clients, there’s only so much you can do in one day. It might not be much of an issue for a short period, but as time passes, you can start to feel the burnout.

Especially if you want to be a long-term freelancer, you need to forget about overworking. Therefore, you should keep your working schedule predictable and not long but always ensure flexibility. This will save you fresh throughout the week and make it easier for you to stay fresh.

2. Use a sales funnel tool

You may be wondering, how on Earth will a sales funnel tool make a freelancer’s life easier? As a freelancer, you are continuously dealing with clients, so you must know more about the customer’s journey from the beginning to the end. The entire reason it’s called a funnel is that you move through it and fewer people make it through after each stage.

The five primary stages of a sales funnel are:

• Awareness
• Interest
• Consideration
• Conversion
• Advocacy and loyalty

A sales funnel tool is designed to help you visualize your customer’s journey through every part of the funnel. A sales funnel tool helps you manage everything, from your landing page to setting up forms in your email marketing campaign and taking payments, all in one place. If you do this separately, you’ll be paying numerous subscription fees, but everything is made simple in this case.

As a freelancer, you need to use the best sales funnel tools, so here they are:

• Flodesk Checkout: The ultimate sales funnel tool for selling digital products and services online through a fantastic branded online experience. The platform allows you to build your sales, checkout, and delivery page from various templates.
• WishPond: The WishPond platform contains plenty of online ads and landing pages. WishPond is most commonly used because of its “contents and promos” feature that allows you to run giveaways, photo contests, and many other promos for building awareness of your brand.
• Systeme.io: Offers plenty of features alongside the sales funnel builder, including email marketing, an online website and a course builder.

3. Avoid comparing yourself to others

This might sound like an exciting tip to follow, but you would be surprised by how many freelancers become demotivated after comparing themselves to others. Some days, you might feel like everyone accomplished more than you, but it’s not about short-term achievements.

Some freelancers don’t achieve much soon enough but will do so in the future. Additionally, some freelancers accomplish a lot in a short period of time but fail in the long term.

Therefore, there’s no right or wrong way to approach your workflow, so comparing yourself to other freelancers will only be a distraction.

4. Have clear goals and prioritize

Most freelancers only overwork to make more money and this is fine, but not for the long-term. Statistics show that overwork has killed more than 740,000 people only in one year! This is usually due to not prioritizing mental health and not having any long-term goals.

Prioritize your most important work and see if it’s helping you towards achievement. If you’re assigned additional work, don’t focus too much on it but on the more urgent work. Prioritize all assignments from most to least important. You could also try breaking down your assignments, so it doesn’t look impossible to finish all the work you have.

5. Make free time for yourself

Making time for yourself as a freelancer can sometimes be challenging. This is because you are considered the only one in charge of your career, and taking a break can be challenging when you favor taking on more work. Trust us; we know exactly how you feel. Burnout happens when we, as individuals, fail to make time for ourselves.

Forget about those sleepless nights or working on weekends. You need a break too! Go for coffee, a night out with your friends or family, and more. Self-care won’t only positively impact your life but your productivity at work as well. Therefore, it’s best to make some reductions in the assignments you take on. After all, quality should be above quantity; the last thing you want is for your quality to not be there.

If you never recharge, you won’t allow yourself to become more successful in the long term.

6. Skip a day

It’s no fun only to be working and never having some fun, right? To avoid becoming tired or burned out each day, you can reward yourself by skipping a day at work if you find it suitable. Remember that the primary reason you want to be a freelancer is to promote flexibility and balance in your career. During your free day, go for some lunch, plan a meeting with your friend, or even deal with more important things you have to deal with.

You can skip any day, even if it’s a working day. Sometimes, we might need an entire day to ourselves and there’s nothing wrong with that!

7. Build long-term relationships with clients

Trying to find work from month to month might not be the most exciting thing to do. It might even be more challenging for you as a freelancer to do this month after month. After all, nobody is going to be concerned about whether you can pay your bills or not.

Therefore, you should be concerned about forming long-term relationships with clients instead of continuously changing your clients. Pick your clients wisely. Some companies invest in employee incentive schemes, and really do pay attention to their employees’ wellbeing. To build long-term relationships, you can do the following:

• Reward your clients: Say good words such as “thank you,” or offer them some discounts, and many other ways to show gratitude towards them.
• Meet your deadlines: Nobody likes it when you turn your work in late. That’s why you should seek to meet deadlines when you can. It’s important to show that you are a dependable person.
• Provide value: Whether showing your quality work or sharing an article your client wants to enjoy, you need to seek to become a valuable asset for your clients.
• Communication: Don’t hesitate to ask your clients questions to see if they are facing any issues or only to check up with them to ensure you’re both on the same page.
• Don’t see them only as a source of income: It’s never a good idea to see your clients only as a source of income. It’s important to treat your clients as people and even ask them how their day was, their plans, and more.

Avoid freelance burnout at all costs

Burnout is no fun to experience and we recommend you try avoiding it at all costs. It’s better to take the steps earlier than when it’s too late. After all, nothing is worth your mental health, so pay serious attention to it.

Life is short, but not short enough for those who struggle day in and day out. Therefore, take a break when you need to and don’t feel guilty about it!

Freelancing seems like a sweet career path. No bosses, no deadlines, and total freedom to work anytime and anywhere.

But unfortunately, freelancing is not an easy career choice. It revolves around portfolio building, unexpected work hours, financial instability, and constant hustle to find new freelance leads.

Freelancing is not a sprint race. It is a marathon. It requires patience, dedication, and passion for becoming a successful freelancer.

However, the freelance industry is booming today. It is projected to reach $6.7 billion by the end of 2025. In addition, an Upwork report stated that 44% of freelancers make more than their traditional jobs.

So, freelancing is good, no scratch; it is an excellent career choice today. But the question is — is freelancing a good career choice for you?

Freelancing is not everyone’s cup of tea. Not everyone can enjoy the ups and downs of their freelancing journey. However, many people still prefer job stability over flexibility or independence.

In addition, some people are simply bad at time management. They need a set routine to thrive.

So, before choosing a freelance career path, first, determine whether you are fit for it or not. And this guide will help you with it.

Here is the checklist to see whether you are fit to be a freelancer or not.

Checklist: Can You Become a Successful Freelancer?

 

According to a CNBC report, a freelancer can earn up to $90,000 annually. It is a perfect amount to lead a comfortable life today.

However, only a few freelancers are making a reasonable sum. And if you want to become a successful freelancer, ensure you must have all qualities mentioned in this checklist.

1. Do you have a saint’s patience?

Patience is a virtue. But for freelancers, patience is the key to success. Unfortunately, there is no overnight success in the freelance world.

You must work on building your portfolio and network alongside polishing your skills before approaching a client. In the beginning, you won’t even get good-paying clients. You have to work your way to the elite clients.

And all that takes time. It takes time to find potential clients, build a social presence and improve your skills.

But, most freelancers quit their journey within 3-6 months. They lose patience after receiving endless rejections, and ever-increasing numbers of bills do nothing to settle their nerves.

Therefore, I recommend never jumping into a freelance pool without testing the waters. You can first start working as a part-time freelancer. Focus on building your portfolio and work on some small gigs.

This will give you an idea of whether you can handle all the pressure of freelancing. Meanwhile, you can build a significant client base so that you don’t have to struggle with finances when you quit your stable job.

2. Can you think like an entrepreneur?

Freelancing is not a job. It is a business that you run to promote your skills or craft and generate revenue.

Thus, you must behave and think like a businessman to grow your career. You have to learn when to take calculated risks and make high ROI investments.

Besides this, you have to establish your brand as a freelancer. You don’t need to get a website or register yourself as a company in the beginning. Just creating a simple logo and posting content on social media platforms like LinkedIn or Instagram is sufficient.

In addition, you need to invest in freelancing tools to improve your skills and promote your brand. For example, I invested in Grammarly premium to improve my proofreading skills and writing speed. And that investment has been a proven milestone in my career growth.

3. Can you manage your time?

As already mentioned, freelancers have to manage several things at once. Thus, good time management skills are essential for delivering work on time.

It might sound easy. But when you have a toddler, pet, or noisy roommate, managing your schedule is not a huge task.

It requires solid willpower to focus on your work when your friends invite you for a weekend getaway trip.

Here are a few tips that can help you manage your time:

• Organize your workplace
• Put away all the distractions
• Create a daily to-do list
• Prioritize tasks
• Focus on one task at a time
• Use time-tracking tools to understand how you have spent your time, etc.

4. Are you self-driven?

Freelancers don’t have bosses to motivate them to meet deadlines. Instead, they have to drive themselves to achieve their targets.

So, you must ensure that you can achieve your goals without help.

This is only possible if you adopt discipline and assertiveness in your life.

Suppose you have a deadline on Monday. In that case, you must show assertiveness and work on the weekend to accomplish your goals. No matter how much you want to enjoy your weekend.

You must push yourself because no one else will do that for you.

5. Can you work alone?

Freelancing is freedom. But, it is also a lonely business. Most freelancers only have virtual connections with other people.

This can cause mental health issues for many people. For example, according to a report, 80% of adults who live alone feel depressed. So, working alone can cause depression in many people.

Besides this, you need social interactions to churn your creative juices if you are a creative person.

The solution to this problem is simple. But first, you need to ensure that you don’t socially cut off while working as a freelancer.

You need to stay connected with your friends and family. So make time to unwind yourself, like playing online games or going out with your friends. You can also take on-site jobs to stay connected with the professional crowd.

6. Can you wear multiple hats?

Freelancers are superheroes. They step into multiple roles daily.

For example, freelancers have to send invoices, payment reminders, manage taxes, and more. They also have to communicate with clients. Provide consulting services to new and potential clients.

Apart from your main freelancing services, you must do all the work to run your day-to-day operations independently.

You can indeed hire professionals to help with specific tasks like invoicing. But, it will only increase your expenditures. So, if you don’t have a sustainable freelance income yet, it is a good idea to do everything on your own.

To manage different operations, you need to manage your schedule. You must dedicate a couple of hours to operations like replying to emails or interacting with clients.

All of this comes down to your time management skills. The better you can manage your work and other operations, the more successful freelancer you can become.

7. Can you upskill constantly?

The freelancing world is fast and furious. You need to update your skills and knowledge on the go to thrive in this world.

You cannot survive for too long with your old skills. You need to learn new skills and stay informed about your industry’s recent happenings.

Suppose you are a freelance copywriter. In that case, you need to join newsletters from top copywriting websites to know what’s going on in the writing industry.

You also need to interact with other copywriters on social media channels. Moreover, join discussion forums and connect with industry experts.

After understanding new developments in your industry, you must upgrade your skills. But first, self-evaluate your performance and see where you are lacking.

Let’s say you are a ghostwriter. This might offer you a sustainable income, but it is not taking your career ahead.

So, you can learn how to publish a blog post on WordPress and start building your brand. It is a first step towards building your name as a freelance writer.

8. Are you a confident person?

Your confidence will get a hit every day working as a freelancer. You will meet many bad clients who crush your confidence with crude words.

There might come days when you will question your ability. For example, when a client rejects your proposal or doesn’t find your work satisfactory.

Those days, your confidence can keep you floating. Your confidence in your ability can help you move forward and prevent negativities. Moreover, self-confidence can help you charge the right amount for your services.

9. Are you a good communicator?

Freelancers might work alone. But, they have to communicate with clients to discuss work and receive feedback.

Now everything cannot be discussed over email. Instead, you might have to take phone or even video calls with clients.

For an introverted person, communication with a stranger is hard. But your self-confidence can help you here. First, you must come out of your shell and confidently communicate with your clients.

So, Are You a Freelancer Material?

This checklist must have opened your eyes. You can now see what it takes to become a successful freelancer.

You must have noticed that freelancing is not a career. It is a lifestyle. You have to develop a self-driven attitude to lead this life. You need to befriend uncertainties and thrive on challenges.

So, now take a deep breath and ask yourself – are you ready to become a freelancer?

If you have been in SEO and content marketing for some time, then, you know there are so many ways for SEO marketers to make good money as freelancers.

Why is that? Well, if you are wondering what comes first while searching just about anything online, it is the content. And content writing is something that every company requires continuously, irrespective of its scope and scale.

There’s a catch, however.

There’s a lot of competition for freelance work, and good content writers are hard to find. But there are some ways to stand out and get your career going as an SEO writer.

Here are some of them:

1. Keep yourself updated with the latest SEO trends

Many SEO content writers have found the freelancing career enjoyable, but it can be quite a struggle to get started. After all, Google’s algorithm updates and changes in SEO metrics come so frequently, and they often revamp their preferred marketing strategies.

For instance, companies like Google are pushing to retire third-party cookies, making it crucial for businesses to build first-party data hubs for targeted and customized marketing initiatives.

It’s not something to worry about if you keep yourself updated with the latest SEO trends. Other such trends include focusing on user search intent, optimizing for different search platforms, refreshing existing content, improving page speed, and so on.

Keeping yourself updated with the latest trends will also help you stay in demand.

2. Build a portfolio

It’s essential to build a portfolio that will give your clients a real feel for your ability and the quality of writing skills that you produce. It goes without saying that the content in your portfolio should be well-written, updated, engaging, and should suitably demonstrate your skillset as Freelance SEO Content Writer.

Here are some ways to create a well-rounded portfolio:

• Collate your previous publications.
• Start your own blog.
• Start guest posting on third-party sites.
• Pick and focus on a niche.
• Join and be active on LinkedIn and other social media platforms.

Don’t forget to add referrals and testimonials to your portfolio page. A LinkedIn hiring report suggests that the #1 way people find out about a new job is through a referral.

If you’re a beginner and don’t have much to display, you might want to create your own samples.

Don’t forget to add your name and contact information and include it at the top of your portfolio to make it more discernible.

3. Set up a website

Not surprisingly, prospective clients and employers will look you up online. What are they going to find? If it’s a basic resume on LinkedIn and nothing else, it may not pass muster with the gatekeepers who have the power to make you an offer or hand out a pink slip.

Create an appealing website that showcases your skills to stand out among countless other writers and appear more professional in front of potential clients.

When you set up a website, you will have a landing page on the internet for potential clients to find you, learn about what you have to offer, view your portfolio, and reach out to you if they’re interested.

Plus, the content you post on your site will reinforce your portfolio and showcase your writing to your potential clients.

While at it, converge it with the above point and use your website as your portfolio as well. You can dedicate one webpage to your portfolio or blog to showcase your best SEO articles.

4. Master your research skills

Some clients will offer you a list of keywords for your content, but others will not. You will have to develop a keyword list by yourself. For such cases, you need to have stellar keyword research skills in your arsenal.

You need to come up with a list of the most relevant topics founded on the knowledge you have about the business and research-related keywords.

Consider researching your client’s competitors to determine how they are ranking for these keywords. You can then implement a tool like the Google Ads Keyword Planner to trim down your list.

However, you don’t have to over-optimize your content or stuff keywords. It’s best to insert the keyword in your headline and copy naturally.

5. Use job boards

Apart from creating a website and putting up your portfolio, you need to leverage sites and job boards that advertise jobs for freelancers.

Job boards can help you advance your career by connecting you with in-demand SEO content writing jobs. The internet has changed how businesses find and recruit new talent, and so many businesses are turning to job boards to fill outstanding job openings. Some examples are sites like Upwork, Freelancer, Indeed, Toptal, and Flexjobs. You should also consider surfing niche job boards.

6. Use social media

Gone are the days of pounding the pavement looking for a good job. Correctly leveraging social media can make finding a great gig easier than ever.

Social media has for some time now been a necessary instrument to gain visibility, build trust and establish yourself in any industry. As an SEO freelance writer, posting frequently on social media channels like Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin will make your work and expertise more visible to potential clients.

In fact, 35.5 million people got hired after building connections on LinkedIn. These platforms are great for posting the results you brought for your clients (in terms of traffic, rankings, leads, revenue, etc.) and showcasing your skills.

7. Use the right SEO tools

Being a Freelance SEO writer involves having the right SEO software to use to achieve the best results from your content.

Many of your peers and competitors might be able to write like you, but not many will offer SEO services along with the content. You have the chance to provide additional services and separate yourself from the competition.

Luckily, there are both types of SEO tools, both free and paid, that can improve your SEO game.

Tools, such as Google Analytics and Ahrefs, are acclaimed by SEO experts and more than sufficient for most SEO needs. Google Analytics is free to use and will help you monitor and report on different SEO metrics.

Another tool you can use is SEMrush. It is an all-in-one tool that lets you do SEO, competitor research, content marketing, PPC marketing, and social media marketing on one platform. Price plans range from professional to business level, and you can choose any plan according to your requirements.

Likewise, many other tools can strengthen your SEO writing. So, make sure you use them to advance your career as a freelance SEO writer.

8. Earn references and reviews

If you want to grow your career as a freelance SEO content writer, getting references from previous clients is important. The best way to do that is to make the client feel so satisfied that they feel compelled to give you a reference. Then, when you apply for a new job, social proof can help seal the deal.

You can post them publicly on your website, social media pages, and portfolio pages to get noticed by prospective clients. Or, if you are using job portals, they usually have a section dedicated to reviews where clients and freelancers can leave their reviews.

For instance, here is an example of clients’ reviews garnered by an SEO writer on Upwork.

Create an email template for asking for reviews from your clients. This way, you can also easily compliment them about the pleasant experience you had working with them.

…And That’s a Wrap!

SEO Content Writing is an essential part of digital marketing for most companies. Having an SEO Content Writer on the team will help them develop strong content for their websites, which is key to ranking highly in search engines.

Naturally, smart Freelance SEO Content Writers aware of the various trends and changes in the field can grab good opportunities, especially in 2022.

Remember that there is a lot more than just writing quality when it comes to SEO content writing. You need to market your previous works or any relevant portfolio or writing samples to convince potential clients that you are competent in high-quality SEO content writing.

 

Becoming a freelancer is certainly not easy, else everyone would be doing it. As a freelancer, there’s a lot of freedom and flexibility that you have available, whilst those in full-time jobs have the security of an income every month.

Despite what industry you’d like to explore as a freelancer, there are some tools that can help you start off on the right foot.

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This article contains some of the top tools that can help utilize and manage your time, create connections and assist in the work you provide to your clients. As a newcomer to the freelance world, it can be helpful to have knowledge of these tools.

Are you ready to go freelance?

Becoming a freelancer is a big decision. It’s one that takes a lot of thought, preparation and planning to execute successfully. With more than 57 million freelancing in America alone, you’d be joining a growing career lifestyle.

So with that in mind, ask yourself whether it’s the right time to be taking the plunge. There may be some months where you’re earning very little and therefore savings might be a good thing to have ready in that event.

Before going into freelancing full-time, you might already be doing it as a side hustle. So with that in mind, you want to check if it’s feasible to do freelancing as a full-time career now or whether you need to build up your client list first.

For some, it’s a simple case of just jumping in at the deep end, but that might not be suitable for everyone going into freelancing.

Top tools for freelancing

There are so many tools and software that you can benefit from when it comes to freelancing. Whilst this may be a great list to start with, it’s not an exhaustive one. Here are some top tools worth using as a freelancer.

Asana for task and calendar management

As a freelancer, there’s going to be a hefty workload at times to manage and that can be difficult for some to get used to. Typically, in a full-time office job, you’ve got team members that you can rely on and a manager to oversee your work. As a freelancer, many are working alone and therefore the responsibility lies with you.

Asana is a great platform to help organize your day-to-day tasks so that you’re making the most out of your working day. The best bit about this tool is that it’s completely free to use, although there are subscriptions for premium services. However, the features you do get are likely to be more than enough when you’re a freelancer.

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The site also offers a mobile app so that you can access your work schedule when commuting. It’s a useful one too for project management. As a freelancer, you may have multiple clients with ongoing tasks all happening at once. Having an app like Asana can be helpful to keep your head above the water as work starts to get overwhelming.

Another perk of the tool is that it can integrate with other applications like Microsoft Teams and Adobe Creative Cloud.

Bonsai for contracts

Contracts are a part and parcel of running your own business and the same thing goes for freelancers. Making sure you have everything you need within the contract to protect yourself is important but not everyone has extensive legal knowledge or experience in drafting up a contract.

That’s where Bonsai comes in. With Bonsai you get access to pre-made contracts that contain everything you need and that just need tweaking to your needs. So whether you need a bridal makeup contract as an MUA or a design contract as a digital designer, this is a tool that can come in great use for every type of freelancer.

Providing contracts with your clients also helps you to look more professional and it shows you’re not only looking out for yourself but for all parties involved. It can put the client’s mind at ease when you’ve not worked with them before, knowing you’re professional and experienced enough.

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The pricing is affordable for freelancers too at $19 per month or $29 per month on a Work Flow Plus subscription.

Quickbooks for managing your finances

Quickbooks is a great resource for everyone managing their finances whether it’s freelancers, small businesses and start-ups. 43% of SMEs spend roughly around £4.4 billuon in administration costs alone when it comes to chasing late payments. As a freelancer, those figures are likely worse.

So with that being said, having a tool that can help manage your finances so that money is going in and out efficiently is key. It’ll help avoid some sleepless nights, wondering when your next paycheck is coming in.

Quickbooks provdes everything that you need to keep track of your income, draft up expenses and process invoices quickly. It can be a great help for maintaining your books in an organized manner for when the tax return comes about. Like many tools mentioned on this list, Quickbooks comes in an app too. Handling money has never been so easily done!

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It’s a versatile platform and one that can be handy when it comes to inventory management. This might be an additional feature that as a freelancer, you might from having. There’s different levels of subscription packages too, which suit anyone from a freelancer to a small organization. These prices start from $12.50 per month to $90 per month at the top end.

Buffer for social media promotion

As a freelancer, there may be a certain amount of promotion that you need to do for your business. Buffer is a necessary tool that can help you as a freelancer, to get your name or brand out there. A lot of it when you start out in the freelancing world is word of mouth and networking but it’s important to make use of the online domain.

As a freelancer, you might have the ability to reach a global audience and that could do wonders for the work you receive.

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With Buffer, you can schedule in all of your social media content, whether that be on Facebook or Twitter. This can be really helpful because it means you can focus on other areas of your freelance work schedule. Automation is being used a lot more in business because it’s a great way of helping utilize time and save on resources.

As a freelancer, you might not have the funds to spend on outsourcing a social media manager or agency to help you. Buffer and many other platforms like it, can be an affordable and handy solution to maintaining your social media presence.

Harvest for time tracking

Proscratination is a killer of productivity. One of the great benefits that can come with using a tool like Harvest is that it’s great for time tracking. Harvest uses a simple design and has powerful functionality. It creates multiple projects so that you can easily track by the minute, how much time you’re spending on client work or projects in general.

It can show you through analytics on where you might be wasting time, or where more time is needed. It’s a real benefit to those who struggle to do everything they need to do in their working day.

We often feel as though our working day is flying by and with Harvest, you can discover exactly where that time is going.

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With these SaaS tools, most are available for free to some degree. With Harvest you get to use the tool for free, otherwise it’s $12 per user, per month. For small businesses, this can be a good way of helping their staff improve productivty across the board.

Hemingway for writing and editing

This is a great one for those who are writers or editors and need something to spell or grammar-check their work. Hemingway is an app that acts as a writing assistant, helping you with any errors that have been made in your content. This is a useful one for any freelance writers, editors of content, etc.

What makes Hemingway so appealing is that it’s completely free to use and it can make significant improvements to the work you produce. That’s something that’s critical when you’re trying to impress your clients.

Start your freelance career when you’re ready

With freelancing, there might never be the right time to start it. However, you can certainly do a lot to prepare and plan so that you are giving yourself the best opportunity of success. Not every freelancer who starts out will sustain their career for years, whereas others will find that right formula that keeps the work rolling in.

Hopefully, these tools mentioned above will provide you with all the necessary tools for your freelance toolkit. This year in particular is a time where taking the plunge and trying something new is more doable than ever before. So with that said, kickstart your freelance career and commit to it fully in order to help give yourself the best chance of success

As a fellow freelancer, I’m sure you’re not waiting for another article on how content marketing is what makes the world go round right now. What you might want to know, though, is how you can use content marketing, not to stay busy, but to effectively draw in new leads.

Let’s face it: we’re all producing content, all the time. Because we’re told to, and because we don’t want the algorithm Gods to punish us. But if you calculate the time and resources spent on all those pieces of content, and measure the actual ROI in terms of leads and conversions, you might want to throw in the towel and start that beach bar in Panama after all.

While that does sound great, bear with me. Because content marketing can—and should—be used to reach real objectives, beyond likes and reach.

In this article, I’ll focus on content—based lead generation. I’ll dive into what it is and where it fits into your market acquisition efforts, and I’ll give you some fresh ideas to immediately put that knowledge into practice. Grab another cup of coffee, and we’ll jump right in.

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Why are you doing content marketing?

I’m sure nobody is creating content just out of boredom if they run a business. But ever since content marketing became so important, a lot of people have lost track of what it really is supposed to do. It’s not just about visibility and being consistent.

Content marketing done right helps you reach specific business goals, and you should tailor said content to help you with that.

So next time you write a blog post, post on social media or join a podcast, ask yourself: is this piece of content contributing to…

• Content marketing can be used to
• Raising brand awareness?
• Higher engagement?
• Direct sales?
• Customer retention?
• My status as a thought leader?
• Generating traffic to my website?
• Collecting high-quality leads?

Spoiler alert: one piece of bite-sized content, can’t do all of that at once. That’s why you need a content strategy, that maps out which of those—or other—objectives need your attention first, and what messages and types of content fit the bill.

Start a fun newsletter with your clients.

Email marketing for your small business could make all the difference in your lead generation. Think your business is not newsletter-worthy? You’re approaching newsletters wrong! You don’t need to have a big announcement every week or month. That’s probably not what your audience wants to receive anyway.

Here’s a little secret: people don’t like to read about your business. They like to read about themselves. So, focus less on yourself, and more on them.

That’s how they connect what you do, to their life or business. For instance, if your expertise is managing social media accounts, highlight a client every week in your newsletter. Let them share their struggles they had or have with social media, and show how their feed now looks completely different from before.

The important thing is to let others do the talking in a lot of your content marketing. Speaking from your ideal client’s perspective is like trying to read minds, and people will tell immediately if it’s a little off. If you want to collect and nurture leads, make sure they feel recognized and understood.

Create laser-targeted portfolios. Yes, that’s plural.

Pop quiz: what’s the most important piece of content for a freelancer?

If your mind is at TikToks or whitepapers, take a step back—in time, if you will.

Portfolios are content. A lot of creators and creatives are churning out great-looking content every day, from blogs to reels, but when it’s time to seal the deal or get real leads, they lack one thing: a strong portfolio.

Let me rephrase that: you need several strong portfolios.

If you’ve been procrastinating work and found yourself on Instagram lately, like the rest of us, you might have stumbled across Jamie Brindle, who gives freelancers all kinds of advice in videos that have the cleanest of loops—but that’s not the most impressive part.

One piece of advice that really picked up in the freelance community, is to create several portfolios, for either the different parts of your service or business, or for the different clients you cater to.

Let’s say you are a freelance copywriter, like me. Even though you have your specialties and niche, you branch out regularly and enjoy working on different kinds of projects.

Sometimes you write blogs about cryptocurrencies, but sometimes you create SEO—proof websites for businesses in the finance industry. Oh, and you write killer email sequences for e-commerce businesses.

Those clients are all hunting for something else. One wants to see that you can write converting copy, the other is looking for a good understanding of complex topics.

Divide your portfolio up into two and promote or highlight them differently. Make a clear distinction on your website and in your landing pages between what you do, to make sure that leads only see what’s relevant to them at that moment.

You make it easier for them to decide whether to keep following you, or sign up for your newsletter—or however you collect leads.

Source

Use your network in your content

Don’t be shy. We often don’t hesitate to share our content with our network, but we rarely put the name of a partner or client in our actual content—because we’re talking about what we’ve been doing.

Make your content revolve around real projects and collaborations. Not only will this demonstrate your skills better, but you also benefit from the reach of your client’s network. Because that’s what happens if you tag someone.

(Make sure it makes sense. Beyoncé has a lot of followers, but tagging her won’t get you fame. Trust me.)

For instance, if you see a great post on LinkedIn and have thoughts on it, share them while tagging the person that inspired it. This type of content marketing doesn’t even require your own content so to speak, because you’re drawing inspiration from someone else’s.

What it does show is how involved you are with your profession, and others might start following you because they also admire the person you tagged—which could turn into a valuable lead.

Source

Focus your content on the goals of your clients

It’s easy to get lost in your own skills and knowledge—but how interesting is it for potential clients to read or listen to that? It’s not their field of expertise—and they need help, not education. So, your lead generation content should revolve around how you specifically help your clients reach their objectives and help their challenges.

How can you put this type of content in a format that feels natural? Write more case studies.

No excuses for this one. They are especially easy to write—because it’s not a piece of fiction. You describe the challenge your client faced, anonymous or not, your process, solution and the results.

This type of content is great for lead generation, because it shows potential clients how they could benefit from working with you, and following you.

Research what types of content your audience wants

When doing research for a content strategy, a lot of people focus on the keywords that they are going to use.

While that is absolutely necessary, it’s not everything. It often pushes you into the direction of writing blogs or whitepapers, but maybe your audience really wants short videos or long podcasts.

If done right, those different types of content can also be optimized for search engines.

SEO but also what types of content

6. Use an online course as a lead generator

My last piece of advice takes a little more work to set up, but could potentially be a lead-generating machine if your business is suitable for it. The tip? Build a course. Free, or really cheap.

There’s a reason why you get bombarded with online courses for every aspect of your life when you open Instagram. Admit it, sometimes you’re really tempted.

But what does that person get from you following their free course or challenge?

To show you how students convert into leads, let’s look at how a freelance web designer uses this trick.

Her main service is creating stunning WordPress websites. But she also sells a course on how to ‘boost your website’—basically by making it easier to find, set up WordPress and Yoast the right way—the basics.

She’ll show you how to create basic pages and edit them—and you might think, hey, but then I don’t need her anymore, do I? In most cases, you will.

She flipped her service upside down. Not only does she educate future clients on how to edit their own WordPress websites—which prevents her inbox from flooding with a lot of panicked emails—but it’s also a great lead generator.

Someone who might not be ready yet to invest as much money in having a website built for them, starts out with this. Once their business grows and they recognize the need for a really professional and slick website, she’s the first one that comes to mind.

Get your creative juices flowing

The main takeaway? Take a good look at your lead generation process and visualize how you can make it more client-centered. Find out how you can make them part of the process, and not make it something you do to them, so to speak.

 

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Freelancing is the way to go for most professionals looking for side-income streams.

With the rise of remote work, we can see a wide range of freelancers helping businesses owners grow their companies faster than before.

Different types of freelancers directly work towards business growth and development. One, in particular, is SEO freelancers.

With SEO, businesses can increase their new customers month over month, freely from search.

And that’s the reason why if you’re an SEO freelancer, you should take advantage today of what most business owners are in need of — lead generation from search.

With that, here are 5 ways to help you get SEO clients this year (and beyond).

1. Leverage Thought Leadership

When people see your expertise and experience, they are likely to get attracted to what you have to offer.

It’s true for SEO freelancers who can establish thought leadership.

The more potential clients know what you’re capable of through the content assets you publish on your blog or other distribution channels like third-party publishing sites, the more you build personal credibility online.

Thought leadership helps build your personal brand.

If other people still don’t know about your SEO services, you should let them see it through right in front of their eyes.

One way to build thought leadership is to create your own blog. This blog will become your masterpiece of educating your potential clients about the system, process, and case studies you can share with them about your work.

You can publish comprehensive guides on different SEO subjects such as technical audit, content optimization, and link building.

Though there are a lot of SEO articles out there, the industry is evolving in knowledge. New updates from Google, further improvements in systems and processes, and new approaches to making SEO campaigns better — these are topics that can help build your thought leadership early on in your SEO freelancing career.

Aside from publishing SEO educational articles on your blog, you can reach out to established marketing and SEO powerhouse publications to contribute content for them.

Becoming a contributor for publishing sites is one of the greatest ways to penetrate the market, given that not all SEO practitioners are content influencers.

When you have a solid content marketing strategy, you can provide value in the SEO marketplace. You can use Youtube, Twitter, Linkedin, and other social marketing channels to share your message, experience, and expertise — these will translate into lead generation opportunities.

2. Show Case Studies and Proof Of Work

When a person doesn’t know anything about you, they must have a reason to trust you initially. And so that’s when the social proof comes. It creates an initial connection between their needs as SEO clients and your marketplace offering — your SEO services.

If you’ve been working on a couple of SEO projects, one important note to make is to create case studies out of that. If you see any improvements in organic visits, rankings, and bottom-line numbers (like leads and sales), you can show it through your case studies.

Your case studies will be your selling machine to potential SEO clients.

The higher quality and quantity of case studies you have, the more likely they get to inquire about your SEO services.

But, what kind of case studies should you publish on your website or social profiles?

One, in particular, is a sector or audience-specific case study. These are case studies that directly address the problems of a specific group of audience. It could be for a particular industry (SEO services for dentists or link building services for enterprise-level brands).

For example, suppose your SEO work has positively impacted a local veterinarian business in driving search visits and leads through dominating a particular set of keywords. In that case, you can create a case study about “how [your name/business] helped [local vet brand name] to increase leads by %.”

The more specific your SEO case studies are, the more they are perceived as valuable in the marketplace. It is not a random case study but is geared towards an audience you care about.

Go through your past and current SEO campaigns. See what verticals and types of clients they are. Then, create case studies out of your results for them.

Once you have these case studies available, do not forget to publish them on your website or other web properties such as your Linkedin page.

Promote each of these case studies from time to time. You may also convert some of them into written articles to be published on your blog.

3. Be Consistent With Social Media Content Distribution Strategy

Content creation is only half of the battle. Once you publish your content pieces, it’s time you promote them massively to your audience.

Undoubtedly, one primary content distribution channel is social media.

What you can do about your published guides is to chop them into pieces contextually to the social platform you’re looking to distribute them in.

For example, if you have a list type of SEO article, you can create Twitter threads featuring one of your tips.

Below is one example from Ahrefs.

*Source: https://twitter.com/ahrefs/status/1412822498492702731

Then, at the end of your Twitter thread is a link to your blog post. This way, you don’t bombard your audience with all the information you published in your article, but instead, you give them bite-sized tips that serve as a preview to the entire article.

Another platform that you should leverage is Linkedin.

Most business owners and individuals looking for SEO services are engaging in Linkedin — it’s a platform for professionals like you and me.

The last thing you want to do is spam people on LinkedIn and offer them your SEO services. It won’t work positively in your branding and reputation.

Start by giving valuable tips to help business owners understand the importance of SEO in their lead generation system.

You can also share some advice on how to improve SEO processes to help marketing agencies (who are also your potential clients).

Depending on your expertise and experience, share something valuable with your target market. Be consistent with your posting schedules to build momentum for yourself and see results from a series of social media posts.

4. Create Strategic Partnerships With Marketing or SEO Agencies

One of the untapped SEO client bases is marketing and SEO agencies.

SEO freelancers think that just because SEO agencies are directly catering to businesses with different SEO services, there are no opportunities involved in it.

The truth is some SEO agencies still outsource a part of their work to specialized marketing agencies and SEO freelancers.

But when and how? This is where specialization kicks in.

If you’re an SEO freelancer, you should assess yourself and identify your core SEO strengths.

With all activities involved to execute an SEO campaign, which one do you think you can produce more quality results? Are you better at technical audit or link building — where most SEO agencies are struggling with today?

It is best to determine what specific problems you can address with your services as a freelancer.

Given that the more your core SEO strengths and specific proof of work like case studies, you can increase your chances of getting more opportunities working with marketing and SEO agencies.

5. Engage in SEO Forums

Community engagement is underrated today.

Most freelancers start flying in solo without realizing that most SEO clients are not engaging elsewhere — they are part of a community.

One of the best communities you can join is SEO forums.

Look for active SEO forums where in-house SEOs and marketers participate either through learning sessions or simply answer questions thrown by anyone in the group.

One highly engaged SEO forum is Traffic Think Tank. It is a community of SEO freelancers, in-house marketers, and founders/owners of SEO and marketing agencies worldwide.

As an SEO freelancer, this is where you can participate and, days later, get SEO inquiries straight to your inbox.

You don’t send individual messages to users in the community. Instead, you engage by answering questions you know you had experiences with.

You can also go through channels where marketplace opportunities are available (e.g., #jobs in a Slack channel).

Effective Strategy and Execution in Getting SEO Clients

There is no success without hard work. If there is, it is not sustainable.

When getting SEO clients, you allocate your resources effectively — time, money, attention, and energy. Whether in producing educational content assets on your blog to exhibit thought leadership or by partnering with marketing agencies, you ensure every time spent will make positive returns in lead generation.

With the right strategy and execution, you can get buy-ins from small business owners and SEO practitioners to get you part of their team of SEO freelancers. Start small. Get into the habit of enlarging your networks by being part of any SEO community.

Build your personal branding by showing your expertise and experience, and you’ll never know tomorrow you’ll have a good stream of SEO clients waiting for you.

 

The scope for freelancers has indeed grown at an unimaginable pace giving opportunities for every individual who is in expectation for building a better career or venture. In short, freelancing could be understood as self-employment, where one is willing to offer the required services to the clients. However, the services offered would be of the one that the freelancer is skilled or has expertise in, or it can also be the state where the freelancer is progressing to be an expert. About 66% who are full-time freelancers are trying to update their skills to ensure that they can be marketable to face the requirements of the job markets. And what highlights freelancing is, it involves individuals of different age groups, as represented below.

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Although freelancing has opened up a wide range of opportunities, it hasn’t proved to be successful for everyone who opts for it. The primary concern is to identify the clients who are distributed worldwide. Despite many efforts taken by freelancers, about 45% of them admit that their clients have stiffed them. This has caused worry among the new entrants of freelance as to how to identify the clients. In order to overcome this challenge, it is important to be cautious and vigilant right from choosing your first client. But then, how to do it?

Tips To Win Your First And Reliable Client As A Freelancer

Clients for any company play a key and irreplaceable role. And businesses are striving to give their best to identify, retain, as well as satisfy them. Just as factoHR.com rightly states, presently, more than 84% of the organizations have gained an increase in their earnings by redefining their customer experience. And when you achieve the loyalty of clients, the business’s growth is inevitable. Freelancers who are beginners desire such growth but are found to be clueless at times in finding their first client. Well, if you are one of them, discover the secret and top tips to land your first client for a wonderful freelancing journey ahead in the next few minutes of the read.

Identify Your Niche And Key Skills That You Wish To Work On

In the given situation, there are numerous opportunities available in different fields to start freelancing. But identifying where you belong is very important in order to find your client. First and foremost, it is essential to identify the skills that you believe you are good at. It doesn’t have to necessarily be one specific skill, but you can discern it according to your ability. According to a study, it was discovered that there are more than 61% who rely on 2 or 3 skills.

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Recognizing and developing your skill constantly may help you in reaching your clients. Moreover, if you are good at more than one skill and are capable of handling multiple projects, the chances for the clients to look out for you will definitely be widened. But being unclear of what you are good at and expecting to do whatever the client asks of you isn’t the right way, to begin with. Therefore, take enough time you need to discern what exactly you wish to work on, and once that is identified, you can look out for clients in the same field, as well as it contributes to them reaching out to you.

Build A Reliable Portfolio Website And Profile

Once you are sure of your niche, you know very well that you have to look for your clients. But the concern is “how?” The most important aspect here is “trust.” When you gain the trust of people, it is easy to relate and connect with them. However, it was never that easy to get someone to trust us to do fast, with the increasing crime rates. This is where your website and profile come into the picture, bridging the gap that exists. Building a reliable portfolio website and profile benefits in two ways:

• Contributes to your freelance business’s visibility.
• Contributes to reaching out to your target audience.

However, these are possible only if the content of both the portfolio and profile is authentic. Many times, a portfolio is mistaken for an online resume, when they are two different aspects. Basically, in your portfolio, you need to create your own story if you are a beginner by including a few work samples and testimonies, and you can even start writing a few blogs. As a beginner, it is true that you do not have clients to provide testimonies. Yet, you can work on one or two projects for free to your prospective clients and request them to testify for the same. This is to maintain the authenticity we were talking about earlier. And secondly, the option to write blogs on relevant content from where the prospective client can gain something can indeed yield better fruits too.

Along with your portfolio, focus on creating your profile as well. Especially, build a significant presence on social media and manage it well. Indeed, social media has become one of the best platforms for more than 71% of either small or mid-sized businesses to market themselves. And take advantage of its wide platform to reach out to a greater target audience.

Involve Your Reliable Network For Assistance

Word of mouth is still considered to be one of the strongest and powerful forms of marketing strategy. As we discussed earlier, trust is very important, and gaining the trust of your target audience is possible and more effective with the word of mouth strategy. And thus, never overlook your network, be it your family, friends, your social media networks, and so on.

Such networks can have a huge and unexpected but positive influence on your freelancing career. Request them to help in marketing your venture. If they agree, ask them to make social media posts and tag you for the same. Stats reveal that about 88% of the people express a greater level of trust in a brand if a family member or the family member recommends it. Therefore, lean on your network to a certain extent where it can help you spread a positive word about your venture.

Identify The Platforms To Look Out For Clients

At this stage begins your actual hunt for clients. All the efforts taken till now are sure to have contributed to building your identity. Now it is time to find the right clients to actually begin your dream career. Your website, network, portfolio, profiles, etc., are sure to widen the possibilities to make your career’s presence and existence visible. But then, it doesn’t end there. Now that you have placed yourself to be visible to your clients in all possible ways, it is equally important to identify a few platforms where you can find potential clients. The following image represents a few that are generally found useful by freelancers.

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The graph above represents most of the important categories we discussed, such as social media platforms, networks, word of mouth, etc. However, there are other possibilities that you need to be aware of to reach out to the clients. As a beginner, you might not get access to the first aspect of the graph, i.e., the previous client, but apart from this, you can take advantage of third-party sites like Upwork or related ones to help yourselves. It is better to take advantage of all the possibilities that might help you get in touch with authentic clients sooner or later.

Determine Or Reach Out To Your Prospective Clients

With the efforts from the previous efforts, it shouldn’t surprise you if you come across a few contacts to deal with. However, it is important to determine well before moving ahead. As it is your first client, which can bring forth a significant influence on your venture’s future, make sure you get into contracts with reliable businesses. Moreover, a study on freelancers identified that the majority of the clients are from North America, as represented in the image below.

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Once you identify the client, start pitching. However, a simple tip is to not use the same content for all your clients. Try to be creative and ensure you make a new approach every time. Moreover, take into consideration everything possible to have clarity between you and the client in terms of timings, practices, requirements, etc. Go through the client’s website, check their domain, and other relevant factors that convince you of accepting the job. All these are to ensure that though it is your first client, the impact can be significant, as this is what, to a certain extent, predicts the future of your venture. However, the prediction is subjective and may differ accordingly. Thus, once you have a strong conviction, go ahead and pitch the client in such a way that they feel excited to connect with you.

Prioritize Interest And Experience But Not Overlooking The Pay

Let’s take, for instance, that the prospective client you identified is happy to connect with you. But make sure that the contract is not fully agreed upon until your payment is decided. Generally, there is a notion that you begin selling your services for a lesser price during the initial stage. However, it doesn’t go well for every business. To understand this better, in 2018, Upwork revealed a statistic saying that more than 51% of the freelancers would never want to take up a traditional job for whatever the amount is, once they choose to freelance. The stats show the conviction that as freelancers, the trust you have in your skills and potential to prosper in your venture. Then why settle in for lesser pay? Well, therefore, it is strongly recommended to be reasonable in your pricing strategies, though it would be your first opportunity.

Before making your decision on prices, look for recommendations, speak with those who are familiar, or surf through the internet to have an idea of how much to quote. You can even benefit from the below image that shows the average earning for different fields.

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It is completely fine to negotiate, and do not hesitate to do it when needed, as pricing indeed plays a key role. Once both are in agreement and happy with whatever is decided, move on to signing your first contract and celebrate the joy of your first freelancing job.

Let’s Wrap Up

Today, the rate at which freelancers are booming is really great, where most of them opt for it as a choice out of willingness rather than a necessity. And the choice made in the expectation of a bright future shouldn’t be let go in vain. Just as the first step matters, so does the first client, whose project can have a great influence on your venture. Therefore, take the necessary steps, follow the right flow with determination, and identify your first client, giving the best to for yours as well as the client’s satisfaction, assuring the possibilities of other clients as well.

It is no secret that millions of young workers around the world find freelance life so enticing. And why not? If you work at an office, you know just how tedious things can get. Sure, you get some perks along the way, but is that worth the price of being stuck in a cubicle or a regular 9 to 5 rat race?

The younger generation does not seem to think so – at least most don’t. We are, of course, not suggesting that no one should work at an office job. If that’s what makes you happy, then that’s what you should go for. We asked guest author Alex Lysak to share key strategies to help aspiring freelancers get ready for a successful freelance career in whatever industry they decide to go into. Learn more about Alex Lysak.

Workplaces may give out free pizza every Tuesday and Tiramisu on Thursday, but wearing a suit and tie and commuting to the office daily is no longer as appealing as it once was, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic made working at home a norm in 2020.

Whatever your personal stance is on the work from home matter, Scanteam research shows that there are a lot more workers today who are transitioning to the freelance lifestyle.

The freelance life is especially great for non-traditional workers. They don’t like to conform to average schedules, require a lot of free time to pursue their own goals, and want to have some semblance of freedom.

And these are all things you can get easily in the freelance world. They will come at the expense of security and stability, but if you do your homework and prepare accordingly, you can honestly have the best of both worlds.

Does this kind of life appeal to you? If so, you are not alone.

If you are interested in freelancing but have no idea how to freelance, we have collated key freelance tips and tricks that will help you make the move.

Finding this article is essentially step one. What’s next? Read on to see our three-step guide on how to begin your journey to freelancing life.

1. Take a Dip Before Diving In

While freelancing is all about freedom, the first steps for your journey should be baby-sized ones. This is especially the case if you have a great office job. You might think you want freedom, but have you considered the things you lose as a corporate denizen?

One thing many corporate employees take for granted is the omnipresence of health insurance. When you are hired, you are enrolled in your company’s policy as a matter of course.

Not so as a freelancer how it works, in that case, is that you have to personally handle your healthcare needs.

This includes picking out healthcare policies and discerning which one works best for you. As an individual, you have far less power than a company has when it comes to the policy’s terms. Simply adjust based on what your current budget is since you can always get a better plan if business starts booming.

For instance, most freelancers will not be able to afford the health insurance that their last company was providing for them. It will likely be too expensive for you on your own as companies have the luxury of hundreds or thousands of other employees to help keep their overall insurance prices down.

Before taking on the freelance lifestyle, try to take stock of the things that are most important for you, and how they fit with the working arrangement you want.

Do you enjoy a busy office environment while working? Try working on weekends at your local coffee shop to test how you do there.

Do you enjoy your freedom? If you want to freelance, you can have as much freedom as you want. In fact, no one will ever tell you to work when you don’t want to. The problem is that you won’t receive a salary when you don’t work.

Can you stay on top of multiple projects while juggling real-life issues? There are no sick leaves, vacation leaves, or maternity leaves. Can you make that work?

If you don’t know where to begin, you can check out local job sites or even social media for one-off projects. Take those on and see how it feels.

As an office worker, your manager will motivate you whether you want to work or not. As a freelancer, you have to do this on your own.

You have to be a self-motivated person as a freelancer. Until you receive regular clients, you will have to hustle and network your way to more work. This can be draining, not just physically, but emotionally as well. You will have to handle more rejection in a week as a starting freelancer than a decade at an office job.

You might think you already know all this. We don’t doubt it for a moment. The problem is that knowing something is true, is different from experiencing something as true.

By taking baby steps, you give yourself more time to make the correct decision. If you like the lack of training wheels offered by freelance life, go ahead, and move on to the next step. If you find that you would rather stick with the comforts of office life, you at least know for sure that freelancing is not the right fit for you.

2. Define Your Marketable Skills

Freelancers, especially when they are just starting out, tend to apply for every project they get. This can be refreshing for people who enjoy the adrenaline shot of putting your best foot forward but can be exhausting for anxious individuals.

One way to ease that tension is to be clear about the things you can do and cannot do.

With freelancing, the key is to have a couple of core interests or competencies. You want to define those skills upfront, so your prospective client knows where they can make use of your skills.

For instance, if you were a social media manager in your last day job, you will have to go into greater detail than normal when it comes to pitching your services.

Freelancers are generally considered attractive for their specialized skill sets, not their all-around competence. Though you might be an all-around rock star as a social media manager, clients aren’t looking for you to fill that position per se – you are simply filling in the gaps in their current organization.

With social media management, for example, you will have to lay out the details of what makes you a great – albeit temporary – member of their team.

Include your experience with analytics, the core topics you focus on, and any other competencies that will serve them well.

Defining your core skills and topics are also a great way of weeding projects that fit your precise abilities. To continue with the social media manager example, if you generally handle social media accounts for Christian organizations, other faith-based companies will no doubt be more willing to take a shot on you.

This also prevents clients from asking things you don’t offer. This might not seem like much, but when you’re fielding dozens upon dozens of such requests as a freelancer (as we have), then you’ll have a whole new appreciation for it.

3. Always Remember to Build

The essential thing to keep in mind as a freelancer is that it is totally on you to build your business. There will be no lead generators or managers showing you the way – it’s all up to you.

This is the biggest price you pay as a freelancer. As an employee, it is easy to take for granted all the little things that working a company affords you. You get access to resources you wouldn’t come across otherwise, including access to your peers.

Freelancing forces you to go it alone, at least in the beginning.

Don’t worry. Things will get easier, as long as you can weather the first few storms.

Everything you do as a freelancer can be viewed as a brick. You use those bricks to build your business. You will need lots and lots of bricks to make a business.

How do you get that first brick?

It depends where you are as a worker. If you have a solid base of contacts that you know will require your services, you can start out there. For those who don’t have a network, you will have to take on the lowest projects on the totem pole.

If you’ve seen how sites like Upwork and Fiverr work, you will notice that it is near-impossible to bid for a project as a newbie. However cheaply you set your rates, there will be tens of others who have the same rates as you, but with vastly more experience.

You can get lucky, of course. But chances are, if you are wiping the slate clean with a freelance career, you will have to take on unpaid projects to build your skillset and networks.

This kind of building takes tons of work and hustle. Unlike regular office jobs that have set hours, being a freelancer can lead to extreme situations. There are freelancers out there who work more than they ever did at the office, while some are more laid-back. Your task is to balance these aspects based on what you want from your career.

Do you want to cater to a more upscale market? Set your rates accordingly, so that clients that don’t meet your needs won’t even attempt to contact you. If you want to get your name out there as fast as possible, you can set friendlier rates, with incentives for repeated projects.

You will also have to be on the lookout for potential clients. You can also send pitches cold – that is, without being solicited to do so – to companies who you feel will be a great fit for your skillset.

Remember that being a freelancer is not a zero-sum game. You can always go back to an office job if things don’t pan out your way, taking occasional projects on the side. Does freelance life make sense for you? You will have to find out on your own.

4. Budgeting

A lot of people hate this word but if you are serious about a long-term freelancing career, you need to learn how to budget. You need to learn how to budget your expenses per week, per month, and then put together a contingency budget that allows you to set aside funds for a minimum of 3 to 6 months.

This takes the pressure off you getting freelance work in the early stages as you know you have a buffer to tide you over. Budgeting your weekly and monthly expenses also lets you know how much you need to spend and prevents you from going overboard with your spending. When you have less financial pressure at the start, it makes it easier for you to make better decisions with regard to picking your freelance clients and assignments.

Conclusion

If you are starting out in your freelance career, we suggest you take full advantage of all four strategies that we listed above. The only other tip that we need to emphasize is that you need to show a lot of patience in the freelancing world, especially when you are just getting started. All the best with your freelance journey!

 

Hiring freelancers is no more a need; it has become a necessity for many businesses these days. It has opened unimaginable possibilities for people with practical skills to start a freelancing profession on the side. The approach is eventually growing due to a continuous consultant profession.

“The more robust economy offers optionality and instant, and as a result, people see freelancing as a long-term choice, and fewer are doing it on a traditional job approach.”

A CNBC report shows that dedicated and expert freelancers can easily earn 70% more than the U.S. workers working traditionally. The working approach offer business and people with numerous benefits like:

• Fewer taxes;
• Eliminate the need for extra space;
• Decreases employees expenses;
• Saves time of traveling;
• The flexibility of working.

There are many more benefits of the freelancing business approach. Today most businesses, including delivery, seek freelance content writers, developers, digital marketing experts, testers, etc., helping them achieve success in their business niche. However, numerous freelance job sites are cropping up the demand of today’s workers. All these opportunities are getting much better with each passing day.

Learn to Start Your Freelancing Journey Successfully

More than 63% of respondents in the Phoenix survey responded that they own their own business or worked as freelancers. Many of you need to be their boss; however, 55% are waiting to be their boss. And those who want to get self-employed by starting as an entrepreneur can start their journey as freelancers.

It is resilient and comfortable to begin freelancing with a perfect trading plan, get self-employed, or earn more along with your day job. Within decades, freelancers are expected to satisfy the preponderance of workforce heritage. Additionally, it’s found that more than 44% of millennials and 50 percent of Generation Z are already working as freelancers these days.

Image: (Source)

More than 54 million Americans have to start the freelancing profession as it provides them with numerous advantages. However, it permits individuals to leave the lifestyle they love the most. The definition of work has changed for many due to COVID 19 spread; it has changed numerous things. Now brands aren’t looking for “brick and mortar” space to work; they consider work from home a better option.

Image: (Source)

Most of us love the versatility to work whenever and whoever. And freelancing enterprise provides individuals with it. Remote working is the best method for many people these days. Starting a legal freelance profession can provide you with the ability to choose with whom you want to work, offer them skills you’re excellent with, and earn extra that also from the convenience of your sofas.

Are you looking to start your freelancing journey? Are you new to the department and don’t exactly know what to do and from where to start? Then check the complete guide to start your journey right away. We have brought a few practical tips to help you out with your startup and ensure success ahead.

1. Identify Your Intentions

When you begin your freelancing journey, you necessitate knowing why you need to begin it. Once you understand your goal, it will assist you in determining the level of success. Without identifying the goal, you can’t get the desired result. Hence to decide what you want to get, answer few questions like:

• Is it meant to earn extra money along with your prime job?
• Are you seeking a chance to become your own boss?
• Do you require to gain complex targets by advancing your career as a freelancer?

Finalize your goal for starting work as a freelancer as it helps you plan and implement practical tips to achieve the desired result ahead. Take enough time to know what you can provide the best to your clients, whether you can offer:

• Mobile app and development service?
• Blog and article writing?
• Website design?

Make sure to compose an intelligent move helping you to achieve your targeted goal in less time. For example, you can start with small business goals at the initial level and jump to a bigger one later to grab success.

2. Get The Right Equipment

Some of us make unfortunate decisions when we’re despondent. Hence it would be easier if you did not start freelancing to earn extra money as it does not relate to making more pennies in exchange for your skills. It would be best to work hard to achieve targeted goals. Freelancing is not a get-rich-quick scheme.

It needs a lot of stubborn effort. However, it took years to make a good income as a freelancer. But now, individuals have more significant opportunities than ever before. It would help if you went through various things to achieve success in a short time. Many individuals are always indulged in questions like:

• How can they work using their smartphone to earn more pennies?
• What are effective ways to get more clients?

Individuals need to get answers to every question to get their worth. They can use smartphones, computers, software (such as time-tracking), hardware, and an effective VPN to get everything done systematically. Best VPN selection is essential for freelancers to build an accurate network and get their work done, shows a top IT software survey. However, it also helps them deliver outstanding results and build your profile, helping get more work. Also, choose to get a laptop or computer that works efficiently as most of the work is done online these days.

3. Know Your Target Clients

Finding and knowing your clients is essential for you as a freelancer. As you have just started your journey, it’s completely okay to take a little more to get fewer clients. However, make essential assumptions about what you will offer your clients belonging to delivery or other business?

Make sure to target them to attract them and begin working with them; having a clear sense of whether you would love to work with the same client or not can help you go a long way.

Make sure to keep delivery and other businesses happy as it’s key to success and will help in increasing your sales force. Try to build a strong reputation within your niche. Also, determine the best type of clients to ensure a successful journey ahead. Ask yourself a question like:

• Which type of clients will find your service helpful?
• Find clients who can afford to pay?
• Which group can ensure steady income?
• Why do you need to know about people’s interests and demographics?

With the right clients, it becomes easier for you to relate to them. You can choose an effective writing strategy to cater to your targeted customer’s needs. Keep in mind that your portfolio work applies to what you do; it can help you start successfully and drive effective results you desire to leverage.

4. Recognize Your Skills

An essential aspect to consider is to search for a skill that you can provide as a service. It can be as simple as transcribing a podcast or crafting a delivery app. Identifying your skills and delivering the same service is critical to grab success.

Next, find whether the skills you have expertise in have demand in the market. If yes, then you can start offering it to clients in exchange for good bucks.

For instance, if you have good design or development skills, you can register yourself to top sites like Fiverr, Toptal, Zeerk, PeoplePerHour, and many more. Here you can find the work as per your skills easily and quickly than ever before. If you find the best listing, then you have good opportunities to grab and earn.

5. Present Skills as Best Option

Find how you can solve delivery business issues with the right skills. Initially, pronounce and identify the issues and find how you can solve them, as most people are ready to pay extra for the solution they receive. For instance, if you have content writing skills or development skills, then provide “content writing,” “app development,” “blog writing,” or other similar services.

Show your previous work to let clients know more about you. You can share live links to your developed delivery app like ubereats, content posted, or other live work. It will help you win more clients’ attention and earn more in a short time.

6. Build an Attractive & Engaging Profile

If you have signed up to any platform, then it’s just the starting. There is tough competition in the freelancing market as there are numerous people who possess similar skills. So find ways that help you differentiate yourself from others in the market; it will help you attract more customers in no time. And to do the same, you require to build an attractive and engaging profile.

Based on your experience, an attractive profile possesses precise details of the service you are providing to your clients. Hence identify what problems you can solve for your clients. Also, provide information to get them to know how they can contact and work with you.

7. Receive Projects with Right Bidding Strategy

If you want to earn more, then opt for the right bidding strategy. Design an engaging proposal template, make sure it consists of content for every proposal available on online freelancing platforms. Some of the essential points that your designed template must have are:

• Charges for the project;
• Time required to complete the project;
• Define why you are the best option.

8. Guard Yourself

There are various cases that individuals are not paid for their freelancing work. Hence make sure to choose a trustworthy project; you can choose to guard yourself with the contract. Of course, signing a contract doesn’t mean that you will be paid, but it will help you present yourself and take legal actions against the client.

Is Freelancing Right for You?

Becoming your own boss is an existing task with numerous challenges on the way. But it’s not for every individual. It requires more effort and a hard-working spirit to become a freelancer and get paid on the platforms. Therefore, before starting your freelancing journey, it’s essential to know all its advantages and disadvantages as well.

Advantages of Freelancing Includes:

• Choose what works for you and how you can make extra money;
• Flexibility to work at any time;
• Exposure to learn a lot about different niches.

Disadvantages of Freelancing Includes:

• You are responsible for paying extra bills;
• No extra benefits;
• The work is not steady;
• Almost you have to work.

Looking at freelancing advantages, it’s an excellent decision to start with it. It enables you to test different things and understand the market to get more freelancing work. Have you started working as a freelancer? or looking to start the same? Just consider the above tips to start successfully as a freelancer.

Freelancing has become a buzzword in the current business arena. Recent freelance statistics disclosed the data showing the interest of people for freelancing work is surging towards a new height. 53 million people were self-employed with freelancing work criteria in American countries in 2014 and witnessed consistent growth with passing years.

Graph disclosing the growth of freelancing work in the US from 2014-2020.

But if you’re feeling burnt out from searching for new freelance clients, don’t fret—every freelancer goes through it. Some weeks you’ll get $1500; the other, you may not even get any of the clients. Such inconsistency is to be expected and this article will guide you to a few feasible ways to find new freelance clients.

1. Visit “Career” Sections On Websites

The majority of the companies provide a career section on the footer of their website. Be A Part Of Our Company; We Are Hiring, Join Our Team, Career, Work With Us, etc., are few examples that many companies use for providing opportunities to the new talent.

Find the company which is suitable for your field and apply for work. For example, if you are looking for web development work, you can google the best companies for web development. Visit the company’s website and check if they are providing jobs. If your skill set matches the requirements of the company, you’ll surely get the offer.

2. Browse Freelance Job Boards

There are numerous websites running their personal job boards. Such websites are posting valuable jobs for different sectors. Job boards provide a wide range of job options that ease the work of finding new clients for every freelancer or self-employed individual.

Ensure that you explore the right website. For designing, writing, or marketing works, Remote.com is a valid website. Furthermore, for graphic and web designing works, the Smashing Magazine job board is a good option. You can find copywriting works on ProBlogger Job Board.

Don’t panic if you’re enabled to get orders from the suggested job boards; you can manually search for a job board of your field. Simply type “jobs board” “content writing” on the google search bar. The list of the content writing job board will be available. Check out job boards for any field with this format of search.

You can also hire us to do the job board searching for you.

3. Search Craigslist

Most people are mistaken by thinking of craigslist only for housing services or for buying used car parts. Fortunately, Craigslist has a separate section for exploring jobs from different parts of the world. Mind that US cities are providing maximum remote work. So, selecting any city in the US would be a wise choice for any freelancer to find their client.

Check out the job and temp job option on craigslist to search the valuable work matching your field. Learn that using specific keywords would lead you to the particular work that you are looking for.

4. Leverage Job Search On Stack Overflow

Stack overflow is mainly developed to benefit the developers. Software, web, and mobile developing works can be easily found on stack overflow. It has a separate section for remote jobs where freelancers can find valuable jobs.

A freelancer with developing skills must sign in on stack overflow, upload an updated resume and apply for the jobs that are matching their skill sets.

5. Get Alerts fromHacker News

Hacker new can be an excellent source for freelancers to find clients instantly. Whoishiring submissions play an effective role in providing works.

One can comment and contact clients or apply in the job posts uploaded by different companies. One must use keywords like seeking a freelancer or seeking work on hacker news to contact the relevant companies.

6. See What’s on Dribbble, Behance

Source: Behance

Dribble and Behance are well-known mediums to search designing works. They are a considerable source of networking for every creative designer and photographer.

A job section on Dribble and Behance could lead you to the projects of prominent and successful companies. All that you have to do is apply to your favorite company and convince them with an impressive portfolio.

6. Subscribe to Email Newsletters

Newsletters are gradually gaining importance amongst freelancers. Writers who are new in the career of freelancing must put stress over subscribing to newsletters. It shares the important stuff of writings and gets the high-paid project offers.

The Freelancer Feed and Freelance Writing Job are the best newsletters. One can easily find others on Google as per their interest.

7. Join a Co-Working Space

The idea of Co-Working space is growing as it allows the growth of work patterns. When you work with like-minded individuals or individuals from distinct fields, you’re like to connect and share a bond.

For a freelancer, Co-Working spaces would help to build a broad network which will allow further to connect with potential clients. Joining the Co-working space communities of your field would be responsible for transforming your work life. It’ll boost the quality of the work and give you opportunities to sharpen and polish your skill sets.

8. Pitch Directly to Clients

For every freelancer, mastering the art of pitching is essential. There are few things to consider for generating compelling pitches.

• Ditch appraising your strengths and skills. Your work samples or your portfolio is enough for showcasing your skills.
• Discuss how you can contribute to your client project growth.
• Never hesitate to give free tips.

9. Harness the Power of Social Media

Facebook

Initially, people joined Facebook to connect with their school buddies after years. However, with passing years it has become a powerful marketing weapon in the business arena. If you are into the writing profession, you can share abstracts of your works and get feedback from interested audiences.

Tedious work for contacting the niche audience is no longer required as Facebook allows you to be visible in the target market. You can connect with individuals of your niche by interactions in the comment section.

Twitter

Twitter has the advanced search option for finding specific jobs considering particular locations. With Exact keywords, you can effortlessly find new clients.

The other exciting feature of Twitter benefiting freelancers is Twitter lists. Most people are unaware of the Twitter list benefits. Such lists provide you instant opportunities to grab the order. For example, a graphic designing work is posted at 11:am. Within a few moments, by 11:15 am, the post will be closed with the best suitable hiring.

You can create a list of your niche and keep checking and applying in the relevant posts. Also, big companies prefer searching for out-sourcing work on Twitter.

Instagram

Instagram is a hub for designers, the best platform for showcasing visual talent. You can utilize your Instagram account as a portfolio. Graphic designers can create an impressive account by uploading their prior works. The right hashtags would add value to your work by growing its visibility among the niche audience.

However, Instagram could not be your ultimate way of finding the client, but it adds value by creating a better image among your network. And further, connect you with worthy clients in the long run.

Wrapping Up

For continuing freelancing work for the long term, you must know how to acquire clients. One must be open to converse with other freelancers; they can share the ideas to convince the client and even give references to the client.

Many proficient freelancers are having plentiful orders that they have to let go of most of the offers; contacting such freelancers would get you clients with little effort.

You can probably find a relevant client if you know how to play your cards right in the industry of your interest. Your family, friends, professional connections, anyone could get you clients through recommendations.

Try out the unique ways suggested in this article to never get out of your freelancing work.