Are you interested in freelancing but don’t know where to start?
If yes, then This is the guide you’ve been looking for.
This is a comprehensive guide for new freelancers on how to get started.
This guide will walk you through the process in ten simple steps, whether you want to work as a writer, web designer, or developer.
Before you continue, I’d like to clarify a few points.
Freelancing is far more challenging than it appears. Some individuals believe that anyone with a computer and internet access can earn money online. This is not the case, however.
Continue reading only if you’re willing to put in the time and effort required to achieve your goal of becoming a freelancer and financial independence.
Also, for more information on each section, click on the suggested links.
Let’s get this party started.
Please keep in mind that this tutorial only covers the basics. It will help you get started in the right direction. Pick up a copy of my book Freelance Like A Pro if you want to take it a step further and learn some of my secrets to earning $5,000 per month.
Step 1: Gather the Necessary Equipment
You make terrible choices and decisions when you’re desperate. That is why I always caution people who want to make quick money from freelancing.
Freelancing is not a get-rich-quick scheme, as many people believe. It necessitates a substantial amount of effort. In fact, it took me four years as a freelancer to establish a consistent income. You, on the other hand, have more opportunities now than I did back then. Please read my story for more information.
Freelancers frequently ask me if there is any work they can do with only a smartphone. There aren’t any, to put it bluntly. At the very least, not ones worth pursuing.
Smartphone apps have limited functionality. To get the job done right and deliver excellent results, you’ll need a computer to run the software you’ll need.
So, before you think about working online, go out and buy a laptop or an old computer.
Make sure to read the article suggestions below before continuing.
Step 2: Find a Useful Skill
The next and most important step is to find a skill that you can sell as a service.
This can be as simple as podcast transcription or as complex as developing a mobile app. Finding a skill that you are good at and that has enough demand in the marketplace, whatever it is, is the key to freelancing success.
Go to a freelance marketplace like Fiverr, UpWork or Freelancer to see what jobs are available if you’re good at drawing illustrations or designing product packaging, for example.
You’ve struck gold if those sites have enough job listings for the skill you’re good at.
Step 3: Sharpen Your Skills
Make sure you can sell your skill as a service once you’ve identified a marketable skill. Simply put, in order to be compensated for what you do, you must be exceptionally good at it.
Let’s say you want to work for a health and wellness website as a freelance writer. This is a well-known category. You may have also discussed it in high school or college.
However, this does not imply that you can write blog posts for an online audience. The writing styles and formatting of articles in blogs and online publications are vastly different. The main goal is to appeal to a wide range of people.
As a result, you’ll need to learn how to write for an online audience in blog posts. Learn everything there is to know about WordPress. What is the most effective method for creating graphics for articles? There’s even more.
Any other type of freelancing skill is the same. You can’t just jump right in without learning the basics first. To begin, you must first improve your skills.
Read books, subscribe to YouTube channels, and read blogs about your skill and industry.
Online classes are also the most effective way to learn and improve a skill. The links below will take you to a list of recommendations.
Learning a new skill from the ground up takes time. So be patient and keep learning and practising. Completing it could take weeks, months, or even years. Just keep moving forward.
Step 4: Demonstrate Your Trustworthiness
Your ability to demonstrate your skills and work will determine whether you will be a successful freelancer.
Whether you have a college diploma or years of experience, it makes no difference. Clients will never hire you unless you can demonstrate that you are competent in your field.
If you’re a writer, you should have articles published on popular blogs. If you’re a graphic designer, you should be able to point to a brand and say you designed their logo. If you work as a web designer, you must be able to send a link to a website you created.
To summarise, get your work out there. Do some free work first if you have to. Make contact with blogs that accept guest posts. Working on some concept design is a good idea. Whatever it is, work on improving your reputation.
Step 5: Create a Portfolio
As you begin to establish your reputation, create a portfolio to house all of your published/live work in one place.
A portfolio is a website or webpage that showcases your entire body of work.
If you’re a graphic designer, for example, you can create a portfolio page on a site like Behance to showcase all of your work. When contacting a client, simply send them a link to your portfolio so they can look over your qualifications.
Ensure that your portfolio only includes your best work.
Step 6: Experiment with Part-Time Freelancing
Freelancing is not for everyone, to be sure. The process of marketing yourself, selling your services, and dealing with clients can be overwhelming.
If you’re not sure whether freelancing is the right career path for you, try it part-time.
Spend a couple of hours each day on smaller freelance jobs. Learn the ins and outs of freelancing as well.
When you’re ready to take on larger projects, you can decide whether to freelance full-time or quit your day job.
Step 7: Choose the Best Freelance Platform for You
This step determines how easy it will be for you to find work and the type of clients you will be able to work with.
The majority of new freelancers make the mistake of going to the most popular freelance marketplace and signing up. Consider Fiverr, UpWork or Freelancer.com
These sites are already used by millions of freelancers all over the world. As a result of the competition, they also engage in bidding wars to win jobs. They’ll keep lowering their prices in order to get the job. It also won’t get you anywhere.
So the best approach, and the one that worked for me, is to join a new marketplace. There will be less competition because there will be fewer freelancers. It will also increase your chances of getting hired.
Step 8: Determine a Reasonable Price
Choosing the right price for your services can be difficult. Because if you ask for the wrong price, clients will never consider hiring you.
Looking at popular freelance marketplaces and seeing what other freelancers in your niche or industry charge is the best way to figure out the right price in the beginning.
Because you’re new, charging the same rates as experienced freelancers isn’t fair.
Instead, try to find a happy medium where you can compete on price with more experienced freelancers without appearing cheap.
Step 9: Submit Your Proposal in Its Initial Form
Writing a client proposal necessitates meticulous attention to detail.
It’s not like sending an email or making a social media post. You should think about it and figure out how to persuade your client to hire you instead of the other freelancers.
There are a few tricks and hacks you can use to your advantage when writing a winning proposal. Please see the link HERE for more information on the subject because I can’t go into all the details here.
Step 10: Exceeding Expectations.
Once you’ve landed a job, the next step is to ensure that the project is completed according to the client’s requirements.
Or, in this case, I’d like you to exceed the client’s expectations by exceeding the job’s deadline.
Allow me to give you an example. When I first started freelancing, I used to get jobs writing blog articles with a set word count, such as 1000 words. I wrote the blog post to be around 1100-1200 words long and included a unique header image when I delivered it. Without having to charge an additional fee.
My clients were always pleased with my work. It received a five-star rating from them.
So, in your work, find a way to go above and beyond. Find a way to stand out from the crowd as well. The only way to build a long-term freelance career is to do so.
