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Need extra income? Fortunately, there are plenty of ways you can make extra money by offering your services on the internet. Ranging from part-time or full time freelance gigs, the array of online job choices is staggering. How to make money freelancing online will examine :
- Freelancing Online Pros and Cons
- How to Get Started Freelancing Online
- Where To Find Customers
- Conclusion
Freelancing Online Pros and Cons
PROS
The moment you decide to become a freelancer, everyone you talk to will probably tell you how nice it is to be your own boss. You are in control of your work and nobody else (except for your clients) can tell you know what to do. If you don’t want to work on Fridays – you don’t have to.
Take any days off that you want, but make sure that you finish your projects by the deadline. By being your own boss, you really have the freedom to steer your life where you want it to go. You get to plan your own schedules, choose the projects that you find enjoyable, charge any rate you please, and be almost totally self-sufficient – a major bonus of being a freelancer for many people looking to escape the daily 9 to 5 grind.
Another of the big benefits you will always hear people talking about when it comes to freelancing because you can set your own dress code.
Now that we highlighted a few potential benefits of freelancing online, it’s only fair to view the negative aspects of freelancing online.
Cons
As with anything in the world, there are drawbacks to becoming a freelancer in any field you choose. The predominant drawback is that you are not as financially stable as you are when you are working for someone else.
You have to take care of all of your money management, you have to work on project after project if you want to have enough money to stay financially afloat, and you have to provide for your own healthcare.
These three factors all add up to create a feeling of monetary insecurity for many people, and because of the major financial risk involved, many people feel that freelancing is not for them.
There is also heavy competition in the world of freelancing. The internet has been both a blessing and a curse to freelancers from around the world. On one hand it has opened the doors to make the world of freelancing much more accessible to anyone who has ever thought about setting out on their own and becoming their own boss. On the other hand, the internet makes it very easy for freelancers to get in touch with potential clients and possibly outbid you out of potential online freelancing jobs.
Because of the heavy competition as a result of the internet, you may have to start out with very low pay for each project you do as a novice freelancer.
How To Get Started Freelancing Online
Here’s some stats to give you an idea how extensive freelancing skills there are: according to the freelancing platforms Upwork and Fiverr, the top freelancing jobs are in top demand.
Fiverr, especially , has a plethora of jobs or gigs. According to a CNBC post ‘ The 8 highest-paying side hustles on Fiverr, the top jobs are :
● Search and display marketing
Once you have settled on a field that you want to freelance in, you will need to start finding your first clients. Whatever you do, do not start your hunt with any of the clients that you may have dealt with in your current job.
Use specific keywords that can describe what services you plan to offer. For example, can you design? Type in the keyword ‘design’, you will find it in related searches : interior design services, web design, fashion design, graphic design, graphics, etc. Soon you would have a massive database of different websites that cater to the freelance community in your specific field.
Using the ‘design’ example, you should search for designing platforms you can use to create your designs for clients. Type in Google ‘ what design platforms graphic designers use and you would get :
- Adobe Photoshop.
- Adobe Illustrator
- Mega Creator. .
- Adobe InDesign.
- Xara Designer Pro X.
- Gravit Designer.
- Genially
- Canva.
Upon becoming a freelancer for the first time, it is also important that you create a portfolio of the different projects you created to show off the kind of work you do. Making this portfolio may be one of the most important things you can do if you want to succeed as a freelancer, as it will help you move up in the world of freelance work.
Where To Find Customers
So you have finally decided to take that first big step in your career change towards the world of freelancing, but there is just one problem– you have no idea where to find your first clients and customers. Finding customers for your fresh freelancing job has never been easier thanks to the internet. People and companies looking for freelance workers to help them with projects and have websites where they can shop for the freelancer that fits their project. Also, as a freelancer you can also use the internet to your advantage to advertise your services on various forums and other freelance web resources.
You can type in Google, the search for ‘ where to advertise freelance services’, there are a multitude of websites that appear. Some of the best websites to advertise freelance services are :
- Toptal
- We Work Remotely
- SimplyHired
- Dribble
- PeoplePerHour
- Guru
- Freelancer
Most reputable freelance websites having short online courses that can assist you the novice freelancer on how to create your profile, advertising for jobs, etc.
Conclusion
Is Freelancing Really The Way To Go?
Here are facts to consider if you chose to become a freelancer. With the freelancing platforms Fiverr and Freelancer, many people can imagine that there is no more relaxing work atmosphere than being able to wake up late, work on your computer and take vacation anytime.
Sure, those are all perks of being a freelancer, but let’s be honest here – there are quite a few trials and tribulations that you will have to go through as a freelancer before you can reach the point where you do not have to worry about your finances anymore.
So prepare , research and when you’re ready , Freelance!
