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Make Money Online as a Freelancer –
Key Tips that Come in Handy

Thanks to computers, internet, devices and the digital universe overall, working freelance is no longer a hurdle. The best part about it; all that is needed is an internet connection and fine laptop. Desktop computers are welcome too.

Working freelance on the internet today provides everyone an opportunity to earn online (whether it’s in a small amount, something decent or minting a lot of it). The world of freelancing is exciting but there is a different way of entering it.

There are digital marketing companies in constant need of freelance marketers today. Around 9 in 10 organizations today benefit from social media in their marketing activities. Similarly, it also raises their confidence on content creation and its optimization on search engines (SEO) each passing year.

Around 90% of marketing teams today use email marketing for generating leads. There is a gap in these roles of digital marketing, a void which is filled by freelancers. Anyone could work as a freelance marketer, be it a student, an unemployed person and the like.

There is one catch. Those who have just started don’t know how to begin freelancing and where to begin from?

Here are some tips from seasoned freelancers working for digital agencies. These will come in handy as they will tell you where to start from:

Finding your niche.
Find clientele in your area.
When you start, be flexible with your rates.
Create & meet deadlines.
Obtain referrals.
Consider yourself as a business.

In what freelance roles can they possibly work? There are a variety of roles freelancers can work in. A digital marketing lead from a leading digital marketing agency Toronto explains the aforementioned tips briefly to help people work freelance.

1. Finding your niche

Marketing has a lot of roles and the direction one takes depends on their skills, interests and talents. Similarly, creative has various roles too. App development is defined as it needs computer science graduates whereas web development can hire the same as well.

In terms of writing niche, students can write on a variety of topics & niches (students of medical school, computer science, communication studies, visual arts, business students and the like).

Let’s consider marketing for the freelance roles it has, as an example:

Copywriting.
Content Writing.
Social Media & Community Management.
Search Engine Optimization.

The more specific a prospective freelancer is, the better ways they can promote themselves.

2. Find clientele in your area

For beginners, finding clientele can be difficult. Promoting oneself is a vulnerable process. It can be eased with one rule: starting by finding small business & those clients that can work easily with a beginner level freelancer.

There are numerous websites that help people find freelance work and clients ready to work with all sorts of freelancers. Among them is Upwork which has provided many a good way to make money online. There are many more available as well.

These freelance platforms help users make profiles through which they can begin applying for numerous projects such as:

Content Writing.
Copywriting.
Editing.
Graphic Design.
SEO.

There is also no need to stalk clients on just one platform. Using this framework can help professionals find more clients as a freelance marketer. Aspiring copywriters can go to Warrior Forum to gain clientele, social media professionals can answer related queries on Quora, Dribbble & Behance help graphic design enthusiasts showcase their work and the like.

These online communities are helpful in finding clientele with relative ease.

3. Being flexible with the rates

When starting, freelancers often get confused for how much they should charge because there are no hard & fast rules for this. They often end up working for free in the beginning.

When is it okay to work for free? When you are creating a portfolio to show to clientele, making connections with businesses you like, desire to work for a well-connected people and already working full time to gain more experience.

The following pricing models can help freelancers with their rating methods:

Hourly.
Project based.
By retainer.
Commission/Bonus/Incentive based.

4. Create & meet deadlines

A freelancer meeting their deadlines is ahead of the rest in the crowd. Businesses love working with those who meet deadlines pretty often with relative ease. A freelancer missing deadline is something every business would frown upon.

Freelancers meeting deadlines are professional, do good work, are fun to work with and are never interested in wasting time and getting distracted too.

5. Obtain referrals

Referrals are basically clientele obtained from existing ones. They are a freelancer’s life support. For some reasons:

You (freelancer) can raise your rates upon getting a referral because you got that through a recommendation from someone you know. Hence, you can charge more for your good work.
You get good clientele because high prices often bring in high quality clients who can afford your standards and won’t be wasting your time too.
The prospects of doubling the income increase too.

6. Consider yourself as a business

Freelancers aren’t just people working like machines, they are a business of a kind (because they are one of a kind). If you are one, then you need to consider yourself as a business because that helps you draw in serious clientele.

Being a business (and running one) is all about balance. A work-life balance is really important. Set meetings, working times and other things at certain time intervals, and then disconnect to connect yourself with life.

It will help you obtain mental peace and help you attain necessary goals.