Freelance Work: 5 Easy Steps to Start

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Getting your first freelance work gig can seem a long way away if you don’t know where to start. Here are 5 easy steps to help you get started freelancing the right way.

For many people, freelance work is the first step in building a location-independent income. Freelancing has some great advantages. You work where you want to, when you want to, and how you want to.

And, freelancing can be your first ticket into the digital nomad laptop lifestyle. The dream of working by the pool, on the beach, or in even more exotic places, can actually be real. You can even work on the road from an RV, like I do.

Freelance Work: The 5 Key Steps

However, many newbie freelancers fail and give up. While there’s always a bit of risk in launching a freelance career, the failure often could have been avoided with some simple preparation. In many cases, this happens because the newbies missed one of these 5 key steps to get started with freelance work.

1. Grow Your Freelance Work Skills

The first and most critical step is to develop a set of digital skills that are in high demand. Many new freelancers don’t do the initial research and preparation. They end up jumping into the water with skills that are either in low demand, or that have too much competition.

So, to begin with, make sure that you have at least one skill that is in high demand for freelance work.

Here is a list of some of the types of digital skill sets that are in demand, as of this writing.

1. Web Development
2. App Development
3. Graphic Design
4. Illustration
5. Customer Support
6. Sales
7. Digital Marketing
8. Social Media Marketing

Once you identify a skill that you’d like to master, invest in yourself and get some training. Udemy is one source for inexpensive training.

If you want to really level up, get a certification in your digital skill. Digital Marketer is a great source for training that includes certification. That certification will go a long way in demonstrating your competence to a prospective client.

Start with one skill, master it, and begin marketing your services in that skill. Then choose another skill, master it, and begin marketing that skill as well. Eventually, you’ll have a whole portfolio of highly sought-after skills.

2. Create Your Presence

Your freelancing “presence” is everything you do online to attract potential clients and to let them know about your services.

It can include your social media accounts, your email list, your blog, your lead magnets, and your sales pages.

A lot of freelancers build their presence primarily on one of the freelance marketplace sites, like Upwork or Freelancer. That can be an OK place to start. But often, it’s too easy to simply get lost in the crowd.

Many of the most successful freelancers establish their credibility by first providing valuable content in the form of a blog or a YouTube channel. They begin by educating their potential audience. And, they promote their blog posts or videos on their various social media profiles.

Then, they invite their audience to join their email list, often by providing more free valuable content in the form of a lead magnet, such as a free PDF. And, it is in their email list where they really promote their freelance services. They often direct their audience to their own sales pages and funnels that they control completely, rather than to generic freelance marketplace pages.

3. Assemble Your Portfolio & Gather Testimonials

Your prospective freelance clients will always want to see samples of your work. And, they will want to read what other clients have to say about the experience of working with you.

So, as soon as possible, create a portfolio of work samples. Make sure that your portfolio is easily viewable from your sales page.

Think of your portfolio as your freelance resume. And all the elements that you would include on a resume should be included in your portfolio.

And, as soon as you start completing work for people, send them an email asking them for a testimonial.

If you haven’t had freelance clients yet, you might have performed your service at a job. You can often get some of your earliest portfolio items and testimonials from people at your job.

4. Start Bidding On Freelance Work Jobs

In the early days, you won’t be able to just sit around and have jobs land in your lap.

Especially if you use the freelance marketplaces, like Upwork or Freelancer, you will need to actively bid on jobs in order to get freelance work gigs. And, you will need to continue to bid consistently, even while you are working to complete the jobs that come in.

Here are a couple of keys to bidding on freelance work jobs:

1. Make sure you understand the job completely. Read the job description all the way to the end, and make sure that it is the right job for you.
2. Use a customized proposal for each bid. It’s OK to start with a template. But customize the template for every bid that you send out.
3. Be sure to fully answer all of the client’s questions.
4. Bid early. If you can be one of the first 5 bids a client receives, you’ll have a much greater chance at getting picked for the job.

5. Play The Numbers Game

In the end, getting a ton of freelance work gigs is a numbers game. It takes time to build momentum and get a critical mass that will end up as lots of work and gigs coming to you.

In the beginning, plan on sending out 10–15 bids per day. You should also plan to include time every day to build your social media audience. Be sure to engage with your audience in ways that help them get to know you, like you, and trust you.

Also, you should invest time every week to produce valuable content that will inform and educate your audience.

It’s all about daily, consistent action.

So, now you know 5 powerful and easy steps to get started the right way in freelancing. These steps can take you to your first, or even your fiftieth, freelance gig, so they’ve gotten you onto the right track.

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