If you're looking for freelance work, you may need to take a completely different approach than people who are looking for more conventional jobs, like “nine to fivers.”
A freelance career may be right for you if you want to choose which clients/people you work with, you want more variety to your daily work, and have higher flexibility for when and where you work. But where do you start looking for freelance gigs to begin and develop your revenue?
*This post may contain affiliate links, which means I could receive a commission if you purchase something through a link at no additional cost to you.
The Growth of Freelancing
Every year, Upwork and the Freelancers Union research the freelance sector. Their 2019 study revealed that more individuals are considering freelancing as a long-term option than ever before. It predicts that 57 million American citizens currently freelance, up by 4 million people since 2014.
The good news is that, according to a recent Freelance Trend Study by Upwork, 86% of freelancers have noticed a shifting market in the previous three years: 77% said technology has made it simpler to locate freelance work and 71% believe that people's perceptions of freelancing are more positive.
When it comes to freelancer earnings growth, Upwork discovered that the typical hourly rate is $20, which is greater than the overall median hourly rate of $18.80 for the United States.
According to the report, “skilled services” freelancers make a median of $28 per hour. This indicates that the typical skilled freelancer makes more per hour than 70% of all workers in the economy as a whole.
Networking
Networking is your starting point. LinkedIn has made this easily accessible in the last couple of years. It is important to have a professional and informational profile on LinkedIn. Facebook is another great Networking tool we have access to these days. You'll want to ensure that your CV reflects all your professional achievements, contacts, and accolades from previous employment or professional activities. Always think of your network as a foundation on which you may build future employment opportunities.
When it comes to defining your network and who's in it, don't be limited; contacts for future freelance work may come from any source, including past professional coworkers, family, neighbors, and friends both real and virtual.
Industry Group
Making connections with individuals in your chosen sector may lead to some leads. Identifying and joining trade and industry associations is a fantastic approach to meeting like-minded people. Attend conferences and gatherings sponsored by independent professional organizations in your field as well.
Social Media
Job seekers may use social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and other platforms to promote themselves during their job search. These days, the vast majority of businesses use social media to locate the brightest new talent. If the hiring managers are congregating on these sites, it's only natural that you should be there too.
Search for phrases and hashtags that are relevant to the position you're looking for, such as “freelance tutoring” or “freelance software developer.” You may also share with your followers what sort of employment you want to assist them in locating you and allowing connections to assist you to find work. Joining groups that are associated with the type of work you are looking for is extremely beneficial. Facebook has the best “groups” in my opinion because they are so wide-ranging. For instance, I belong to several Virtual Assistant groups on Facebook, both for VAs who want to be hired and for people looking to hire Vas.
Job Sites
Sites such as Upwork, People Per Hour and FlexJobs are fantastic places to begin your search for freelance work! While there are several job sites available, these sites can guarantee you a secure job search that isn't as tainted by fraud or deceptive opportunities, which is often one of the most challenging aspects of finding freelance employment. That’s not to say that there isn’t fraud on those sites as well, I have come into contact with several fake job postings on Upwork. Reading the prospective site’s fraud policies can help you know what to look for to avoid those postings.
As a freelancer, you'll be spending a lot of your time looking for work and projects. Using job sites takes some of the legwork out of your search since they track down and authenticate job postings from across the internet and group them into distinct career categories for fast searching. It can be helpful to prepare a blanket proposal for job postings in advance, then personalize it for each individual job. I have a proposal that I use when I am bidding on jobs in Upwork that I copy and paste and then change certain aspects of it to fit that job post. It saves me a lot of time, and I know it sounds good (because I spent some quality time writing it).
HireMyMom.com
HireMyMom.com is a job site that connects small businesses or individuals with independent Virtual Assistants. If you are looking for work, they are a great resource. You can use my code NOV15 to receive 15% off of their Resume, Cover Letter, and Interview Training service. Or if you are ready to jump in feet first you can use my code NOV100 to receive $100 off of their Concierge Service.
Cold Pitching
Do you have skills that would be beneficial to a company down the road? Send them an email! Cold pitching is when you send an email or a text to potential customers in an attempt to recruit them. To make it worth your while, you must be picky about who you contact, and you must be personal in your communication with them to engage them authentically.
Potential clients can tell if you are just sending out batch emails to dozens of companies, hoping you get a bite. The fact is, you may be doing that, but you don’t want it to look that way. Make sure your communication with them is personalized to their company (look them up and read about them then reference something personal in their email). Also, only contact companies or individuals that need your services. If they have a whole staff of administrative and operations people, I will not pitch them my Virtual Assistant services because I specialize in Administrative Operations. But if it seemed like their marketing was lacking, I would potentially pitch them my skills in marketing.
A good thing to include in a pitch, especially a cold pitch, is why they need you. If I am cold emailing a company because they don’t have an administrative staff and I think I could help, I would make sure I included the benefits of hiring a Virtual Assistant versus hiring an employee (don’t have to offer benefits, no employment security, no physical office space required, etc.)
Your Own Website
To get freelance work, no matter what sector you work in, you must show it off. To promote your talents and accomplishments, a website is a great place to start. It doesn't have to include amazing videos (unless that's your specialty) or a ton of information.
A simple website that gathers information about your client work is a wonderful place to begin. All you need is:
- To discuss who you are, why you do what you do, and what your professional experience is, create an About You page.
- To advertise your accomplishments, create a Projects page or Portfolio on your website to highlight how you have helped your clients/employers in the past.
- For clients to praise the excellent work you've done, create a Testimonials page. This is very important, having testimonials allows people to have more faith that you can accomplish what they need.
- A Contact page should be created to allow visitors to contact the business.
- Services Page allows you to lay out what exactly you can do for potential clients. I spent the most time creating my services page on my website.
Website builders are extremely helpful nowadays. They allow you to create a website that looks professional in a relatively short amount of time. My website was one of the best things I did for growing my company. I do not get many leads directly from my site, but I provide a link to my site in all my proposals/bids and people can verify me as well as learn more about me. I have had several clients tell me that the reason they went with me over another candidate was because my website laid out so succinctly what I did and how I could help them.
I touched on LinkedIn above, but let’s get more in depth. LinkedIn already has a large network. You may reach precious contacts by joining groups, networking with your network, and posting on your page (s). I have my personal LinkedIn profile, and I have a page for my company. This allows me to network both personally and professionally, but also it allows me to double my posting presence without completely flooding my feed.
You absolutely need a powerful profile on LinkedIn. A strong conclusion is a good place to start. This is essential for two reasons. First, the summary is the first thing that visitors to your profile will see. Take the time to explain why someone should consider hiring you. What are your qualifications and how did you earn these skills?
Second, your summary is used by LinkedIn to assist you in determining what search results you appear in. The more keywords you use in your summary, the more likely it is that you will show up in a search result.
However, don't just throw random keywords in your summary. Make sure you're using the “correct” keywords in your niche in a relevant way. The more focused terms you use, the more likely people will be looking for you specifically rather than someone else in general.
Finally, you may add media to your profile to spice it up. Nothing beats showing clients what you've accomplished. So, whether it's a link to a live site you built or a static picture for a customer, include samples to show that you have the abilities you claim.
References
Skipping the request for recommendations or testimonials is a common mistake that many business owners make. It may be difficult to ask for one. However, because it is becoming increasingly common for individuals to give feedback on everything, it may not come off as aggressive as you think.
It also offers a chance to show off your talents and achievements. It's an excellent marketing tool that allows you to showcase what you've done in the past. Plus, it's a great method for proving your abilities and accomplishments. There is nothing more impressive than a delighted client.
Most freelancers have a loose outline of onboarding and offboarding clients, especially if the work you do is quick turnaround, so you work with many clients. A great offboarding task to set for yourself is asking for a recommendation or testimonial. You can ask for a recommendation on LinkedIn. Or create an email template to send to every client when your work is finished asking for a testimonial and permission to display it on your website and LinkedIn.
Start Bringing in the Work
Freelance work is becoming more and more popular. Work from home culture has allowed freelancing to be widely accepted as a valid work model for many people. The work is out there, and we just have to go out and find it. Keep yourself organized while looking for freelance work, as well as, when you start working with clients with my free To Do List below.
Remember to always keep things professional, that doesn’t mean dulling your personality, it just means to keep in mind all people are different, and you don’t want to offend anyone accidentally. Professional and polite behavior in your communications will ensure you don’t burn bridges.
Finally, look at every communication as an opportunity. Going to a birthday party this weekend? Bring some business cards so that Uncle of your friend who needs a Virtual Assistant for his landscaping business can call you on Monday (instead of being intrusive at the party). You don’t want to miss out on opportunities because you weren’t prepared.
