Gaining high-paying freelance gigs on a consistent basis takes time and effort, but is achievable if … [+]
Finding freelance work on a consistent basis, and increasing your income over time, can be extremely challenging, especially if you are new to freelancing.
After all, there is an infinite number of freelancers to compete with, and building a steady client base does take time and effort, because it’s a matter of trust, especially if you mainly operate online.
You may find it difficult to find high-paying freelance jobs due to a wide variety of factors such as:
- Lack of time to concentrate on marketing or networking with others to gain potential clients, due to wearing many hats in your role
- Strong domain knowledge regarding your field of expertise, but lack of know-how on the business admin and marketing side of things.
- Being relatively new to freelancing, not having a proven track record of successfully-delivered gigs (yet)
- Maintaining motivation and productivity while working in a non-conventional work environment (which often entails working on your own, not sharing responsibilities as part of a team).
- Inability to persuade clients to pay, or struggling to negotiate them to pay for the value of your skills and services, instead of having them bartered down.
These factors are a common reality for most freelancers when starting out on their freelance career journey, so if you recognize yourself in this, you’re not alone.
There are so many things that can be said about each of these common problems that freelancers face, but for now, here are five easy ways you can counter them, so that nothing gets in the way of your success and you are able to make more money consistently:
1. Network
Networking increases your chances of securing high-paying freelance jobs compared to relying purely on obtaining work from popular freelance job boards such as Upwork and Fiverr, who are already swarmed with freelancers negotiating the highest-paying gigs.
Attend business conferences and industry events. Create a list of who your ideal target customer or clientele might be, and look for what events they attend, or online spaces they frequent. Find them and engage with them on these platforms (without coming off as salesy). Nurturing these connections will come handy for you in the long run.
Paid thought leadership opens up more revenue streams for you as a freelancer, and complements your … [+]
2. Website And LinkedIn
Your website is prime digital real estate. Leverage it to your financial advantage. Don’t settle for social media profiles or profiles you’ve created on freelance gig websites. Establish your digital footprint and build your SEO so that you can attract clients passively to your services, especially those who have commercial intent (people who are browsing Google and ready to buy your product or service).
3. Paid Thought Leadership
Market yourself so that you can land public speaking gigs (another form of freelance work) or content writing opportunities as a guest contributor or guest blogger. Secure interviews with podcasts and connect with others in your field who can complement and share your work. This brings more exposure to your freelance services, and also establishes your credibility to customers who would otherwise choose not to work with you.
On a side note, public speaking is itself a high-paying freelance gig, that can greatly complement your existing freelance business.
4. Leverage
You may not have years of experience or a flattering portfolio working with top clients like the next freelancer has, but that’s no reason why you shouldn’t boast about what you have already accomplished to date, or create a portfolio/mock-ups of sample work (depending on the service being provided, of course). Leverage and concentrate on what you do have, until you gain more experience. Even the project you worked on at college counts.
The fact is, however you’ve gained your skills and experience doesn’t matter. It’s the results that speak for themselves.
5. Word-Of-Mouth
Nothing quite builds trust in a relatively short space of time like word-of-mouth advertizing. To get started with this, concentrate on delivering exceptional service to a select few clients, for a lowered price, to initially get your operations off the ground.
Once this is complete and you are certain that they are happy with the finished product, incentivize them to refer you to others who they know might require similar services.
You should also remind them to leave you a review or recommendation on your Google page, LinkedIn profile, or freelance website. This helps you attract more high-paying freelance jobs without needing to spend much money on marketing.
When you have little experience and are starting out as a freelancer, you need to leverage what you … [+]
Last but not least, take time to delegate and structure your schedule as far in advance as possible, while taking on continuous training and development. This will enable you to always deliver quality and be equipped with the know-how to market your services and manage your freelance business admin.