Freelancing is booming ever since a handful of years.
According to industry reports, freelancers contribute to a total of around 35% of the global workforce throughout the world.
And if we talk about the income potential, the average income of a freelancer is usually more than the typical 9-5 job.
Due to this many of us wants to enter into freelancing. And why not if you can make more money by working from anywhere around the world without even stepping out of your house.
Though, due to the continuous rise in competition among freelancers, it is somehow hard to get your first freelance job online.
Success in freelancing depends on doing it the right way and in this article, I will share the 8 best tactics to get your first freelance job very easily.
So if you are new to freelancing and want to enter it with fewer confusions, then you will love this new guide.
Let’s begin.
8 Tips To Crack Your First Freelance Job Easily
1. Create a stunning profile –
Whichever freelance platform you choose to work with, crafting a solid profile is critical to get your first freelance job successfully.
In other words, you need to treat your profile as a resume while freelancing.
In fact, your profile is the first thing that a client will visit in order to get more information about yourself.
Let’s breakdown some of the most important elements in the profile that you should focus on:
Profile image –
Many freelancers overlook this step.
When it comes to choosing a profile image, most freelancing sites (like Upwork & Fiverr) suggest using your image.
The image should be original and not edited. A smiling image gains more exposure.
Most importantly, the image should not contain more than one person. It will confuse clients.
Profile bio –
Here, you need to tell about yourself and your expertise.
A simple yet effective profile allows clients to understand you better than using complex jargon.
Here’s a profile, for example, of an Upwork freelancer named Joshua:
You can see that he has explained almost everything in his bio in a simple yet effective manner.
No wonder he is one of the top-rated freelancers in Upwork.
You need to do the same. Don’t try to impress the client by adding unnecessary wording.
Instead, try to explain your expertise and how you can help them.
Reviews –
Reviews are the things from which clients judge the freelancer.
It’s obvious that if your profile has stellar prior reviews, you are more likely to be hired frequently.
On the other hand, if you are unable to solve your clients’ pain points, they will be unlikely to give you a review of more than three-star.
Therefore, focus on providing great value to your clients to achieve better reviews. Every review counts as a vote for a freelancer.
This was all about creating a great profile.
Yet, here are the few additional elements that can help optimize your profile:
- Adding Certificates
- Employment history
- Prior projects portfolio
- Additional skills
With this, let’s move on to the next important point in getting your first freelance job.
2. Don’t focus only on applying for jobs –
I know how astounding it is to apply for jobs and waiting to get approval for one.
But to be honest, if you focus only on applying for jobs, you are wasting time.
As a beginner, it is nearly impossible to get all the jobs or even the few.
That’s why applying for too many jobs is not a solution. By doing so, you are wasting your limited applications.
Yes, many freelancing sites have a limitation in job applications.
In Upwork, for example, you get connects.
Those connects are limited. With the help of connects, you can apply to jobs and each time you apply, you lose some connects.
You cannot apply to more jobs if you are out of connects.
Unfortunately, they only give 10 additional connects every month. If you need more of them, you need to buy them.
That is the main reason why applying to jobs all the time should not be your topmost priority.
This brings us to the next tip.
3. Only apply for jobs that suit you –
I have seen many of my freelancer friends creating a general profile revolving around a cluster of various niches.
They think that by making a general niche, they will be open to offers of all kinds of categories.
To be honest, no one can be skillful in all the fields.
That’s why one should focus only on a single topic. Let’s say, you are a content writing expert.
In this case, you can highlight all the skills related to writing & not any irrelevant stuff.
By doing so, you will build an authority in a specific domain and people will be ready to pay more for your job as they know you are an authority in so and so niche.
This is the main reason why you should emphasize applying to jobs that resonate with your expertise.
4. Communication is the key –
Let’s say, you successfully get your first freelance contract.
Here, your main focus should be on connecting effectively with your client rather than pressing on the money.
If possible, ask your client for a short call to clarify all the doubts. This also built trust among both. And he/she will be more likely to hire you again in the future.
Pro tip: When the contract starts, try to clarify all the queries all at once. In this way, they will be impressed to see your work without any errors.
In short, don’t just start working on your project. Instead, chat with your client and ask for some genuine instructions to avoid any further delay.
5. Have a website or a blog –
This is optional.
In the 21st century, a website or a personal blog is considered as significant as a CV/resume.
Most companies directly ask for your website link where you can keep your valuables like certificates, showcasing skills, etc.
It is not necessary to buy a domain name and hosting to create a website. You can create one for free from Blogger or Wix.
Website/blog is not limited to represent a resume. It can also help establish your online business.
With a blog of proper design, decent branding, and helpful content, you can monetize your website through various mediums.
In fact, this is the main reason why almost every big companies have their blog and even the small/local businesses have started creating their own websites.
Your product/service can reach the globe through a single website.
Overall, a website can assist freelancers to improve their personal brand and ability.
6. Learn from successful freelancers –
Do you know the first thing that I did when I started as a freelancer?
It’s observing and reacting.
Before actually creating my profile, I started searching for talented freelancers to see how they have achieved this much potential.
My main goal was to see what’s working in the freelancing market so that I could save time in figuring out what’s not working.
Favorably, this research helped me get my first job within three days of joining a freelance platform named Upwork.
Similarly, I want you to do the same thing. Don’t just hurry in creating a profile and applying for jobs.
Perform various analyses by understanding the structure of an excellent profile, the best time to apply for jobs, metrics to keep into consideration, etc.
This single step will set you aside from many who are just following the old-school tactic to date.
7. Understand the demand for your niche –
There have been cases where an individual is truly skilled in his/her niche. However, there are nearly no customers or clients in that niche.
In simple terms, sometimes, there is no demand for the services that you provide.
I want you to stay away from those niches.
So, how do we find whether a certain niche has high demand or not?
There are many methods. Yet, I will teach you one of the most reliable ways.
Head over to Google Trends.
Write your seed keyword. I am into content writing, for example, so I will write “writing”.
You will get a fair idea of whether a certain niche is worth chasing after or not. You can play with all sorts of filters for an accurate result.
Not only that, if you head to the bottom of your search page, you will often find relevant keywords that are booming in demand.
This is the easiest way to determine the growth scope for any field.
8. Over delivering should be a priority –
From the bottom of our hearts, most of us work to get one big thing – MONEY.
I am not saying that money should not be a priority. Money is important.
But what is more important than money?
It’s the satisfaction.
The satisfaction that you get after completing your freelance agreement and making your client happy.
That should be the utmost priority.
And that’s why I believe in overdelivering.
Overdelivering is where you produce topmost quality content for your client and do something extra without being voluntarily asked to do so.
In this way, your client will feel that his/her money is invested in the right place. It will assure them and create a good impression.
You should not do the task just for the sake of doing it.
A task should be pursued in such a way that there is enjoyment throughout the process.
Or else why would Bill Gate say “content is king”.
Conclusion
These were the 8 best tips that I used to get my first freelance job and luckily now, you can use it too.
I hopefully assume that after reading this definitive article, you will be one step closer to achieving your first freelancing success.
One last thing – Not matter which freelancing platform you choose irrespective of its competition; you will always shine if you show up for the work with quality.
Now, I would like to hear from you.
Out of 8 proven tips, which tips are you going to initially implement to get your first freelance contract?
It is setting up a stunning profile?
Or is it overdelivering?
Either way. Let me know by dropping your comments below right now.
