Are you considering becoming a freelance worker? Whether you’re a writer, graphic designer, web developer, software developer, consultant or photographer, freelance work might be the right choice for you.
Freelancing is an incredibly flexible career path, allowing you to set your schedule, decide who you work with and even experience different areas or industries at once. It’s become a popular way to work in recent years, giving freelancers the freedom to travel and set their work terms. But you might not know how to get started as a freelancer.
This article will cover how someone interested in freelancing can get started and make it a viable career path.
Search Career Pages
You might look for jobs in writing or other viable freelance work via Seek, Indeed, Jora, Gumtree or other job pages. You could put in a search query such as “freelance writing work” or “freelance photography” and see what pops up.
Many budding freelance professionals find their first client or two via these job boards. There are also platforms such as Airtasker, Fiverr, and other such sites where people seeking freelance workers can post jobs that they can put themselves forward for. While some listings will be looking for part or full-time staff, you might get lucky and find a freelance job opportunity waiting for you if you find it at the right moment.
Build Your Website
If you want to impress potential clients as a freelancer, you need to have a fancy, polished and fully functional website. We cannot stress how important it is to have professional, high-quality websites as a freelancer, no matter your field, whether you’re a writer, journalist, photographer or graphic designer.
Whatever the case, you need a website that pops and screams professionalism, and gives people a reason to hire you. For that reason, getting professional web design services is the way to go when launching a new freelance enterprise in Australia. A functional, well-designed website could make or break your new venture.
Your freelancer website needs to be user-friendly, mobile-friendly, easy to navigate, secure, and show all of the services that you offer as a freelancer. Website users will rapidly exit a hard-to-navigate, dodgy-looking website, and the last thing you want for your freelance business is a high bounce rate, which can impact your Google rankings. A great website should be the cornerstone of your freelance enterprise.
Find Clients
As well as looking on job sites and launching a website, you’ll have to put in some work to find clients. One tactic that is difficult but can be effective is cold calling. This is particularly useful for freelance writers. You can search for marketing agencies, SEO agencies and other creative agencies that may require copywriting or content writing for blogs and offer your services to them for a fee. The writer of this article has done this with success, securing a long-term client with a cold call.
Another avenue for finding clients is to let your friends and family know about your new venture. For example, if you’re a freelance photographer, people may know folks who are getting married or who want pregnancy or maternity shoots or family portraits. If you’re a graphic designer, you might know business owners who need a flyer, logo, or branding scheme done. The same applies to web design or app development.
Create a Portfolio
This is especially important for creative freelancers whose selling point is their creativity. From writing examples to photography collections, graphic design portfolios, and website design, it all applies here. A portfolio is an excellent way to demonstrate your creative chops to potential clients and could net you long-term working relationships. It’s your chance to demonstrate your creativity and show examples of prior work to impress and dazzle.
Determine Your Price Structure
For some freelance roles, your rates might be set by the agency you work for, such as for freelance writers. However, other professions may be free to set their own rates, such as photographers or graphic designers.
You should set a rate that allows for your time, expertise, and any post-production work, such as editing, touch-ups, or any work put into the final product. Ideally, you need to cover your expenses and include a profit margin, especially if you’re freelancing full time and need to pay for your tax and superannuation, as well as to cover time off when you’re sick, on holiday, or otherwise unable to work at your usual pace.
Build Client Relationships and Ask for Referrals
As you find clients, it’s important to invest in these initial relationships, nurture them, and ensure that you retain them to ensure repeat custom. After a while and a positive mutual relationship, you might ask them to refer you to friends or colleagues so you can expand your client base.
A Freelance Summary
This article has shared how to take the leap and get started as a freelancer, as well as earn money and build a living as a freelance creative.