How to become a better freelancer today
One very popular and common way of earning income is becoming a freelancer.
Literally thousands of people every day choose to become their own boss by working as a freelancer.
If you have a skill or talent, your services are highly needed in the internet industry and it is absolutely possible for you to make excellent money by doing what you know and love.
Many website owners choose to use a freelancer for a variety of reasons, some reasons could include:
• Not enough time to do the work themselves
• They do not have the knowledge to perform the tasks
• Freelancers are often cheaper than hiring a company (Because of less overhead)
• Freelancers generally work faster
• They are too busy with other projects
These are just a few of the reasons that most business and website owners opt for a freelancer instead of a large company. Typically a freelancer is cheaper than that of a larger company for a variety of reasons.
One of the biggest reasons is that a freelancer has no overhead costs, generally they work out of their own home and do not have any employees they have to pay.
Additionally, by working out of their own home they do not have the type of running expenses that a larger business will have, this means that they can offer clients a more competitive and cheaper price for their services.
Another excellent aspect of being a freelancer is the ability to offer high quality and personalized service to your clients. This alone can be more appealing to a client than the prices you charge.
Many large businesses have so many things going on at once, that they cannot always give the personal attention that a client often wants.
Additionally, they do not generally work as fast as the client would like them to. A freelancer typically only works one project at a time allowing them to quickly finish their projects in a high quality and timely fashion.
There are freelancers in a large variety of areas and if you possess specific qualities and experience the client wants you will have no troubles in finding work.
There are many websites available all over the internet that are dedicated to helping freelancers find work such as scriptlance and rentacoder.
How To Successfully Freelance From Home
Today, many people have learned how to successfully freelance from home. People who specialize in writing, web design, transcribing,
accounting, even computer support are finding that is it possible to freelance from home, rather than going into the office every day.
There are several ways you can start your freelance from home business. You can freelance work in your town or surrounding communities.
To market yourself, you will need a good, professional resume. It will also be beneficial to have a brochure, stating your services and costs. You can even have business cards printed to help boost your freelance from home job.
Take a look around town at businesses that might be in need of your services. For example, some businesses may need someone to keep their books, but you do not necessarily need to go into the office all the time.
It may be a simple matter of going into the office, getting the information you need then returning home to do the work needed.
Another freelance at home job you might be interested in is web design. Many successful web designers completely interact with their clients either through the phone or through email.
A freelance from home job like this allows you to have clients anywhere – even international clients. Others have found freelance from home work as transcribers. You can have clients send you audio files via email, then transcribe them and send those files back to the client.
Here are some important things to remember before you freelance from home. Decided what services you want to offer and set the prices. You may need to adjust them depending on how your business does.
Be ready to market yourself either through classified, by distributing flyers, or creating a web page. It may be slow going at first, but once you start, you will find that you can start a freelance from home business that is successful.
The world goes freelance
The word “freelance” was first coined by Sir Walter Scott, a renowned Scottish historical novelist and poet, in 1819 when he wrote his novel Ivanhoe, to refer to a medieval mercenary warrior.
The term has then shifted into more figurative meanings. In the 1860s, freelance became a figurative noun, and in 1903, it was officially recognized as a verb by etymologists like the Oxford English Dictionary.
Today, the word “freelance” has changed into different forms: as a noun, freelance or freelancer; as a verb, a photographer who freelances; and as an adverb, he works freelance.
Working freelance has become a career and lifestyle choice. It has given more people a variety of benefits and these people feel that there is no better option than the ones they have due to the flexibility of work.
More people today choose to leave the security of their day jobs and engage in freelance work due mainly to the following factors:
* Variety of jobs. More people are drawn to go freelance for this reason alone. Freelance work offers a greater variety of assignments compared to regular employment.
And with the internet offering more opportunities, freelancing becomes a mine for those who seek good opportunities and better projects, not to mention higher paying jobs.
A freelancer can also take on different jobs at one time. He/She can write feature articles while designing a website.
* Fast turnaround of projects. Most freelance jobs are time bound. These jobs are usually done fast and allows freelancers to move on to new projects as soon as they finish the job.
* More freedom, more flexibility. Going freelance can give a person the freedom to choose the place, date and manner in which to do work.
Though some freelancing schemes require contracts, freelance still spells a no employer-no employee relationship. Freelance work offers more freedom for someone who does not want to be confined in an 8 to 5 or 9 to 6 work scheme.
The freelancer is free to choose his working hours and be his/her own boss. Because of the freedom in work schedule, freelancing gives a person more time to pursue other interests or take on more jobs.
Other freelancers also consider the fact that they can even take care of their family better as soon as they start working freelance.
* Improved income and savings. Freelance workers can usually command higher income rates for their projects because they are hired for their specific talents and skills.
This is a big plus because they are paid high but do not have to work full time. Though income rates for freelancers vary, most of them still benefit from the setup.
They charge either by the hour, by the day, or on per-project. Others use value-based pricing methods instead of imposing a flat rate.
Payments are arranged based on the agreement, and could be done upfront, percentage upfront, or paid whenever the project is completed. For others, a staggered payment scheme may be agreed upon.
Today, freelancers can easily find work through the internet. The internet has been a good facilitator of freelancers and employers around the world.
These jobs can range from writing short articles to language tutors to architectural designs. The demand to complete projects through freelancing is still very high, as shown by the thousands of projects posted in the Internet.
The Basics of Freelance Jobs
Freelance jobs have attracted the masses due to their benefits such as being able to be their own boss, flexi time working schedules, spending valuable time with the family, and income can be unlimited.
Before taking up freelance jobs, the person has to decide if his business needs an Internet connection. The best known home based jobs are by selling home made products.
Once it is decided to go for an online job, he or she has to choose a freelance job, which compliments his experience, knowledge and expertise.
Internet has created umpteen opportunities for freelance professionals in almost all the fields like web development, telemarketing, copywriting, proof reading etc.
Time management is very important in freelance jobs. The person needs to be very organized and focused to deliver the services and goods on the said time.
Although doing a freelance job will facilitate spending a valuable time with the family, it should not hinder with the execution of the job.
The basic requirements of the freelance jobs are the resources and tools. They need to be in place like the high speed internet connection for downloading and uploading information etc. The person has to set a target to achieve the monthly income desired and work towards attaining it.
When working independently doing freelance jobs, there is a possibility to get diverted easily; as there is no manager or boss to monitor the actions and behavior. This calls for self discipline and finishing the job before the deadline to succeed as a freelance professional.
The work place for doing freelance jobs has to be quiet to do the work in a focused manner and free from distractions.
Also, it should give a feeling of a work area than of a home atmosphere. Cluttering of materials should be avoided, as it has a tendency to irritate the person doing job.
When doing freelance jobs, the freelancer should be on a lookout for new projects constantly. Also accepting too many offers beyond the capability should be avoided.
Projects which can be completed within the time frame should be selected to be got and delivered on time and then he can accept new projects. Work should be comfortably done rather than done in a stretched manner.
The Art of Freelance Copywriting
The best way to enter the writing business is to start with freelance copywriting. Freelance copywriting is a good money-yielding job.
Every business activity requires marketing the materials in the written form, whether big or small. Freelance copywriting may involve materials right from tiny advertisements to big training manuals.
Web marketing is very effective to run the business in a fast way. Web marketing involves web sales pages, online catalog copy, web site copy, pay per click advertising etc.
Actually the opportunities for freelance copywriting are unlimited. There is no prerequisite condition to enter this field of copywriting.
To earn good money through copywriting, the freelancer should get organized in the first place and should know how to write, so that a freelancer can get the maximum benefit out of this profession.
Almost all the businesses have their web pages and they need to keep their page rankings. Unless and until the web pages are refreshed with new contents, they cannot keep their page rankings high.
Failing to keep the content refreshed might also result in a setback to the business as the ranking might drop.
There are millions of such websites, which require the assistance of the freelance copywriters. Imagine the scope for copywriting profession for yourself.
Freelance copywriting requires a bit of imagination and creativity to excel in the field. The first step is to find companies, which can pay the freelance copywriters adequately for writing their content.
The topic should be understood properly, and then the information necessary for it needs to be collected. Organizing the facts and presenting it with originality is the secret of success of a freelance copywriter.
Copywriting portfolio of the freelance copywriter is very crucial in getting good assignments, as the copywriting portfolio will consist of the materials he has written like the brochures,
direct mailer samples, advertisements, web sales pages etc. It is always good to get the consent of the client before adding the work to your portfolio, the one you wrote for them.
The legitimate way of building the portfolio of the freelance copywriter is to work for a local agency as an intern copywriter.
Even though the money gained during such period is of less value, the experience gained will be of great value. Also the person will get good contacts, which can be useful while becoming a freelance copywriter.
Freelance jobs that you can find
Freelance work has gained tremendous popularity today. Freelancing has long been recognized as a reputable profession and freelance workers are sometimes valued more than regular, permanent staff members.
With the internet’s help, more opportunities for freelancers are available at once. More people are able to work at their homes and more companies and organizations are able to contract out their projects instead of hiring regular employees.
According to recent studies, freelance jobs account for 20 percent of contracted graphic designs, web designs and software development in the world. To go freelance is a career choice and freelance jobs offer freelancers with plenty of opportunities and benefits.
Freelancers, especially the “internet freelancers,” always report satisfaction in their work due to several factors that freelance jobs offer.
They are able to choose the job they want from a variety of freelance jobs and projects that are widely available in the internet. There is also faster turnaround of projects and freelancers can move on to another project as soon as the current one is done.
Freelance jobs also allow for freedom and more flexibility and freelancers can take on two or more different jobs simultaneously. Freelance jobs also offer higher income rates and help freelancers improve their saving capability.
There are several types of freelance jobs, and the following four are considered the major classification.
* Telecommuting. Also known as e-commuting, teleworking, or working from home. It is a work arrangement wherein workers have limited flexibility with their work location and working hours.
Freelancers who are telecommuters or teleworkers work while connected to a central telecommunication system such as teleconferencing and video conferencing.
* Consulting. A consultant provides expert advise in his/her particular area of expertise like accountancy, law, human resources, finance and public affairs. Sometimes, a consultant is not one person alone, but a group of people who are all part of the consultancy.
* Offshoring. This refers to the relocation or transfer of business operations from one country to another country. China and India are two prominent countries that companies target for their offshore operations.
Lately, India has been emerging as a top destination for trade in services, which refers to sale and distribution of services between the producer and consumers. Offshoring works best for areas related to production, and manufacturing.
* Outsourcing. This freelance arrangement refers to the transfer of management controls and decision-making aspect of the business to another person or groups of persons.
Companies usually outsource operations to a group of individuals who specialize in that type of operation. Outsourcing is known to help companies reduce production costs and conserve energy.
Fields and areas where freelance work is acceptable and diverse and varied. Among the most common and highly-demanded freelance jobs are found in the fields of journalism, computer programming, graphic design and consulting.
According to studies, following are the most frequently sought after freelance jobs in the United States:
* Accountancy experts/Bookkeepers
* Animators (for film)
* Cartographers
* Computer programmers
* Consultants (political, architectural, sales, marketing, etc.)
* Culinary jobs (chefs, wine connoisseurs, etc.)
* Data encoders/Data processors
* Editors/Copyeditors
* Engineers
* Events planners (corporate planning, party planning, etc.)
* Financial planners
* Florists
* Grants writers
* Graphic designers
* Inspectors
* Interior designers
* Landscape artists
* Massage therapists
* Photographers
* Private investigators
* Seamstresses
* Telemarketers
* Translators and interpreters
* Tutors
* Upholsterers
* Web designers
* Writers
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