how to become a freelancer in 2020 ( experienced guide)

You want to make money online and want to build your personal brand in the internet world. But don’t know how to do it or if you have a skill but don’t know how to use your skill to make money.

Today I‘ll tell you how to become a freelancer(good). Do you have a skill?

If yes, then freelancing can be a perfect choice for you to make money online by sitting anywhere in the world. You just need three basic things for freelancing

• Laptop or pc
• A good internet connection
• Skill(obviously)

I started freelancing 1.5 years ago and I knew nothing about freelancing. I started everything from scratch. 

I used to watch freelancing videos on YouTube, took a freelancing course, it was nothing but just a big confusion.

Then I used to feel like giving up. but I didn’t I was so serious about making money.

I did a lot of mistakes again and again. whenever I did a mistake. I learned something new from every mistake. Whatever I learned in 1.5 years.

I will give you a summary of my experience in this. I will tell you what are the most common mistake every beginner makes while starting and how to avoid them.

I will be telling you my honest freelancing journey. For me, it was never easy every day I used to struggle hard. But as you know hard work pays off. After some time, I got my first freelance client.

But you can get a freelance client in a short period of time. You just have to do what I say. By following my method, you will avoid the mistakes which I did.

I will give you a step-by-step guide on how to become a freelancer (good).

Who is a freelancer or freelancer meaning?

A freelancer is a person who sells his services, he can work with multiple clients simultaneously. He gets paid hourly or daily. he charges per client according to his service rates.

The first step(most important one)

I have seen many people who are excited about making money online. And every day they do is they learn about freelancing.

And every day tons of YouTube videos, learning through courses researching an about profitable niche, etc.

But, after some time they become bored after watching tons of videos. if you do the same way then you will feel bored. You have to start freelancing.

You have to make an account on freelancing websites. Learn how it works and gain some experience

Never ever try to compete with expert freelancers. This is the biggest mistake I did when I started freelancing.

If you do the same mistake as me and the cherry on the cake is you are unaware of this mistake. Then you should become aware of this mistake.

The reason you can't beat them(now) is they are experienced freelancers and you are starting from scratch. So never try to compete with them. 

In fact, learn from them as you learn from your mentor. You can follow them on social media where they share free tips and advice to become a freelancer. 

High-income skill

Ok. So now you created an account on any freelancing websites. In today's time competition is everywhere and it is in freelancing too.

If you want to know the best and top freelancing websites with less competition then you should read this. here I have told you top freelancing websites with low competition.

These are some of the basic skills and there are many. I just took the names of a few of them. But what I recommend is having a high-income skill.

If you have a high-income skill then you can easily make $1000 per month as a beginner. If you don't know from where to learn high-income skills.

Then you can learn from here:

• Udemy
• Skillshare
• Coursera
• Khan academy

Creating a portfolio

When you start freelancing portfolio plays an important role in getting clients. You should focus more on creating a great portfolio rather than writing emails to clients to get work.

You should know the difference between a portfolio and a great portfolio. Everyone has a portfolio but making a great portfolio it really takes some effort and time.

When I started, I never focused on making a great portfolio. I just ignored it like it was just a waste of time and rather than making a great portfolio.

I was spending my whole time in just sending cold emails to the clients to convince them to work with me.

Also read:

• 10 best freelance tools(latest 2020 edition)
• Freelancing hacks exposed
• How to learn freelancing online

But they never showed any interest in me. After some time, I realized that this is not going to work. After that, I worked on my portfolio to make it great, and guess what I got my first freelance client.

 So, if you're doing the same mistake as me then it’s time to stop it immediately. 

Here are the steps for creating a great portfolio

First things first - creating your own portfolio is a great move at first. If you are a programmer then write your own code from scratch.

You can write killer taglines in your portfolio if you are a content writer or copywriter. You can attract clients from it and if you are an illustrator then you illustrate.

Now comes the second step, which is adding the important elements to make to look it more attractive you can add points such as.

what will you do to make your client’s life easier? Who you are? You can add your contact number so they can contact you easily. 

The third point is really important, most people what they just do is they just add a screenshot of their work and add a hyperlink, and that’s it.

But you don’t do that mistake. Don’t just show them explain to them about your projects. take some time to explain it well.

Add practice projects in your freelance portfolio if you have worked on some projects include them in your portfolio.

Don't be afraid to put small projects in your freelance portfolio. These projects can work like a charm in your portfolio.

Last but not the least, don't forget to include testimonials in your portfolio plays a great role.

Know your market

What do I mean by this? If you know then let me know in the comment section. If not then don't worry. After reading this you will have a clear idea.

When you get started in freelancing you don't have any idea about your niche market as there's always competition so you have to do research about your market.

You need to know how your competitors are getting clients. this is the most important point in how to become a freelancer series.

Do you remember this old saying?  “Keep your friends close and your enemies closer” you have to know what your clients are expecting? Once you know about that then you can easily target them.

You have to spend hours on the internet researching your market.

You have to work like hell. You have to know the internet trend then only you can land your first client. You have to know what others are doing.

Personal branding

It is very-very important to work on personal branding. People don't buy products they buy brands. You should know this.

Ask yourself this question, why will someone hire you? when there are many freelancers who are better than you, experienced than you.

You need personal branding. When you are selling your services, you are actually selling yourself. So, for this reason, you have to be a brand.

You have to be very careful about this. one wrong move and it's over. If people started hating you then they won't buy what you are selling.

Keep this in mind. You have to step into the field to become a brand. It's not an overnight success. Overnight success is a myth. You have to be consistent.

Some tips on personal branding

Always keep creating content for your audience you will be connected with your audience through content. You may have heard the phrase “content is king”

Have a plan of action

“When you fail to plan you plan to fail”

Make a plan and start working on your plan. Trust me your plan doesn't have to be perfect. Your plan just has to be clear.

Don't spend more than 1 hour for making a one-month plan.

If you spend more than one hour on making a plan then after two days something will happen and your plan will be useless. You just have to make a plan for having a clear vision.

Don't just plan, work on it. If you don't work on that plan then it's just useless. Keep your eyes open and plan accordingly.

Freelancing is not an easy thing. You should know your limits and push them. Then only you will succeed in your freelance career.

In your freelancing plan add these basics:

·      Your plan should be time-bound and make it relevant.

·      How much should you charge per client?

·      How and when to close a deal.

·      How to land a client.

Network is your net worth

When You start freelancing make sure you build a good network. By doing this you can get your first freelance client.

Tell your friends about your services. Start putting it on your Instagram stories.

Don't underestimate the power of word of mouth. Join your niche related groups on Facebook.

Create some posts of your services and don't forget to give your contact number so they can directly contact you. And you can upload them in those groups. The one who is interested to hire you.

He will contact you through the number.

Be more active on social media. You can advertise your services through ads. Or you can contact any influencers on social for a paid promotion.

You can bargain with them for better prices. Don't just make a network, make friends online. You can tell them to recommend your services to their friends. 

You have to make connections because if you don't do this then you will directly go on freelancing websites like Fiverr and start applying for jobs. Which I don't recommend at all. If you do it then you are competing with the whole world. And then you will probably fail. 

If you start building a network online then there are high chances that you will succeed in a short period of time.

These are the core points for becoming a freelancer and by using these points you can make a career in freelancing and make your own brand.

Is freelancing a safe career?

Everyone wants to know that freelancing is safe or not?  I will give you my honest opinion I don't want to mislead you.

If you are doing a job and you don't love it. And you are thinking about quitting the job and start freelancing. Then it is not the right choice.

The reason I am saying no is because you need money to survive in this world. If you have enough money then you can go for it.

But I am assuming most of you don't have enough money to survive for at least 6-8 months. 

You can start freelancing as a part-time career. By the time you will gain experience in freelancing.

Theory knowledge is not enough for freelancing you need to know how freelancing works.

conclusion

Here I talked about how to become a freelancer. the above points are proven and effective. I follow them. you should also follow them to become a successful freelancer.

you can get your first client very soon. Share this with your friends who want to be a freelancer.

I will give you more tips and freelancing strategies. but, for this, you have to get subscribed to my email list. until then goodbye.