Five years back, being a freelancer meant you were the odd, bright, crazy kid with superior knowledge of computers and Internet. It’s 2017, and today, more than one-third of the US workforce comprises of people who are dedicated or part-time freelancers! Writers, designers, virtual assistants, SEO experts, digital marketers, email copywriters, babysitters, lyrics writers, housekeepers – everyone’s onboard. If you have a skill or product that someone will pay for, you can be a freelancer. Here are 7 surefire ways to earn.
1) Write Your Way to Regular Income
Yeah, you knew this was coming. Writing for blogs, for website SEO, and for brand marketing has grown big. If you’ve got domain expertise, look for top blogs in your area of interest, identify a few that offers you pay for contribution, and get your professional writing career off the blocks. Check out the top freelance job portals like UpWork to bid for basic SEO writing projects. And, to earn big, try selling your masterly advertisement and sales copies to startups and companies. From $5 for an article to more than $50 for an article, the pay spectrum is expensive. Create clever top 10 lists, self-publish an eBook, enter a writing contest, write fan fiction – there are many ways you can make money by writing quality content.
2) Online Tutoring
Your desire for knowledge, expertise in teaching, and the need for income are the perfect ingredients to launch your career in online tutoring. The marketplace for online education delivery is growing, and it’s the right time to hop in, with earnings to the tunes of $20-$50 per hour of teaching up for grabs. It’s easy to find an online tutoring website like PrestoExperts with features such as audio, video communication, instant messaging and group chat, screen share, file sharing, document management, session recording, class scheduling, attendance and timekeeping, and even virtual whiteboards.
3) Create a Physical Product and Sell Online
So much of the ‘freelancing’ focus is on digital that opportunities around physical product creation are often ignored. Why not create quirky designs, posters, crafts, fashion accessories, and souvenirs, and sell online? Translate your passion for art and craft into a scalable business, much like many freelancers already do via Etsy. Services like Zazzle and CafePress not only allow you to create products but can also assist you in making them for you, helping you reach good numbers.
4) Sell your Skill and Time
Not good at writing? Can’t create physical products? Don’t want to teach? You can still earn via freelancing, just by listing your skill (anything, really) on online classifieds such as Craigslist, reach out to people who need to get things done, market your service a little, and you will soon be earning a decent income. Right from creating comic strips to writing the lyrics of a love song for someone, if you’ve got the skill to build, there’s someone out there who needs it and will pay for it.
5) Resell Your Used Stuff
Why not make some money by selling your old but useful stuff that’s not too useful for you. Old clothes, china, and flatware, antiques, stamps, and coins – everything sells. In fact, with niche marketplaces for selling old and used stuff, such as Tradesy and Threadflip for pre-owned clothes, this is just short of real e-retail! Learn the basics of marketing, and create product listings that appeal to prospects, and achieve the dual benefit of getting rid of old stuff and earning some money. With experience and some expertise, you could even roll out your service to friends and family members, taking a small cut on every sale you get done for them.
6) Be a Virtual Assistant
If you’re computer and internet savvy, there’s every reason why you might want to try out lending your time as a virtual assistant to busy web-entrepreneurs. Top freelance portals have dedicated sections where virtual assistants can offer their services. Check out TheVAHandbook to understand the VA market better, organize your routine to free up hours, and start offering virtual assistance, and earn decent money out of it.
7) Do Local Jobs that Require Your Physical Presence
If none of the methods mentioned above seem to fit well for you, why not do it the old way? Cleaning lawns, driving someone to the other side of the town, babysitting, raking leaves, and washing cars – you get the idea. The key is, if there’s someone nearby who needs something done, he/she would not mind paying you a small sum to get things done. Fiverr is among the top portals to use to offer such micro-job services. Check out this Forbes list; it connects you to several portals that help people provide local physical support and service.
You may also like: 30 Great Ways to Make Money Online – Free, Easy and Fast.
Final Words
Like every job, your freelance engagements would demand time, dedication, and accountability, for you to succeed. So, ready to earn yet?
