Even though it’s not as secure and lucrative as a real job, freelancing has its perks. Since we live in an age of technology and almost everyone has access to the World Wide Web, you can easily find tutorials and learn a lot of useful things on your own. Here are five jobs you can do as a freelancer and earn a decent amount of money.
1. Become a freelance writer
Alright. Since you already know how to write, this one should be the easiest to pull off, in the event you do not possess any other skills. The only problem with writing is that you’ll have to do a ton of research since no one wants to pay you to write what you think is interesting. It would be wise though to think about your own field of expertise, and start to develop in that department as a blogger. It will be a good exercise for your writing career, and you will increase the chances of getting a writing job on a topic you actually like. People usually find writing jobs through online job finding platforms, so you should start by making a profile there. Before you do that, you can open up a couple of accounts on blogging platforms to submit your work and to have something in your portfolio. This will increase your chances of landing the first few jobs. These are quite crucial since people go through your work history and reviews before they employ you, therefore make sure you do your best. Alternatively, you can immediately make accounts on blogging platforms that pay for content, like Cracked or Listverse for example. Bear in mind that these people are in search of really good content, and just rewriting a few other interesting things you’ve read online won’t cut it. You’ll need to be very well-informed, and respect their writing rules, and try over and over again before your content is accepted and published. On the plus side, it will look good on your portfolio and you will get a decent amount of money. Once employers on these job platforms start to give you jobs, you’ll have to do thorough research on the topics they need you to write about. These can be health, lifestyle, technology related, or texts for their own websites that they can use as good material. Once you get a hang of it, a lot of them might give you more writing jobs in the future, and it becomes easier to find new clients with similar requests.
2. Become a web designer
If you have some basic knowledge of coding, or if you are willing to start learning some coding basics, then you can become a web designer. WordPress is not too difficult to learn and you can easily become proficient and start offering your services. There are, of course, some possible obstacles you’ll have to face. First of all, the competition tends to be tight, but on the plus side, there are startups that pop up on a daily basis, and they usually need a website for their company. Moreover, even individuals ask for websites, since they use it as a place to save their treasured memories like weddings, baby pictures, etc. Considering that you are a beginner, much like with writing, you’ll need to do a couple of jobs at a lower price first. You can also find clients on Freelancing platforms, or you can do your own outreach, either by e-mails, or contact them on social media. There are a lot of business owners who have a Facebook page, but do not have their own website. So, you can reach out and tell them that you offer services at a lower price because you are trying to create a portfolio and earn money along the way. Alternatively, you can do some research and learn how to impress potential clients. Show them that you can do more than simply follow their instructions and give them tips on how they can actually improve their design. For example, you can tell them how to strategically organize their layouts. Lastly, it would be wise to go through all of the themes and plugins, to know how to pitch your ideas to potential customers, and to know how to cater to their needs. There are specific themes for various types of websites, whether it is for a restaurant, for a personal blog, or for a magazine, etc. So, depending on the type of business owner you are negotiating with, you can suggest a corresponding theme to secure a better outcome.
3. Become a graphic designer
Graphic design is another skill that is highly sought after. Game developers, book artists, music artists, and many others need someone who can do concept art and full drawings for their products. It can be difficult to get good at this, if you have never nurtured your drawing talents, or if you are bad at drawing in general, but there are ways to work around these problems. Nowadays, you draw using gadgets. Since you can undo your previous move with a simple push of a button, the whole trial and error process goes a lot faster. So, even if you are not good at it, you can still get a hang of it more easily using current technologies. You should definitely go through drawing tutorials in order to pick up some useful techniques and become more efficient. When it comes to creating a portfolio, you do not need to do jobs for free like with the previous examples. You can create a DeviantArt account and Pinterest as well, which will be a good place to upload your work. You can also communicate with members there, to see what they think of your work, and to give you some guidelines on how to improve. There are a lot of opportunities for graphic designers today, so if you master the art of drawing, you can look forward to a very lucrative future. Moreover, you don’t even have to work as a freelancer; you can start creating your own comic books for example, and become a renowned artist. Who knows? It’s definitely a good opportunity, and if you do possess some creative talents, it would be a shame not to pursue this passion.
4. Become an online tutor
You’d be surprised just how many people are interested in learning the English language. You do not even have to be a native speaker to be a tutor. You just need to know English grammar and have a good vocabulary and decent pronunciation. These classes are mostly done over Skype, and your audience is primarily Chinese or Japanese people. Another good thing about these classes is that they rarely need actual English lessons; these ‘students’ mostly want to practice their conversation skills. Therefore, you won’t have to prepare like a teacher for a regular class. Just think about the topics you want to talk about and how to keep the conversation going. Basically, you need to find an agency that employs teachers who will give classes online. You will have to submit your application and do an interview with them online. Remember to be enthusiastic, to smile and not to rush while you speak. Speak clearly so that they can see how you pronounce words. You will have to go over one English lesson during the interview. Once they evaluate you, you will know whether you got the job or not. Do not worry, even if you fail, you’ll have an opportunity to repeat the interview. Once you begin to work, you’ll need to work on your presentation, because it is really important that you are likable. If students like you, chances are that you’ll get more classes, and therefore more revenue. It is a great job if you want to be a teacher someday, and you can work on your people skills as well. You might think this looks like a full-time job, but it is not. You simply open up your schedule and wait for students to sign up for classes. You are the one who determines when the class will begin.
5. Become a photo editor
If you are not good at drawing, you may be good at photo editing, since it doesn’t require as much skill as drawing. It will however, be really bothersome, when you start learning how the photo editing tools function, and before you get used to the interface, etc. You’ll see just how creative you can be and what you can do with ordinary pictures. People also need photo editing services, when they post product pictures online, when they need an album cover, a movie poster, etc. This skill has a lot of potential to be monetized, and it is a talent that most definitely won’t be overlooked. Much like with the previous examples, the same rules apply. You download or watch online tutorials, and once you leave behind your training wheels, you’ll get to be creative and experiment a bit.
Conclusion
So, these are some skills that can easily land you a job. You can try them all out and see which one of them fits you best. You can also browse freelancing platforms to see what else you can do as a freelancer. There are different requests out there, but you will need a portfolio or work samples before you can get a job, so make sure you start creating something at the earliest.
