I’ve had the pleasure of working with some incredible clients over the past few years, and I want to share with you the steps I took to become a full time freelancer.
As a full time freelancer, I’m making more money than ever before. Not only am I able to spend more time with my family, but I also get to work from home which makes me a lot happier than being in an office.
STEP 1: Create a Marketing Plan
This is step number one on my list, but it’s actually the most important. It’s the first step that gets you closer to your goal.
You have to know what you’re going to be doing before you start. You need to know how you’re going to generate leads, find clients, and make money.
STEP 2: Start Small
Most people think that the way to make money is to do big things, but the truth is that small, focused tasks are much more likely to pay off.
I started my first freelance project by creating a blog for a client. This was a very small project, but it was also extremely targeted. The blog posts were written just for her audience. They were focused on a specific niche topic, and they were all very similar in style and tone.
STEP 3: Ask for What You Want
This may sound odd, but I’ve learned over the years that the best way to get what you want is to ask.
When I was working for a client, she would often tell me what she wanted. When I asked for clarification, it would usually turn out that what she had actually wanted was something completely different.
As a freelancer, I’m more willing to give clients what they want because they’re paying for it. This allows them to focus on the things that will make them money, and I can focus on the things that will make me money. It’s an easy win-win situation for both of us.
STEP 4: Focus on the Right Niche
Another important step is choosing the right niche. You need to be able to provide value to your audience in order to make money. If you don’t, you’re not going to get paid.
As a freelancer, I work with clients who are in a variety of niches. Some clients have a specific problem that I can solve for them. Other clients are looking for a generalist who can provide a broad range of services.
The more specific your niche is, the better you can focus on providing value. The more general your niche is, the easier it is to provide a lot of value.
STEP 5: Get a Website
Getting a website is one of the best ways to start making money online.
I’ve worked with dozens of clients over the years, and I’ve seen a lot of websites. The worst thing about a website is that they’re pretty much worthless unless they generate traffic.
You need a website that can serve as a lead generation machine and a source of leads for your business.
STEP 6: Market Your Services
This is where most people get stuck. They think that if they just write enough articles or offer enough services, they’ll be able to make money.
The truth is that you need to market your services. You need to get your name out there and have people know what you do. You need to create a brand and become known in your niche.
I have a system for marketing my services, and I’ve used it for years. I don’t do any marketing for the first 6 months of each year. It’s the time that I’m building my website and working on new projects. Once the site is up and running, I spend about a month promoting it. During the rest of the year, I use social media and content marketing to get the word out about my business.
STEP 7: Focus on Quality, Not Quantity
Finally, you need to focus on quality over quantity. This means that you need to focus on the things that will make you money and ignore the things that won’t.
If you’re going to be a freelancer, you need to focus on your clients. You need to make sure that they’re happy with your work. You need to make sure that they’re getting value from your services.
The only way to do this is by having a system in place for tracking your client’s progress. The best systems I’ve seen are simple Google forms that allow clients to fill out an online survey when they’ve completed their project.
You can use these to gather feedback on your services, and you can use them to track the progress of your client’s projects.
[…] How to Make More Money (Article 4) […]