How To Earn More Money Freelancing (Even If You’re A Total Beginner)

 

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6. Level Up Your Skills

The best way to justify higher hourly rates? Make sure you have impressive skills that are in high demand.

Practice using your new skills by building the types of projects that you want to eventually be paid to work on. Whether that’s WordPress websites, mobile apps, or something else entirely, such as graphic design, copywriting, etc, the more you can differentiate yourself among a sea of competition with cool side projects and examples that’ll attract potential customers, the better.

And remember that while highly trained freelancers can get paid much more for their work, you don’t have to head back to school for a BS in computer science to get on the train. Taking online classes like a Skillcrush Front End Development course can get you on the right track and put you in charge of your education.

📌 PS – If you want to start or move into a career in tech, Skillcrush can help you get there! Our Break Into Tech course is a comprehensive program designed to help total beginners in tech start a new and fulfilling career.

7. Build Your Credibility

There are many ways to build your credibility within your industry.

Aside from creating high quality blog content and collaborating with notable influencers in your industry, you can write an ebook, create an online course, and line up speaking engagements to start increasing your visibility within your niche.

You can also build up your portfolio on freelance platforms and freelance gig websites by working for a slightly lower hourly rate to start, and increasing it as you gain more experience.

These credibility-boosters can help you add to your list of accomplishments that you can highlight on your portfolio and simultaneously demonstrate your knowledge for more potential clients to see. The wider you can broadcast your message, the more influence you’ll build within your niche.

8. Determine Your Pricing

While deciding how much to charge for your freelance services is a major step toward determining your perceived value, you need to make sure you’re charging enough to make a sustainable, comfortable living.

Most clients won’t hesitate to pay higher rates for a freelancer that gives them an incredible first impression and sells them on the ability to deliver high quality results.

As long as I continue to deliver consistent value to my clients (beyond their expectations), I have no trouble setting and maintaining high prices for the services I’m providing.

Before setting your prices at the bare minimum you need to charge in order to hit your financial needs, consider the actual value you’d be creating for your potential clients and make sure you’re not leaving money on the table.

You can always increase your rates in the future and hope your client stays on board, but if you start at a price point you’re already excited about, you’ll be that much more likely to over-deliver and continue increasing your value moving forward.

9. Leverage Your Network for Introductions

One of the most effective ways to land higher quality and better paying freelance work is through leveraging your existing networks. Whether it’s pitching your actual friends and former co-workers on freelance help, or using their connections to make warm introductions to companies you do want to work with, this is a great alternative to cold contacting potential clients.

Whenever I discover a freelance opportunity I want to pursue on Angel.co(opens in a new tab), CloudPeeps(opens in a new tab), or elsewhere, I give myself 10–15 minutes to research the company, find my ideal point of contact, and do a little homework on if I have a mutual connection on LinkedIn, Twitter, or Facebook before reaching out with a cold email.

If I do have a mutual contact, I’ll reach out to my friend (only if I’m actually friends with them) and ask if they’d mind sending an email introduction on my behalf.

This approach, where my first impression is being endorsed by a recommendation from someone my potential client already knows, has consistently netted me higher response and close rates.

10. Perfect Your Pitching

There’s an art and science to pitching your freelance services to new clients.

Landing new clients isn’t just a matter of crafting an awesome freelance proposal. Your success depends on how you’re selecting new jobs, how you position your value propositions, and how much research you do ahead of time.

I’ve won new gigs simply because I clearly put in more time and effort into researching the company, determining their needs, and providing immense up front value in the form of insightful recommendations before I even discuss payment. In the world of freelancing, much of your success (and ability to make money online) will depend upon the strength of your client relationships, and how well you’re able to forge meaningful partnerships.