How to Earn Money As a Freelancer

Freelancing means to have different jobs or short-term assignments or contracts with number of companies, websites, organizations, etc., without any long-term contract. The Internet has greatly expanded opportunities to earn money working as a freelancer. Approximately 10.3 million Americans work for themselves, a number that is expected to grow in the future.^[1] Freelancing can be freeing, as the name suggests, as well as empowering and challenging

First
Decide on your craft. Decide what type of freelance work you are committed to doing. Freelancing jobs are as broad as the work force, and you need identify what it is you want to do before you can begin to do it. View your skills as valuable resources that are worth charging and receiving pay for.^[2]

• Reflect on what you're good at. Just about every type of skill can be turned into a freelancing opportunity. Keep in mind that you're "secondary" skills, like researching and writing, for example, can be just as useful as a specific set of skills unique to a profession (e.g., graphic designer or computer programming). If you know you're a strong writer, then you could develop a freelance writing business.
• It's very easy to believe that you don't have the necessary skills or experience, but in fact you actually need very little experience in order to get started freelancing. Instead, believe in your abilities and focus on producing good work.^[3]

Second

Create a brand. To get your freelancing operation off the ground and becoming profitable, you need to think about how you will market yourself and your products/work. This is called branding. You need to create a brand for your what you're selling and how it sets you apart from the competition - this is your "identity and includes your website, logo, tagline, blog, and social media accounts, among other aspects.

• Your brand should clearly communicate what you do that is special and what you offer that is worth buying. Try to narrow your focus to a specific industry. For example, if you decide you want to do freelance writing, you might only decide to write for online travel sites and business and thus be a freelance travel writer. Or you might decide you want to write for business and corporate websites. Specializing within the field (in this case, the very broad field of writing) will make you more attractive to potential clients because it shows you have a particular rather than a generic set of skills, also known as a niche.^[4]
• However, don't let the brand be your primary focus. You could have a huge Instagram or Twitter following, but that doesn't really pay the bills. Don't worry about followers or retweets, and instead focusing on producing quality work. That's the ultimate way to build your freelancing business and earn money.^[5]