What Do You Need To Become A Freelancer In 2020?

The growth of the freelance economy in recent years has led to increased competition amongst the freelancers and consequently, a scarcity of jobs. With the freelance economy continues to grow in its millions year by year, and more people are choosing to become freelancers and provide content for the same clients, the job situation can become very frustrating for both the current freelancers in the market and the new ones joining in. one issue that freelancers have had to deal with from time immemorial is the pricing for their services. There is no standard pricing system and this has led desperate freelancers down-beating prices for their services just to win the job. This can be quite frustrating for you as a freelancer giving higher quality because you know you cannot take some meager prices for the quality of your product. Yet, some clients would offer you such prices simply because they have other freelancers offering them cheap prices.

Another major issue with freelancing is the lack of job security. Many freelancers are usually in and out of work, leaving one client for another, with some of them unable to nail down one client and win them over for long term cooperation. The problem for other freelancers is their inability to attract a client or win a job offer. That is why we will be discussing the things that you need to become and do well as a freelancer in 2020.

Identify and focus on your niche

Having a niche and focusing on it is important for you as it gives you an idea of the kinds of work you are going to be looking out for. This will help you to sharpen your skill and develop your brand even further instead of being an open basket that accepts anything. Building a reputation as an expert in a particular field will help you find clients in that field much better and will also make it easier for people to recommend you to others requiring your service in that field.

For instance, if you are a writer, you could choose to settle with college essays as your niche. People who know you as a expert will easily recommend you to others that need help with essay, and you’ll grow your brand faster this way.

To be successful in a niche, you need to:

• Choose something you love and know of: the freelance economy is already very competitive, and there are people in each niche. To remain competitive and have an edge over others, you must do what you know and what you love doing.
• Be enthusiastic about your work: this will come with a love for your niche and the freelancing job you are doing but you have to ensure that you satisfy your clients so much that they are ready to give you 5 stars and a good review on your website or other freelancing platforms where you met them such as Upwork or Fiverr. This might require a lot of hard work and dedication from you, but that is the price to pay.
• Accepts a job that pays sufficiently: money is always a motivator. If the payment for a job does not motivate you or is not attractive enough, you should refuse such jobs. From my experience, when a job does not pay enough, you automatically produce content that is equivalent to the pay. This means the quality might not be up to what the client expects and even though they are not also paying up to what you expect, you are the one that needs to satisfy them because you need their good feedback and rating. All of that could be jeopardized, so, it is best to avoid such jobs except you are motivated to do them by other things such as the feedback which could help with getting other better-paying clients.

Sharpen your skills

Since you have a niche you are focused on, you have to be on the lookout for ways to improve yourself and your brand by becoming better at what you do. This involves sharpening your skills and learning the right skills to improve you.

This might require you to develop a plan to work on yourself and develop your skill set during your spare time. A freelancer never stops learning. This is because of the increasing level of competition in this space. You want to ensure that you remain competitive and you are not left behind. So you keep learning new skills every time, year in year out. This gives you an edge and keeps you on your toes.

Build an attractive portfolio

Building an impressive and attractive portfolio is an important part of the success of any business. A portfolio makes it easy for people to contact you whenever they need your service. It could also be your website that makes it easy for people to access your work, request your service or refer you to others. When building a portfolio or your website, you must include some of these features.

• Be personal about it: your portfolio should include a bio or description of you that outlines not just what you do but your experience also. Your clients should be able to relate with you from your bio not just read about your work. Many clients that hire freelancers hire the people they can relate with personally since they will be working directly with the freelancers. Many people are doing the same job as you and are as qualified as you, so, sometimes it just boils down to who the client prefers as an individual.
• Let them know how you do what you do: it is not enough to just show your work. You must be able to tell your prospective clients how you did the previous works. Give them a brief breakdown of how you went through different stages of previous works with your previous clients. It gives them an idea of what it is like working with you and could drive their interest in working with you.
• Include the results and testimonials: if you have done previous jobs well enough, you earned the right to brag with them. Your portfolio should include the results of the previous jobs you have done and how you helped the client. Customer testimonials would also go a long way in helping you attract new clients.

Market yourself

One sure way for people to know who you are and what you do is by marketing yourself. This should be something you invest your money in. expand your network reach, attend shows and seminars, meet new people, exchange numbers and complimentary cards, use online ads, etc. just do all that you can to put yourself and your brand out there in people’s heads whether online or in real life.

Conclusion

Freelancing sounds easy or simple to the year but it is not as simple in reality. It is very competitive and would drive you to the edge to remain relevant in this industry. So, before you quit your job and become a full-time freelancer, make sure you have all that it takes and know everything you need to know.